Abstract

Starting from the documentation on the «tassa sulle case», a direct tax introduced in Milan in 1561, this article brings together three areas of investigation - taxation, citizenship and property rights - which have been rarely connected. More precisely, this paper aims to illustrate the jurisdictional implications of the many housing practices existing in "Ancien Régime" urban societies (from full ownership to sublet), exploring their impact on the definition of the legal and fiscal obligations of belonging to the city. The analysis outlined has also been enriched by the exploration of the reverse of these duties: the system of fiscal exemptions, observed in the decision-making logic of urban powers, as well as in its actual perception by taxpayers.