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PODESTA (Lat. potestas, power)

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Originally appearing in Volume V21, Page 874 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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PODESTA (See also:Lat. potestas, See also:power) , the name given during the later See also:middle ages to a high See also:official in many See also:Italian cities. Podestas or rectors were first appointed by the See also:emperor See also:Frederick I. when about 1158 he began to assert his Imperial rights over the cities of See also:northern See also:Italy. Their business was to enforce these rights; from the first they were very unpopular, and their See also:PODIUM arbitrary behaviour was a See also:factor in bringing about the formation of the Lombard See also:league and the rising against Frederick in 1167. Although the emperor's experiment was See also:short-lived podestas soon became See also:general in northern Italy, making their See also:appearance in most communes about 1200. These officials, however, were now appointed by the citizens or by their representatives. They exercised the supreme power in the See also:city, both in See also:peace and See also:war, both in See also:foreign and domestic matters, but they only held See also:office for a See also:period of a See also:year. In See also:order to avoid the See also:intestine strife so See also:common in Italian civic See also:life, it soon became the See also:custom to select a stranger to fill this position. Venetians were in See also:special See also:request for this purpose during the 12th and 13th centuries, probably because at this See also:time, at least, they were less concerned than other Italians in the affairs of the mainland. Afterwards in a few cases the See also:term of office was extended to See also:cover a period of years, or even a lifetime. During the later See also:part of the 12th and the whole of the' 13th See also:century most of the Italian cities were governed by podestas. Concerning See also:Rome, See also:Gregorovius says that in 1205 " the See also:pope changed the See also:form of the civic See also:government; the executive power lying henceforward in the See also:hand of a single senator or podesta, who, directly or indirectly, was appointed by the pope." In See also:Florence soon after 118o the See also:chief authority was transferred from the consuls to the podesta, and See also:Milan and other cities were also ruled by these officials. There were, moreover, podestas in some of the cities of See also:Provence.

Gradually the podestas be-came more despotic and more corrupt, and sometimes a special official was appointed to hear complaints against them; in the 13th century in Florence and some other cities a capitano del popolo was chosen to look after the interests of the See also:

lower classes. In other ways also the power of the podestas was reduced; they were confined more and more to judicial functions until they disappeared See also:early in the 16th century. The officials who were sent by the Italian republics to ad-See also:minister the affairs of dependent cities were sometimes called podestas. At the See also:present See also:day the cities of See also:Trent and See also:Trieste give the name of podesta to their chief See also:magistrate. The example of Italy in the See also:matter of podestas was sometimes followed by cities and republics in northern See also:Europe in the middle ages, notably by such as had See also:trade relations with Italy. The See also:officers thus elected sometimes See also:bore the See also:title of podesta or podestat. Thus in See also:East See also:Friesland there were podestas identical in name and functions with those of the Italian republics; sometimes each See also:province had one, sometimes the federal See also:diet elected a podesta-general for the whole See also:country, the term of office being for a limited period or for life (see J. L. See also:Motley, Dutch See also:Republic, i. 44, ed. 1903). Lists of the Italian podestas are given in Stokvis, See also:Manuel d'histoire; vol. iii.

(See also:

Leiden, 1889). See also W. F. See also:Butler, The Lombard Communes (1906).

End of Article: PODESTA (Lat. potestas, power)

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