Captain of the People ( it, Capitano del popolo, Lombard: ''Capitani del Popol'') was an administrative title used in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, established essentially to balance the power and authority of the noble families of the

Italian city-states The Italian city-states were numerous political and independent territorial entities that existed in the Italian Peninsula from the beginning of the Middle Ages until the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, which took place in 1861. After the ...

.Najemy, John M. 2006. ''A History of Florence 1200-1575''. Blackwell Publishing. . pp. 66–7, 75, 83–4, 94, 123, 157, 172, 178, 248.

History

It was created in the early 13th century when the ''populares'', the increasingly wealthy classes of commoners (merchants, professionals, craftsmen and, in maritime cities, ship-owners) began to acquire roles in the communal administration of various Italian city-states, and needed a municipal officeholder able to counter the political power of the nobles (called ''potentes''), represented usually by the ''

podestà Podestà (, English: Potestate, Podesta) was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of Central and Northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a city ...

'' (a title used for chief magistrates and other top administrators in medieval Italian cities). One of the first ''capitani del popolo'' was created in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

in northern Italy, appointed in 1228. The ''capitano del popolo'' exercised control of the ''podestà'', sometimes flanked by two autonomous councils with representatives of local

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

s of artisans and craftsmen ( it, arti e mestieri) and the ''gonfalonieri'', leaders of military units connected with city's parishes. In the

Republic of Florence The Republic of Florence, officially the Florentine Republic ( it, Repubblica Fiorentina, , or ), was a medieval and early modern state that was centered on the Italian city of Florence in Tuscany. The republic originated in 1115, when the Flo ...

, a ''capitano del popolo'' existed from 1250 as part of the attempt to free the city from the rule of Frederick II. Such office also existed in the early stages of the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the Lat ...

, that elected

Guglielmo Boccanegra Guglielmo Boccanegra was a Genoese statesman, the first ''capitano del popolo'' of the Republic of Genoa, from 1257 to 1262, exercising a real lordship, assisted in the government by a council of 32 elders. Biography Origin and early years Th ...

as its first Capitano del popolo in 1257. Towards the second half of the 13th century, however, the communal title of ''Capitano del popolo'' became a breeding ground for

despotism Despotism ( el, Δεσποτισμός, ''despotismós'') is a form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. Normally, that entity is an individual, the despot; but (as in an autocracy) societies which limit respect and ...

and hereditary lordship. By gaining control of the election process for choosing the title-holder, many influential families (including aristocrats that the establishment of this office had contributed to keeping out of power) gained control over their cities and towns of residence, thus assuring their long-lasting influence and progressively transforming the ''Comune'' into a ''

Signoria A signoria () was the governing authority in many of the Italian city states during the Medieval and Renaissance periods. The word signoria comes from ''signore'' , or "lord"; an abstract noun meaning (roughly) "government; governing authority; ...

'' (i.e. lordship).

References

Bibliography

* {{cite book, author=Giuliano Milani, title=I comuni italiani, publisher=Laterza, date=2005, lang=it Gubernatorial titles * Medieval Italy 2nd millennium in Italy Legal history of Italy