Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No.5, 2013

The Evolution of the Political System and Power Space of Italian Cities: 1000-1600

(Abstract)

Liu Yaochun

City-commune is an important phenomenon in the Italian history. From the late medieval period to the Renaissance (1000-1600), most city communes in central and northern Italy witnessed a gradual transition from the republic system to the seignorial system under the rule of the seignior and his family. Accordingly, the power space also underwent a number of changes, from palatium to city hall and then to the seignior’s castle-palace complex. There existed strong interactions between the political system and the power space of Italian cities, such that different regimes made different constructions of power space, demonstrating their own political cultures.