# Capitano del popolo

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Administrative title used in Italy during the Middle Ages

[Ludovico I Gonzaga](/source/Ludovico_I_Gonzaga), elected in 1328 as the first *capitano del popolo* of the city of [Mantua](/source/Mantua)

**Captain of the people** ([Italian](/source/Italian_language): *capitano del popolo*) was an administrative title used in [Italy](/source/Italy) during the [Middle Ages](/source/Middle_Ages), established by and for the *popolo* to check the power and authority of the noble families of the [Italian city-states](/source/Italian_city-states).[1]

The specific details of the office, such as the length of term and powers differed from city-state to city-state, and it was formed at different times in different places.

## Context

In the 12th century, the *popolo*, a class which included merchants, professionals, craftsmen, in maritime cities, ship-owners, and other such skilled laborers, began to experience a rise in power and wealth. As Italian urban centers grew in size, such laborers were given the opportunity to form various organizations, namely guilds and neighborhood associations. [Guilds](/source/Guild) were formed for many professions, and they acted as political entities for their members. Neighborhood associations, for their part, provided the *popolo* a semblance of protection from the violence committed by nobles (called *potentes*).[2]

Noble violence had, by the 13th century, become endemic to Italy. Rival families built increasingly high towers in urban areas, which served as legitimately defensible structures.[3] While violence committed by nobles typically targeted other nobles, violence against members of the *popolo* was not unheard of, and in the [Republic of Florence](/source/Republic_of_Florence), it was common knowledge that the majority of violence in the city was perpetrated by noble families.[4]

## History

Conflict between nobles and the *popolo* grew as the *popolo* started to acquire roles in the communal administration of various Italian city-states.[5] The *popolo* needed a municipal officeholder able to counter the political power of the nobles, represented usually by the *[podestà](/source/Podest%C3%A0)* (a title used for chief magistrates and other top administrators in medieval Italian cities). One of the first *capitani del popolo* was created in [Bologna](/source/Bologna) in northern Italy, appointed in 1228.

The *capitano del popolo* exercised control of the *podestà*, sometimes flanked by two autonomous councils with representatives of local guilds of artisans and craftsmen ([Italian](/source/Italian_language): *arti e mestieri*) and the [*gonfalonieri*](/source/Gonfaloniere), leaders of military units connected with city's parishes.

In the Republic of Florence, a *capitano del popolo* existed from 1250 as part of the attempt to free the city from the rule of [Frederick II](/source/Frederick_II%2C_Holy_Roman_Emperor). The Florentine *capitano del popolo* assumed military and judicial responsibilities which previously had belonged to the *podestà*.[6] Florentine chronicler [Giovanni Villani](/source/Giovanni_Villani) writes that c. 1280, the *capitano del popolo* and his men were paid a salary of 5,800 *lire di piccioli* per year. This figure was higher than the salary of most other offices, but significantly lower than that of the *podestà* and his men, who were paid 15,240 *lire di piccioli* per year.[7]

In Genoa, the *popolo* gained political power later than in other city-states.[8] In 1257, [Guglielmo Boccanegra](/source/Guglielmo_Boccanegra), a wealthy member of the *popolo*, was elected *capitano del popolo* following a riot against the *podestà* at the time. As opposed to the *capitano del popolo* in other city-states, Boccanegra was elected for 10 years, and had the additional condition that his brother would succeed him should he die, though he was overthrown in 1262.[9]

In Orvieto, a *capitano del popolo* existed from 1264 in the Council of the *Popolo.*[10] The office was the most powerful in Orvieto, though the *podestà* presided over the Council of the *Popolo* and held more power on paper.[11]

Towards the second half of the 13th century, however, the communal title of *capitano del popolo* became a breeding ground for [despotism](/source/Despotism) and hereditary lordship. By gaining control of the election process for choosing the title-holder, many influential families (including aristocrats that the establishment of this office had contributed to keeping out of power) gained control over their cities and towns of residence, thus assuring their long-lasting influence and progressively transforming the *[comune](/source/Comune)* into a *[signoria](/source/Signoria)* (i.e. lordship).

