The Statutes of Turin (1360) and Their Images: Civic Identity and Legal Iconography in the IVS Commune online Database

This paper examines the Codice della catena, an illuminated manuscript of the Statutes of the City of Turin compiled in 1360, as a key witness to the interplay between law, civic identity, and visual culture in a moment of political transition. Produced following the incorporation of Turin into the dominions of Amedeo VI of Savoy, the manuscript functioned both as a legal instrument and as a symbolic artefact designed to legitimise a new balance between communal autonomy and princely authority. Focusing on the manuscript’s unique illuminated frontispiece, the study analyses its decorative apparatus from the stylistic and iconographic perspective, highlighting the juxtaposition of local patron saints with civic and dynastic heraldry as a visual articulation of Turin’s institutional and religious identity. The paper further situates the frontispiece within 14th century artistic production in Turin, underscoring its importance as one of the few securely dated local works of the period. Finally, the article discusses the manuscript’s cataloguing within the database IVS Commune online, illustrating how controlled vocabularies and iconographic taxonomies such as Iconclass can be employed to capture the multiple semantic layers of imagery in juridical manuscripts. Through this case study, the paper demonstrates the value of integrating art-historical analysis with digital methodologies to enhance the study of medieval legal culture and civic imagery.