The Revival of Italian Cities

After the fall of the western Roman empire, many of the towns that had been political and cultural centres in Italy fell into ruin. There was no unified government, and the Pope in Rome, who was sovereign in his own state, was not a strong political figure.

 

While western Europe was being reshaped by feudal bonds and unified under the Latin Church, and eastern Europe under the Byzantine Empire, and Islam was creating a common civilisation further west, Italy was weak and fragmented. However, it was these very developments that helped in the revival of Italian culture. 

 

With the expansion of trade between the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic countries, the ports on the Italian coast revived. From the twelfth century, as the Mongols opened up trade with China via the Silk route and as trade with western countries

             Map: The Italian states 

also increased, Italian towns played a central role. They no longer saw themselves as a part of a powerful empire, but as independent city- states. Two of these–Florence and Veince–were republics, and many others were court-cities, ruled by princess.

                One of the most vibrant cities was Veince, another was Genoa. They were different from other parts of Europe – the clergy were not politically dominant here, nor were there powerful feudal lords. Rich merchants and bankers actively participated in governing the city, and this helped the idea of citizenship to strike root. Even when these towns were ruled by military despots, the pride felt by the towns people in being citizens not weaken.