('power'). There is a similar derivation for the Arabic term ????? , originally meaning 'power' or 'authority'; it eventually became the title of the person holding power.

History

The first documented usage of podestà was in Bologna in 1151, when it was applied to Guido di Ranieri di Sasso of Canossa, brought in from Faenza to be rettore e podestà, noted in numerous documents. Leander Albertus gives

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