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

See also

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

References

1. ^ "Signoria". Enciclopedia Treccani (in Italian).
2. Ori, Anna Maria. "PIO - Dizionario biografico degli italiani" [PIO - Biographical Dictionary of the Italians]. Enciclopedia Treccani (in Italian).

• Italian city-states
• Italian Renaissance