House of Candia
Encyclopedia


The House of Candia (also called "Candida" in Latin) is a European dynastic house, created by a junior branch of the House of Anjou
House of Anjou
The Angevins, also known as the House of Anjou, were a noble family founded in the early years of the Carolingian Empire. They first emerged as part of the minor feudal nobility, in what would soon be known as the Kingdom of France during the 10th century...

 originally from "Castrum Candiaco" in the Dauphiné
Dauphiné
The Dauphiné or Dauphiné Viennois is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of :Isère, :Drôme, and :Hautes-Alpes....

 of the nobility of Savoy
Savoy
Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....

 and Piemont. They are descendants of Burgundians and Lombards
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...

 and related to the Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...

 dynasty from the seat at the Baronnie de Candé
Candé
Candé is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France.-History:In the 11th century the village became an important military site for Anjou under baron Rorgon de Candé, at Fort-Castle of Candé....

 and later through their union to the Hautville or Altavilla, that traditionally had domains in Piedmont and the Kingdoms of Italy. The first family unions and lands registry were recorded by the Prevosto of Ivrea
Ivrea
Ivrea is a town and comune of the province of Turin in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. Situated on the road leading to the Aosta Valley , it straddles the Dora Baltea and is regarded as the centre of the Canavese area. Ivrea lies in a basin that, in prehistoric times, formed a great lake...

 in regard to the fiefdoms of Candia Canavese and Candia Lomellina, and then by the Prince-Bishops of Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

 and their fort-castle at Chambéry-Le-Vieux
Chambéry
Chambéry is a city in the department of Savoie, located in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.It is the capital of the department and has been the historical capital of the Savoy region since the 13th century, when Amadeus V of Savoy made the city his seat of power.-Geography:Chambéry...

 under the name "Chateau de Candie", there are also registries of properties and family unions in the Piedmont recorded by the Podestà
Podestà
Podestà is the name given to certain high officials in many Italian cities, since the later Middle Ages, mainly as Chief magistrate of a city state , but also as a local administrator, the representative of the Emperor.The term derives from the Latin word potestas, meaning power...

 of Ivrea
Ivrea
Ivrea is a town and comune of the province of Turin in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. Situated on the road leading to the Aosta Valley , it straddles the Dora Baltea and is regarded as the centre of the Canavese area. Ivrea lies in a basin that, in prehistoric times, formed a great lake...

 of their fiefdom and castle in Candia Canavese
Candia Canavese
Candia Canavese is a comune of the Province of Turin situated in the historical region of the Canavese in Piedmont, Italy about 35 km northeast of Turin. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,322 and an area of 9.2 km²...

 and Lomellina
Lomellina
The Lomellina is a geographical and historical area in the Pianura Padana of northern Italy, located in south-western Lombardy between the Sesia, Po and Ticino rivers....

 under the name of Castrum Kandian or Castello di Candia today known as "Castelfiorito" de Candia Canavese. They were, and continue to be considered, vassals of the head House of Savoy
House of Savoy
The House of Savoy was formed in the early 11th century in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, it grew from ruling a small county in that region to eventually rule the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 until the end of World War II, king of Croatia and King of Armenia...

.

Eventually became united to the Royal House of Greece by marriage, its members relocated worldwide during and after the Second World War World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

Ancient Origin

The name Candia or Candiaco was first recorded in European history in reference to Gondioc
Gondioc
Gondioc , also called Gundioc, Condiaco, Candiacus and Gundowech, was king of Burgundy following the destruction of Worms by the Huns in 436, succeeding Gundahar. Gondiocs sister married Ricimer Gondioc , also called Gundioc, Condiaco, Candiacus and Gundowech, was king of Burgundy following the...

 a Burgundian King, it is not clear how it is connected to the family, perhaps by a female descendance or a cadet branch of Gondioc; the only evidence are the forts and castles located within the Burgundian region, today modern France and Western Switzerland.

The Lords and Barons of Candia were descendents of Robert Guiscard
Robert Guiscard
Robert d'Hauteville, known as Guiscard, Duke of Apulia and Calabria, from Latin Viscardus and Old French Viscart, often rendered the Resourceful, the Cunning, the Wily, the Fox, or the Weasel was a Norman adventurer conspicuous in the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily...

 d'Hauteville founders of the dynastic House of Candia registered vassals of the counts of Forez
Forez
Forez is a former province of France, corresponding approximately to the central part of the modern Loire département and a part of the Haute-Loire and Puy-de-Dôme départements....

.
(Reference, Dossier: Aïeux de la ligné de Candé et du Lion d'angers, N° notice: IA49002301(c) Inventaire général, 2001, Commune de Candé, France)

The name comes from "Gondioc
Gondioc
Gondioc , also called Gundioc, Condiaco, Candiacus and Gundowech, was king of Burgundy following the destruction of Worms by the Huns in 436, succeeding Gundahar. Gondiocs sister married Ricimer Gondioc , also called Gundioc, Condiaco, Candiacus and Gundowech, was king of Burgundy following the...

