Leaders and Rulers

                                      Ludovico Sforza, Zanetto Bugatto

During the mid-1300's and early 1400's, a number of major Italian cities came under the control of one family. For example, the Visconti family governed Milan from the early 1300's until 1447, when the last male member died. Soon after, the Sforza family took control of Milan and governed the city until the late 1400's. Other ruling families in Italy included the Este family in Ferrara, the Gonzaga family in Mantua, and the Montefeltro family in Urbino.

The form of government established by the ruling families of the Italian cities was called the signoria, and the chief official was known as the signore. All power was concentrated in the signore and his friends and relatives. An elaborate court slowly grew up around each signorial government. At the court, the area's leading artists, intellectuals, and politicians gathered under the sponsorship of the signore.

Other Italian cities had a form of government known as republicanism. In republican cities, a ruling class controlled the government. Members of the ruling class considered themselves superior to the other residents of the city. The most important examples of republican government were in Florence and Venice.

In the republican government of Florence, about 800 of the city's wealthiest families made up the ruling class. The members of these Florentine families intermarried and lived in large, beautiful palaces built by Renaissance architects. They paid for the construction of great religious and civic buildings and impressive monuments throughout Florence. They also supported artists and intellectuals. In addition, the ruling class encouraged the study of ancient Greek and Roman authors in the desire to have their society resemble the cultures of classical antiquity.

 
Cosimo de Medici, Jacopo da Pontormo, 1519

By the 1430's, the Medici family dominated the ruling class of Florence. The family controlled the largest bank in Europe and was headed by a series of talented and ambitious men. Under Medici domination, the government of Florence resembled a signorial government.

About 180 families controlled the republican government of Venice. All government leaders came from these families. A law passed in 1297 restricted membership in the Great Council, the principal governing body, to descendants of families that had already sat in the council. Like Florence, Venice became a leading center of Renaissance art under the support of the ruling class.