What was Italy like in the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries? Detailed answer

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What was Italy like in the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries? Detailed answer

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What was Italy like in the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries?

In Italy, as in Germany, the period of developed feudalism did not end with the unification of the country. It remained economically and politically fragmented. Different regions of the country were also not homogeneous. Significantly differed between Northern Italy and Tuscany, the Papal States and Southern Italy.

The main feature of Northern Italy and Tuscany was the earlier and much more rapid development of cities than in other countries of medieval Europe. In these cities, handicraft production and trade were actively developing, which outgrew the limits of local significance.

These cities, strengthening their economic opportunities, waged an active struggle with the lords on whose lands they were located. The struggle of cities for their independence led to the fact that cities expanded their possessions, subjugating nearby districts. These vast territories were called "distretto" and often represented a whole state. So, in Northern and Central Italy there were city-states - Florence, Siena, Milan, Ravenna, Padua, Venice, Genoa, etc.

The development of the Papal States, which occupied a significant part of Central Italy, proceeded differently. Since its sovereign was at the same time the head of the Catholic Church, and Rome was its organizational and ideological core, the history of this state was significantly influenced by the European policy of the papacy, which was based on the desire for supremacy over the secular sovereigns of Europe.

The popes managed to increase their political influence in Europe, but this did not lead to the economic strengthening of the region. The Papal States lagged behind Northern Italy and Tuscany. Cities here developed more slowly, the popes did not support the policy of granting self-government rights to Rome and other cities of the region.

In southern Italy and Sicily, which were under the influence of foreign (Norman) domination, the development of cities did not stop. Moreover, they reached a significant flourishing here, but it was associated mainly with transit trade, and their own handicraft production and local trade were poorly developed here. Unlike the cities of northern Italy, the southern Italian cities failed to achieve independence and even autonomy, they remained subordinate to a strong central authority.

In the second half of the XNUMXth century Italy was under the threat of German subjugation. The German feudal lords, led by Frederick I Barbarossa, considered the formal belonging of part of the Italian lands to the so-called Roman Empire as the basis for their aggression. The German invasion threatened primarily the prosperous northern Italian cities. Only the unification of the efforts of the Italian lands, with the support of the papacy, prevented a catastrophe.

After the collapse of the conquest plans of Frederick I, the authority of the papacy increased, as did the theocratic plans of the popes themselves. The popes again rushed to strengthen their political positions not only in Italy, but also in other feudal states of Europe. The theocratic policy of the popes was doomed to failure. Large centralized states, emerging in Europe, more and more left the political influence of the popes. The defeat of the papacy in the struggle against the French monarchy led to the weakening of his power even in the Papal States. The transfer of the papal residence to Avignon in 1309 meant the actual subordination of the papal curia to French politics and the loss of control by the papacy over the feudal lords and cities of the church area.

This contributed to the strengthening of the strengthening of the independence of Rome. The fight between the townspeople and the feudal nobility was led by Cola di Rienzo. He, with the support of Roman citizens, managed to seize power in Rome. The city was declared a republic. Cola di Rienzo called on all Italian cities to unite around Rome as the capital of Italy. However, the Italian cities did not support his initiative. The power of the feudal lords in Rome was restored.

Italy failed to overcome feudal fragmentation. Discovery of America and routes to India at the end of the XNUMXth century. destroyed the commercial predominance of Italy, strengthened its agrarianization. Italy was on the verge of her decline, which she came to at the end of the sixteenth century.

Author: Irina Tkachenko

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