Accessing ancients ruins can be attractive hooks for many adventures and for introducing plot devices. Many will be in or under cities, churches or fortresses. Others may have already been sacked by mundane lords, in order to get riches or stones for buildings, and magi would like to examine or track some of them.
In a many cases, covenants are going to need to work in order to be able to just search for them.
Getting permission from constantly changing mundanes lords to examine ancients sites or artifacts is going to create suspicion for bold gifted characters.
They may want to patron some respected artists or academics and use their research of ancient lore and technics as an excuse to getting access. Or, more boldly, they can patron monasteries or frairs to look for christian relics.
In any case, there should be a great deal of tribunal rulings about how to get access to these sites and who can get it.
I would say, canonically, it is and it is not. Bear in mind that most commerce in hermetic goods (vis, books, enchanted devices, services, etc.) can be mostly done by redcap network, without having to leave your covenant. Many trades can be done with the sole coordination of a single merchere house, if done between covenants of the same tribunal. Also, the major fair is at Durenmar at the Grand Tribunal.
So, been a major tribunal for hermetic trade means having much to buy and to sell. It was said before that Rome should have less vis sources, therefore you can think that it is a tribunal that imports vis and exports books, enchanted devices, services, etc.
Being the middleman and the actual trader, Harco will get a cut of every deal. If you wish to give more relevance to trading face to face, you can add an hermetic fair at Harco every year or two.
I think you are using an anachronistic term in order to ease the description, but, at least for me, between adapting an anachronistic "libertarian", and as libertarian and cooperative are not opposing terms, I fail to see what you mean in this sentence.
Anyway, the issue of that post was historical ruling build up. Where an old ruling, once needed or popular, as circumstances changed becomes a cause for strife.
on a macro scale libertarian is "do your own thing" and cooperative is "lets work together on this and get it organized" so in that sense they are mutually exclusive if you are talking about building a governing body.
Keep in mind Harco isn't just the center of redcap messages and trading, it is also the center of redcap banking, and one of their largest expenses will be buying magic items from Verdi. Magvillus has income from outside the tribunal in terms of fees and fines, so in terms of the flow of vis the real question is what these three covenants want to buy from other covenants.
I could easily see a lot of bonisagus in Italy as well to research ancient ruins, as well as Jerbiton, simply because this is where culture, art, philosophy, and intrigue are starting to take off (especially in Tuscany)
Guernicus (and other Quaesitori) and Tytallus too, one for the old Law knowledge than can be used on the Peripherial Code (the Gothic influence can be weaker now here), and others by the intriguing and competitive spirit on the region.
Jerbiton and Bonisagi have also an interesting environment around Firenze, which is the place where Bonisagus was born, according to canon. And is stated that he had gathered an impressive library.
Magvillus is described as an isolated covenant, one that tries to not get involved in hermetic or mundane politics. Which is hard to do, since even if they were to remain neutral to every faction, just a visit from two or three quaesitores at a particular covenant can say a lot, even if the matter they are after has no relation to hermetic politics.
I would also like a tremere dominated covenant. They won't miss the chance to keep tabs on Magvillus and Harco, Transilvania is not that far away, leverage in the papal curia can be a very useful asset for the house everywhere, many conflicting lords means many potential allies... Also, in canon, they have a dedicated exarch.
Actually Transyvania is pretty far away, and while I could certainly see Tremere keeping tabs on the Roman Tribunal they tend to reserve dedicated covenants for when they are attempting a much stronger political action, usually trying to get heavily involved in the Tribunal politics. I don't think we need another stereotypical tremere covenant to be the token villain to have an interesting tribunal.
Magvillus is traditionally isolated, but when you are talking the tribunal of their domus magnus which also seems to be the tribunal most prone to forming mundane entanglements, I believe that policy will bend.
Could you expand on what the Jerbiton interest in 'around Firenze' would be? Obviously it would make for a good location for a Bonisagus dominated covenant.
Transylvania, possibly. The Transylavanian Tribunal? Not so much.
Look at the map of Tribunals, p. 201 of the core book. Rome and Transylvania (tribunals) share a border, and are otherwise kept apart only by the adriatic sea.
And as someone pointed out recently, seas aren't barriers so much as highways.
And there we have what the consul could be appointed to do: instead of managing the Tribunal's resources (like Thebes), he could be the one to manage inter-Tribunal trade. If Rome is itself vis-poor, and gets most of its vis from trading with other Tribunals, it makes sense that the Tribunal has some structure in place to help its magi deal with the hassle of finding customers in other Tribunals. That could be one of the main things that the consul is in charge of, and it would make sense that it's not done by the Praeco.
Where is the canonical reference to a Tremere covenant in the Roman Tribunal?
As to inter-tribunal trade, Harco and the redcaps already manage that, why would a consul need to take on the same responsibility?
HoH: TL p. 122 The Exarch of Rome is third in line for Primacy of Tremere in event of sudden destruction of the Primus and Legatus.
HoH: TL p. Guorna the Fetid, Tremere's mater, ruled the remains of her magical faction/line, based in Naples as late as 757.
I do not find a reference to a full out covenant of Tremere in Rome, though, in the Tremere chapter. It follows that there should be (Exarch, possibly near Naples), but can't cite it.
I can't find a reference in Against the Dark, either, on a half-hour scan. I don't have it in pdf, so can't search the text, sorry to say.
according to the criamon in HOH:MC there should be 9 clutches- 8 clutches for mysteries and the central clutch, each in a different tribunal. I am certain the series is well short of that number listed especially given the number of tribunals which remain unpublished, so logically there would have to b a clutch in the Roman tribunal. Where it might be is a different question.
Cave of Twisting Shadows, in the Greater Alps.
Miniata Sophia, in Provencal.
Xylintes, in Thebes.
That's just the published ones, of course.
That leaves 6 clutches unaccounted for, and none known in Rhine, Transylvania (and I can see where the Tremere have little use or tolerance for Criamon magi), Normandy, or Hibernia.
Insert on Page 19 indicates that Old Histria has a chapterhouse in Venice, there are two Tremere there. Venice rules the island of Cres, though it resides in in the Transylvania Tribunal. Reading through the magi descriptions of Old Histria, it details some of the magi being in Venice. This lends some support to the canon of their being chapterhouses for many powerful covenants or Houses in Venice.
I doubt that there is another Tremere House covenant in the Tribunal (I remember reading somewhere that these are frowned upon by the House), but there are probably a number of Tremere in the Tribunal. Against the Dark indicates that House Mercere and House Tremere have a strong relationship, so there may even be some Tremere assigned to Harco, providing support.
It may be that the Exarch of Rome resides in Venice at the Histrian chapterhouse, but I don't think that's clear. I'd tend to think the Exarch would have more substantial resources at hand.
If you're willing to reference 3rd edition materials, Estancia-es-Karida in Iberia would be a home of a Criamon clutch, likely the Path of Walking Backwards.
simply speaking with 13 tribunals and 4 known to not have a clutch, with one tribunal per clutch, all others logically should have one. That or one of the tribunals known not to have one actually has one... so I think it is safe to figure that Rome has a clutch. Which paths are accounted for? Assuming Iberia has the clutch for the Path of walking backwards, central is in the greater alps, which paths (or do we know) I have Thebes as being dedicated to Path of the Body, what do we have for Provencal? Path of Beacons has no clutch, would the Path of Strife be in Rome? Or something else?