Hi guys, I posted some infos in the Italian thread, but they suggested to post it here. But I noticed that you are already making research on the XIII century.
During my studies, I found that the XIII century in Italy can be split in the first and second half: before and after Federico II's death. The political situation drammatically changed after the death of the Emperor so I think you should take a decision on what historical period to put the events. There will be lots of changes in the selection of lords, cities, factions and so on...
The only suggestion I can give you now is that the first part of the century is much interesting, because of the presence of Federico II as emperor of the Two Sicilies, Innocenzo IV as Pope of Holy Roman Church (Patrymony of St. Peter) his enemy. He excomunicated him because he was a guelph.
You should also consider the two principal houses of Guelphs and Gibellins, fighting each others. This, linked to the choice of the major families, can give us a good starting point in the creation of factions, people and political relations.
This link brings to my 1257 aD mod's post . It has some information that I found on the web:
http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,116533.msg2808284.html#msg2808284I repeat, is really important to choose between the first and second half on the century for historical coherence.
