Bartolus was born in the village of Venatura, near Sassoferrato, in the Italian region of Marche. His father was Franciscus Severi, and his mother was of the Alfani family. He read civil law at the universities of Perugia under Cinus, and Bologna under Oldradus and Belviso, and graduated to doctor of law in 1334. In 1339 he started teaching first in Pisa, then in Perugia. He raised the character of Perugia's law school to a level with that of Bologna, and this city made him an honorary citizen in 1348. In 1355, Emperor Charles IV appointed him as his "consiliarius". In Perugia Baldus de Ubaldis and his brothers Angelus and Petrus became pupils of Bartolus. Bartolus died in Perugia at the age of 43, and was interred in the church of San Francisco with a monument inscribed with "Ossa Bartoli".