Port · The Papal State: the pope's own lands · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Pesaro

Pesaro is the northernmost city of the March, a port and bishop's see of the old Pentapolis at the mouth of the Foglia, where the coast road from Rimini runs on to Fano.

Once governed for the emperor by a count, it has become a commune of consuls and is about to take a podestà: the Enciclopedia Italiana dates its first podestà to 1200. It lies between the commune of Rimini to the north and the hill country of the Montefeltro counts to the west, and Count Montefeltrano's influence reaches into the city. It is not named among the members of Ancona's league of 1198.

On 1 January 1200 it is a self-governing commune under the pope's overlordship, with no war recorded.

Who holds it

Title
Consuls of Pesaro, or its first podestà
Since
not pinned
Confidence
low

The Enciclopedia Italiana says Pesaro was ruled first under a duke and then a count for the emperor, then by consuls, and by a podestà from 1200; whether the first podestà is already in office on 1 January 1200 is not pinned, and no name is given.

Lord in 1200

The commune, under papal overlordship; strongly influenced by Count Montefeltrano, whose power the Dizionario Biografico says reaches over the Montefeltro, Urbino, Pesaro and Rimini.

Overlord

The pope, as lord of the March since 1198; Count Montefeltrano of the Montefeltro is the overshadowing neighbour.

Allies and rivals

Neighbours: Rimini (Northern Italy map); Count Montefeltrano and his sons; Urbino; Fano to the south. No alliance or war is pinned for 1199-1200.

How things stand that morning

Self-governing commune under papal overlordship. North of the Tavollo the coast is Rimini's; the hills of the upper Foglia are the Montefeltro's; Urbino governs the land between the Foglia and the Metauro inland (Northern Italy map).

Wealth

The port, the coast road and the farmland of the lower Foglia.

Military

Walls and the citizen host. No castle of the contado is pinned for 1200.

Threats

  • The Montefeltro counts' pull on the city
  • Rivalry with Fano along the coast

Council

Consuls and a council; a podestà from 1200 (Enciclopedia Italiana).

Communities

Not documented for 1200.

Militia

Citizen militia. No numbers.

Walls and castle

A walled city on the plain by the sea; the Rocca Costanza is fifteenth-century.

Trade and crafts

A small port at the mouth of the Foglia on the coast road between Rimini and Fano; the grain and wine of the lower Foglia valley.

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

  1. 1200 (date not pinned)Pesaro's first podestà takes office.Depends on: The commune's own choice. Stopped by: Faction strife or Montefeltro pressure.

Where the sources disagree

  • The Enciclopedia Italiana (Pesaro) says Markward held the March as imperial marquis from 1198 to 1200; other sources date his grant to 1195 and his loss of the March to 1198.

Evidence: Only general encyclopedia statements; no officer, treaty or war of 1199-1200 is documented in the sources read.

On the map: The contado is a reasonable guess of the lower Foglia valley between Rimini's Tavollo frontier, the Montefeltro and Urbino's land and Fano's; its castles in 1200 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.

12 more in the sources library for Southern Italy and the Islands.

Sources and studies

  1. Pesaro, Enciclopedia Italiana (1935)
  2. MONTEFELTRANO, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani 76 (2012), as cited by the Northern Italy map

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.