Dal 'palatium Karoli imperatoris' al 'palatium' di Ottone III: la presenza imperiale a Roma nell'età carolingio-ottoniana

The reconstruction of the exact dating and location of the two palaces built in Rome during the early and high Middle Ages by the Carolingians and Otto III, respectively, is difficult mainly due to the laconic nature of the sources. On the one hand, the search for discontinuities in the relationship between the rulers and the topography of power in Rome and, on the other hand, observations on the small amount, if not the absence, of the imperial fisc in this city provide relevant hints to reconsider how to date and locate both the Carolingian palace at St. Peter’s and that of Otto III within the urban space delimited by the Aurelian Walls. This essay detects a connection between the decision to build the Carolingian palace and the foundation of the Civitas Leoniana in the middle of the ninth century, which means dating the palace under Lothar I and Louis II, and not Charlemagne. Contrary to the hitherto prevailing scholarly view, which situates the palace north of the Vatican Basilica, this essay argues that the building should be placed in the south-eastern part of the monumental complex of St. Peter’s, alongside the courtyard of the Vatican Basilica, in correspondence of the point where the sepulchre of Otto II was placed at the end of the tenth century. As for the Roman palace of Otto III, this essay points out that it became reality not earlier than April 998 and not later than January 1001, approximately in 998/999. In addition to the well-known hypothesis whereby Otto III’s palace was at SS. Boniface and Alexius on the Aventine, this essay suggests placing it at (or in) S. Maria in Pallara on the Palatine, but also explores the possibility that it could consist in a space assigned to the ruler and his inner circle inside the Lateran palace.