Gran maestro - Definition and Overview

A Gran maestro is the unofficial head of state of an Italian city. The role could depend on holding a aprticular office, military power or a general subversion of the constitution.

The Scaliger family in Verona converted their control of the office of podesta into a permanent lordship as early as 1226. The Sforza dynasty rose from condottieri to be dukes of Milan in 1447. The Medici relied on financial power and control of the selection process for office to establish their own dominance in Florence, although it took them until 1527 to acquire the formal title of Grand Duke and abolish all vestiges of the republic.