" or "Burg Gundia" in Frankish-Latin or the Medieval Latin term "Candiaco" as originally written in most historical documents. Later it was fashioned in various regional languages: in Loire
Loire
Loire is an administrative department in the east-central part of France occupying the River Loire's upper reaches.-History:Loire was created in 1793 when after just 3½ years the young Rhône-et-Loire department was split into two. This was a response to counter-Revolutionary activities in Lyon...

 called "Candé
Candé
Candé is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France.-History:In the 11th century the village became an important military site for Anjou under baron Rorgon de Candé, at Fort-Castle of Candé....

" first registered in the Castrum Baronum under "Castrum Candiaco" in the Dauphiné old French, in Savoy
Savoy
Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....

 and L'Isle
L'Isle
L'Isle is a municipality of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, located in the district of Morges.-History:L'Isle is first mentioned in 1216 as Chablie. In 1299 it was mentioned as Insula de Chablie and in 1324 as Lylaz.-Geography:...

 Canton Vaud
Vaud
Vaud is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and is located in Romandy, the French-speaking southwestern part of the country. The capital is Lausanne. The name of the Canton in Switzerland's other languages are Vaud in Italian , Waadt in German , and Vad in Romansh.-History:Along the lakes,...

 "Candie" and also "Chandieu", in Provençal and Piemontese
Piemontese
Piemontese* Guardia Piemontese* Bonarda Piemontese* Tarocco Piemontese* Piedmontese language...

 "Candia" as in Candia Canavese
Candia Canavese
Candia Canavese is a comune of the Province of Turin situated in the historical region of the Canavese in Piedmont, Italy about 35 km northeast of Turin. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,322 and an area of 9.2 km²...

, and finally in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 "Candida".
The name from the Lombard language perhaps was compared to the Scandinavian term "Scandia
Scandia
Scandia was a name used for various uncharted islands in Northern Europe by the first Greek and Roman geographers. The name originated in Greek sources, where it had been used for a long time for different islands in the Mediterranean region...

" but in fact is taken from the Latin term "Candetum Castrum" in reference to the fief of Hagan Candiaco (Payen de Candé = Paganus Candiaco, cf. the latinization in the Gesta Danorum
Gesta Danorum
Gesta Danorum is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th century author Saxo Grammaticus . It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark and is an essential source for the nation's early history...

); other sources indicated the meaning of the name originated from the Latin term "castrum candiaco" or "agro candiacensi" which means clear or shining place, probably the location where the first castle of Candia was built.

1) The de Candé du Lion d'Angers line, or first house:
Payen de Candé was the first Lord of the Anjou
Anjou
Anjou is a former county , duchy and province centred on the city of Angers in the lower Loire Valley of western France. It corresponds largely to the present-day département of Maine-et-Loire...

-Chateaubriant
Châteaubriant
-Coat of arms:Two coats of arms are attributed :*First Pale: Blue, three gold fleurs de lys, Pales split in two by a shortened staff with a red hache....

 to hold this name, from his fiefdom and old castle of Cande, he was married to Mahaut de Lion d'Angers. Their daughter was Mahaut de Candé (Aïeux de la ligné de Candé et du Lion d'angers) married to Foulques le Normand de Petit-Montrevault (Aïeux de la ligné de Montrevault, Doué et Saumur); their son was Geoffroy Rorgon de Candé, seigneur de Candé et du Lion-d'Angers, Lord of Castle and Barony of Candé. Geodfrey crossed France and entered Italy following count Hugues de Vermandois and Robert Duke of Normandy to Bari, on their way to liberate Jerusalem. Geodfrey Rorgon (de Candé et du Lion d'angers) died in Palestine around 1100. His sons received the old Castle-Fort of Candé and the fiefdoms in Savoy-Piedmont, and his younger brother the fiefdom of Montreuil in Anjou; the descendents fashioned the name in the Gallo-Roman style de Candiæ (Ref: Histoire de la baronnie de Candé, Maine et Loire, par Odile Halbert)

2) The de Candiæ Savoyard line, or second house:
The house was issued by Roger de Candiæ son of Odo son of Crispin of the Anglo-Norman
Anglo-Norman
The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the Norman conquest by William the Conqueror in 1066. A small number of Normans were already settled in England prior to the conquest...

 House of Crepon, in 1050 in the Principality of Geneva. Later his lineage under count Roger de Candie of Chambéry married Isabelle de Croan-Nevers
Nevers
Nevers is a commune in – and the administrative capital of – the Nièvre department in the Bourgogne region in central France...

 of the House of l’Entre-deux-Mers; marriage registered in Chambéry in 1212 by the Prince-Bishops of Geneva.
They held fiefdoms in Savoy and Piemont under the title of de Candie Vice-Counts of Geneva of the Principality of Geneva. This family originated from the evolution of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

, from a junior branch of the House of Crêpon.

Later one of their branches became known as an Italian lineage, called Saint-Severin or de Candida Filangieri Sanseverino.

