Commune of Verona

Who rules

Name

Not pinned for the morning of 1 January 1200: Salinguerra Torelli of Ferrara is podesta for 1200 and again 1201, but his entry date is not known, and the podesta of 1199 was not found

Title

Podesta (chief magistrate)

Since

1200 term (start date not pinned)

Born

Salinguerra: possibly about 1164

Family

Torelli of Ferrara

Confidence

medium

Treccani DBI, TORELLI, Salinguerra (citing the Veronese Syllabus potestatum, which calls him falsus); DBI, CAMPOSAMPIERO, Gherardo da (Salinguerra as podesta of Verona on 29 March 1200)

Overlord

The Empire in law (the Peace of Constance, 1183); in practice self-governing. Neither German king has an officer here.

What the realm holds

• The city and its suburbs on both banks of the Adige
• The Valpolicella and the Lessinia uplands
• The Adige valley up to the border with the bishop of Trent near Ossenigo and Borghetto
• The eastern shore of Lake Garda: Malcesine, Torri, Garda, Bardolino, Lazise, Peschiera
• The plain to the Mincio and the Tione (Valeggio, Villafranca, a free town founded by the commune in 1185)
• The lower plain to Cerea and the Adige at Legnago (the bishop's town until 1207)
• The east to the Alpone at San Bonifacio and Soave (the counts' country)
• Ostiglia on the Po, where the commune built a castle in 1151 (it.wikipedia); whether it is still Veronese on 1 January 1200 is not pinned

How it was acquired

The commune took over the count's and the emperor's rights in the twelfth century, led the Veronese League against Frederick I in 1164 and joined the Lombard League in 1167; the Peace of Constance (1183) confirmed its regalia.

Allies and rivals

Allies: Mantua (rectors of Mantua and Verona arbitrated Treviso's war in October 1193, DBI Ezzelino II); Treviso and Vicenza, with whom it attacked the bishop of Ceneda and the patriarch of Aquileia in 1198 (DBI, PRATA, Guecello di); Venice by treaty (1192); Salinguerra's Ferrara in 1200. Rivals: the patriarch of Aquileia (as Treviso's ally), and Padua when Padua sides with the patriarch. A battle at the Ponte dei Molini near Mantua in 1199 is recorded (it.wikipedia, Villafranca di Verona), after which Verona finished the castle of Villafranca (1202); the sides are not given, so whether Verona and Mantua fought each other in 1199 is not pinned.

The realm that morning

The podesta of 1200 is Salinguerra Torelli, called falsus (unlawful) in the Veronese podesta list; the Treccani life sets his Verona office in a deal among the March's factions, with Tebaldo Turrisendi of the Veronese Monticoli as podesta of Ferrara and his brother Pietro di Remengarda as podesta of Treviso in 1200. Whether Salinguerra had taken office by first light on 1 January is not pinned; the officer of 1199 was not found. The two parties: the counts' party (pars comitum) under Count Bonifacio di San Bonifacio, son of Count Sauro (podesta 1180, 1182, 1183, murdered by a kinsman in the castle of San Bonifacio in 1189); and the Monticoli with the Turrisendi.

Their open war comes in 1206-07. The bishop is Cardinal Adelardo Cattaneo (since 1188; a Church map record): he holds Legnago and its castle, which he will exchange with the commune for Monteforte d'Alpone in 1207 (it.wikipedia, Legnago). The city's coin, the Veronese penny (denaro veronese), is the money of account of the whole March and the Tyrol.

Wealth

The Adige road to the Brenner and the river trade to the sea, the Garda shore (olive oil, fish, the road to Brescia), wool and cloth, the mint, tolls on the Adige and at the bridges, the fairs of the plain.

Military

A city militia by quarters, the knights of the great families and the counts' vassals; the commune's army took Argenta for Ferrara under Salinguerra in 1200 or 1201 (Treccani; date within his term not pinned). No figures.

Threats

• The feud between the counts of San Bonifacio and the Monticoli
• The patriarch of Aquileia and his allies, through Verona's alliance with Treviso
• Trouble in Ferrara spilling across the Adige and the Polesine
• A German king's coming south over the Brenner
• Mantua on the Mincio, if the fighting at the Ponte dei Molini in 1199 was between them

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. 29 March 1200Treviso's men swear to accept the decision of Salinguerra, podesta of Verona, in Treviso's quarrel with the patriarch of Aquileia.Depends on: Treviso and the patriarch both agreeing to Verona's arbitration. Stopped by: Renewed fighting on the Livenza.
2. 26 May 1200The arbitral sentence between Treviso and the patriarch is pronounced in Verona.Depends on: The arbitration going ahead. Stopped by: Either side refusing the compromise.
3. 1200 or 1201 (not pinned)The Veronese army takes and destroys the archbishop of Ravenna's castle of Argenta for Ferrara.Depends on: Salinguerra holding both Verona's office and Ferrara's party. Stopped by: A change of podesta or a quarrel with Ravenna's allies.
4. 1200 (not pinned)The San Bonifacio party intervenes in Ferrara (DBI San Bonifacio).Depends on: The Este and Torelli rivalry in Ferrara heating up. Stopped by: A settlement in Ferrara.

Places of note

• Villafranca, the commune's free town (1185): New town toward Mantua
• Peschiera: Outlet of Lake Garda to the Mincio
• Ostiglia castle (1151): Veronese stronghold on the Po

Where the sources disagree

• en.wikipedia (Ezzelino II da Romano) says Ezzelino II was podesta of Verona in 1200; the Treccani lives of Salinguerra Torelli and of Gherardo da Camposampiero make Salinguerra podesta in 1200 (and 1201). Followed Treccani.
• The Treccani life of Salinguerra names the patriarch in the 1200 arbitration as Wolfger; Wolfger became patriarch only in 1204. In 1200 it is Pellegrino II (campaign notes).
• Ostiglia: it.wikipedia makes it a Veronese stronghold from 1151; lme may give it to Mantua. Drawn here inside Verona's contado.

Evidence: The 1200 podesta and the parties are pinned by Treccani; the podesta of 1199, the councils' names and the exact limits of the contado are not.

On the map: The border with the bishop of Trent in the Adige valley, with Mantua on the Mincio and Tione, and with Vicenza round Cologna and Lonigo is rough; the Lessinia high pastures were the bishop's and the monasteries' more than the commune's.

Primary sources for this realm

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.

• 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
• Charter book of the bishops of Trent (compiled 1207 to 1218; documents from the 11th century onward; edited 1852). The cartulary of the prince-bishops of Trent. Read online
• Documents on the older commercial and political history of the Republic of Venice, part 1, 814 to 1205 (documents of 814 to 1205, edited 1856). Venice's treaties and privileges in full text. Read online