Kingdom of Italy

The Holy Roman Empire during the High Middle Ages

Dark Medieval Italy

By the middle of the 13th century, Italy is a geographical location and nothing more. Kinship comes from cities, which bloom under the pressure of constant immigration from the surrounding countryside, creating a new and complex layered society where both kine and Cainite thrive. As the towns become the centers of commerce, artisans, and traders group into guilds to protect their business from papal and imperial taxing, forming close-knit self-support networks which can be formidable foes – or excellent opportunities for the shrewdest of Cainites. Mimicking the human political structure and taking advantage of its independence, many ancillae have claimed their role as primus inter pares in their city’s area, in open defiance of the larger power structures.

The City-States

Taking advantage of the power struggle between the Pope and the Emperor, some of the largest cities have obtained their independence or act de facto as city-states in their own right, with their own laws, tribunals, and currency. One of the most popular solutions to deal with the litigious families and guilds is to appoint an external podestà, a temporary ruler kept separate from the populace to guarantee their impartiality. As they stand at the apex of their might, some communes are starting to crack under the pressure of internal conflict, but the collapse brought by the Black Death is still to come. With famine and fear will also come the need for absolute rulers, transforming the podestà into signori and destroying the republican nature of the communes.

The Papal States

Depending on who you ask, the Papal States are a province of the Empire or the absolute manifestation of the spiritual power of the Pope in territorial form. The conflict between the Emperor and the Pope has been raging on for centuries, and the two sides are starting to identify as Ghibellines and Guelfs, respectively. The struggle contin- ues all over the northern and central areas of the Italian peninsula, and excommunication is a constant threat. The Emperor, Frederick II, fuels the gridlock by holding the papacy hostage, sending his agents all over central Italy to instigate anti-papal sentiments and support rebellious communes – as long as they will subject to his authority.

Florence and Tuscany

The Republic of Florence experienced a magnificent growth over the past century. Once a minor town in Tus- cany overshadowed by the powerful maritime Republic of Pisa, Florence has risen to the fore thanks to the booming commercial success of its wool industry. Its corporations have become the model for similar institutions all over Italy, as the members of the various Arti control their own trade in order to guarantee specific standards and control their market as cartels. The power struggle between the Arts and the clash between Guelfs and Ghibellines are fueling each other and turning the city into a powderkeg. The next decades will bring constant changes in power structures, leaving room for the creation of a new finan- cial market for the up-and-coming banking and trading families.

While the Guelfs rule the Republic of Lucca, the Ghibelline Republics of Siena and Pisa prepare for war against Florence. Siena sits on the heavily trafficked Via Francigena, becoming the foremost commercial rival to Florence. Meanwhile, Pisa, through its Northern African territories, is a crucial entry point for the advanced Arabic sciences in Europe: its foremost mathematician, Leonardo Fibonacci, grew up in the sophisticated culture of the Almohad Caliphate and brought their number system back to Pisa, but not without some protest and accusation of employing devilish techniques.

Tuscany’s rapid growth has kept it off the radar of most older Cainites. Its internal clashes and contradictions have attracted a panoply of ancillae eager to prove their worth to their sires and make a name for their clan, or simply for themselves. While the port of Pisa is home to Lasombra, Assamites, and even a few Followers of Set, Florence and Siena have a rising Cappadocian presence, through their young and recent Italian bloodline.

Milan

Comfortably surrounded by fertile land and popu- lated by a sophisticated middle class, Milan is a great and prosperous city. Its textile trade makes its wealthy merchants show off their luxurious clothes, much to the dismay of traveling and resident preachers pushing for legislative enforcement of limits to clothing styles. At the same time, the recent introduction of buttons has led to an explosion of creative mixing and matching, with the most advanced trendsetters showing off a different pair of buttoned-on sleeves every day.

On the other hand, the secular order of the Humiliati is gaining traction. Its members hail from merchant fam- ilies, abandoning all luxury and wealth to live piously in self-supporting communities. The status of the Humiliati is a thorny issue; their widespread presence makes them a significant pillar of the community, while their tenets brush very close to heretical thought.

