Gonfaloniere of Justice

Gonfaloniere di Giustizia
Palazzo della Signoria, seat of the Gonfaloniere di Giustizia and of the Priory of the Arts
ResidencePalazzo Vecchio
Formation1293
First holderGiano della Bella
Final holderAlessandro de' Medici
Abolished1532
For similar offices in other Italian city states, see Gonfaloniere.

Gonfaloniere of Justice (Gonfaloniere di Giustizia) was a post in the government of medieval and early Renaissance Florence. Like Florence's Priori, it was introduced in 1293 when Giano Della Bella's Ordinances of Justice came into force.[1]

He was one of the nine citizens selected by drawing lots every two months, who formed the government, or Signoria. As Gonfaloniere di Giustizia he was the temporary standard-bearer of the Republic of Florence and custodian of the city's banner, which was displayed from the yardarm of a portable cross. Along with the voting rights of the other Priori, he was also in charge of the internal security forces and the maintenance of public order.[2] To distinguish him from his other eight colleagues, his crimson coat, lined with ermine, was further embroidered with golden stars. Each of Florence's neighborhoods, or rioni, had its own priore who might be selected to serve on the council, and its own gonfaloniere di compagnia selected from the first families of each quarter.[3]

  1. ^ "Gonfaloniere di giustizia | medieval Italian official | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
  2. ^ John M. Najemy, A History of Florence, 1200–1575 (Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2008), 84–85.
  3. ^ "GONFALONIERE in "Enciclopedia Italiana"". www.treccani.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2023-04-30.