On Friday 22nd March 2024, at 17:00, there will be a presentation of the Trieste University Press (EUT) volume 'Dobrila Tat. Il Tesoro di Erpelle / Erpelle’s Hoard. 1921' by Giulio Carraro in the Bobi Bazlen room of the Gopcevich palace, in via G. Rossini 4, Trieste,

The late Middle Ages was an era in which the hoarding of money and valuables was common practice, as a natural reaction from the general public to the social, political and economic circumstances in which they found themselves. Comprising of more than five thousand gold and silver coins, the treasure of Erpelle (Hrpelje, Slovenia) represents one of the best examples of this phenomenon. Found in 1921 and lost again soon after its discovery, this hoard remained unrecorded for a century, and thus was almost forgotten forever. The diversity of the currencies included in the collection offers a glimpse into the economic and monetary vitality in Central and Eastern Europe in the 14th century, providing valuable material for the study of mercantile relations and trade across the Alpine and Balkan area. The properties of the treasure also provide a deeper insight into the phenomenon of medieval banditry, which was often motivated by both greed and the instinct for survival.

GIULIO CARRARO is a Research Assistant in Numismatics and Monetary History at the Department of Humanities of the University of Trieste and Visiting Scholar of the Inventar der Fundmünzen der Schweiz (IFS) in Bern. He is the Managing Editor of ‘Archeologia Veneta. Journal of Ancient Studies on North-Eastern Italy' and is on the list of experts in archaeology of the Regional Directorate of Museums in Friuli Venezia Giulia. He is involved in the study of coinage and monetary circulation in Italy and Central-Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages.