Andrea Zorzi is associate professor of Medieval History at the University of Florence and also teaches at the Ca' Foscari University in Venice. His research topics include the political and institutional history of late medieval Italy, with a particular focus on the history of judicial systems, the formation of the territorial state and the types of political struggle. Among his publications: L'amministrazione della giustizia penale nella Repubblica fiorentina. Aspetti e problemi, Firenze, 1988 ("The administration of criminal justice in the Florentine Republic. Features and problems"); Florentine Tuscany: structures and practices of power, ed. by W.J. Connell and A. Zorzi (Cambridge, 2000); Criminalità e giustizia in Germania e in Italia. Pratiche giudiziarie e linguaggi giuridici tra tardo medioevo ed età moderna, co-editor, Bologna, 2001 ("Crime and justice in Germany and Italy. Judicial practices and legal languages between the late Middle Ages and the modern age"); Le storie e la memoria. In onore di Arnold Esch, curated by R. Delle Donne, A. Zorzi, Firenze, 2002 ("Stories and memory. In honor of Arnold Esch"). He is director in charge of Reti Medievali (www.retimedievali.it) and of Storia di Firenze (www.storiadifirenze.org).