Communes, Signori, and Empire

In the sixth canto of the Purgatorio, Dante Alighieri lamented the pitiable condition of Italy. Though once the donna di provincie, it was now the ‘dwelling place of sorrow’. Bereft of peace, its cities were wracked by constant strife. Attributing this to the absence of imperial governance, he called on Albert of Habsburg to right Italy’s woes with all haste. As this chapter shows, the earliest humanists embraced the imperial cause for much the same reasons. Although aware of the condition of the regnum Italicum, they were concerned primarily with the affairs of individual cities, and used their classical learning to rationalize the character of urban life. Worn down by civil strife, they too called upon kings and emperors to restore their peace and liberty. But while some associated the Empire with signorial government, the most striking and persistent appeals to imperial authority came from humanists living under communal regimes.