The "House of Candia" ' onMouseout='HidePop("18830")' href="/topics/French_language">French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

: "Maison de Candie", "Maison de Chandie" and "Old Maison de Candé") is a dynasty
Dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers considered members of the same family. Historians traditionally consider many sovereign states' history within a framework of successive dynasties, e.g., China, Ancient Egypt and the Persian Empire...

 of Western Europe that became part of the Sapaudia Novilitas, the nobility of the Kingdom of Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...

 later parts of Italy, France and Switzerland. The house began its legacy during the Crusades as Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...

 and has links to the Swiss Guards and the Benedictine monks. They recorded history by their dealings as Viscounts of Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

 the official Latin term "vicedominus Genevarum", a feudal title in old France and Switzerland. They ruled the Vidame
Vidame
Vidame, a French corruption of the official Latin term vicedominus , was a feudal title in France...

 or "Vidominus" of the Prince-Bishops of Geneva. Originally de Candie was created from the union of a junior branch
Branch
A branch or tree branch is a woody structural member connected to but not part of the central trunk of a tree...

 of the House of Crêpon of Denmark at Normandie and the House of Croan-Nevers, that in the 10th cent settled in the Alps region of the Kingdom of Lotharingia
Lotharingia
Lotharingia was a region in northwest Europe, comprising the Low Countries, the western Rhineland, the lands today on the border between France and Germany, and what is now western Switzerland. It was born of the tripartite division in 855, of the kingdom of Middle Francia, itself formed of the...

 (German: Lotharingien. Subsequently, they relocated their seat to the Kingdom of Burgundy
Kingdom of Burgundy
Burgundy is a historic region in Western Europe that has existed as a political entity in a number of forms with very different boundaries. Two of these entities - the first around the 6th century, the second around the 11th century - have been called the Kingdom of Burgundy; a third was very...

 on Lake Geneva and part of the Alps region later the Duchy of Savoy
Duchy of Savoy
From 1416 to 1847, the House of Savoy ruled the eponymous Duchy of Savoy . The Duchy was a state in the northern part of the Italian Peninsula, with some territories that are now in France. It was a continuation of the County of Savoy...

 (today’s parts of French Savoy, the Italian Piedmont and the Swiss Lake of Geneva region).

Though originally a simple noble family, the Candie later heirs to a large account of feudal possessions and titles across Europe always supported by their strong links to the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

. Along the crusades and thereafter through conquest, marriage, and diplomacy this house successors expanded their holdings in France, Switzerland, and Italy; including lordships in Chambéry
Chambéry
Chambéry is a city in the department of Savoie, located in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.It is the capital of the department and has been the historical capital of the Savoy region since the 13th century, when Amadeus V of Savoy made the city his seat of power.-Geography:Chambéry...

-LeVieux, Arneis-Langhe
Langhe
The Langhe is a hilly area to the south and east of the river Tanaro in the province of Cuneo in Piedmont, northern Italy....

, Candia Canavese
Candia Canavese
Candia Canavese is a comune of the Province of Turin situated in the historical region of the Canavese in Piedmont, Italy about 35 km northeast of Turin. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,322 and an area of 9.2 km²...

, Candida
Candida
- Biology :* Candida , a genus of yeasts* Malvasia Candida, a variety of grape- Places :* Candida, Campania, a comune in the province of Avellino, Italy* Candida Casa, a church established by St Ninian at Whithorn, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland...

, Bugey
Bugey
The Bugey is a historical region in the département of Ain , France. It is located in a loop of the Rhône River in the southeast of the département...

, Apulia
Apulia
Apulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...

, Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...

, Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...

, and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

.

Historical Records

François de Candia, Lord of Derruyere in Savoy, became Viscount of Geneva. He was from the line of the De Candia of Bresse whom came from "Borgo San Dalmazzo" ( also called "Dalmatie" in French).

Frank of Candie (French= François de Candie
François de Candie
François de Candia, 1st Vidominus or Vidame de Geneva was lawyer, diplomat and a nobleman of the House of Candia; also known as François de Genève...

, Italian= Franco de Candia), 1er Viscount
Viscount
A viscount or viscountess is a member of the European nobility whose comital title ranks usually, as in the British peerage, above a baron, below an earl or a count .-Etymology:...

 of Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

, c. 1314 - 26 Dec 1360). This territory today belongs to the Diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg. François was a Swiss-Savoyard
Savoyard
Savoyard is a Romance language group with several distinct varieties that form a linguistic subgroup from the Arpitan language family. It is spoken in some territories of the historical Duchy of Savoy, nowadays a geographic area spanning France , Switzerland , and Italy...

 noble, who married the second daughter of the prince of Geneva. Along his service for the Prince-Bishop
Prince-Bishop
A Prince-Bishop is a bishop who is a territorial Prince of the Church on account of one or more secular principalities, usually pre-existent titles of nobility held concurrently with their inherent clerical office...

 of Geneva he was the commander in Chief of the troops that controlled the Alps passages and the legal doings of the Vidominus. In 1377 François de Candie was Captain of the Castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

 of the Rodan (French= capitaine du château de l'Ile sur le Rhône). He was educated by the clergy at the Monastery of Sion (German Sitten) of the Catholic Swiss Knights. According to academic registries, François was a skilled diplomat and strategist. He mastered Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

 and Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

.
He represented the interests of Geneva in the main courts of Europe; this created great tension to the family from the most powerful houses of Europe.
In 1453 from their seat as Vidames and Chief of the Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 Swiss Knights, they protected the secrecy and guarded the Holy Shroud (Shroud of Turin
Shroud of Turin
The Shroud of Turin or Turin Shroud is a linen cloth bearing the image of a man who appears to have suffered physical trauma in a manner consistent with crucifixion. It is kept in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, northern Italy. The image on the shroud is...

