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Republic of Cospaia

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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]

Republic of Cospaia
Repubblica di Cospaia (Italian)
1440–1826
Flag of Cospaia
Flag
Motto: Perpetua et firma libertas
(Latin for 'Eternal and steadfast freedom')
Location of Cospaia
Location of Cospaia
StatusMicrostate
CapitalCospaia
Common languagesItalian
Religion
Roman Catholicism
Governmentsee §Form of government
Historical eraEarly Modern
• Established
1440
26 June 1826
CurrencyDucat
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Papal States
Grand Duchy of Tuscany
Papal States

History

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Cospaia unexpectedly gained independence in 1440 after Pope Eugene IV, who was embroiled in a struggle with the Council of Basel, made a sale of territory to the Republic of Florence. By error, a small strip of land went unmentioned in the sale treaty, and its inhabitants declared themselves independent.[4][5]

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

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There were maritime republics (with aristocratic institutions), the Republic of San Marino and the alleged Republic of Senarica (in Abruzzo), with an elected doge akin to the system used in Venice, but their real existence has not been historically proven with proper documentation.[8]

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 tariffs. It thus functioned as a free economic zone and buffer state between the two powers. Although Cospaia extended over just 330 ha (2 km long and about 500 m wide), the 250 inhabitants treasured the situation and took advantage of it to increase the cultivation of tobacco, among the first in the Italian Peninsula. Even now, some varieties of tobacco are still called cospaia.[13]

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

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San Giustino Umbro, Cospaia

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

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After the Napoleonic Era, on 26 June 1826, with an act of submission by 14 representatives of the republic, Cospaia became part of the Papal States, and every inhabitant of Cospaia, as "compensation", obtained a papal silver coin and the authorisation to continue tobacco cultivation,[21] which was taken over by rich local landowners such as the Collacchioni and the Giovagnoli, who bought most of the territory contained within the borders of the former republic. They extended tobacco production to the whole valley and imposed it as the principal agricultural commodity.[22]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Chiesa". digilander.libero.it.
  2. ^ Ellingham, written and researched by Tim Jepson, Jonathan Buckley, and Mark (2009). The Rough Guide to Tuscany & Umbria (7th ed.). London: Rough Guides. p. 505. ISBN 9781405385299.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b c "Cospaia (Umbria)". penelope.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  4. ^ Heywood, William (1921). A History of Pisa: Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries. The University Press. p. 104. ISBN 9781177788007.
  5. ^ a b Marconi, Francesco Testa, Aroldo (2001). The Toscano: the complete guide to the Italian cigar (2. ed.). Firenze: Giunti. p. 43. ISBN 9788809016514.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Ascani, Angelo (1963). Cospaia: storia inedita della singolare Repubblica. Tuscany: Città di Castello. p. 15.
  7. ^ "The incredible story of Cospaia". UmbriaTouring.it. Archived from the original on 2018-03-25. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  8. ^ Gennaioli, Settimio; Gennaioli, Emilio; Selvi, Giovanna (1999). Cospaia e la sua storia in ottava rima: la straordinaria storia di un borgo dell'alta valle del Tevere, Cospaia, libera repubblica dal 1440 sino al 1826: festa degli auguri-Natale di fine millennio, Bologna, 19 dicembre 1999. S.l.: s.n. p. 5. OCLC 954844777.
  9. ^ Milani, Giuseppe; Selvi, Giovanna (1996). Tra Rio e Riascolo: piccola storia del territorio libero di Cospaia. Lama di San Giustino: Associazione genitori oggi. p. 18. OCLC 848645655.
  10. ^ Ascani, Angelo (1963). Cospaia: storia inedita della singolare Repubblica. Tuscany: Città di Castello. p. 20.
  11. ^ "Stato della Church, end of sec. XVII-c. 1798". Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  12. ^ Gennaioli, Settimio; Gennaioli, Emilio; Selvi, Giovanna (1999). Cospaia e la sua storia in ottava rima: la straordinaria storia di un borgo dell'alta valle del Tevere, Cospaia, libera repubblica dal 1440 sino al 1826 : festa degli auguri-Natale di fine millennio, Bologna, 19 dicembre 1999. S.l.: s.n. p. 4. OCLC 954844777.
  13. ^ Ascani, Angelo (1963). Cospaia: storia inedita della singolare Repubblica. Tuscany: Città di Castello. p. 42.
  14. ^ Ploeg, Jan Douwe van der (1995). Beyond modernization: the impact of endogenous rural development. Assen: Van Gorcum. p. 158. ISBN 978-9023229384.
  15. ^ Milani, Giuseppe; Selvi, Giovanna (1996). Tra Rio e Riascolo: piccola storia del territorio libero di Cospaia (in Italian). Lama di San Giustino: Associazione genitori oggi. pp. 16–17. OCLC 848645655.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ Milani, Giuseppe; Selvi, Giovanna (1996). Tra Rio e Riascolo: piccola storia del territorio libero di Cospaia. Lama di San Giustino: Associazione genitori oggi. p. 19. OCLC 848645655.
  18. ^ Milani, Giuseppe; Selvi, Giovanna (1996). Tra Rio e Riascolo: piccola storia del territorio libero di Cospaia (in Italian). Lama di San Giustino: Associazione genitori oggi. p. 25. OCLC 848645655.
  19. ^ McFarland, Ellie (22 April 2020). "The Republic of Cospaia: An Anarchist Renaissance City". Mises Institute.
  20. ^ Graziano Graziani, Stati d'eccezione, Rome: Edizioni dell'Asino, 2012, p. 15.
  21. ^ Milani, Giuseppe; Selvi, Giovanna (1996). Tra Rio e Riascolo: piccola storia del territorio libero di Cospaia. Lama di San Giustino: Associazione genitori oggi. p. 81. OCLC 848645655.
  22. ^ Enrico Fuselli, Cospaia tra tabacco, contrabbando e dogane, San Giustino, Fondazione per il Museo Storico Scientifico del Tabacco, 2014. p. 39.
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