Rome

This chapter examines the development of the city commune in Rome during the period 1050–1150. Rome does not occupy a central place in accounts of early Italian city communes. The city has seemed too “papal,” and the grand narratives of its history in the years 1050–1150 have concentrated on the story-line of papal “reform.” The urban elite that were most prominent in Rome in this century were not at all hostile to this reform. The chapter first provides an overview of the Tuscolano papacy between 1012 and 1044, a period of stable government in Rome, before discussing the city's particularities. In particular, it considers the roles played by families from the aristocracy and from the “medium elite” in city politics. It also explores the differences between aristocrats and other elite in Milan, Pisa, and Rome.