) in position of the Duke of Savoy at their seat in the Castle of Chambéry. Since 1578, the Holy Shroud was moved to Turin, where it has remained until today.
The title of Viscount of Geneva is a hereditary title regulated by Salic Law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

, as such the family enjoyed its ruling until the Swiss Referéndum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...

 or Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...

. Today the title is gentility to the family. This branch had many descendents and expanded into Italy and France:

This is a list of selected titles held by the family:
(A more extensive list can be reviewed at the Library of the Dukes of Candia.)
  • Candie (de) Marquis of Candia (XVII), Signior d'Arneis del Roero (En: Lord of Arnes, Fr: d’Arnès)
  • Candie (de) Baron of Lüneburg
    Lüneburg
    Lüneburg is a town in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of fellow Hanseatic city Hamburg. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, and one of Hamburg's inner suburbs...

    , (French= Loese, English= Lunenberg or Lueneburg), in Saxony)
  • Candie (de) Lord of Bresse
    Bresse
    Bresse is a former French province. It is located in the regions of Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne, and Franche-Comté of eastern France. The geographical term Bresse has two meanings: Bresse bourguignonne , which is situated in the east of the department of Saône-et-Loire, and Bresse, which is located...

     (JM7595)
  • Candie (de) Viscount of Genèva, Lord of Loese, in Savoy
    Savoy
    Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....

  • Candie (de) Lordship of Chateau de Candie, of Chaffardon, Valley of the Cly
  • Candia (de) Marquis of Saint-Simon
    Saint-Simon
    -France:* Saint-Simon, Aisne, in the Aisne département* Saint-Simon, Cantal, in the Cantal département* Saint-Simon, Charente, in the Charente département* Saint-Simon, Lot, in the Lot département...

    , Castle of Candia-Le-Vieux or the Saint-Simon in Languedoc
    Languedoc
    Languedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² .-Geographical Extent:The traditional...

     today Domain of Candia
  • Candia (de) Royal Governor General of Nice
    Nice
    Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...

    , under the Savoy's Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont
  • Candia (de) Counts of Gattanei, linked to the Borgia family via Vannozza dei Cattanei
    Vannozza dei Cattanei
    Vannozza dei Cattanei was an Italian noblewoman from the House of Candia, who was one of the many mistresses of Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, future Pope Alexander VI. Among them, she was the one whose relationship with him lasted the longest...

    .


The Turin shroud or called "La Sindone di Torino" can be clearly traced back to the Lirey in the Diocese of Troyes, where we first hear of it about the year 1360. In 1453 it was at Chambéry
Chambéry
Chambéry is a city in the department of Savoie, located in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.It is the capital of the department and has been the historical capital of the Savoy region since the 13th century, when Amadeus V of Savoy made the city his seat of power.-Geography:Chambéry...

 in Savoy, and there in 1532 it narrowly escaped being consumed by a fire which by charring the corners of the folds has left a uniform series of marks on either side of the image. Since 1578, it has remained at Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...

 where it is now only exposed for veneration at long intervals. ("de Sancta Sindone" was formerly approved by Julius II in the Bull
Papal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....

 "Romanus Pontifex" of 25 April 1506, in the course of which the Pope speaks of "that most famous Shroud præclarissima sindone)

Switzerland

Anselm of Canterbury
Anselm of Canterbury
Anselm of Canterbury , also called of Aosta for his birthplace, and of Bec for his home monastery, was a Benedictine monk, a philosopher, and a prelate of the church who held the office of Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109...

 was born under the name "Anselmus Candiae Genavae" (Italian: Anselmo de Candia Ginevra, French: Anselm de Candie Genève) near Aosta in the Kingdom of Burgundy (currently the capital of the Aosta Valley region in Northern Italy) around 1033. His family was noble (they were related by blood to the ascendant House of Savoy) and owned considerable property. His parents were from a noble lineage and holders of fiefdoms within the Burgandian territories. His father was Gundulf de Candia and his mother Ermenberga of Geneva, related to Otto, Count of Savoy.

Southern Italy

In 1050, the Candia has it first incursion in Southern Italy with Angerio de Candie, a crusader knight, under the command of Roger of Hauteville, later became Roger I of Sicily
Roger I of Sicily
Roger I , called Bosso and the Great Count, was the Norman Count of Sicily from 1071 to 1101. He was the last great leader of the Norman conquest of southern Italy.-Conquest of Calabria and Sicily:...

. Angerio’s remains are resting at the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...

