LXII International Conference of the CISBaM

In 2025, the city of Todi marks the seven-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary of the drafting of its first municipal statute. The statute of 1275 is also the oldest extant municipal statute among the late medieval communes of Umbria. On this occasion, the CISBaM – Accademia Tudertina, prompted and supported by the municipal administration, has chosen to offer the community of Todi a scholarly conference (the sixty-second in its history, to be held from 12 to 14 October) dedicated to rediscovering this ancient legal text.

Under the scrutiny of leading experts invited for the occasion, the 1275 statute will shed light on everyday life in Todi at the close of the thirteenth century: forms of governance and the administration of justice, family customs and the status of women, trade, guilds and the supply of foodstuffs, public hygiene and water management, urban development and expansion into the surrounding countryside, amidst alliances and rivalries with neighbouring towns. Close textual analyses will also be conducted on the statute itself: from its linguistic features to issues of composition, from its transmission to its treatment as a written codex.
During the days of the conference, visitors to the Palazzo dei Priori will also have the opportunity to admire, through a concise guided itinerary, not only the original copy of the 1275 statute, but also subsequent updates to the city’s constitution, in both manuscript and printed form. The exhibition venue will also host the presentation of a new edition of the 1275 statute, featuring a facing-page translation. This publication has been generously supported by the municipal administration so that this foundational text of the Todi community may find its way into the homes of today’s citizens and reveal to them the framework of that glorious communal era, which unfolded communiter et concorditer: together and by common accord.