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Principe di Belmonte or Prince Belmonte is the name and senior title of an Italian dynasty, tracing its roots back to the 11th Century. The family were granted the Belmonte titles from the late 16th Century, and were feudal lords of southern Italy (Puglia and Calabria), as well as holding senior positions and lands in northern Spain. As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century was that century which lasted from 1001 to 1100. ...
(15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ...
Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne; from a manuscript of a chanson de geste. ...
Apulia is a region of Italy (called Puglia in Italian), bordering on Molise to the north-west, Campania to the south-west, Basilicata to the south, the Adriatic Sea to the east and the Ionian Sea to the south-east. ...
Calabria, formerly Brutium, is a region in southern Italy which occupies the toe of the Italian peninsula south of Naples. ...
Belmonte or Belmonte Calabro, Italy
The town from which the princely title of Belmonte is taken is perched on a hilltop on the coast of Calabria in Southern Italy. The town is known today as Belmonte Calabro. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 1735 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 1735 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...
Belmonte was founded in about 1270, under the reign of Charles I of Sicily (also Charles of Anjou, and King of Naples 1282-1285), with the construction of a castle by Drogone di Beaumont, the marshal responsible for new fortification in Calabria. The castle at Belmonte was intended to provide resistance against partisans fighting for the Duke of Swabia. It was constructed in the territory of Amantea in order to maintain control over the citizen body, which was supportive of Conrad V, last of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. Charles I (March 1227 (or 1226) - January 7, 1285) was the posthumous (or born ten months before fathers death: sources suggest two possible birth years) son of King Louis VIII of France by Blanche of Castile. ...
The following is a list of Dukes of Swabia, including the several holders of the title who were also Holy Roman Emperors. ...
During the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282), Belmonte was conquered by Sicilian-Aragonese troops. Belmonte was elevated to the status of county, and assigned to Peter Salvacossa. In 1360 the county was awarded by Queen Giovanna to a family of Amantea, which maintained it until 1443. In that year the Aragonese transformed Belmonte into a barony and assigned it to the Tarsia family, who maintained it until 1578. During the feudal tenure of this family the petrarchan poet Galeazzo di Tarsia composed his canzoniere or Book of Songs in the castle of Belmonte. Sicilian Vespers (1846), by Francesco Hayez The Sicilian Vespers is the name given to a rebellion in Sicily in 1282 against the rule of the Angevin king Charles I, who had taken control of the island with Papal support in 1266. ...
Under the Tarsia lordship, Belmonte was besieged several times: during the invasions of Charles VIII of Valois and Louis XII, by the French between 1495 and 1503, and again in 1528 under the French marshal Odet de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec. The Tarsia were succeeded by the Ravaschieri Fieschi, of the Counts Fieschi di Lavagna, an ancient family of powerful Genovese bankers. Feudal tenure of Belmonte is recorded to have been purchased from the Tarsia for 28,220 ducats. Under the Ravaschieri churches were constructed in Belmonte, fortifications built and palaces laid out. In 1619 the title of Prince was granted to the Ravaschieri by King Philip III of Spain. Odet de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec (1485 - August 15, 1528) was a French military leader. ...
The Principate of Belmonte was further enlarged in 1630 with the purchase of the town of Amantea and the manor of Saint Peter. In 1647, during the revolt of Masaniello, the Prince provided 200 of his armed Belmontese vassals to Naples to assist the Viceroy. In 1685, the Ravaschieri family had no male heir, and the principate of Belmonte passed first to the Pinelli by marriage and then in 1722 again by marriage to the Pignatelli Princes.
HSH (His Serene Highness) Prince Antonio Pignatelli, also the 6th Prince Belmonte by marriage, was one of the most powerful men in Italy- even minting his own coinage which included the famous "zecchino of Belmonte", a gold coin on which appears both the Prince's head and coat of arms. In 1806 and 1807 Belmonte memorably supported Amantea and Fiumefreddo while under siege by French troops commanded by General Peyri. Belmonte's castle was the last to surrender. Under the French, Belmonte became the centre of the admininistrative area of Crati, comprising the territory that reaches from Amantea to Guardia Piemontese and including the cities of Aiello, Altilia, Mangone and Rogliano. With the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, Belmonte gained the additional name of Calabro, to distinguish it from other Italian places of the same name.
