The freedom to dispose of one's assets and work was essential for the normal conduct of the business of merchants , businessmen and artisans . It was natural, therefore, that they should try to escape the power of the lay and ecclesiastical lords, which extended to the villages when these were only appendages to the countryside. But the movement for city autonomy was also stimulated by the changes that occurred in the countryside and the transformation of the feudal regime. The reduction of large ecclesiastical property, the splitting of the dominical "reserve", the reduction of servitude, the conquest and plowing of new lands favored the formation of new landowners and minor nobles, who were often among the promoters of the struggles from which the autonomous organization of cities originated . Thus a political movement developed which, without proposing to overthrow the feudal system and transform the whole of society, aimed at obtaining the juridical and political recognition of citizen autonomy. The citizens wanted their laws, their courts, bodies administrators and politicians governed by themselves.
They began by recognizing the commonality of their interests and the need to be in solidarity, and they associated by binding to each other with an oath. This private association, which was originally the Municipality, was born to affirm the city claims against the lord and to autonomously elaborate the rules (statutes) that had to regulate the life of the cities.
The urban fabric was made up of four categories of people:
- the nobles, mainly landowners, called magnates
- the rich bourgeoisie which included bankers or owners of manufacturing businesses constituted the fat people
- the petty bourgeoisie, represented by the artisans, was defined as a small people
- day laborers in the countryside or in artisanal activities, i.e. workers
An authoritative representation was constituted by the clergy since the city was the seat where the bishop resided, finally there were the " marginalized ", The poor, the beggars and the sick.
The political organization of the cities was transforming and the representatives of the upper class joined in associations through a collective oath, defined with the term Coniuratio .
The autonomous institutions, the laws and the possibility of minting their own coins made the Municipality similar to a State but the power came from below and therefore diversified from the imperial power or the papacy which instead highlighted a power that descended from above.
The municipal institutions spread mainly in the Central North and in Northern Europe .
The cities, among other things, extended their power over the surrounding countryside, the countryside and this due to the weakness of the imperial power.
Generally after the Coniuratio consuls were elected, often two but sometimes more than two.
They had the function of administering justice, from a fiscal point of view and also had military as well as diplomatic duties:their office lasted one year.
A popular assembly, which exercised the legislative function and elected the consuls, called Council , was elected among the richest and most influential families in the city.
Finally, the Arengo it was the assembly of all citizens, convened on special occasions.
Each Municipality it had its own Statute , which established the legal foundations.
There was an evolution of the Municipality towards the podestarile phase, in which the Consoli were replaced with a podestà, called from the outside to ensure impartiality in settling disputes between the various city factions and with a position limited to a period of six months or a year.
The people, however, did not feel protected and he resorted to forming associations with a representative called the Captain of the People .
In many cities there was therefore this conflict between the people and the nobles.
The city took on well-defined characteristics also from an architectural point of view:the main streets were full of artisan shops, the Town Hall was often built with a space in front where the people could gather, a large square, where the market also took place, became the beating heart of the city .
Wonderful cathedrals were erected in which the bishop resided, who spoke sitting on the "cathedra", the bishop's seat.
The two most used architectural styles were the Romanesque and the Gothic , each of which expressed the prestige of the city in its own way.