Parma

Who holds it

Name

Not pinned for 1 January 1200 (Orlando Rossi was podestà in 1199)

Title

Podestà and consuls of the commune

Since

not pinned

Confidence

low

Lord in 1200

The commune; the bishop, Obizzo Fieschi (since 23 December 1194), keeps the see's comital rights in the countryside.

Charter

Peace of Constance (1183); the bishops' authority rests on imperial investitures of 1035 and 1036 (Enciclopedia Italiana); the city's statutes survive in part from the early 13th century (a merchants' chapter of 1215).

Council

Consuls and a podestà with the city councils (names for 1200 not pinned); guilds already flourishing by 1215.

Militia

The city host that won on the Taro on 19 June 1199; no figures.

Walls and castle

Deep ditches dug from 1178 beyond the church of San Giacomo and later past Santa Croce; a new wall circuit, including the Oltretorrente, is completed in 1210; the cathedral and the baptistery (begun 1196) stand at the city's heart.

Trade and crafts

The Via Emilia and Po trade, cloth and the guild crafts; the Via Francigena runs west of the city through Borgo San Donnino and Fornovo.

Places of note

• Baptistery: Begun 1196 by Benedetto Antelami

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The building dates and the Taro victory are attested; officers and fairs for 1200 were not found.

Primary sources for Parma

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.

• 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
• The Lombard city annals of Piacenza, Milan, Cremona, Parma, Mantua and Verona (kept in the 12th and 13th centuries). The communes' own year lists. Read online