Alte e basse terre: il settore orientale delle Alpi nel medioevo

The relation between high- and lowlands depends not only on morphological and environmental features, but also on the way human communities experience it. Accordingly, the paper analyses the southern slopes of the Eastern Alps from the 5th to the 15th century. In the early Middle Ages, as a result of climate and social changes, life became tough in plains and valleys, while the highlands gained in importance. With the new Millennium, the mountain areas evolved and so did their relationship with the plains. Trans-Alpine traffic expanded further, and crossing the mountains was organised in well-articulated stages between Gemona and Villach, which stood at the two ends of the journey. Mountain dwellers were involved in support activities for the movement of people and goods. First, they provided food and shelter for travellers; secondly, they supplied beasts of burden for goods transport, and served as guides and caravan drivers. The mountain resources – timber, minerals, livestock – covered mostly the needs of the great, distant city, Venice. After Venice conquered the Pariarchate of Aquileia (1420) the eastern mountain chain became the border area of the outskirts of the Venetian Dominion.