Otho, bishop of Frisingen, has left an important passage on the Italian cities, (l. ii. c. 13, in Script. Ital. tom. vi. p. 707 - 710: ) and the rise, progress, and government of these republics are perfectly illustrated by Muratori, (Antiquitat. Ital. Medii Aevi, tom. iv. dissert xlv. - lii. p. 1 - 675. Annal. tom. viii. ix. x.)