Economia dell'Italia bizantina e indicatori archeologici. Qualche ulteriore riflessione

The paper is intended to be an updating on the research on the economic impact of Byzantine political domination over Italy in the 6th-8th century AD, fifteen years after a first comprehensive study by the same author (Le Italie bizantine, 1988). The paper aims to develop the reflection on three main topics: the economic role of the Byzantine-Gothic war (534-554); the role of Byzantine rule in separating the economies of the “two Italies” (the Byzantine and the Lombard ones); the role of the Mediterranean macroeconomic system in defining the relationship between trade and state controlled economy in 6th-8th centuries. The first topic is here addressed for the first time and points to recognize the Byzantine-Gothic war as a economically dynamic moment, with potential positive effects on the structuring of the economy of Italy as “new” Byzantine province. The second topic registers the development in a very intensive international debate provoked by the arguments put forward by the author in the original book. The third one is a mise au point of a topic widely debated in recent years between specialists of different disciplines.