La connectivity mediterranea nel secolo dei Vandali. Il caso dei Bruttii

Within a Mediterranean with a multi-millennial history, whose geographic and economic contexts experienced a long-lasting interconnection, the regional case of the Bruttii in the fifth century is analyzed. After the administrative changes that took place in Italy with Diocletian's reforms, the economic geography of southern Italy seemed to adapt fully to the annonary needs of the Urbe, as well as to the broader trade dynamics of the Mediterranean basin; thus, there was a flourishing of the Calabrian agrarian economy, evidenced by archaeological contexts and data from North African pottery found at rural sites. The causes of some of the structural changes in the economy of the Bruttii in the 5th century - e.g., abandonment of a high number of villae, crisis of smallholdings, further development of latifundia - were essentially endogenous, so the passage of the Vandals along the coasts of the territory examined can be considered a factor in the acceleration of processes already under way.