Sommario
This volume examines the history of Italy after the fall of the Hohenstaufen, exploring the political fragmentation of the nation into a feudal system and the concurrent rise of independent city-states, or Communes.
The book analyzes the concept of "liberty" in this period, which was often a privilege of a city's citizens rather than a national idea.
It also discusses the transformation of the Holy Roman Empire and the election of Rudolph of Habsburg as a new type of emperor.