The hill town that grew up near ancient Tarquinii above the Marta's mouth, a free commune by 1144 with a sea trade of its own: commercial treaties with Genoa and Pisa in 1177, grain and salt for the ships of the two great ports.
It was besieged about 1190 in Viterbo's wars (it.wikipedia, Viterbo). It is the main harbour of the Roman Tuscia north of Civitavecchia; it has no bishop yet.
Who holds it
- Name
- Consuls (names not pinned)
- Title
- The commune
- Confidence
- low
Lord in 1200
The commune of Corneto, a town of the Patrimony in Tuscany under the pope's lordship.
Allies and rivals
Trading partner of Genoa and Pisa (whose rivalry Innocent's legates tried to settle in 1198); old enemy of Viterbo (siege about 1190).
How things stand that morning
Self-governing under the pope's lordship; no war is found for the winter of 1199-1200. Across the borders: Toscanella and Montalto north, the hills of Tolfa and Civitavecchia south, Vetralla and Viterbo's lands east.
Wealth
Grain exports, salt, the coast trade.
Military
Walls and towers; a small fleet (no figures).
Threats
- Viterbo's ambition to reach the sea
- Pirates on the Maremma coast
Charter
Commune by 1144 (it.wikipedia); treaties with Genoa and with Pisa in 1177.
Council
Consuls (names not pinned).
Communities
Genoese and Pisan merchants under the 1177 treaties (resident colonies not pinned).
Militia
Town levy; ships and seamen (no figures).
Walls and castle
Walled hill town with many towers.
Trade and crafts
Grain of the Maremma plain shipped to Genoa and Pisa; salt pans on the coast (attested later in detail); fishing.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The commune's date and the 1177 treaties are on it.wikipedia; the siege of about 1190 on it.wikipedia (Viterbo). Nothing dated for 1199-1200.
On the map: The modern comune of Tarquinia is the old contado's core; the edges towards Montalto and Tolfa are not pinned.
Primary sources for Papal State
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Annals of Montecassino; Annals of Ceccano (Fossanova) (12th and early 13th centuries; Ceccano to 1217). Two sets of annals from either side of the papal and Sicilian frontier. Read online
- Chronicle of Richard of San Germano, Richard of San Germano (first version about 1216, enlarged to 1243). The fullest southern narrative of the Hohenstaufen kingdom, written by a notary on the border of the Terra di Lavoro. Read online
- Chronicle of Alberic of Trois-Fontaines, Alberic of Trois-Fontaines (about 1227 to 1241, at the Cistercian abbey of Trois-Fontaines in Champagne). The widest net of any Latin chronicle for 1200, compiled from dozens of sources, many now lost. Read online
- Chronicle of Andres, William of Andres (about 1220 to 1234). The chronicle and cartulary of a small abbey between Guines and Ardres, near the border of Flanders and Boulogne. Read online
- Chronicle of Burchard of Ursberg, Burchard of Ursberg (about 1229 to 1230, reworked by Conrad of Lichtenau). Written a generation later by a fierce partisan of the Staufen and a critic of Innocent III. Read online
- Chronicle of Robert of Auxerre, Robert of Auxerre (Robert of Saint-Marien) (about 1190 to 1211; continued at Saint-Marien to 1227). A universal chronicle whose last twenty years are contemporary and well informed from Burgundy and the Auxerrois. Read online
- Chronicle of Roger of Howden, Roger of Howden (about 1192 to 1201). The fullest single narrative for the year. Read online
- Chronicle of Sicard, bishop of Cremona, Sicard of Cremona (about 1210 to 1213). A universal chronicle whose last part is a well-placed eyewitness account by a Lombard bishop who served emperors and popes. Read online
12 more in the sources library for Southern Italy and the Islands.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.