Martina Saltamacchia | University of Nebraska at Omaha (original) (raw)
Books by Martina Saltamacchia
![Research paper thumbnail of Costruire cattedrali. Il popolo del Duomo di Milano [Building cathedrals. The people of the Duomo of Milan]](https://a.academia-assets.com/images/blank-paper.jpg)
](For centuries, historians attributed the construction of Milan’s cathedral to the Prince Gian Gal... more For centuries, historians attributed the construction of Milan’s cathedral to the Prince Gian Galeazzo Visconti. A new, detailed analysis of unedited medieval documents turns this classic interpretation upside down. The author demonstrates that nearly all the revenue supporting the construction came not from the Prince, but from the Milanese people. The majority of these donations consisted of thousands of small offerings from poor people – an egg, a piece of cheese, a little coin. Buried in the long lists of donations are moving stories about the donors’ charity: the prostitute Marta who, converted, abandoned the brothel; Marco, the rich merchant who bequeathed everything and then lived as a poor man until his death; the commander Alessio, only to name a few. On the backgrounds of these lives, Saltamacchia sketches late fourteenth-century socio-political events, revealing how the construction of Milan’s cathedral became a place of freedom and autonomy for the Milanese people under the despotic Viscontean dukedom.
Who built Milan's cathedral? What resources financed such an ambitious construction, started in 1... more Who built Milan's cathedral? What resources financed such an ambitious construction, started in 1386 and concluded definitively only in the 20th century? Through the study of precious unedited documents (especially the Registers of Donations), Martina Saltamacchia analyzes the donors who contributed to the financing of the cathedral. Surprisingly, the numerical data reveal that the vast majority of the revenue came in the form of small offerings, individually of negligible value but collectively sufficient to build what was in its time the largest cathedral in the world. From the lists of donations, incredible stories of simple men and women peer out – people often in situations of economic or social distress - inspired by faith to moving acts of charity. The book gives justice to the real "builders" of the cathedral, recounting their small acts, mostly anonymous but sometimes precisely identifiable. A series of historical images of the cathedral enrich the text, depicting the construction's phases and giving witness to the active participation of the people over many centuries to this majestic work.
Papers by Martina Saltamacchia
Talks by Martina Saltamacchia
THE 59TH MISSOURI VALLEY HISTORY CONFERENCE Sacred Sites, Holy Places March 3-5, 2016 Magnolia Ho... more THE 59TH MISSOURI VALLEY HISTORY CONFERENCE
Sacred Sites, Holy Places
March 3-5, 2016 Magnolia Hotel - Omaha, Nebraska
Plenary speakers:
Thomas F. Madden Pamela Berger
St. Louis University Boston College
Possible paper and panels topics include but are not limited to:
• Shrines, relics and cult of saints
• Pilgrimages and sacred destinations
• Cathedral building and fundraising
• Crusades & The Holy Land
• Biblical archeology
• Monuments and sites of memory • Burials and sacred landscapes
• Destruction of sacred sites
• Tourism and marketing of
heritage sites
A special session of panels and workshops will focus on INNOVATIVE PEDAGOGIES (Digital Humanities, Role-Playing Games, Flipped Classroom, Experiential Learning, etc.)
Thursday evening will be dedicated to welcoming remarks and reception; sessions and panels will take place all day Friday and Saturday. Optional tours of museums and other notable sites will be scheduled on Thursday afternoon and Sunday morning.
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: December 12, 2015
Conference Presentations by Martina Saltamacchia
For centuries, historians attributed the construction of Milan’s cathedral to the Prince Gian Gal... more For centuries, historians attributed the construction of Milan’s cathedral to the Prince Gian Galeazzo Visconti. A new, detailed analysis of unedited medieval documents turns this classic interpretation upside down. The author demonstrates that nearly all the revenue supporting the construction came not from the Prince, but from the Milanese people. The majority of these donations consisted of thousands of small offerings from poor people – an egg, a piece of cheese, a little coin. Buried in the long lists of donations are moving stories about the donors’ charity: the prostitute Marta who, converted, abandoned the brothel; Marco, the rich merchant who bequeathed everything and then lived as a poor man until his death; the commander Alessio, only to name a few. On the backgrounds of these lives, Saltamacchia sketches late fourteenth-century socio-political events, revealing how the construction of Milan’s cathedral became a place of freedom and autonomy for the Milanese people under the despotic Viscontean dukedom.
Who built Milan's cathedral? What resources financed such an ambitious construction, started in 1... more Who built Milan's cathedral? What resources financed such an ambitious construction, started in 1386 and concluded definitively only in the 20th century? Through the study of precious unedited documents (especially the Registers of Donations), Martina Saltamacchia analyzes the donors who contributed to the financing of the cathedral. Surprisingly, the numerical data reveal that the vast majority of the revenue came in the form of small offerings, individually of negligible value but collectively sufficient to build what was in its time the largest cathedral in the world. From the lists of donations, incredible stories of simple men and women peer out – people often in situations of economic or social distress - inspired by faith to moving acts of charity. The book gives justice to the real "builders" of the cathedral, recounting their small acts, mostly anonymous but sometimes precisely identifiable. A series of historical images of the cathedral enrich the text, depicting the construction's phases and giving witness to the active participation of the people over many centuries to this majestic work.
THE 59TH MISSOURI VALLEY HISTORY CONFERENCE Sacred Sites, Holy Places March 3-5, 2016 Magnolia Ho... more THE 59TH MISSOURI VALLEY HISTORY CONFERENCE
Sacred Sites, Holy Places
March 3-5, 2016 Magnolia Hotel - Omaha, Nebraska
Plenary speakers:
Thomas F. Madden Pamela Berger
St. Louis University Boston College
Possible paper and panels topics include but are not limited to:
• Shrines, relics and cult of saints
• Pilgrimages and sacred destinations
• Cathedral building and fundraising
• Crusades & The Holy Land
• Biblical archeology
• Monuments and sites of memory • Burials and sacred landscapes
• Destruction of sacred sites
• Tourism and marketing of
heritage sites
A special session of panels and workshops will focus on INNOVATIVE PEDAGOGIES (Digital Humanities, Role-Playing Games, Flipped Classroom, Experiential Learning, etc.)
Thursday evening will be dedicated to welcoming remarks and reception; sessions and panels will take place all day Friday and Saturday. Optional tours of museums and other notable sites will be scheduled on Thursday afternoon and Sunday morning.
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: December 12, 2015