There is a history of economic and political relations, but also a reflection of the collective imagination of the time condensed in the gold coins of the treasure found a century ago under the Logge dei Banchi. A find that returns to the center of research with the study day “The Treasure of the Lodges of Banks. Gold coins for the history of Pisa and the medieval Mediterranean”, scheduled for Saturday 12 September in Pisa. Historians, numismatists, archaeologists, and archaeometric scholars will discuss the significance of this monetary treasure and what it can tell of 13th-century Pisa and its relationships with other Mediterranean territories.
The study day, curated by Monica Baldassarri of the University of Milan and the Pisan Historical Society, is organized in collaboration with the National Museums of Pisa – National Museum of San Matteo, with the support of the Pisa Foundation and the Municipality of Pisa as part of a project to enhance the city's numismatic collections.
The program
Saturday, September 12th, will begin at 9:30 a.m. at Palazzo Gambacorti, with presentations dedicated to the discovery, protection, and enhancement of the treasure, as well as the historical context of 13th-century Pisa and the spread of gold coinage. Among the themes were the gold coins of Lucca, the tarì, and the augustali of the Swabian rulers, in an era characterized by strong political and economic transformations that left an important mark on Pisa and other political and institutional realities of the time.
In the afternoon, from 3:00 pm at the National Museum of San Matteo, attention will shift to the production and circulation of gold in the late Middle Ages, with particular reference to the return to gold coinage during the 13th century. We will discuss the augustal of Frederick II, the birth and international affirmation of the Florence gold florin, and the archaeometric analyses of the treasury coins carried out in collaboration with the CNR ICCOM of Pisa.
The day will close at 6:00 pm at the National Museum of San Matteo with a visit (reserved for participants) to the exhibition section of the treasure coins, recently created with the support of the Pisa Foundation and the Municipality of Pisa. An opportunity to see the finds up close and, through their brilliance and traces of circulation, reread a page in the history of Pisa and the Mediterranean.
