In the 15th century diocese of Aosta, churches and cemeteries were important gathering places: they were the centres where the believers' liturgical and sacramental life was celebrated. They were also the places where social life was acted out: the social hierarchy showed itself through the cerimonial practices and the organization of the consacrated spaces. This interweaving of actors and practices is presented in the book as an active part of the pastoral visitations. Source and practice of the pastoral visitation are studied as signs of the same process of spatial appropriation, which was the result of a negotiation with the local context whose outcomes at this time were not at all obvious. |