Memorie
Stefano Bernardinello, «Commune Mediolanensium dimittet et ultra se non intromittet»: i caratteri economico-territoriali del comune di Milano prima del Barbarossa
The article explores the connection between the earliest attestations of the commune of Milan and its economic aspects. The term commune, initially tied to the shared patrimony of the citizens, evolved into a juridical-political entity capable of administering resources and territories. Before the time of Barbarossa, Milan consolidated its power through a fiscal system that drew upon the resources of the surrounding territory. This administrative model granted the commune a defined role and enabled it to expand its territorial control and resist imperial pressure. Various episodes confirm the centrality of economic factors in shaping the identity and asserting the prominence of the commune within the city. The analysis emphasizes that the commune was not seen merely as an administrative tool, but as a key element of citizenship.
Roberta Mucciarelli, A proposito di giustizia e povertà nell’Italia comunale. Un testimone documentario: l’apodissa paupertatis a Siena (prime analisi)
This study examines how political authorities in Siena between the 13th and 14th centuries responded to the demand for justice from the socially disadvantaged. Through a focused case study and specific documentation, it analyzes how acknowledging poverty translated into legal measures for pauperes, a vague term used to define diverse and unstable conditions. The study focuses on the judicial certification of poverty via apodisse paupertatis: official documents issued by the city treasury, based on sworn declarations supported by two witnesses, allowing poor defendants to appear in court without financial guarantors. These guarantors were otherwise required to cover legal expenses and penalties. The research questions the political aims behind this statutory favour and explores its practical effects on access to justice and social classification.
Ante Bećir, Governing Through Exclusion: Examples of Political Exile in Late Medieval Dalmatian Towns
This paper examines various cases of political exile in late medieval Dalmatia within a wider framework – especially regarding the practice of exile in the communes of central and northern Italy. Relocation (relegatio) and confinement (confinatio) functioned as instruments of political control, designed to maintain stability and neutralize perceived threats. Banishment (bannum) represented the most severe form, typically permanent and accompanied by property confiscation and the loss of political rights. The analysis draws on selected cases from the towns of Split, Trogir, Šibenik, and Zadar. By exploring the legal, political, and social dimensions of exile, this study seeks to contribute to a deeper understanding of exclusion as a fundamental feature of governance in late medieval Dalmatia.
Paola Gibbin, I Federighi: ritratto di famiglia in un interno (sec. XVIII)
This study focuses on a conversation piece painted in 1771 by Venceslao Wehrlin (1744-80), now in a private Parisian collection. The work, depicting Senator Giovanni Federighi (1716-84) and his three children in his scientific cabinet, has been identified as the Portrait of the Federighi Family, mentioned in Pelli’s Efemeridi. The painting offers a rare view of an 18th-century Florentine scientific cabinet. Each instrument, including a barometer now in the Museo Galileo, has been identified. The biographies of all four figures were reconstructed, especially Federighi’s, a key figure in Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo’s reforms. His correspondence with scholar Fromond reveals his intellectual pursuits and thoughts on the ‘camera obscura’, likely used by Wehrlin. Wehrlin died in Federighi’s home in 1780.
Recensioni [scarica PDF]
Vincenzo Tedesco, L’anima di Traiano tra inferno e paradiso. Storia di una leggenda medievale (Francesco Borghero)
Alberto Spataro, Imperialis aula. Pratiche giuridiche e linguaggi politici tra corte sveva e Italia comunale nel XII secolo (Enrico Faini)
Juraj Kittler, The Postal Revolution. Courier Networks in Italy, 1260-1600 (Sergio Tognetti)
Michele Camaioni, Il governo dei pulpiti. Predicatori, potere e pubblico nell’Italia della prima età moderna (Chiara Monetti)
Le élites italiane e la Monarchia ispanica (secoli XVI-XVII). Servizio, mobilità e poteri, a cura di Albane Cogné e Benoît Maréchaux (Nicoletta Bazzano)
Marco Dotti, «Il misto barlume della probabilità». Le rendite vitalizie nell’ancien régime (Alessandro Lo Bartolo)
Eleonora Angella, Italiani al Cairo. Consoli, giurisdizione e società (1861-1911) (Virginia Minnucci)
Notizie [scarica PDF]
Archivio Storico Italiano – ISSN 0391-7770