Ordinances of Justice in Florence

1293

The popolo of Florence enacted the Ordinances of Justice, excluding magnates from the highest civic offices and tightening the grip of the guilds. The reform shaped Florentine politics for a century and reflected the city's unusual experiment in merchant self-rule. The ordinances empowered the Gonfaloniere di Giustizia, a new office charged with enforcing the law against noble violence, giving teeth to guild government.