In earlier chapters, political, administrative, social, and economic ingredients were forged into an integrated history of the developing Lucchese state. For purposes of a more detailed analysis, the political and administrative features of the 15th-century Lucchesia have been separated from social and economic issues. This chapter looks at the mature political and administrative entity that was 15th-century Lucca. By the mid-15th century Lucca had attained the borders that it was to retain—with only minor adjustments—throughout the remaining centuries of independence. The picture that emerges is of a very weak state, which exercised a very fragile control, particularly in border areas. But the Lucchese state, as in previous centuries, was largely free of rival, autonomous jurisdictions within its borders. And its administrative structures remained highly centralized and intrusive. The chapter compares Lucca, as a somewhat anachronistic relic of the old-style Italian city-state, with the new regional powers of 15th-century Italy. This comparison is complicated by the diverse and fluid characteristics of the new regional formations.
Keywords: fifteenth century, politics, administration, city-state, Renaissance state,