Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A New Law & Order
By the 13th century Tuscans wanted change. Farmers who had painstakingly reclaimed
their fields wanted to get their produce to market alive; merchants needed peaceful piazzas
in which to conduct their business; and the populace at large began to entertain hopes of ac-
tually living past the age of 40.
In a bid to reorganise their communities in a more civilised fashion,
comuni
(town coun-
cils) were established in Florence, Siena and other towns. In this new power-sharing ar-
rangement, representatives were drawn from influential families, guilds and the merchant
classes. Building projects were undertaken to give citizens a new sense of shared purpose
and civic identity. Hospitals and public charities helped serve the needy, and new public
squares, marketplaces and town halls became crucial meeting places for civic society.
Law and order were kept by a
podestÃ
, an independent judiciary often brought in from
outside the city for limited terms of office to prevent corruption. Each
comune
(city-state)
developed its own style of government: Siena's was the most imaginative. To curb bloody
turf battles among its
contrade
(neighbourhoods), Siena channelled its fighting spirit into
organised boxing matches, bullfights and Il Palio, an annual horse race. Anyone who broke
the peace was fined and the city's coffers soon swelled with monies collected in the city's
osterie
(casual taverns or eateries presided over by a host) for cursing.
After Florence won yet another battle against Siena by cutting off the town's water sup-
ply, Siena's
comune
was faced with a funding choice: build an underground aqueduct to
avoid Florence's attacks or a cathedral to establish Siena as the creative capital of the medi-
eval world. The council voted unanimously for the latter.
Medieval Tuscany was just criminal: leaders of powerful families were stabbed by rivals while
attending Mass; peasants were ambushed by brigands; bystanders were maimed in neighbour-
hood disputes that all too easily escalated to murderous brawls. Petty crimes were punished
with steep fines, corporal punishment and public flogging or mutilation.
