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Palazzo Vecchio by nigth
Palazzo Vecchio, the former seat of the Signoria of Florence

A signoria (Italian: [siɲɲoˈriːa]) was the governing authority in many of the Italian city-states during the Medieval and Renaissance periods. The word signoria comes from signore (Italian: [siɲˈɲoːre]), or "lord", an abstract noun meaning (roughly) "government", "governing authority", de facto "sovereignty", "lordship"; pl.: signorie.

Signoria versus the comune

In Italian history the rise of the signoria is a phase often associated with the decline of the medieval commune system of government and the rise of the dynastic state. In this context the word signoria (here to be understood as "lordly power") is used in opposition to the institution of the commune or city republic.

Contemporary observers and modern historians see the rise of the signoria as a reaction to the failure of the comuni to maintain law-and-order and suppress party strife and civil discord. In the anarchic conditions that often prevailed in medieval Italian city-states, people looked to strong men to restore order and disarm the feuding elites.

In times of anarchy or crisis, cities sometimes offered the signoria to individuals perceived as strong enough to save the state. For example, the Tuscan state of Pisa offered the signoria to Charles VIII of France in the hope that he would protect the independence of Pisa from its long term enemy Florence. Similarly, Siena offered the signoria to Cesare Borgia.

Types

The composition and specific functions of the signoria varied from city to city. In some states (such as Verona under the Della Scala family or Florence in the days of Cosimo de Medici and Lorenzo the Magnificent), the polity was what we would term today a one-party state in which the dominant party had vested the signoria of the state in a single family or dynasty.

In Florence, the arrangement was unofficial, as it was not constitutionally formalized before the Medici were expelled from the city in 1494.

In other states (such as the Visconti of Milan), the dynasty's right to the signoria was a formally recognized part of the commune's constitution, which had been "ratified" by the people and recognized by the pope or the Holy Roman Empire.

The term is also used to refer to certain small feudal holdings in Sicily similar to manorial lordships and, like them, were established in Norman times. With the abolition of feudalism in Sicily in 1812, some of the holdings became baronies. More often, a barony consisted of several signorie.

Use of word

In a few states, the word was sometimes used to refer to the constitutional government of a republic rather than the power exercised by an individual monarch or noble family.

For example, the word was sometimes used in Renaissance times to refer to the government of the Republics of Florence or of Venice, as in Shakespeare's Othello in which Othello says:

"Let him do his spite:
My services which I have done the signiory
Shall out-tongue his complaints"
– (Act one, scene one)

Occasionally, the word referred to specific organs or functions of the state. The signoria in the Republic of Florence was the highest executive organ, and the Signoria of the Republic of Venice was mainly a judicial body.