 Chapel of the S.S. Trinita di Cava de'Tirreni, under the description of Norman knight, son of Roger of Candie count of Arnes (Italian Ruggero de Candia) of the lineage of Rollon 1st Duke of Normandy
Duke of Normandy
The Duke of Normandy is the title of the reigning monarch of the British Crown Dependancies of the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey. The title traces its roots to the Duchy of Normandy . Whether the reigning sovereign is a male or female, they are always titled as the "Duke of...

.

From this incursion and marriage they obtained the fiefdom of Candida in 1187 (Italian Terra Candida
Candida
- Biology :* Candida , a genus of yeasts* Malvasia Candida, a variety of grape- Places :* Candida, Campania, a comune in the province of Avellino, Italy* Candida Casa, a church established by St Ninian at Whithorn, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland...

) which they kept for generations, registered under count Alduym de Candie called in Italian Alduino de Candida
Candida
- Biology :* Candida , a genus of yeasts* Malvasia Candida, a variety of grape- Places :* Candida, Campania, a comune in the province of Avellino, Italy* Candida Casa, a church established by St Ninian at Whithorn, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland...

 of Avellino
Avellino
Avellino is a town and comune, capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains 42 km north-east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento.-History:Before the Roman conquest, the...

 Curia Regis
Curia Regis
Curia regis is a Latin term meaning "royal council" or "king's court."- England :The Curia Regis, in the Kingdom of England, was a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics that advised the king of England on legislative matters...

 Lord of Candida
Candida
- Biology :* Candida , a genus of yeasts* Malvasia Candida, a variety of grape- Places :* Candida, Campania, a comune in the province of Avellino, Italy* Candida Casa, a church established by St Ninian at Whithorn, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland...

 Master of the Royal Court (Italian Maestro della Regia Corte) and Lord Judge of Bari
Bari
Bari is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas...

 who married in 1250 countess Giordana de Tricarico
Tricarico
Tricarico is a town and comune in the province of Matera, Basilicata, southern Italy.It is home to one of the best preserved medieval historical centres in Lucania.-Origins:The origin of Tricarico is presently unknown...

 Sanseverino lady of Solofra
Solofra
Solofra is a town and comune in the province of Avellino, in the Campania region of southern Italy.-Geography:The town is bordered by Aiello del Sabato, Calvanico, Contrada, Montoro Superiore and Serino.- History :...

, until 1420 Candida belonged to the de Candia when Catherine
Catherine
Catherine is a feminine given name.The nicknames include Cathy, Cate, Cat, Cati, Catie and others. Catherine may refer to one of the following historical figures, place names, books, or bands.-Literature:...

 Filangie de Candie (Italian= Caterina Filangieri
Filangieri
The Filangieri were an Italo-Norman noble family with origins near Nocera in the Kingdom of Sicily, but they rose to prominence at Naples...

 de Candia) gave Candida as a dowry to Sergianni Caracciolo
Caracciolo
Caracciolo is the surname of a famous noble family of southern Italy.Its members include:*Battistello Caracciolo, Italian painter*Carmine Nicolao Caracciolo, Spanish viceroy of Peru*Francesco Caracciolo, Neapolitan admiral and revolutionist...

. This marriage entered the fiefdoms into the Caracciolo
Caracciolo
Caracciolo is the surname of a famous noble family of southern Italy.Its members include:*Battistello Caracciolo, Italian painter*Carmine Nicolao Caracciolo, Spanish viceroy of Peru*Francesco Caracciolo, Neapolitan admiral and revolutionist...

 Dynasty, as recorded in the Abby of Cava di Terreni, Jean Caracciol Napolitein or Gianni Caracciolo di Napoli Duke of Melphes and Venossa (+ 18 August 1432), married Catherine Filangieri de Candia Countess of Avellino. They had two descendants: Jérôme (murdered in 1426) and Troy or Trojan I Duke of Melfi
Melfi
Melfi is a town and comune in the Vulture area of the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata.-Geography:On a hill at the foot of Mount Vulture, Melfi is the most important town in Basilicata's Vulture, both as a tourist resort and economic centre.-Early history:Inhabited...

 (French= duc de Melphes).
This lineage was also related to the Gonzaga o Gonzague family of Matua under the denomination of Candida-Gonzaga
House of Gonzaga
The Gonzaga family ruled Mantua in Northern Italy from 1328 to 1708.-History:In 1433, Gianfrancesco I assumed the title of Marquis of Mantua, and in 1530 Federico II received the title of Duke of Mantua. In 1531, the family acquired the Duchy of Monferrato through marriage...

 or Candie-Gonzague, and the Prince of San Severo
San Severo
San Severo is a city and comune of 55,486 inhabitants of the province of Foggia in the southern Italian region of Apulia....

 in Apulia
Apulia
Apulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...

.

CATALOGUS BARONUM

The first registry of the Castle of Candia was compiled before 1100. The Catalagus Baronum, Catalogue of Baronies, written from 1150 to 1168 of the lordships and fiefdoms of the Kingdom is signed by Roger II of Sicily (Italian= Ruggero II di Sicilia), it recorded the lordships of Candia o Candida, Lapio, and Arianiello as properties of count Alduino de Candia son of Ruggero son of Oldoino Odo de Candia son of Crispin of the (Latin= genti Lortomanne, ovvero Normanne) Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...

 of the Lotherian people.

