# Signoria

A signoria (Italian:) was the governing authority in many of the Italian city-states during the Medieval and Renaissance periods. The word signoria comes from signore (Italian:), or "lord", an abstract noun meaning (roughly) "government", "governing authority", de facto "sovereignty", "lordship"; pl.: signorie.

## History of the Signoria

During the late 13th and early 14th centuries, a significant shift occurred in the governance of Italian cities. Whereas citizens had once chosen their own leaders, they began to entrust power to a single ruler. This new authority given often gotten out of the citizens control, as they could no longer depose the ruler if he failed to govern wisely. This transition had far-reaching consequences and was met with mixed reactions at the time. In The Divine Comedy, Dante frequently depicted Italy as a land ruled by despots and condemned the rise of lordship, associating it with humanity’s most destructive impulses such as pride, which drove some individuals to assert dominance over their fellow citizens. Others defended the emergence of these rulers, believing that only a strong leader could end the internal strife that had long plagued their cities and restore stability.
Contemporary observers and modern historians see the rise of the signoria as a reaction to the failure of the comuni to maintain law-and-order and suppress party strife and civil discord. In the anarchic conditions that often prevailed in medieval Italian city-states, people looked to strong men to restore order and disarm the feuding elites.
In times of anarchy or crisis, cities sometimes offered the signoria to individuals perceived as strong enough to save the state. For example, the Tuscan state of Pisa offered the signoria to Charles VIII of France in the hope that he would protect the independence of Pisa from its long term enemy Florence. Similarly, Siena offered the signoria to Cesare Borgia.

## Politics

By the beginning of the 14th century, a number of cities in northern Italy were ruled by signori: Milan by the Visconti family, Ferrara by the Este, Verona by the Della Scala, Padua by the Carrara. The earliest signori in Tuscany were the condottieri (mercenaries) Uguccione della Faggiuola at Pisa and Lucca (1313–16), and Castruccio Castracani, also at Lucca (1320–28).
Initially, some cities dismantled lordships once conflicts subsided. However, when a ruler maintained power across multiple wars, the likelihood of their continued rule increased. The hereditary transmission of power, as seen in 1264 when Azzo d'Este passed his position to his nephew Obizzo, contributed to the normalization of one-man rule. This precedent encouraged similar developments in other cities, solidifying the institutionalization of lordship in northern and central Italy.
In areas that were not under the rule of a prince, the name Signoria often refers to the ruling body of magistrates. In Florence, those who made up the signoria were often members of the most distinguished families.

## List of signorie

| City | Family | Period | Allegiance | Notes |
| Monaco | Grimaldi | 1287–1612 | Guelph | Gained independence from Genoa in 1287. Titled Princes of Monaco since 1612. |
| Milan | Della Torre | 1259–1277 | Guelph | Deposed by Ghibelline party, led by Visconti. |
| Milan | Visconti | 1277–1302 | Ghibelline | Took over Milan after Battle of Desio in 1277. Deposed by Della Torre in 1302. |
| Milan | Della Torre | 1302–1311 | Guelph | Deposed and exiled by Emperor Henry VII. |
| Milan | Visconti | 1311–1395 | Ghibelline | Re-enthroned by Henry VII in 1311. Titled Dukes of Milan from 1395. |
| Mantua | Bonacolsi | 1272–1328 | Variable | Overthrown in a revolt backed by Gonzaga in 1328. |
| Mantua | Gonzaga | 1328–1433 | Ghibelline | Titled Margraves of Mantua from 1433. |
| Verona | Della Scala | 1282–1387 | Ghibelline | Overthrown by a Visconti-backed revolt in 1387. |
| Treviso | Da Camino | 1283–1312 | Guelph | Overthrown in a conspiracy in 1312. |
| Padua | Da Carrara | 1318–1405 | Guelph | Overthrown by the Republic of Venice in 1405. |
| Ferrara | Este | 1209–1471 | Guelph | Titled Dukes of Ferrara from 1471. |
| Modena | Este | 1336–1471 | Guelph | Titled Dukes of Modena and Reggio from 1471. |
| Modena | Pio | 1336–1599 | Unclear | Titled Lords of Carpi (1336-1527) and Sassuolo (1499-1599) |
| Bologna | Pepoli | 1337–1350 | Guelph | Overthrown by Visconti army in 1350. |
| Bologna | Bentivoglio | 1401–1506 | Ghibelline | Overthrown by Pope Julius II in 1506. |
| Ravenna | Da Polenta | 1275–1441 | Guelph | Overthrown and exiled by the Republic of Venice in 1441. |
| Forlì | Ordelaffi | 1295–1359 (Interregnum) 1376–1480 | Ghibelline | Declined due to conflicts inside city. Peacefully deposed in 1480. |
| Forlì | Riario | 1480–1499 | Guelph | De facto a satellite of Milan from 1488, under regent Caterina Sforza. Overthrown by Cesare Borgia in 1499. |
| Forlì | Borgia | 1499–1503 | Guelph | Ruled over all Romagna, with Cesare as Duke of Romagna. |
| Forlì | Ordelaffi | 1503–1504 | Ghibelline | Line extinct in 1504. |
| Pesaro | Malatesta | 1285–1445 | Guelph | Overthrown in a coup led by the Sforza in 1445. |
| Rimini | Malatesta | 1295–1500 | Guelph | Overthrown by Cesare Borgia in 1500. |
| Cesena | Malatesta | 1378–1465 | Guelph | Line extinct in 1465. |
| Urbino | Da Montefeltro | 1213–1234 | Ghibelline | Titled Counts of Urbino (the Dukes) from 1234. |
| Lucca | Quartigiani | 1308–1316 | Guelph | Overthrown in a coup led by the Antelminelli in 1316. |
| Lucca | Antelminelli | 1316–1328 | Ghibelline | Overthrown by Guelph party in 1328. |
| Lucca | Guinigi | 1400–1430 | Guelph | Deposed by the restoration of the Republic in 1430. |
| Florence | Medici | 1434–1494 (Interregnum) 1512–1527 (Interregnum) 1530–1532 | Guelph | Titled Dukes of Florence from 1532. |
| Pisa | Della Gherardesca | 1316–1347 | Ghibelline | Deposed and replaced by the Gambacorta family in 1347. |
| Pisa | Gambacorta | 1347–1392 | Guelph | Overthrown by a conspiracy in 1392. |
| Pisa | Appiano | 1392–1399 | Unclear | Overthrown by the Visconti in 1399. |
| Pisa | Visconti | 1399–1406 | Ghibelline | Overthrown by the Republic of Florence in 1406. |
| Siena | Petrucci | 1487–1525 | Ghibelline | Peacefully deposed by republican institutions in 1525. |