Page 108 - Lanzarotto Malocello from Italy to the Canary Islands

108 from Italy to the Canary Islands

The judges did not find, or did not want to find, any elements with which
to condemn him; and so, fifteen days after his successor was elected, in the
person of Alberto di Malavolta from Bologna, Della Torre was attacked by
the people in the quarter of Pancogolia, as he was leaving together with
his family. The people threw stones at him and shouted “Die! Die!” Faced
with such a demonstration, the old podestà was forced to go back to the
house again to take shelter and later leave unobserved.” (Federico Donav-
er, Storia di Genova [History of Genoa], Mondani Ed., Genoa, 1967).
It was precisely the “Mascherati” who, shouting the words fiat populus
(“in the name of the People”) hailed Guglielmo Boccanegra as the Captain
of the People. This unanimous decision was confirmed in the space of just
a few days by a new Parliament; what is more, the Podestà, Alberto de Ma-
lavolta, was a foreigner. Around this new Magistrature of the Captain of
the People and the figure of the Podestà, a council of thirty two Elders was
elected, which also included the representatives of the Arts. This Council
would define the rules to be followed by the Captain of the People, estab-
lishing also the duration of his office - ten years - and remuneration.
With regard to this new Magistrature, the historian Teofilo Ossian De
Negri speaks of “a yet imperfect and certainly early form of Signoria”. He
also fully outlined this new figure: “The key action of the optimates (…)
almost forced the newly elected Captain of the People, whose intention
was clearly not to play the same game as the greats (and therefore want-
ed arts to be represented in the Council), to exercise the power that the
aristocracy had generously helped to bestow on him, in an authoritarian
and personal manner”. Now, the new approach of this Institution, which
we could say arose spontaneously and in fact by virtue of the new social
dynamics, with a kind of request for power “from the bottom”, can be in-
terpreted in different ways. That request for power from the bottom did not
mean that the people burst onto the scene of History with the truth of their
demands. Truth be told, time was not yet ripe for the people, but at least it
made its (albeit yet weak) voice heard.
Though he was not a nobleman, Guglielmo Boccanegra was certainly
not born of common people. This is how Donaver portrays him: “Gugliel-
mo Boccanegra was a rich man with many followers. He originally came
from the Bisagno Valley. His elders had been at the helm of ships, and he
too had distinguished himself in the wars against the Moors. A man of
strict manners, he was generally well regarded by the people.”
Donaver, once again, highlights certain “dangerous” aspects of this new