Republic of Cospaia
Republic of Cospaia Repubblica di Cospaia (Italian) | |||||||||||
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1440–1826 | |||||||||||
Motto: Perpetua et firma libertas ( Early Modern | |||||||||||
• Established | 1440 | ||||||||||
26 June 1826 | |||||||||||
Currency | Ducat | ||||||||||
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The Republic of Cospaia (Italian: Repubblica di Cospaia, local dialect: Republica de' Cošpäja) was a small state in northern Umbria, now in Italy, that was independent from 1440 to 1826.[1][2] It was in what is now the hamlet (frazione) of Cospaia, in the municipality (comune) of San Giustino, in the Province of Perugia.[3]
History
Cospaia unexpectedly gained independence in 1440 after
The misunderstanding arose from the fact that about 500 m from the stream that was to establish the demarcation (simply called "Rio"), there was another stream with the same name. The delegates of the Florentine Republic considered the "Rio" that was located further north as the new delimitation, but the delegates of the Papal States considered it to be the one further south. Thus, a sort of terra nullius was formed whose inhabitants declared themselves independent and no longer subject to any authority. In 1484, its autonomy was formally recognized by both Florence and the Papal States since they considered it not worth the trouble to redraw treaties in regard to an already-complicated border.[6]
On May 25, 1826, Cospaia was divided between Tuscany and the Papal States.[3] The treaty was signed by the 14 remaining family heads of Cospaia in exchange for a silver coin and permission to grow up to half a million tobacco plants a year.[7]
Birth of republic
There were
The inhabitants of Cospaia, therefore, preferred to base their independence on the total freedom of the inhabitants, all of whom were holders of sovereignty, and it was not entrusted to any organ of power, unlike in states.[9][10] Cospaia also had an official flag,[11] which is still used on some occasions. The banner was characterised by a black-and-white field divided diagonally. In the coat of arms there appeared "the village between the two small streams, with two fish on the right and the plant of Nicotiana tabacum on the left, above was the motto and years of the republic".[12]
The inhabitants of Cospaia did not, therefore, have tribute obligations with either the Papal States or the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, and the goods that passed through the territory were not subject to any
Cospaia was an early centre of tobacco production in Italy and used 25 ha of fertile soil to grow it.[5] One of the reasons for the prosperity of Cospaia was that it was the only place in Italy that did not follow with the papal ban on tobacco growing, which ensured a monopoly on production.[14]
Form of government
The Republic of Cospaia did not have a formal government or official legal system.[3] There were no jails or prisons, and there was no standing army or police force.[15] At the head of the administration was the Council of Elders and Family Heads, which was summoned for decision-making and judicial duties.[16] The curate of San Lorenzo also took part in the meetings of the "Council of Elders", as "president", a position that was shared with a member of the Valenti family, the most important in the country. Council meetings were held in the Valenti house until 1718, when the council began to meet in the Church of the Annunciation, where it would stay until the republic's dissolution. On the architrave of the church door, one can still read the only written law of the tiny republic: Perpetua et firma libertas ("Perpetual and secure freedom").[17] The Latin phrase was also engraved on the parish bell.[18] Although the republic had no tariffs, there may have been unofficial taxes in the form of a council fee, but that is still being debated. If it existed, families that failed to pay up would have been excommunicated and forced to flee the republic into a "wide escape zone for exiles around Cospaia".[19]
After several centuries of existence, Cospaia was reduced to a mere receptacle of contraband. The concept of freedom was somewhat tarnished in favor of its privileges, which attracted people of all kinds: economic reasons or escaping the justice of the two large adjacent states. This situation was not unusual in small states, especially in border ones.[20]
End
After the
See also
- List of historic states of Italy
- European microstates
- List of republics
References
- ^ "Chiesa". digilander.libero.it.
- ISBN 9781405385299.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ a b c "Cospaia (Umbria)". penelope.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
- ISBN 9781177788007.
- ^ ISBN 9788809016514.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ Ascani, Angelo (1963). Cospaia: storia inedita della singolare Repubblica. Tuscany: Città di Castello. p. 15.
- ^ "The incredible story of Cospaia". UmbriaTouring.it. Archived from the original on 2018-03-25. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
- OCLC 954844777.
- OCLC 848645655.
- ^ Ascani, Angelo (1963). Cospaia: storia inedita della singolare Repubblica. Tuscany: Città di Castello. p. 20.
- ^ "Stato della Church, end of sec. XVII-c. 1798". Retrieved 28 August 2017.
- OCLC 954844777.
- ^ Ascani, Angelo (1963). Cospaia: storia inedita della singolare Repubblica. Tuscany: Città di Castello. p. 42.
- ISBN 978-9023229384.
- OCLC 848645655.
- ^ Nikola Budanovic (February 28, 2018). "The Republic of Cospaia was created by accident in Italy, yet grew in strength over four centuries". The Vintage News.
- OCLC 848645655.
- OCLC 848645655.
- ^ McFarland, Ellie (22 April 2020). "The Republic of Cospaia: An Anarchist Renaissance City". Mises Institute.
- ^ Graziano Graziani, Stati d'eccezione, Rome: Edizioni dell'Asino, 2012, p. 15.
- OCLC 848645655.
- ^ Enrico Fuselli, Cospaia tra tabacco, contrabbando e dogane, San Giustino, Fondazione per il Museo Storico Scientifico del Tabacco, 2014. p. 39.
- Natali, Filippo (1892). La stato libero di Cospaia: nell'alta Valle del Tevere (1440-1826). Umbertide: stab. tip. Tiberino.
External links
- Ex Repubblica di Cospaia
- The Republic of Cospaia: An Anarchist Renaissance City by Ellie McFarland
- Cospaia (in Thayer's Gazetteer of Umbria)