I vescovi e la territorializzazione delle diocesi di Puglia, Molise e Basilicata tra XIII e XIV secolo. Appunti sul problema

Following the recent debate about space and its interconnections with social and political institutions, the present paper focuses on the diocesan space and its formation process in a specific area of Southern Italy (the regions of Apulia, Molise and Basilicata) during the first Angevin age (1266-1320). The analysis takes into account three organizational aspects: the juridical definition of episcopal authority; the clear delimitation of the pertinent diocesan space; the concretization of new practices for the diocesan government. The aim of this paper is to provide concrete examples and cases to explain the new administrative organization attested by the dioceses, concretely shaped in a renewed attention to the centrality of the episcopal authority and its power in bringing order within the complicated − almost confused − diocesan space.