Storia degli Italiani, vol. 06 (di 15)

A sweeping survey of medieval Italy, this volume turns the spotlight on the birth of the city‑state, or Comune, and separates long‑standing myths from the documentary evidence that reshaped medieval society. Cantù argues that the early communes were not dramatic uprisings of the masses but gradual movements of modest landholders seeking personal freedom and a shared justice, a transition that gave rise to what we would now call the middle class.

The narrative places Italian developments alongside those in France, England and the German lands, showing how each region adapted the communal model to its own political realities. By drawing on a wide range of sources—charters, legal codes and contemporary chronicles—the author builds a nuanced picture of how these self‑governing bodies emerged from feudal oppression and evolved into the foundations of modern civic life.

Readers will come away with a clearer sense of how the fragmented municipal world of the early Middle Ages set the stage for the later Italian republics, and why the story of the communes remains essential to understanding the nation’s enduring quest for liberty.