commune

A type of self-government which flourished in N and C Italy in the Middle Ages. It was first seen in N Italy in the 11th-c, when associations formed by local aristocrats to improve political stability managed to win privileges from the imperial authority. Later on (12th–13th-c), to put an end to continuous conflict within the aristocracy, power was entrusted to the podestà. The emerging bourgeoisie soon took over from the aristocracy. During the 14th-c, clashes among the factions led to the signoria, a sort of military dictatorship in the hands of one person, intended as temporary but which in fact led to the creation of dynasties and the end of the commune.

Commune can refer to various things:

Municipality, in various European and African countries Comune in Italy Commune in France, the lowest level of administrative division, comprising cities, towns, and villages Medieval commune, a social organization of the European Middle Ages Commune (intentional community) or a community in which resources are shared. Mir (social), a village community in czarist Russia Kibbutz, an Israeli collective community People's commune, an administrative division of the rural area in the People's Republic of China between 1958-1984 The Paris Commune (French Revolution), the government of Paris from 1789 to 1795, especially from 1792 to 1795 The Paris Commune, socialist reformist state in Paris in 1871 The Shanghai Commune, organized by Zhang Chunqiao in 1967 The Pinnacle Commune, founded by Rastafarian preacher Leonard Howell