The article concerns the document of the Patriarch of Aquileia Poppo from 1031, which mentions, among other things, a place called villa Sclavorum (Villa of the Slavs). The Latin content of the document was quoted with a translation into Polish. In addition to the characteristics and translation of the document, it is presented in a historical context and against the background of the Slavic settlement in north-eastern Italy in the Middle Ages.

Among the artefacts of medieval ecclesiastical writing in north-eastern Italy, a document of the Patriarch of Aquileia Poppo, dated July 13, 1031, is of particular interest to Slavic researchers (archaeologists and historians). On that day, Poppo, after the consecration of the rebuilt basilica of Aquileia, in the presence of clergy and lay witnesses, increased the number of canons in this church to 50, establishing – that is, conferring or confirming – a benefice for their maintenance. Among the places that the patriarch established as a prebend for the brothers mentioned was „[...] villa Melereto, with all its areas and appurtenances, i.e. the villa of the Slavs, which is similarly called Meleretum [...]” („[...] villam de Melereto cum omnibus finibus et pertinentiis suis, scilicet cum villa Sclavorum que similiter dicitur Meleretum [...]”). The aim of this article is to introduce the aforementioned source to the Polish archaeological and historical literature devoted to the Medieval Slavs. The entire Latin content of the document has been quoted along with a translation into Polish. The second goal is to show the religious, political and economic circumstances of the creation of the document, its wandering between archives, printed editions and as well as closer presentation of the figure of the issuer – the Patriarch Poppo. Finally, the third purpose of the paper is to look at the presence of Slavic peoples in the areas between the Alps and the Adriatic. In the last part, the villa Sclavorum included in the Poppo’s document is presented against the background of the Medieval Slavic settlement in north-eastern Italy, outlined on the basis of other written sources, archaeological finds and toponymic data. The analytical part ends with an attempt to answer the question whether the Slavs living in the church property of Aquileia were Christians and to what extent?