Real Estate Rationalities: Managing Ecclesiastical Property at the end of the Middle Ages (14^th-15^th Centuries)

Abstract

This contribution examines the real estate holdings of the Vatican’s Chapter of St. Peter in Rome during the 14^th-15^th centuries, based on the censuali preserved in the Vatican Apostolic Library. Through this collection of records, we gain insight into how one of Rome’s most powerful ecclesiastical owners managed a portfolio composed of over 300 houses and apartments in a city that underwent strong demographic and economic growth during this period. This analysis highlights the Chapter’s multifaceted approach to property management: if a slight portion of the houses constitute a “market outside the market”, run according to principles of charity or clientelism, regarding the rest of them the Chapter of St. Peter behaved like any other private actor in the Roman real estate market. Their aim to optimize rentability was visible in rising rents and the pursuit of speculative investments. Furthermore, this study sheds light on the mechanisms of price formation, in this case rent setting, which appear to result from interactions and negotiations between landlord and tenant.

Keywords:
Ecclesiastical patrimony; real estate; price