LE SIGNORIE DI OBERTO PELAVICINO (1249-1266)

The aim of the project is to investigate Oberto Pelavicino’s lordship over some italian city-states in the second half of the 13th Century. Between 1249 and 1266 he exerted his power over Cremona, Piacenza, Pavia, Vercelli, Milan, Brescia, Alessandria and Tortona (but his dominion can be recognized also in the cities of Asti, Parma, Pontremoli and Reggio). A debate about the dominion of the city was recently brought to the center of the affairs of the communalistic historiography, despite facing a critical afterthought of the relationships between city-state and lordship. On the one hand my purpose is the investigation of the reasons and the ways through which Oberto Pelavicino ruled over such a wide territorial structure. On the other hand I analyze the reasons that led different cities to bow to him. Unfortunately, the municipal archives regarding this period and the cities ruled by Oberto don’t exist anymore. Therefore the research is based on the private acts and the documents of ecclesiastical institutions: among the Milan State Archive for what concerns Milan, Pavia, Cremona and Brescia; and on the maps and the papers of Archive of St. Antonio’s basilica and of Piacenza State Archive. Finally, we take advantage of other documents from the State Archives of Vercelli, Pavia, Brescia, Cremona and Alessandria. As a consequence of the private nature of the majority of the available documentation, the identification of collaborators is the base for my work. The reconstruction of Pelavicino’s political entourage allows us to notice which families and social groups supported him. Therefore, this makes us understand if they were the same in every cities and how the pars marchionis concretely acted. The analysis of the functionary “circuits” represents a useful key of investigation in order to inquire how Pelavicino ruled the city system he was controlling and this is why we are allowed to look at his lordship always being focused on the reality of each cities, and, at the same time, being able to keep in mind the dimension of the local dominion.