Premessa

The preface introduces the new critical edition of the Constitutum communis Tuderti (1275), the earliest surviving communal statute of Todi and one of the oldest in central Italy, framing it as both a scholarly achievement and a civic project of strong symbolic and identity value. It situates the volume within a long-standing collaboration between the municipal administration of Todi and the Accademia Tudertina, emphasizing the statute’s exceptional capacity to illuminate the social, political, legal, and economic life of the city at the height of its late thirteenth-century expansion. Particular attention is given to the decision to accompany the critically reconstructed Latin text with an Italian translation, intended to broaden access beyond specialists while preserving philological rigor. The preface outlines the methodological foundations of the edition, including codicological and palaeographical analysis of the codex unicus, a reassessment of earlier editions, and a close examination of the statute’s linguistic and rhetorical structures. It also highlights the interpretative value of the rich iconographic apparatus and situates the volume within a larger editorial and commemorative programme, culminating in a forthcoming international conference and additional research tools. Overall, the preface presents the statute as both a foundational document of communal self-government and a key source for understanding late medieval urban society.