“Siena Case”: the Political Development of the Siena of the Renaissance in Historiography of the Second Half of XX-XXI Centuries

Abstract

The basic approaches to the study of the political development and government of Siena, one of the Italian republics of the Renaissance, are examined. The works of Western, especially Italian, historians of the second half of the XX - beginning of the XXI centuries are analyzed. The novelty of the study is that the author summarizes the results of studying the problem, shows the evolution of approaches to its solution, introduces the reader to modern views on it. An urgent question about the specifics of the Renaissance state by the example of the formation of Siena statehood in the second half of the XIV - first half of the XVI centuries has been raised. Based on a study of the works touching upon this problem, the author shows that during the study period the issue of the features of Siena’s political and state development was considered from different perspectives and underwent evolution from the problem of the decline of Siena to the problems of autonomy of the Siena state within the “Medici state”. Analysis of Western historiography of this period leads the author to agree with the conclusions of Italian scientists that the formation of a system of “parties” and coalition governments in Siena determines not only the relatively late formation of Signoria Petrucci, but also the specifics of Siena’s political and state development a kind of historical alternative to the Florentine signoria.

Keywords

• siena
• republic
• signoria
• party
• politics
• renaissance state