The coat of arms of Belmonte itself is a palm between two towers under a princely crown. The two towers represent the fortifications of Verri and Barbarise, with the palm symbolizing the countryside between.
The Title of Belmonte
The Belmonte Princes and Princesses The Belmonte Princes and Princesses are heads of a Spanish-Italian dynasty, tracing their ancestry from the Fieschi of Genoa, who are first recorded in the 10th Century. Image File history File links Hadrian_V.png Pope Adrian V Licensing This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or less. ...
Image File history File links Hadrian_V.png Pope Adrian V Licensing This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or less. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (596x999, 191 KB) Pope Innocent IV at the Council of Lyon between bishops Source: MS 1. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (596x999, 191 KB) Pope Innocent IV at the Council of Lyon between bishops Source: MS 1. ...
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In the public domain by age This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ...
Image File history File links CardinalDomenicoPignatellidiBelmonte. ...
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The Fieschi held the fief of Lavagna from the Holy Roman Emperors from the 11th Century onwards. The title of Conte di Lavagna was used by all males of the family. This title of Lavagna was taken from a little river flowing into the Gulf of Genoa between Sestri Levante and Chiavari.
The Fieschi played an important role as Guelf supporters in the governance and military history of medieval Genoa, ever in conflict with the Republic and always retaining their connection with their holdings there. By an agreement in 1138 between the Fieschi and the commune of Genoa, the Fieschi agreed to spend part of the year in the city. Sinibaldo de' Fieschi, Count of Lavagna, became Pope Innocent IV in 1243, and his nephew Ottobuono was elected Pope to succeed Innocent V on July 12, 1276, but died at Viterbo on August 18, without ever having been ordained to the priesthood, as Pope Adrian V. A niece was Alagia, wife of Moroello III Malaspina, who is mentioned in Dante's Inferno, Purgatorio, Canto XIX:70-114. In the Fieschi conspiracy of 1547, Giovanni Luigi Fieschi and the nobles unsuccessfully attempted to recapture the dogate of Genoa from Andrea Doria, and the local power of the Fieschi was broken.
Sprung from Fieschi, the Belmonte princes made alliances in marriage with the noble families of Ravaschieri, Pinelli, Pignatelli, Aymerich and Granito, among many others.
The family of the Belmonte princes has given three popes to the church: His Holiness Pope Innocent IV- (Fieschi), His Holiness Hadrian V- (Fieschi) and His Holiness Innocent XII- (Pignatelli), the last of whom the Duc de Saint Simon wrote 'He was a great and saintly Pope, a true shepherd and universal father, such as is very rarely seen on the throne of St Peter and who swept away universal regrets, overflowing with blessings and merits'. The family has also given a saint Giuseppe (Joseph) Pignatelli SJ. Innocent IV, born Sinibaldo de Fieschi (Genoa, ca. ...
Adrian V (also known as Hadrian V), born Ottobuono de Fieschi ( 1205 - August 18, 1276), pope in 1276, was a Genoese who was created cardinal deacon of San Adriano by his uncle Innocent IV. He was sent to England in 1265 by Clement IV to mediate between King Henry III...
Innocent XII, né Antonio Pignatelli (March 13, 1615 - September 27, 1700) pope from 1691 to 1700, was the successor of Alexander VIII. He came of a distinguished Neapolitan family and was educated at the Jesuit college in Rome, he in his twentieth year became an official of the court of...
Belmonte cardinals have included His Eminence Domenico Pignatelli di Belmonte, Archbishop of Palermo and Monreale and President of the Kingdom of Sicily (1730 - 1806), and His Eminence Gennaro Granito Pignatelli di Belmonte, Prefect of the Congregation for Ceremonies and Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals, and Grand Prior of Rome of the Sovereign Military and Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta (Order of Malta) (1851 - 1948). The Sacred College of Cardinals is the body of all Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church. ...
The Knights Hospitaller (the or Knights of Malta or Knights of Rhodes) is a tradition which began as a Benedictine nursing Order founded in the 11th century based in the Holy Land, but soon became a militant Christian Chivalric Order under its own charter, and was charged with the care...
The current seat of the Belmonte princes is the Palazzo Belmonte, originally used by the family to entertain members of the Habsburg imperial family and the Bourbon kings of Spain to boar hunting. Other historic seats of the family include the Castles and Palaces of Belmonte, Acerenza and Galatone and Copertino in southern Italy.
