DOI: 10.36253/979-12-215-1076-8.25 ISSN: 2704-6362

Economic changes and political changes in the cities of northern and central Italy, 1050-1150

Chris Wickham
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Northern and central Italian cities went through substantial political changes in the century af-ter 1050, above all with the development of city communes. Also, some cities in the region were beginning already to develop commercially, particularly the ports of Genoa and Pisa, and one or two cities in the Po plain, particularly Piacenza and Milan. This article argues that these two developments were largely unrelated, using the case studies of Genoa and Piacenza. If they are related anywhere, Piacenza is the most likely city, given its close links to Genoa (and to an extent Pisa) and the considerable precocity of the development of its institutions.

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