HIST-308 Lecture Notes - Lecture 19: Guelphs And Ghibellines, Signoria, De Jure
16 Mar 2020
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All of this was developing alongside the old guelf-ghibelline rivalries. By the late 13th century, the pro-papal guelfs had largely won out which in turn led to the white-black split: guelfs and banking. The guelfs" pro-papal stance had one immediate benefit. It gave them access to lucrative papal funding. Gradually, florence edged out its rivals to becoming the papal banking hub: florence"s rivals. While venice and genoa and milan still held much more economic and political sway, Cities like pisa and siena tended to suffer as florence rose to prominence: florentine factionalism. As florence"s coffers expanded due to pro papal guelf trade policies, the merchants tightened their grip. The city came to be run by the guilds, ranging from bankers to wool merchants: guilds and podesta. The signoria, now filled by representatives of the guilds, tended to seek further expansionist policies. They were often aided by the podesta, a kind of hybrid police chief and mayor: mid 14th century.
