of an autonomous government became official in the summer of 1220. The first document in the historical archive of Castell'Arquato is from 10 August 1220 when the Bishop Vicedomio gave his land in the burg and the territory in Emphyteusis (a form of fiefdom) to the "burg and to the homines" of Castell’Arquato for 700 piacentian lire. For 200 lire and a small annual fee he gives also "in perpetual investiture all jurisdictions, honors and tithes" of Castell’Arquato, Lusurasco, San Lorenzo and Vernasca. Castell’Arquato was at the time ruled by a podestà chosen by the commune of Piacenza from among the most renowned members of the Piacenza's families, serving for a term of three years. The podestà had civil, political and judicial functions. The podestà's rule ended in 1290 when Alberto Scotti, backed by the Guelph faction, the merchant class and the artisanal corporations, became lord of Piacenza. Castell’Arquato also became a seigniory on its own right. Alberto Scotti allied himself to the Visconti family and extended his dominion to the territory of Piacenza, while entrusting Castell’Arquato to the podestà Tedesio de' Spectinis. The alliance with the Visconti ended in 1302 when the son of Matteo Visconti, Galeazzo I Visconti, married Beatrice d'Este and shifted the weight of the alliances, starting a period of conflict that brought the Scotti to Milan. Under the Scotti dominion, Castell’Arquato acquired political prestige and many of the buildings that can be still be seen today, like the Palazzo del Podestà (Podestà's Palace) and the Palazzo di Giustizia (Court of Justice), nucleus of what is today the Palazzo del Duca (Ducal Palace). In 1304 Alberto Scotti was banished from Castell’Arquato by the city of Piacenza, but came back three years later. After the arrival of German emperor Henry VII in 1310, Alberto Scotti ruled the village until 1316 when Galeazzo I Visconti besieged Castell’Arquato, which yielded after one year. Galeazzo Visconti allowed the town "special rights": the ability to juridically emancipate itself from Piacenza and to write laws of its own, the basis of the 15th century statutes. In 1324 Castell’Arquato was given to the municipality of Piacenza, itself under the dominion of the Church, which governed the burg for twelve years. Piacenza went back to the Visconti in 1336 with Azzone Visconti, who favored the burg's autonomy from Piacenza, appointing a trusted podestà, Galvagno de' Comini, and facilitating the fortification of this strategically and