ABSTRACT
Salimbene evaluated bishops as lords, domini, in the political and cultural world of the independent city republics or communes of northern Italy. Late Roman survivals and the continuous occupation and preservation of cathedral sites allows to trace the development of urban episcopal residences across an entire millennium. In Late Antiquity, the episcopal residence was called an episcopium – a term derived from the very title of the bishop's office and used only to designate his residence and the place where his cathedral was situated. The early Middle Ages, both linguistic and structural changes signal the transformation of the bishop's residence. The bishop, the representative of the Holy Church, had a house just as did other elite contenders for power with Italian cities. Pistoia well illustrates some of these: the face of the palace on the cathedral piazza was extended to create a loggia, a staircase paralleling the façade, and ten small shops on the ground floor.
