«In monte ubi Stafulo regis dicitur». Nota sulla geografia politica dell'Impero in Italia (secolo X)

The place of issue of two charters of Otto I, granted to S. Vincenzo al Volturno and Montecassino on 30 June 968, has been recorded as follows: «in monte ubi Stafulo regis dicitur». Though Italian place-names of the type Stàffoli/Stàffalo are widely attested in medieval sources as well as in present-day toponyms, the one that appears in the aforementioned Otto I’s charters is very unusual, as this place-name is not found in any other charter. No reason to doubt the authenticity of this toponym, which occurs not only in the twelfth-century tradition of the Ottonian charter for S. Vincenzo al Volturno, but also in the still preserved original document of the Ottonian charter for Montecassino. This article aims at localising the mons ubi Stafulo regis dicitur through a reconstruction encompassing three different elements: Otto I’s itineracy in the course of 968, the political needs of the monastic recipients of the two Ottonian charters issued on 30 June 968, and the clues provided by the place-name itself (a peak performing a boundary function, somehow connected to royal lands and/or the border area of the regnum Italicum). The conclusion is that the commonly accepted identification of the mons ubi Stafulo regis dicitur with Staffoli in Cerbaia (Tuscany) should be excluded and the one with Staffolo near Iesi (Marche) is very unlikely. Based on firmer assumptions, the identification with Gole in Tremonti near Popoli (Abruzzo), proposed by other scholars, is possible but not really convincing. The present research identifies the mons ubi Stafulo regis dicitur with the staphilum de Maiella in the comitatus and diocese of Chieti. This staphilum in the Apennines was situated in the southern border area of the regnum Italicum and, in all probability, separated the landholdings of S. Liberatore alla Maiella, which belonged to Montecassino, from royal lands.