Cenni StoriciHistorical Background

The Statutes of Ascoli were compiled and published in 1377 by legal scholars, experts in law, and judges from Ascoli, who revised and adapted the city's pre-existing statute. The new version of the Statutes emerged in a context marked by popular uprisings, shifts in power, personal hegemonies, and papal influence. For a long time, in fact, the bishop played a significant public role in the city. However, at the beginning of the 13th century, relations between Ascoli and papal authority weakened, undermining the bishop's position. The tensions between the papacy and the empire in the Marche region, which often led to armed conflict, frequently involved Ascoli, which maintained an ambiguous stance, shifting its alliances according to circumstances. This political attitude persisted until the 1280s, when the city permanently established the position of Capitano del Popolo, first documented as early as 1255. From 1285, the Consiglio degli Anziani and the Capitani delle Arti is also known; towards the end of the century, the figure of the Difensore della Giustizia del Comune e del Popolo was added. Ascoli had thus achieved a mature political structure, which Pope Niccolò IV (Girolamo d'Ascoli, elected in 1288) recognized by granting the city full freedom to elect its own Podestà.

In the 14th century, periods of communal government in Ascoli alternated with authoritarian personal regimes, such as those of Johanni de Vindibene and Galeotto Malatesta. Although brief, these regimes left a deep mark on the city's collective memory, to the point that the Statutes refer to both men as "crudelissimi tiranni" (most cruel tyrants) (Statuti del Comune, Book 2, Rubric 76). In 1306, Johanni de Vindibene led a coalition of aristocrats who sought to establish hegemony over the city (extrinseci - members of the aristocracy who had moved to the city in previous years). Despite the signing of a peace agreement, which proved short-lived, Johanni de Vindibene managed to establish a personal regime in 1318. Documentation from this period is limited, but the people's condemnation of him as a tyrant is preserved in the 1377 Statutes. The second tyrant mentioned in the Statutes is Galeotto Malatesta, lord of Rimini, to whom the commune of Ascoli turned for protection against the city of Fermo after the destruction of the port fortifications in 1348. His rule lasted about seven years, but it was fundamentally different from that of Johanni de Vindibene: in fact, the city formally conferred upon Malatesta the title of Captain. Malatesta's aim was to unify all the Adriatic coastal cities under a single dominion, from Rimini to the border with the Kingdom of Naples.

At this point, the power of the Church came back into play to free Ascoli from Malatesta rule. In 1355, the papal vicar Gil Albornoz led the papal troops to victory in the Battle of Paterno (near Ancona), effectively ending Malatesta control over the city. The following year, a pact was signed between Albornoz and the city of Ascoli, reestablishing papal influence over the local government. However, this agreement rested on fragile foundations, and papal control soon proved to be extremely strict.

With the appointment of Gòmez Albornoz as the Church's vicario generale in the city of Ascoli in 1366, by order of Pope Urbano V, a new form of personal rule was established - one that, however, was positively received by the Ascoli community. In this climate of political stability, the Porta Maggiore Bridge and the San Filippo Bridge were built, and the Church of San Francesco was completed.

Stability was disrupted by the Guerra degli Otto Santi (War of the Eight Saints), a revolt against the papacy led by a league of cities including Florence, Perugia, and Bologna, which also involved the Marca of Ancona. Fermo soon joined the league. Ascoli remained loyal to the papacy and was consequently besieged by the league's troops for nine months (March - December 1376). Gòmez Albornoz, entrenched in the citadel "delle Chiaviche", surrendered when the starving population rose up within the city walls.

As a result of this event, the Commune of Ascoli adopted a new legal framework, published in 1377: the Statuti del Comune e del Popolo. This document established the city's political and institutional organization. As previously mentioned, legal scholars, experts in law, and judges from the city of Ascoli were called upon to revise and reform the pre-existing communal statutes (cf. Zdekauer-Sella, pp. XII-XV).

Between the publication of the Statutes in 1377 and their printing in 1496, Ascoli experienced a succession of short-lived personal regimes - Andrea Matteo Acquaviva (1395-1397); the Duke of Atri (1397); Ladislao d'Angiò Durazzo, King of Naples (1404-1414); Conte da Carrara (son of Francesco the Elder, former lord of Padua); Obizzo and Ardizzone, sons of Conte da Carrara - all marked by unrest and popular uprisings. In 1426, papal control was reestablished in a semi-permanent form with the arrival of the first papal governor, Matteo del Carretto. Between 1433 and 1445, papal authority was interrupted by the Sforza, particularly Francesco Sforza and his half-brother Rinaldo da Fogliano, who imposed their own rule over the city (cf. Pirani, pp. 186-190).

A pivotal moment in Ascoli's history came in 1482, when the pope granted the city a degree of administrative autonomy known as libertas ecclesiastica, a privilege previously granted to Ancona and Fermo. The significance of this achievement is reflected in Carlo Crivelli's painting The Annunciation, with Saint Emidius, where the inscription Libertas Ecclesiastica is prominently displayed along the base, flanked by the coats of arms of the pope, the city, and the bishop.

Under this new opportunity for self-government, the city ordered the translation of the Statutes of the 1377 from Latin into the vernacular and promoted their printing. The twenty-four citizens listed below (cf. Fabiani, p. 409) committed in 1484 to covering the printing costs by each purchasing a copy.

The printing was carried out in 1496 by Brother Joanni da Theramo at the Church of Sancta Maria de Solistano in Ascoli. The edition of this work, which has come down to us and is preserved at the "Giovanni Spadolini" Senate Library, has been digitized and is available for consultation in the Statutes section of this website.