After the rise of *signorie*, *signori* exercised control over offices including the *capitano del popolo*. These offices gave the *signori* much-needed legitimacy. The *signore* of [Milan](/source/Milan), [Ottone Visconti](/source/Ottone_Visconti) was able to have his nephew appointed to the position.[12] Villani writes that the *signore* of Bologna, Taddeo Pepoli, assumed the title as he came to power.[13] In Genoa, the office of *capitano del popolo* gave way to that of [doge](/source/Doge_of_Genoa). [Simone Boccanegra](/source/Simone_Boccanegra) (the grandnephew of Guglielmo Boccanegra) was elected doge in 1339, with the office fully replacing that of *capitano del popolo*. When a *signoria* was established, it weakened the mechanisms through which the *popolo* obtained power, namely the guilds. Taddeo Pepoli, for instance, reduced the power of guilds in Bologna by limiting many of their powers and assuming personal control of their functions.[14]

## See also

- [Captains Regent](/source/Captains_Regent)

- [Tribune of the plebs](/source/Tribune_of_the_plebs), similar office in Republican Rome

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-najemy_1-0)** Najemy, John M. 2006. *A History of Florence 1200-1575*. Blackwell Publishing. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1-4051-1954-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-4051-1954-3). pp. 66–7, 75, 83–4, 94, 123, 157, 172, 178, 248.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:0_2-0)** Zorzi, Andrea (November 5, 2004). "The Popolo". In Najemy, John M. (ed.). *Italy in the Age of the Renaissance: 1300-1550*. Oxford University Press. pp. 145–148. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-19-152484-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-152484-4).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Wickham, Chris (2015). *Sleepwalking into a New World: The Emergence of Italian City Communes in the Twelfth Century*. The Lawrence Stone Lectures. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. pp. 79–80. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-691-18114-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-691-18114-1).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Najemy, John M. (2006). *A History of Florence 1200-1575*. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub. pp. 16–17. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-470-75487-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-470-75487-0).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Najemy, John M. (2006). *A History of Florence 1200–1575*. Blackwell Publishing. pp. 66–67. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1405119542](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1405119542).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Najemy, John M. (2006). *A History of Florence 1200-1575*. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub. p. 67. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-470-75487-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-470-75487-0).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Villani, Giovanni (2022). Diakité, Rala; Sneider, Matthew Thomas (eds.). *The Eleventh and Twelfth Books of Giovanni Villani's New Chronicle*. Research in Medieval and Early Modern Culture. Berlin: De Gruyter. p. 367. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-5015-1842-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-5015-1842-3).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Epstein, Steven (1996). *Genoa & the Genoese, 958-1528*. Chapel Hill, N.C: University of North Carolina Press. p. 141. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8078-2291-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8078-2291-3).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Epstein, Steven (1996). *Genoa & the Genoese, 958-1528*. Chapel Hill, N.C: University of North Carolina Press. pp. 143–157. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8078-2291-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8078-2291-3).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Waley, Daniel (1952). *Mediaeval Orvieto: The Political History of an Italian City-State 1157-1334*. Cambridge University Press. p. 146.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Waley, Daniel (1952). *Mediaeval Orvieto: The Political History of an Italian City-State 1157-1334*. Cambridge University Press. pp. xxiii.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Najemy, John M. (November 5, 2004). "Governments and Governance". In Najemy, John M. (ed.). *Italy in the Age of the Renaissance: 1300-1550*. Oxford University Press. p. 190. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-19-152484-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-152484-4).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Villani, Giovanni (2022). Diakité, Rala; Sneider, Matthew Thomas (eds.). *The Eleventh and Twelfth Books of Giovanni Villani's New Chronicle*. Research in Medieval and Early Modern Culture. Berlin: De Gruyter. p. 341. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-5015-1842-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-5015-1842-3).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** Zorzi, Andrea (November 5, 2004). "The Popolo". In Najemy, John M. (ed.). *Italy in the Age of the Renaissance: 1300-1550*. Oxford University Press. pp. 155–157. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-19-152484-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-152484-4).

## Bibliography

- Zorzi, Andrea (November 5, 2004). "The Popolo". In Najemy, John M. (ed.). *Italy in the Age of the Renaissance: 1300–1550*. Oxford University Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-19-152484-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-152484-4).

- Villani, Giovanni (2022). Diakité, Rala; Sneider, Matthew Thomas (eds.). *The Eleventh and Twelfth Books of Giovanni Villani's New Chronicle*. Research in Medieval and Early Modern Culture. Berlin: De Gruyter. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-5015-1842-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-5015-1842-3).

- Epstein, Steven (1996). *Genoa & the Genoese, 958-1528*. Chapel Hill, N.C: University of North Carolina Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8078-2291-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8078-2291-3).

- Waley, Daniel (1952). *Mediaeval Orvieto: The Political History of an Italian City-State 1157-1334*. Cambridge University Press.

- Najemy, John M. (2006). *A History of Florence 1200–1575*. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-470-75487-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-470-75487-0).

- Najemy, John M. (November 5, 2004). "Governments and Governance". In Najemy, John M. (ed.). *Italy in the Age of the Renaissance: 1300–1550*. Oxford University Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-19-152484-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-152484-4).

- Wickham, Chris (2015). *Sleepwalking into a New World: The Emergence of Italian City Communes in the Twelfth Century*. The Lawrence Stone Lectures. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-691-18114-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-691-18114-1).

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Capitano del popolo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitano_del_popolo) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitano_del_popolo?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.