Gonfaloniere of Justice

Gonfaloniere di Giustizia
Palazzo della Signoria, seat of the Gonfaloniere di Giustizia and of the Priory of the Arts
Residence	Palazzo Vecchio
Formation	1293
First holder	Giano della Bella
Final holder	Alessandro de' Medici
Abolished	1532

Gonfaloniere of Justice (Gonfaloniere di Giustizia) was a post in the government of medieval and early Renaissance Florence. Like Florence's Priori, it was introduced in 1293 when Giano Della Bella's Ordinances of Justice came into force.^[1]

He was one of the nine citizens selected by drawing lots every two months, who formed the government, or Signoria. As Gonfaloniere di Giustizia he was the temporary standard-bearer of the Republic of Florence and custodian of the city's banner, which was displayed from the yardarm of a portable cross. Along with the voting rights of the other Priori, he was also in charge of the internal security forces and the maintenance of public order.^[2] To distinguish him from his other eight colleagues, his crimson coat, lined with ermine, was further embroidered with golden stars. Each of Florence's neighborhoods, or rioni, had its own priore who might be selected to serve on the council, and its own gonfaloniere di compagnia selected from the first families of each quarter.^[3]