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This introductory essay consists of two parts. The first is a contextualisation of the overall pur- pose of the monographic section, as well as a general summary of the questions, issues and themes which we were proposing to debate. The second part is an Appendix, which sets out the guidelines of the database MedItaNunC, which supported some of the research, and now provides not only a large percentage of the source material, but also a methodology about the connections which can be made through the information brought together. The essay looks at the historiography of the subject, including the recent wealth of research published from the perspective of gender studies in this area, and the way in which the Italian material fits into it. It also explains the chosen chronology, and the geographical spread used in the volume, and the important input of archaeology, which has helped propose new questions. Lastly, it sets out the three core themes which run through the other papers in the volume: the links between female monasteries and the city elites, the history of the monasteries concerned in the light of both their foundation and hagiographical myths, their material culture, and their ideological place in the cityscape, and finally, the attempt to identify the difference, if any, between female and male monastic houses. It is hoped that the collection will provide a first panorama of female monasticism across the multiplicity of Italian political and cultural landscape.

This Monographic Section proposes to study female monasteries in Italy in the period 700 to 1100, focusing on comparing and contrasting those in cities covering northern, central and southern Italy (Brescia, Venice, Verona, Ravenna, Rome, Benevento and Naples). Key elements of this comparison are the links of nuns and abbesses with the most powerful royal and aristocratic families in the area, and the way in which these contributed to the power and wealth of the relative houses. Examining these, as well as the role of the nuns in the memorialisation and representation of these families through prayers, relics, and patrimonies, will also lead to a comparison between various monastic traditions (Lombard, Frankish Carolingian, post Byzantine, Roman) in different areas, and to the identification of specific features of these in their associations with the contemporary elites.