Il guelfismo come forma ideale dell’autonomia politica in Bartolo da Sassoferrato

In his commentaries on the Justinianic compilations and in shorter political treatis- es, Bartolo da Sassoferrato devotes great attention to the institutions of independent cities, as they concretize the participation of the community in the exercise of pub- lic authority and prevent the emergence of arbitrary forms of power. Among these institutions, the party organizations, which today no longer have any ideological sig- nificance, have a positive value when they aim to enforce the general interest of the community. In particular, the Guelph Party is an effective instrument for realizing the values of political participation in various contexts, including Perugia, of which Bartolo had chosen to be a citizen.