Latin= "Candium est feudum ij militum, Lapigia et arcanellum feudum ij militum... hoc tenet Guidus et Rogerius
Rogerius
Rogerius can refer to the following things:It is the Latin form of the given name Roger, and was the name of several medieval figures.*Rogerius , a twelfth-century physician and surgeon from Salerno*Rogerius of Apulia, in Italian Ruggero di Puglia, a...

 frater eius qui emerunt illud a Curia... Rogerius emit Candidam, et non emerunt nisi solum quod Alduynus de Candida tenebat in Demanio"
.

In the second part of the Catalogue Baronum is written:
Latin= Candida est feudum ij militum, Lapigia et arcanellum feudum ij militum... hoc tenet Guidus et Rogerius frater eius qui emerunt illud a Curia... Rogerius emit Candidam, et non emerunt nisi solum quod Alduynus de Candida tenebat in Demanio.
Candium (Candida
Candida
- Biology :* Candida , a genus of yeasts* Malvasia Candida, a variety of grape- Places :* Candida, Campania, a comune in the province of Avellino, Italy* Candida Casa, a church established by St Ninian at Whithorn, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland...

 o Candia) is a lordship of 2 fiefdom
Fiefdom
A fee was the central element of feudalism and consisted of heritable lands granted under one of several varieties of feudal tenure by an overlord to a vassal who held it in fealty in return for a form of feudal allegiance and service, usually given by the...

s, Lapio
Lapio
Lapio is a town and comune in the province of Avellino, Campania, Italy....

 and Arianiello is also a lordship of 2 fiefdoms ... assets of Guido and Ruggiero, his brother, whom acquired it from the Curia
Curia
A curia in early Roman times was a subdivision of the people, i.e. more or less a tribe, and with a metonymy it came to mean also the meeting place where the tribe discussed its affairs...

... Ruggiero purchased Candida, and only what Alduino de Candida considered a dominium.

Northern Italy

Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...

 1164 the Sirs of Candia had registered a fiefdom under the mane of Candium with diploma of Frederick I
Frederick I
Frederick I may refer to:* Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I , Bishop of Utrecht* Frederick I * Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor ; "Frederick Barbarossa"...

during the domain of Pavia. The Podesta of Ivrea in 1205 issued nobility and lordship of the Castrum Candia to the brothers Guglielmo, Giacomo, and Enrico in what is today the territory of Candia Canavese. In 1241 we found the name in the registry of the fiefdom of Candia Lomellina under count Henry of Candia (Italian = Enrico de Candia, in local dialect Chendiâ  or Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

-ia), he rebuild the original castle badly damage by the attacks of the Marquis of Montferrat, the Visconti, and various local enemies; in addition Henry built a Chapel.

Enrico de Candia holdings included the Castle of Candia Canavese and lordships of Candium Laumellorum, Villata
Villata
Villata is a comune in the Province of Vercelli in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 70 km northeast of Turin and about 8 km north of Vercelli....

 and Roncone
Roncone
Roncone is a comune in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 35 km west of Trento. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,438 and an area of 29.4 km²....

; cartographic charters and registries of Agro dei Levi
Levi
Levi/Levy was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Levi ; however Peake's commentary suggests this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite...

. In 1603, the registry was under count Gianangelo de Candia. These territories were hereditary controlled by the family until 1707 when the Candia Lomellina
Candia Lomellina
Candia Lomellina is a comune in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 50 km southwest of Milan and about 45 km west of Pavia...

 passed to the ruling of the Duke of Savoy; by then the Candia Laumellorum lineage became a Chatelaine family of the House of Savoy as they were in Chambéry.

De Candia branch of Toscany:

Guittoncino dei Sinibaldi de Candia Pistoia, known as Cino da Pistoia
Cino da Pistoia
Cino da Pistoia was an Italian jurist and poet.He was born in Pistoia, Tuscany. His full name was Guittoncino dei Sinibaldi de Candia Pistoia or, Latinised as Cinus de Sighibuldis, his father was from a noble man from the House of Sinibaldi and his mother a noble lady of the House of Candia Pistoia...

 or Cinus de Sighibuldis, taught law at the universities of Siena, Florence, Perugia, and Naples. Cino's most important legal work was Lectura in codicem (1312–1314), a commentary on the Justinian Code.

Enrico de Candia Pistoia, Henry, Count of Malta
Henry, Count of Malta
Henry, Count of Malta was a Genoese Lord of Candia , adventurer, privateer and pirate active in the Mediterranean at the beginning of the thirteenth century...

 was a Genoese Lord of Candia (at birth count Enrico de Candia in Candia Canavese
Candia Canavese
Candia Canavese is a comune of the Province of Turin situated in the historical region of the Canavese in Piedmont, Italy about 35 km northeast of Turin. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,322 and an area of 9.2 km²...