 Galatone, Marchesato 1562
 Castellabate, Marchesato 1745 The family's senior title of 'Principe di Belmonte' (Prince Belmonte) was conferred on March 5th 1619 by HRH King Felipe III of Spain and granted to the heirs general of the 1st Prince. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1056x1408, 167 KB) Summary Cypher of the Belmonte Princes (Princely Crown of Italy and Spain) Licensing This image depicts a seal, an emblem, a coat of arms or a crest. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1056x1408, 167 KB) Summary Cypher of the Belmonte Princes (Princely Crown of Italy and Spain) Licensing This image depicts a seal, an emblem, a coat of arms or a crest. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x1232, 104 KB) Summary Summary Cypher of the Belmonte Princes (Princely Crown of the Holy Roman Empire) Licensing This image depicts a seal, an emblem, a coat of arms or a crest. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x1232, 104 KB) Summary Summary Cypher of the Belmonte Princes (Princely Crown of the Holy Roman Empire) Licensing This image depicts a seal, an emblem, a coat of arms or a crest. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1956x2613, 332 KB) Licensing This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or less. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1956x2613, 332 KB) Licensing This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or less. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1761x2671, 324 KB) Licensing This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or less. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1761x2671, 324 KB) Licensing This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or less. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2044x2812, 370 KB) Licensing This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or less. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2044x2812, 370 KB) Licensing This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or less. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1908x2571, 318 KB) Licensing This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or less. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1908x2571, 318 KB) Licensing This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or less. ...
Philip III of Spain Philip III (Spanish: Felipe III) (April 14, 1578 – March 31, 1621) was the king of Spain and Portugal (as Philip II Portuguese: Filipe II), from 1598 until his death. ...
In recognition of their increasing power, the Belmonte princes were later granted the additional rank, style and precedence of 'Serene Highness' as hereditary princes or Reichsfursten of the Holy Roman Empire, by His Imperial and Royal Highness Charles VI (Vienna, September 9th, 1726). The Belmonte princes may therefore show behind their arms the 'double-headed eagle sable displayed armed crowned and maintaining an orb and sceptre or' of the Holy Roman Empire (HSH Prince of Belmonte). As a papal family or 'papabile' (Fieschi, and later Pignatelli), the Princes also have the right to show the papal keys and ombrellino above their arms. (This latter augmentation of honour has often been shown historically in the princely arms by including the papal tiara or triple crown as a crest.) This page is about the Germanic empire. ...
The name Charles VI is used to refer to numerous persons in history: Kings: Charles VI of France Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI of Naples This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...
The current Prince and head of the Belmonte princely family, His Excellency Don Angelo, is the 13th successor to the Belmonte princely title. The Belmonte succession has historically been according to male preference primogeniture, similar to the system used in the inheritance of the Spanish or British thrones; that is, to the eldest son, and in the absence of a son, to the eldest daughter. Under these terms, the Belmonte titles have passed thrice to daughters in the absence of male heirs. Each of these three heraldic heiresses was the last of her direct line: Ravaschieri (1685), Pinelli (1779), and Pignatelli (1911). The dates shown in brackets indicate the year of each line's combination with a new house.
In practice, the family has usually simplified their heraldic achievement and the recognition of heraldic heiresses, shortening the normal usage of its full name. In addition to their Belmonte princely title, the princely family are also Grandees of Spain (First Class), entitled to the formal address 'Most Excellent Lord (or Lady)', and hold the junior or courtesy titles of the Dukedom of Acerenza (conferred 1593), the Marquessate of Galatone (conferred 1562 on Umberto Squarciafico and inherited through the marriage of Livia Squarciafico with Galeazzo Pinelli), the County or Earldom of Copertino (conferred 1557 on Vittoria D'Oria Squarciafico and inherited by her son Umberto qv) the Barony of Badolato, the Marquessate of Castellabate (conferred 1745 on Don Paris Granito), and various other titles. A brief note on the Granito family and the most recent title of the Marquessate of Castellabate appears at the bottom of this page. The Spanish title of the Marquessate of San Vincenzo was brought to the family through marriage of the HSH Prince Don Antonio Pignatelli, 2nd Marquess of San Vincenzo, to the 6th Princess Belmonte. (The marquessate was conferred in 1694 on the Prince's father, Don Domenico Pignatelli, Viceroy of Navarre and Galicia, who was the son of Don Giacomo, 1st Duke of Bellosguardo and the grandson of Don Fabrizio, 3rd Marquess of Cerchiara- created 1st Prince of Noia at Madrid on 2nd June 1600. Don Domenico married the great heiress Donna Giustiniana de Aymerich at Barcelona on 23rd February 1675, the daughter of Don Bernardo de Aymerich, Signore di Bernalda, and Donna Maria Argensola.) The ombrellino and keys, which is the insignia of the Holy See during sede vacante. ...