List of signorie

City Family Period Allegiance Notes
Blason pays Monaco.svg Monaco Grimaldi
Coat of arms of Grimaldi.svg
1287–1612 Guelph Gained independence from Genoa in 1287.
Titled Princes of Monaco since 1612.
Milano-Stemma 2.svg Milan Della Torre
Coat of arms of the House of Della Torre (1274).svg
1259–1277 Guelph Deposed by Ghibelline party, led by Visconti.
Visconti
Arms of the House of Visconti (1277).svg
1277–1302 Ghibelline Took over Milan after Battle of Desio in 1277.
Deposed by Della Torre in 1302.
Della Torre
Coat of arms of the House of Della Torre (1274).svg
1302–1311 Guelph Deposed and exiled by Emperor Henry VII.
Visconti
Arms of the House of Visconti (1395).svg
1311–1395 Ghibelline Re-enthroned by Henry VII in 1311.
Titled Dukes of Milan from 1395.
Insigne incognitum.svg Mantua Bonacolsi
Coat of arms of the House of Bonacolsi.svg
1272–1328 Variable Overthrown in a revolt backed by Gonzaga in 1328.
Gonzaga
Arms of the house of Gonzaga (ancient).svg
1328–1433 Ghibelline Titled Margraves of Mantua from 1433.
Insigne incognitum.svg Verona Della Scala
Stemma della Scala.svg
1282–1387 Ghibelline Overthrown by a Visconti-backed revolt in 1387.
Insigne incognitum.svg Treviso Da Camino
Da Camino-Stemma.svg
1283–1312 Guelph Overthrown in a conspiracy in 1312.
Insigne Mediolani.svg Padua Da Carrara
Stemma Nobiliare Carrara.svg
1318–1405 Guelph Overthrown by the Republic of Venice in 1405.
Insigne incognitum.svg Ferrara Este
Arms of the house of Este (1).svg
1209–1471 Guelph Titled Dukes of Ferrara from 1471.
Insigne incognitum.svg Modena 1336–1471 Titled Dukes of Modena and Reggio from 1471.
Pio
Arms of the house of Pio di Savoia.svg
1336–1599 Unclear Titled Lords of Carpi (1336-1527) and Sassuolo (1499-1599)
 Bologna Pepoli
Arms of the house of Pepoli.svg
1337–1350 Guelph Overthrown by Visconti army in 1350.
Bentivoglio
Arms of the house of Bentivoglio.svg
1401–1506 Ghibelline Overthrown by Pope Julius II in 1506.
Insigne incognitum.svg Ravenna Da Polenta
Coa fam ITA Da Polenta.jpg
1275–1441 Guelph Overthrown and exiled by the Republic of Venice in 1441.
Insigne incognitum.svg Forlì Ordelaffi
Arms of the house of Ordelaffi.svg
1295–1359
(Interregnum)
1376–1480
Ghibelline Declined due to conflicts inside city.
Peacefully deposed in 1480.
Riario
CoA Riario 2.svg
1480–1499 Guelph De facto a satellite of Milan from 1488, under regent Caterina Sforza.
Overthrown by Cesare Borgia in 1499.
Borgia
Arms of the house of Borgia (1).svg
1499–1503 Guelph Ruled over all Romagna, with Cesare as Duke of Romagna.
Ordelaffi
Arms of the house of Ordelaffi.svg
1503–1504 Ghibelline Line extinct in 1504.
Insigne incognitum.svg Pesaro Malatesta
Arms of the house of Malatesta.svg
1285–1445 Guelph Overthrown in a coup led by the Sforza in 1445.
Insigne incognitum.svg Rimini 1295–1500 Overthrown by Cesare Borgia in 1500.
Insigne incognitum.svg Cesena 1378–1465 Line extinct in 1465.
Insigne incognitum.svg Urbino Da Montefeltro
Coat of arms of the House of Montefeltro.svg
1213–1234 Ghibelline Titled Counts of Urbino (the Dukes) from 1234.
Arms of the Republic of Lucca.svg Lucca Quartigiani 1308–1316 Guelph Overthrown in a coup led by the Antelminelli in 1316.
Antelminelli
Coa fam ITA castracani degli antelminelli.jpg
1316–1328 Ghibelline Overthrown by Guelph party in 1328.
Guinigi 1400–1430 Guelph Deposed by the restoration of the Republic in 1430.
FlorenceCoA.svg Florence Medici
Augmented Arms of Medici.svg
1434–1494
(Interregnum)
1512–1527
(Interregnum)
1530–1532
Guelph Titled Dukes of Florence from 1532.
Shield of the Republic of Pisa.svg Pisa Della Gherardesca
Coat of arms of the House of della Gherardesca.svg
1316–1347 Ghibelline Deposed and replaced by the Gambacorta family in 1347.
Gambacorta 1347–1392 Guelph Overthrown by a conspiracy in 1392.
Appiano
Arms of the house of Appiano.svg
1392–1399 Unclear Overthrown by the Visconti in 1399.
Visconti
Arms of the House of Visconti (1395).svg
1399–1406 Ghibelline Overthrown by the Republic of Florence in 1406.
Insigne incognitum.svg Siena Petrucci
Coat of arms of the House of Petrucci.svg
1487–1525 Ghibelline Peacefully deposed by republican institutions in 1525.

See also

  • Seignory
  • Signoria of Florence
  • Signoria of Venice
  • Forni della Signoria
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