A justiciarate or justiciarship ( , plural ''giustizierati''; alternatively known as ''circoscrizione'') was a type of

administrative subdivision Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

that was used by several

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

states in the

medieval period 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 ...

. The

Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily (; ; ) was a state that existed in Sicily and the southern Italian peninsula, Italian Peninsula as well as, for a time, in Kingdom of Africa, Northern Africa, from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 until 1816. It was ...

under Frederick II used ''giustizierati'' to divide his realms in the 1230s:

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...

Basilicata Basilicata (, ; ), also known by its ancient name Lucania (, , ), is an administrative region in Southern Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south. It has two coastlines: a 30-kilometr ...

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

, Capitanata, Principato e Terra Beneventana, Terra di Bari, Terra di Lavoro (including the modern

Frosinone Frosinone (; local dialect: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lazio, administrative seat of the province of Frosinone. It is about southeast of Rome, close to the Rome-Naples A1 Motorway. The city is the main city of th ...

and Latina provinces of today's

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

region), Terra d'Otranto and Valle di Crati e Terra Giordana. Under Carlo I of Anjou in the 1270s, the subdivision of

was considered too large an area to defend and manage efficiently, especially since it was the most northern part of the kingdom. It was decided to follow the border created by the river of

Pescara Pescara (; ; ) is the capital city of the province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo Regions of Italy, region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 118,657 (January 1, 2023) residents (and approximately 350,000 including the surround ...

, creating two separate giustizierati of Abruzzo Ulteriore and Abruzzo Citeriore. The era of ''giustizierati'' ended in the time when the Spanish power of

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

came to power in the

when these giustizierati were just simply called ''province'' (plural of ''

provincia A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provin ...

'' "province").

References

{{Reflist Former subdivisions of Italy Types of administrative division Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Italian words and phrases