The ombrellino and keys, which is the insignia of the Holy See during sede vacante. ...
Image File history File links Kuk-doppeladler. ...
Image File history File links Kuk-doppeladler. ...
Galatone is a town located in Salento, Italy, near Lecce. ...
Titles in the possession of, but junior to, the Head of the House (styled Principe or Principessa di Belmonte), have been used historically in the discretionary grant of the Prince in the manner of courtesy titles for the heirs to the succession. According to this practice, the heir to the Princely title may be accorded the courtesy title of the Duke or Duchess of Acerenza, with the next in line to succession known as the Marquess or Marchioness of Galatone, and the next in line, in turn, known as the Count or Countess of Copertino. The heir apparent to the current 13th Principe di Belmonte is his elder daughter, Francesca di Paola Granito Pignatelli di Belmonte.
The full Belmonte family name, reflecting each of the key alliances through which the Belmonte title has descended is: Granito Pignatelli Pinelli Ravaschieri Fieschi, Principi di Belmonte.
The Princely Succession, 1619 creation (Consorts of each holder of the Princely title given in italics, together with date of marriage, where known) Events May 13 - Dutch statesman Johan van Oldenbarnevelt is executed in The Hague after having been accused of treason. ...
- 1st Prince of Belmonte, Don Orazio Giambattista Ravaschieri Fieschi (dei Conti Fieschi di Lavagna),
also Barone di Tortora and Barone di Badolato (son of Germano Ravaschieri Fieschi) (died 12th October 1645)
Donna Anna Maria Caracciolo Pisquizi, of the Counts of Brienza (later Dukes of Sicignano) 29th May 1621
[*2nd Prince Belmonte, Don Orazio Giambattista Ravaschieri Fieschi] Don Cosimo Pinelli
- 3rd Prince Belmonte, Don Daniele Baraschiero Ravaschieri Fieschi, (died 1685)
Donna...Pinelli, [daughter of Don Galeazzo Francesco Pinelli, 3rd Duke of Acerenza and Marquess of Galatone, Count of Copertino and of Donna Giustiniana Pignatelli, daughter of Don Fabrizio, 3rd Marquess of Cerchiara (created 1st Prince of Noia at Madrid 2nd June 1600) and Donna Violante de Sangro, daughter of Don Giovanni, 1st Prince di Sansevero and of Donna Andreana Carafa - 4th Prince Belmonte, Don Gaetano Ravaschieri Pinelli, 4th Duke of Acerenza and Marquess of Galatone, Count of Copertino (died 1711)
- 5th Prince Belmonte, Don Oronzo Ravaschieri Pinelli, 5th Duke of Acerenza and Marquess of Galatone, Count of Copertino (18th January 1661 - 25th March 1722)
married Donna Violante di Sangro, daughter of the Prince of Viggiano, Princess Belmonte 5th May 1701 - 6th Princess Belmonte, Donna Anna Francesca Ravaschieri Pinelli, 6th Duchess of Acerenza and Marchioness of Galatone, Countess of Copertino (14th August 1702 - 8th January 1779)
married His Serene Highness (HSH) Prince Don Antonio Pignatelli, 1st Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (SRI), 2nd Marquess of San Vincenzo, Prince Belmonte (maritali nomine) 26th May 1721 (for whose marriage Pietro Trapassi or Metastasio composed his epithalamium) Pietro Trapassi (January 13, 1698 - April 12, 1782), Italian poet, is better known by his pseudonym of Metastasio. ...
