Editing Commune of Rome (section)

=== The quest for autonomy and ''renovatio Senatus'' (1143) ===
After two years of conflict with Rome (1141-1143), neighbouring [[Tivoli, Lazio|Tivoli]] had finally been subjected to the authority of [[Pope Innocent II]] (1130-1143), who nevertheless forbade the Romans to tear down its walls or to take reprisals against the Tiburtines. For this reason, between August and October 1143, the Roman citizens, encouraged by the reformist preacher [[Arnold of Brescia]], rebelled against the then Pope, [[Pope Lucius II|Lucius II]] and proceeded to renew the old Senate on the Capitoline Hill.  This episode, known as the ''renovatio Senatus'', is considered the founding act of the Commune of Rome, but its formation nevertheless responds to a process that began in the 11th century. In fact, the Roman quest for autonomy outside papal authority has as its earliest references the prominent presence of ''laici potenti'' in the public courts of the 11th century, the emergence of courts of justice specialized in the resolution of professional disputes, the granting of an important commercial privilege to the [[Abbey of Monte Cassino]] in 1127 by six Roman citizens acting on behalf of the city and, above all, the configuration of an armed militia composed of members of noble families that acted independently of papal authority.  In this sense, the citizen nobility gathered in arms against Tivoli forms a key element to understand the evolution of the Commune of Rome, which is nourished by its cadres from the revolt of 1143 onwards.<ref>Maire Vigueur, J. C. (2010): "Il comune romano" en ''Roma medievale'', Roma, Laterza, pp. 118-121; Maire Vigueur, J. C. (2011): ''L'altra Roma. Una storia dei romani all'epoca dei comuni (secoli XII-XIV)'', Roma, Einaudi, pp. 149-157 y pp. 260-261.</ref>