In the middle of the tenth century Otto I consolidated his position as king of Germany and then invaded Lombardy to support its widowed queen, Adelaide, whose lands had been seized by a usurper. He succeeded and married Adelaide, establishing his claim to rule the north of Italy.  In 962 he sent his forces to aid the “boy pope,” John XII, who in gratitude named him Holy Roman Emperor. These events began a period of over three hundred years of German interference in Italian affairs.  The
Ottonians (kings in Germany and Holy Roman emperors in Italy) had two major interests in Italy. The first was the collection of taxes. The second was control of the Church; the emperors regularly appointed bishops and often appointed and deposed popes.  A revival of the fortunes of the Church in the eleventh century put it on a collision course with the Empire. In the process, the historical divisions of Italy emerged, with major differences between the south and the north and the papal lands between them. 
 

Important developments:

The South:
 

• 827: Arab invasion of Sicily

• 1061-1091: Normans under Roger I, conquered Sicily and dislodged the Byzantines from Calabria and Apulia

• 1130: Roger II  crowned king of Sicily, Calabria, and Apulia. His kingdom, later the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, kept basically the same boundaries until 1860

• 1194: Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI, of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, conquered Sicily and the south of Italy

The North:
 

• 1046-1122:  The Investiture Controversy. The major issue was the German emperors’ custom of appointing bishops, who served as their vassals and administrators. The popes insisted that they alone should appoint bishops. During the struggle the popes tried to stimulate revolt against the emperors in Germany and the emperors strove to depose obstinate popes and appoint cooperative ones

• 1152-1176: Frederick “Barbarossa” (1152-1190) of the Hohenstauffen family quarreled with the Papacy over which was preeminent. Would the Pope Adrian IV dominate the man he crowned Holy Roman Emperor, or would the Emperor--who had supported this pope--be supreme? This episode concluded with the defeat of Barbarossa in 1176 at Legnano by the papacy and  a combined force of northern  communes, the Lombard League

• 1194: Henry VI, son of Barbarossa , conquered Sicily and the south of Italy

• 1226-1268: Struggle renewed between  Empire and Papacy. Frederick II  (1211-1250), grandson of Barbarossa, inherited Germany and its claims to northern Italy as well as Sicily and the south of Italy. Naturally he strove to unify his territories. Just as naturally, the Papacy, whose territories lay between, strove to oppose him. After his death, Frederick’s sons, Conrad, Enzo, and Manfred continued the struggle, as did his grandson, Conradin. Enzo was captured in battle in 1249 and was imprisoned in Bologna until his death in 1272

The conflict between the Papacy and the Empire confirmed and deepened the political
division in Italy. Both sides sought allies wherever they could find them, and often gave
them various favors for their support. In the north, especially, Papal and Imperial factions
vied for power in individual communes (towns). These communes  often changed alliance
partners as one faction there ousted its rivals from power. Often enough the individual
communes would use their alliance with the pope or emperor to settle accounts with local
rivals. 

By the time the Papal-Imperial rivalry ended, the individual independent communes in the
north had enough power to keep either of the larger forces from dominating. 
 
 

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