Towers in Times

Dr. Ana Plosnić Škarić

Urban compounds with private courtyards protected by towers were among the most prominent features of urban fabric during the High Middle Ages. These compounds were built in cities with Roman Antiquity origins (where their relationship with the inherited urban layout and buildings is of significant interest) and those founded and expanded during the Middle Ages. As a result of the changes in the urban fabric, the towers are often the only remaining structures of the lost compounds.

The research aims to reveal the lost forms of these residential complexes, understand their owners' aspirations, and how they were implemented within contemporary political and social circumstances. The study relies on preserved information from all critically analysed visual and textual sources from all periods and on comprehension of all the changes that occurred over centuries. In that regard, a model is being developed for collecting, structuring and interpreting this information using digital tools (GIS).

The project's thesis suggests that these compounds significantly shaped urban spaces and defined built and unbuilt areas. The main challenge of this project is to identify similarities and differences in how these compounds were formed and modified in cities located on both sides of the Adriatic.