- 7th Prince Belmonte, HSH Prince Don Antonio Pignatelli, 2nd Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (SRI), 7th Duke of Acerenza and Marquess of Galatone, Count of Copertino, 3rd Marquess of San Vincenzo (27th March 1722 - 2nd January/June 1794)
married 1st Donna Francesca Revertera, daughter of the Duke of Salandra and the Countess von Thuerheim, Princess Belmonte, 24th February 1754 (died 1756)
married 2nd Donna Chiara Spinelli, of the Duke of Laurino and the Princess of Montacuto, Princess Belmonte, 28th August 1762
- 8th Prince Belmonte, HSH Prince Don Antonio Pignatelli, 3rd Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (SRI), 8th Duke of Acerenza and Marquess of Galatone, Count of Copertino, 4th Marquess of San Vincenzo (7th July 1763 - 17th August 1828)
married Donna Giovanna Pignatelli Aragona Cortés, daughter of the Prince of Noia, Princess Belmonte, 12th May 1783 - 9th Prince Belmonte, HSH Prince Don Gennaro Pignatelli, 4th Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (SRI), 9th Duke of Acerenza and Marquess of Galatone, Count of Copertino, 5th Marquess of San Vincenzo (28th February 1777 - 28th July 1829)
married Donna Carmela de Chiaro, Princess Belmonte, 11th December 1823 - 10th Princess Belmonte, Donna Francesca di Paola (Paolina) Pignatelli, 10th Duchess of Acerenza and Marchioness of Galatone, Countess of Copertino, 6th Marchioness of San Vincenzo (3rd April 1824 - 30th August 1911)
married Don Angelo Granito 4th Marquess of Castellabate, Prince Belmonte (maritali nomine) 29th June 1861 - 11th Prince Belmonte, Don Gioacchino Granito Pignatelli (Principate confirmed by patent 3rd April 1887), 11th Duke of Acerenza and Marquess of Galatone, Count of Copertino, 7th Marquess of San Vincenzo, 5th Marquess of Castellabate (2nd November 1849 - 6th April 1934)
married Donna Maria Caterina d’Ayala Valva, of the Marquess of Valva, 13th November 1869 - 12th Prince Belmonte, Don Gioacchino Granito Pignatelli, 12th Duke of Acerenza and Marquess of Galatone, Count of Copertino, 8th Marquess of San Vincenzo, 6th Marquess of Castellabate (19th March 1913 - 22nd May 1982)
married Donna Francesca Visco, Princess Belmonte, 25th July 1951 - 13th Prince Belmonte, Don Angelo Granito Pignatelli, 13th Duke of Acerenza and Marquess of Galatone, 9th Marquess of San Vincenzo, 7th Marquess of Castellabate (9th February 1939 - )
married Donna Sarah Elizabeth Mayhew, Princess Belmonte, 28th May 1969
 Pignatelli Aragona Cortes
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Future Princes of Belmonte - Donna Francesca di Paola Maria Elisabetta Granito Pignatelli, heir apparent to the 13th Prince, (27th February 1974 - )
The Princely Line
Fieschi
Ravaschieri
Pinelli
Pignatelli
Granito The Granito ancestors of the Prince Belmonte obtained the feudality of Castellabate, near Salerno, in 1700. The title of Marquis of Castellabate was conferred on 29th November 1745. The feudality, which included the portolania of Omignano and jurisdiction over the lands of Rocca di Cilento, Montecorice, S. Maria a Mare, Rutino and San Lorenzo was inherited by Don Angelo from his father Don Paris on 20th July 1767; from Don Angelo it passed to Don Luigi, his son. As there was no heir in that line, the succession passed to the second son of Don Gioacchino, Don Angelo, born on 29th October 1782. He married Donna Francesca di Paola (Paolina) Pignatelli, who was 10th Princess of Belmonte in her own right. Thus Don Angelo became Prince of Belmonte by marriage.
Titled Feudalities of the Princes Belmonte
Acerenza History
The Oscans, who were among the first Lucanian tribes, occupied a place that they called “Akere,” later “Acherutia” in the highlands of Basilicata. The Osci, also called Opici, Opsci or Obsci (and Oscans or Opicans in English) were an ancient Italic people, living in what is now Campania in southern Italy. ...
Basilicata is a region in the south of Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Puglia to the east, Calabria to the south, it has one short coastline on the Tyrrhenian Sea and another of the Gulf of Taranto in the Ionian Sea to the south-east. ...