, Piedmont), adventurer, privateer and pirate active in the Mediterranean at the beginning of the thirteenth century.
Enrico was a member of the House of Candia from the Toscany branch of the "dei conti de Candia-Pistoia".
He was known as Enrico Pescatore (Pescatore, 'fisherman' in Italian, being a nickname), or Pistore a nickname derived from his seat at his fiefdom of Pistoia
Pistoia
Pistoia is a city and comune in the Tuscany region of Italy, the capital of a province of the same name, located about 30 km west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno.-History:...

 in Florance part of the Duchy of Toscany. He took part in the occupation of Crete and obtained a little fiefdom where today is the Venetian fort-castle that gave the name to the island during medieval times.

Leonardo de Candia Pistoia, called Leonardo of Pistoia, was a monk dedicated to the study ancien Greek text focused on Hermetism. In 1460 he brought the famous "Corpus Hermeticum" manuscript to the court of Cosimo de'Medici, ruler of Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

, the original text in Greek was traslated by Marsilio Ficino
Marsilio Ficino
Marsilio Ficino was one of the most influential humanist philosophers of the early Italian Renaissance, an astrologer, a reviver of Neoplatonism who was in touch with every major academic thinker and writer of his day, and the first translator of Plato's complete extant works into Latin...

 into Latin and in an Italian adaptation. The manuscript was considered a valuable work coming out of Alexandria at the beginning of the Christian era that combined Hellenic, Gnostic, Egiptian cosmology, and Judaic esoteric mysticism.

Spain

Pedro de Candia
Pedro de Candia
Pedro de Candia, Grandee of Spain, . Born on the island of Crete, * 1485. He was killed in battle at Chupas , on September 16th + 1542, Spanish Conquistador, Grandee of Spain, "Almirant of the Spanish Armada of the Southern Seas", author and travel writer, recorded the Spanish conquest of the...

, Grandee of Spain, he was registred at birth under the Savoyard nobility of Piemont as Prince-Count Pietro de Cândia at the Castle-Fort of Crete, * 1485 – killed in battle at Chupas (Peru), 16 September + 1542), he became a Spanish Conquistador, Grandee of Spain, "Almirant of the Spanish Armada of the Southern Seas", author and travel writer, recorded the Spanish conquest of the Americas.
Eventually the Queen of Spain named Don Pedro de Candia, 2nd Alcalde of Cuzco at the Kingdom of Peru of the Spanish Catholic Crown, from 1534 to 1535.
He was born at the Island of Crete, during a period that was under the domain of Italy of the Savoyard-Piemont crown, descendent of Italian nobility from the House of Candia at the fiefdom of Candia-Hiraclion on the Island of Crete; he eventually became a Greek and during the Ottoman occupation of Crete he lost his family and was saved by one of his mother's relatives at the service of the Crown of Aragon who took him to Italy. During his period in Italy he became a Condottieri and trained in the Arms, before transferring to the Iberian peninsula to serve the Spanish Catholic Queen and King. Pedro was eventually married at Villalpando
Villalpando
Villalpando is a municipality located in the province of Zamora, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 1,624 inhabitants. Formerly the town was reputed for its saltpans, the Salinas de Villapando....

, by nobiliary arrangement to one of the daughters of the Count of Benavente, Zamora
Benavente, Zamora
Benavente is a municipality in the north of the province of Zamora, in the autonomous community Castile and León of Spain. It has about 20,000 inhabitants....

 of the Dukedom of the House of Osuna. His descendent were part of the Spanish and Italian nobility with holdings in regions of Europe and eventually additional new lands in the Americas during the colonization.
  • Louise de Candia-Borgia d'Albret, born princess on 17 May 1500 (1500–1553), better known as Louise Borgia
    Louise Borgia
    Louise Borgia, born princess Louise de Candia-Borgia d'Albret , was a French noblewoman and the suo jure Duchess of Valentinois, having succeeded to the title upon the death of her father Cesare Borgia in 1507 when she was almost seven years old. She was also the suo jure Dame de Chalus...

    .

Contemporary History

Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...



De Candia Del Medigo
Del Medigo
Del Medigo is the surname of a Cretan Jewish family that included several notables:*Elia del Medigo , philosopher and Talmudist*Joseph Solomon Delmedigo , scientist and philosopher...

 a Cretan Jewish branch of the family, recorded as Maimonides
Maimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...

 on the island of Crete historical registries under the Doges' control of the Venetian Republic. This archives are indicating that this branch of the family had emigrated from Germany to Crete, and then relocated to Rome before settling in Padua and northern Italy, there are also entries of family memeber relocating to Spain, this branch included several notables, among them:
  • Elia de Candia del Medigo (1458-1493), philosopher and Talmudist
  • Joseph Solomon Candia Delmedigo (1591-1655), scientist and philosopher
  • Pietro de Candia "Il Greco
    Greco
    Greco may refer to:* Greco , a list of people with this surname* El Greco , a Greek-Spanish painter, sculptor and architect* El Greco , a composition by Vangelis...

    "


Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...



