 On December 26, 1240, Ildebrandino Cacciaconti, the then podestà of Siena, signed a decree imposing a tax on citizens of Siena who rented rooms to students of the local ""Studium Senese"".The money from this tax went to pay for the salaries of the "maestri" (teachers) of the new University of Siena.The studium was further supported when, in 1252, Pope Innocent IV declared both its teachers and students immune from taxes and forced labour levied on their person or property by the city of Siena.