Editing Commune of Rome (section)

=== The Rome of Cola di Rienzo (1347-1354) ===
Engulfed in internal divisions of an aristocratic nature, Rome witnessed in 1347 the rise of a figure who sought to end the baronial hegemony of the Commune: [[Cola di Rienzo]]. His figure, although shrouded in shadow, is one of the best known by Italian medievalist historiography thanks to the ''Cronica'' del Anónimo Romano, which narrates several of the political events that took place in the Eternal City between 1325 and 1357.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Miglio |first=Massimo |title=Scritture, scrittori e storia: Per la storia del Trecento a Roma}}</ref>

Rienzo, born in Rome around 1313 into a poor family, belonged to the guild of notaries and was married to the daughter of a notable. His great wit and eloquence, combined with the vast culture accumulated from reading [[Livy]], [[Virgil]], [[Dante Alighieri]] and [[Petrarch]], soon earned him an important position among the magistrates of the city, whose government had been in the hands of the popular [[Stefano Colonna]] since 1338. On the occasion of the death of [[Pope Benedict XII]] (1334-1342), Rienzo took the lead in an embassy parallel to the official one, led by Stefano, with the aim of obtaining from the new pontiff, [[Pope Clement VI]] (1342-1352), the proclamation of the jubilee year. Thanks to his friendship with Petrarch and the latter's connections with Cardinal Colonna at the [[Avignon Papacy|Avignon See]], Rienzo was appointed notary of the [[Apostolic Camera]] and returned to Rome in 1344 to attack the misrule of the thirteen priors from his position in the communal ''assectamentum'', while attracting the people with his harangues. After the discovery in 1347 of the ''lex regia de impero'' on a bronze plaque in St. John Lateran, Rienzo claimed for Rome the powers that belonged to it ''de jure'', fascinated by the idea of restoring the greatness of the Roman Empire.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gatto |first=Ludovico |title=Storia di Roma nel Medioevo: Dall’avvento di Costantino al “Sacco di Roma” del 1527, oltre mille anni di vicende della Città Eterna, tra politica, religione, società ed economia |isbn=9788822711472 |pages=453–456}}</ref>