A ''signoria'' () was the governing authority in many of the

Italian city-states The Italian city-states were numerous political and independent territorial entities that existed in the Italian Peninsula from antiquity to the formation of the Kingdom of Italy in the late 19th century. The ancient Italian city-states were E ...

during the

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

and

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

periods. The word ''signoria'' comes from ''signore'' (), or "

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

", an abstract noun meaning (roughly) "government", "governing authority", ''de facto'' "sovereignty", "lordship"; : ''signorie''.

History of the ''Signoria''

During the late 13th and early 14th centuries, a significant shift occurred in the governance of Italian cities. Whereas citizens had once chosen their own leaders, they began to entrust power to a single ruler. Such authority often spiraled out of control when the citizens could not depose of rulers who had failed to govern wisely. This transition had far-reaching consequences and was met with mixed reactions at the time. In ''

The Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest wor ...

'',

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

frequently depicted Italy as a land ruled by despots and condemned the rise of lordship, associating it with humanity’s most destructive impulses such as pride, which drove some individuals to assert dominance over their fellow citizens. Others defended the emergence of these rulers, believing that only a strong leader could end the internal strife that had long plagued their cities and restore stability. 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

, 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 Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

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 Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. Similarly,

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

offered the ''signoria'' to Cesare Borgia.

Politics

By the beginning of the 14th century, a number of cities in northern Italy were ruled by signori: Milan by the Visconti family, Ferrara by the Este, Verona by the Della Scala, Padua by the Carrara. The earliest signori in Tuscany were the condottieri (mercenaries) Uguccione della Faggiuola at Pisa and Lucca (1313–16), and Castruccio Castracani, also at Lucca (1320–28). Initially, some cities dismantled lordships once conflicts subsided. However, when a ruler maintained power across multiple wars, the likelihood of their continued rule increased. The hereditary transmission of power, as seen in 1264 when Azzo d'Este passed his position to his nephew Obizzo, contributed to the normalization of one-man rule. This precedent encouraged similar developments in other cities, solidifying the institutionalization of lordship in northern and central Italy. In areas that were not under the rule of a prince, the name Signoria often refers to the ruling body of magistrates. In

, those who made up the signoria were often members of the most distinguished families.

List of ''signorie''

References

{{Reflist * Italian Renaissance

History of the ''Signoria''

Politics

List of ''signorie''

See also

References