Editing Locarno (section)

===Capitanei di Locarno===
The '''capitanei''' were a group of prominent noble families who emerged in the early Middle Ages and led Locarno. The term is first mentioned in a document granting [[market right]]s to the town by the [[Holy Roman Empire|Emperor]] [[Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick I]] in 1164. This title was originally reserved only for the direct [[vassals]] of the king's [[fief]]. The lower vassals were known as ''valvassores'', but could have been awarded the title of ''capitanei'' as a special concession. The original ''capitanei'' were probably descendants of the old [[Lombards|Lombard]] noble family of Da Besozzo from the [[county]] of Seprio, a historic region of [[Kingdom of the Lombards|Lombard Italy]] which comprised areas in southern Ticino and modern-day Italian provinces of [[Province of Varese|Varese]] and [[Province of Como|Como]] on the western side of Lake Maggiore, and was centred in [[Castelseprio (archaeological park)|Castelseprio]], some 20 kilometres south of Locarno.

Around 1000, the family was granted a fief in Locarno by the schismatic [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Como|Bishop of Como]] Landolfo da Carcano. The ''capitanei'' were given the right to manage the property of the Church entrusted to the local [[pieve]], they had the rights of immunity and coercion, but were not owners of the village cooperatives' (''vicini'') land, with the exception of the churches and royal estates. They did not have the right of [[High, middle and low justice|high justice]] so their political power was limited. However, they played an important role in the later conflicts in the 13th and 14th centuries between the [[Guelphs and Ghibellines]] and in the wars between Como and the [[Duchy of Milan]].

In Locarno, during the [[Reformation]] period in the 16th century, two of the three great feudal families of capitanei, the Muralto and the Orelli families, left the town and moved to [[Zürich]]. A branch of the Muraltos was established in [[Bern]]. The third great Locarno family, the Magoria, remained in Locarno. The ''capitanei'' retained a central role in Locarno's politics until 1798. In 1803, the lands and rights of the ''capitanei'' were integrated into the political municipality of Locarno.<ref>{{HDS|41282|Capitanei di Locarno}}</ref>