Abstract
This is an accepted article with a DOI pre-assigned that is not yet published.
As the prevalent settlement type, agro-towns are highly characteristic of Mediterranean societies. Their remarkable continuity was not only predicated upon political conditions (insecurity), but it was also intimately connected with specific economic and cultural processes. The significance of an urban ethos in the configuration of these forces has often been mentioned but still leaves us with several questions. What does life in agro-towns mean to the various groups of people living there? What are the main symbols employed to distinguish oneself from rural folk? We will argue that the notions of cultura and civiltà, respectively, have become an integral part of the cultural dominance of Mediterranean agro-towns over their rural hinterlands.