Ancient Acheruntia was conquered by the Roman consul Giugno Bubulco in 318 BC and a temple was dedicated to Hercules Acheruntine on the site. Consul Levino took refuge there after being defeated by Pirro at Eraclea in 280 BC. Positioned 800 meters above sea level, the city dominates the Via Appia, the Appia Traiana and the via Erculea, between the wide Bradano river valley and the stream of Fiumarella- naturally controlling the entire southeast of the Italian peninsula. Hercules and Cacus, by Baccio Bandinelli, 1525 - 1534. ...
Acerenza was immortalized in the literary works of Horace ('caelsae nidum Acherontiae', the eagle's nest of Acherontia) and Livy ('validum oppidum', a mighty town) and sanctified by St. Peter with the appointment of its first bishop, Ughisio. In 799 AD a church was constructed at Acerenza by Bishop Leo II, considered a worthy building the venerate the remains of the martyr Saint Canio, who had died in 395. Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus, (December 8, 65 BC - November 27, 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading lyric poet in Latin. ...
The city was conquered by Totilio, king of the Goths, and later by the Longobards, who fortified it with strong walls and a castle. In 1061 it was reconquered by the Norman prince, Roberto Guiscardo: two years earlier, during the Council of Melfi, after the prince's excommunication had been revoked, he swore fidelity to the Church of Rome. The terms of the agreement had been drawn up by Godano, monk of Cluny, bishop of Acerenza. In gratitude, Guiscard arranged for the building of a church of great size and beauty. The church today, dominating the valleys, was inspired by Arnaldo, Abbot of Cluny, nominated to the Archbishopric of Acerenza in 1067. French architects and regional masons were hired for the construction, with the intention of imitating the style of the Abbey from which he came. The project was completed in 1080, with the church consecrated doubly to Santa Maria Assunta and San Canio. Passing through the control of the Hohenstaufen and Angevin dynasties, Acerenza later became a state controlled town again under the Aragonese, having been removed from in-fighting between various barons by King Ferdinand (see Ferdinand II of Aragon). Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...
Cluny nowadays The town of Cluny or Clugny lies in the modern-day département of Saône-et-Loire in the région of France, near Mâcon. ...
Arms of the Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen were a dynasty of Kings of Germany, many of whom were also crowned Holy Roman Emperor and Dukes of Swabia. ...
Angevin is the name applied to three distinct medieval dynasties which originated as counts (from 1360, dukes) of the western French province of Anjou (of which angevin is the adjectival form), but later came to rule far greater areas including England, Hungary and Poland (see Angevin Empire). ...
Ferdinand II the Catholic (Spanish: Fernando de Aragón el Católico, Catalan: Ferran dAragó el Catòlic) (March 10, 1452 – June 23, 1516) was king of Aragon, Castile, Sicily, Naples, Valencia, Sardinia and Navarre and Count of Barcelona. ...
In 1456 Acerenza was destroyed by an earthquake, and was immediately rebuilt. In 1479 the town passed to the control of the noble Ferrillo family.
The 5th Duke of Gravina, Don Ferdinando Orsini (+ 1549) married twice, firstly Donna Maria (aka Angela) Granai Castriota, daughter and heir of Don Ferrante the Duke of Ferrandina and Count of Copertino (vide infra), and of Giovanna Gaetani dell’Aquila d’Aragona of the Dukes of Traetto. His second marriage was to Beatrice Ferrillo, daughter and heir of Giovanni Alfonso Count of Muro Lucano, feudal lord of Acerenza. The fief of Acerenza therefore passed via the 6th Duke to Don Ferdinando Orsini, the 7th Duke of Gravina. The 7th Duke became heavily indebted, selling Acerenza to Galeazzo Pinelli in 1563 and at the same time selling Genzano to Gianvincenzo del Tufo, Spinazzola to Mario Pignatelli and Ruoti to Zenobia Castini. From the Pinelli, the feudality was inherited by the Princes of Belmonte, and the title continues to be held by the family today.
Galatone
Copertino In 1557 Copertino was purchased by the Genoese Umberto Squarciafico for 29,700 ducati. The feudality of Copertino was passed on to his son Stefano and then to his sister Livia as a dowry for her marriage to Galeazzo Pinelli.
San Vincenzo
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