The thing about pre-modern bureaucracy is that it can be incredibly small when compared to our modern expectations of what a government should look like. I’m fact, when we do talk about large bureaucracies like that of the Republic of Venice, these are (in addition to being only “comparatively” large) often consensus-building organs as much as administrative organs, made to ensure a satisfactory number of people are privy to a given decision-making process and diluting power; an objective which ran opposite of the intentions of Francesco Sforza and Bianca Maria Visconti once they came to power.

Matters are further complicated by the process of state-building in Italy, whereby cities and towns retained much of their council-and-executive systems even when falling under the yolk of a great power like Milan or Venice. Control by the “dominant” power could be expressed in a number of ways, either by filling the local council with sycophants, imposing the appointment of a sympathetic executive, or mere declarations of submission. While decrees by the Sforza or Visconti carried the weight of law, the obedience of these communities could depend on a variety of factors.

Thus the Milanese State was just that: the ruler of Milan exerting power on the various cities and towns of Lombardy. This system was highly dependent on the charisma and strength of a given ruler, and Francesco Sforza had the “benefit” of having seized the city after a protracted period of conflict which exhausted political opponents, paving the way for stable rule. His consort, Bianca Maria Visconti, was also of vital importance in keeping abreast of the formal and semi-formal relationships of power that existed in Lombardy at the time. Francesco and Bianca Maria further had the benefit of laboriously building up a power base around their fife in Lodi, allowing them to build up consensus and secure fealties leading up to their seizure of Milan itself.

So how did the day-to-day administration of Milan effectively take place?

Prior to the Sforza, the “Consiglio Generale” (“General Council”) had been the most powerful body in the city alongside the Visconti dynasty. Established in the turmoil of the early 13th century, it replaced the old “Senate” presided over by the Bishop with a council of Visconti-appointed individuals representing the various gates of the city (Milan had been historically organized around its city gates, as in the proper communal period the Primus Inter Pares of the Senate were those aristocratic dynasties granted the responsibility of tending to the gatehouses). The nominal role of the council was to legitimize Viscontean rule by “appointing” dynasty members to the lordship of the city, however much like the original Senate the council also performed a number of other functions tied to collecting taxes and commissioning public works. In fact, its powers (and its numbers) would grow or shrink depending on the relationship between the Milanese aristocracy and the ruling dynasty. Given the Sforza entered the city following a long battle of wills with the city’s aristocrats, it is unsurprising that the council’s powers were subsequently limited, only ever being convened to approve taxes.

Francesco and Bianca Maria were supported in the actual governing of the city by twelve individuals (formally called, “Tribunale di Provvisione,” more or less meaning “Tribunal of Provisions” or, “Deciders of how we Spend Money.”). But this too was more of an ad-hoc body with members called up to deal with specific slates of issues for no more than two months, with appointees changing each time (save for one staying on from the past rotation, whose job was to explain where the previous “Tribunal” had left off).

The “Tribunale” was also assisted by three “Giudici,” or judges, appointed yearly to oversee specific portions of the public good: Tolls (“Dazi”), Roadways (“Strade”), and Public Salaries (“Vettovaglie,” which was pretty much entirely dedicated to upkeeing Francesco’s military retinue).

Francesco and Bianca Maria could also depend on a slate of more “personal” collaborators, which would grow larger under the reigns of their sons Gian Gaeazzo and Ludovico. Appointed to positions for life, they represented the most loyal inner circle of the Sforza rulers responsible for running both the Sforza household and aiding their management of the state. The most important of these was undoubtably Francesco’s chancellor, Ciccio Simonetta, who kept his position when Gian Galeazzo succeeded Francesco and who saw his influence greatly expanded after the death of Bianca Maria.

Commerce and civil law was largely self-regulated in Italian cities like Milan, with guilds acting as strict self-policing entities. However, the appointment of judges in cases outside the jurisdiction of the guilds (or in cases between guilds) as well as criminal cases was the responsibility of the “Podestà,” a figure which in the past had represented the highest executive authority in the city, but now was relegated to an appointee responsible for the coordination of legal affairs.

In all, the government of Milan had no written constitution (but neither did any other Italian state, for that matter). Government existed at the pleasure of the monarch, or rather, at the behest of the social contract which regulated governed and government. This meant that it could change, with institutions weakening or strengthening as social conditions changed, and new institutions established to replace old ones.