Occupare lo spazio dentro la città fino alle mura: Oristano in alcuni documenti del primo Seicento

Through the state property concessions issued by the patrimonial offices of the Kingdom of Sardinia in the modern age we possess a very interesting picture of the settlement and monumental emergencies of the city of Oristano, capital of the Kingdom of Arborea in the Middle Ages and then simply royal city of the Hispanic Monarchy. The type of document lends itself easily to the reconstruction of the settlement experience through the type of property indicated and its boundaries (streets, squares, monuments, fortifications) and who lives there. In this essay we will examine the policy of patrimonial officials at the beginning of the 17th century regarding the land granted in emphyteusis near the walls, in a strip that normally had to be left free for military needs. State properties in the city and its territory were managed by the royal prosecutor, who had expertise in the patrimonial field. Between the end of the fifteenth century and the beginning of the sixteenth century, with the transformation of Oristano into a royal city, the city's emphyteutic concessions mostly concerned the intramural area surrounding the royal palace, indicating a clear desire to deconstruct the buildings and areas of the secular center of judge them and make them forget. Through the emphyteutic concessions of the early seventeenth century, however, the monarchy and the royal officials themselves were not interested in financing the maintenance work of the fortifications, allowing some private individuals to clutter the internal space close to the curtain wall, provided that they did not leave deteriorate the real estate entrusted to them but highlighting a patronage practice in the management of public affairs. At the same time, it was the citizens of Oristano themselves who, following a very widespread practice, exploited the spaces reserved for walkways without authorization or exploited the moat full of debris for their own gain.