Definitions for "Podesta"
One of the chief magistrates of the Italian republics in the Middle Ages.
A mayor, alderman, or other magistrate, in some towns of Italy.
potestas] A deputy appointed to govern a town or community by a superior, e.g., in the 1250s the Hungarian Ban of Dalmatia appointed a podesta in each town to represent him. (Fine, John V.A. Jr. The Late Medieval Balkans, 625)