Politically, Milan has traditionally sided with the Pope, and is constantly rebuking assaults for imperial domination. Its close ties with Genoa have brought the commune to appoint Luca Grimaldi, a Genoese troubadour, as podestà.

The Milanese fashionista avant-garde attracts young Toreador to the scene, while some Ventrue still remain from Longobard times. Right now, the Ventrue are deal- ing with their own internal struggle on both sides of the conflict between Guelfs and Ghibellines. But Milan isn’t a safe place for Cainites; the Inquisition is fast on the rise and ruthless on heretics and Cainites alike.

Bologna

Sitting at the ever-shifting boundary of the Empire and the Papal states, Bologna is the largest center of textile production and the fifth-largest city by population in Europe. For years the Emperor and the Pope fought for its control, but the Bolognesi achieved substantial independence over a century ago after the death of the powerful countess Matilde di Canossa. Its center boasts dozens of towers built by its merchant families, rising to the sky in a constant competition for the boldest architectural feat, while a network of artificial canals serve the productive districts.

The contested political climate attracted scholars of the law from all over the continent, forming a University that has been a major power in town for the last 150 years. There is a constant influx of clerici vagantes, monks without affiliation, who live at the edge of society in open defiance of religious structures and social customs. The Nosferatu in particular enjoy their company, as the clerici bring news and rumors relatively unfettered by propaganda.

Venice

While the rest of Italy is torn along the ever-shifting allegiance lines to the Emperor or the Pope, the Republic of Venice has kept a carefully neutral stance — a proven tactic that has led to unmatched success. The Italian communes call upon the Venetians to provide podestà that govern above the internal city struggles, and with the maritime republics of Pisa and Genoa locked in a constant state of conflict over the Thyrrienian Sea, Venice dominates the Adriatic and with it, the door to the East. Everything passes through Venice: silk, spice, pilgrims, merchants, and crusaders.

Between the sack of Constantinople and the ubiquitous lodging facilities, the Crusades have been a lucrative business to the Venetians.

The Republic celebrates its connection to the sea every year. The Doge – the elder ruler elected by the city’s council – sails out of the port to throw a wedding ring in the waters, declaring the wedding of Venice to the sea. The Doge’s ship, the bucentaur, is the most ornate galley produced in the Arsenale, the industrial shipyard of the Republic. This sprawling shipyard, unparalleled in Europe, attracts hundreds of skilled laborers and the finest engineering minds, and boasts the ability to produce a ship a day — for the right price.

While the natural features of Venice aren’t friendly to most Cainites, the opportunities are too good to ignore, and the city sees a constant flux of Cainites of all Clans and stations. As an excellent port of entry and neutral ground, Assamite, Lasombra, and Ventrue leaders choose Venice to debate their very rare and brief truces. The recent Venetian deal with the Mongols opened the doors to vampires from the wealthy eastern lands, while the Cappadocians ensure safe travels to their Erciyes strong- hold, mostly through their young bloodline of the Giovani.

Rome

Rome is, quite literally, a city in ruins. The majestic city that once ruled the Mediterranean bears the mem- ory of its glorious past as a scar. The decaying buildings and infrastructures that once supported over a million inhabitants bear the ubiquitous traces of invasions, sacks, and popular riots. The Romans now number barely over 30,000, less than half of the Venetians, Milanese, or the Bolognese, and the presence of the Pope makes the political stability of the newborn commune an im- possible dream.

The death of pope Gregory IX in 1241 and the brief papacy of Celestine IV (who died, apparently, of wear and old age after just two weeks) have left the Church without a head. The cardinals will remain locked in conclave for the entire year of 1242 and well into the summer of 1243, desperate to solve the problem of how to deal with the Emperor.

During Rome’s long downward spiral, most Cain- ites have left for other cities considered safer and more promising. Nonetheless, there is still a sizable community of Nosferatu and Malkavians, including some elders who still remember the glories of the Roman Republic. With its abandoned buildings and vast networks of underground tunnels, Rome offers protection to many Cainites looking for a place to lay low. On the other hand, many ancillae drunk with power have seen their dream of becoming Princes of Rome vanish in the shadows of a sudden Final Death. As a result, nobody controls the city, but someone is certainly protecting this status quo.