Port structures, architecture and medieval urban forms between the 11th and 14th centuries. The tyrrhenian tuscan space, Sardinia, the islands

Abstract

The medieval ports along the coasts of the Tyrrhenian Sea are protected by wooden palisades, by piers, by natural landings. The study of their first phases must consider the nautical techniques used for their access. In some cases special architectures are built in relation to the view from the sea: lighthouses, towers or churches with special position or dedications. In other cases the same shape of the streets of the new towns follows the entry line into the port. The houses of the merchants, the warehouses, the commercial strategies, allow to decode some principles that regulate the construction of ports in the Tyrrhenian naval space, between Tuscany, Sardinia and Mediterranean Sea.