In 1713 an Antonio Candia or di Candia or De Candia came from Torre del Greco
Torre del Greco
-Main sights:*Roman archaeological remains, including the so-called "Villa Sora" , probably a property of the Flavians.*Monastery of the Zoccolanti, with a cloister housing 28 frescoed panels depicting the life of St...

 to Alghero, Sardinia as shipping for corals fishing. Her son Serafino di Candia or De Candia became the most important owner of coral's fleet in the town, with 245 boats in 1750 (see G. Doneddu in "Alghero, la Catalogna, il Mediterraneo", Ed. Gallizzi, Sassari 1994, p. 523). There is in the diocesan administration of Alghero the marriage certificate registry of Serafin of Candia and Teresa Simon. In 1779 Serafino de Candia obtained the royal privilege and diploma with the title of Cavaliere Nobile (noble knight) and the use of "don" (corresponding to the British "Sir") for himself and his wife as well as all the de Candia lineage under royal seal and decrete signed by King Victor Amadeus II (Italian= Vittorio Amedeo II) of Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...

, Chypre
Chypre
Chypre, or , is the name of a family of perfumes that are characterised by an accord composed of citrus top-notes, a floral middle, and a mossy-animalic base-note derived from oak moss and musks...

 and Jerusalem. They were registered as nobles part of the Savoy's Court of Turin, this recognition passed later into the Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...

. Its descendants are registered in the Golden Book of the Italian Nobility. There are no documents about any connection between the old house of Candia and the De Candia of Torre del Greco-Alghero, which nobility dates to 1779. The coats of arms too are completely different.
From this House, who went to Cagliari, we have the famous "Tenor Mario
Mario
is a fictional character in his video game series, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...

" (real name= Cavaliere Giovanni Matteo De Candia), " Mario " was considered among the most famous tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...

 of the 19th century. He married the extraordinary opera singer Giulia Grisi
Giulia Grisi
Giulia Grisi, also known as Madame De Candia was an Italian opera singer...

. They traveled all over Europe and kept houses in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 and Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

 in Villa Salviati. They have six daughters, in UK and in Paris. Their daughter Cecilia Maria de Candia
Cecilia Maria de Candia
Cecilia Maria de Candia , later Mrs Godfrey Pearse, was a British-Italian writer, amateur singer and society hostess. She was the daughter of two famous opera singers, Giulia Grisi and Giovanni Matteo de Candia—a marquise who sang under the popular name of Mario the tenor.In her childhood, she...

-Pearse became a well known writer of a biography of her Father, she married in London in 1872 Godfrey Pearse Esquire.

After the II World War the family was dispersed, today they are living in parts of Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, the UK, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, the USA, and Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

.

Legacy

Portraits of one of the most beatiful woman in history, from the late 1400s, were of Simonetta Cattaneo de Candia, better known by her marriaged name as Simonetta Vespucci
Simonetta Vespucci
Simonetta Cattaneo de Candia Vespucci, nicknamed la bella Simonetta was an Italian Renaissance noblewoman from Genoa, the wife of Marco Vespucci of Florence. She also is alleged to have been the mistress of Giuliano de' Medici, Lorenzo the Magnificent's younger brother...

 painted by Sandro Botticelli
Sandro Botticelli
Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, better known as Sandro Botticelli was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance...

. These paintings are currently kept at Berlin Museum. Painting at the Gemäldegalerie Berlin
The Candiæ were diplomatically skilled, and gained control over strategic passes in the Swiss-French Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....

 and in Southern Italy. This advancement in their feudal affaires caused the great powers of Europe; such as France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 to take into account the negotiations of the Candia head of family. They contributed a great deal in the expansion of European culture and the Catholic faith in Europe, Jerusalem and along the conquest of the Americas. Their legacy a collection of documents and information, such as the cartographic work of count Carlo de Candia or the poems of Gauvain de Candie, this legacy is kept in the Library of the Dukes of Candia.
  • Gauvain de Candie, count of Berruyre, novelist and poet
    Poet
    A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

    , in 1475 at age 28 he composed the famous Chason recited poems to the ducal couple of Marguerite of Austria and Philibert II, Duke of Savoy
    Philibert II, Duke of Savoy
    Philibert II , surnamed the Handsome or the Good, was the Duke of Savoy from 1497 until his death.-Biography:...

    .
  • Anselm of Canterbury
    Anselm of Canterbury
    Anselm of Canterbury , also called of Aosta for his birthplace, and of Bec for his home monastery, was a Benedictine monk, a philosopher, and a prelate of the church who held the office of Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109...

     was from the House of Candia, born under the name "Anselmus Candiae Genavae" (Italian: Anselmo de Candia Ginevra, French: Anselm de Candie Genève) in the Kingdom of Burgundy (currently the capital of the Aosta Valley region in Northern Italy) around 1033. His parents were from noble lineage and holders of fiefdoms within the Burgandian territories. His father was count Gundulf de Candia, and his mother princess Ermenberga of Geneva; making him related by blood to Otto, Count of Savoy.
  • Simonetta Vespucci
    Simonetta Vespucci
    Simonetta Cattaneo de Candia Vespucci, nicknamed la bella Simonetta was an Italian Renaissance noblewoman from Genoa, the wife of Marco Vespucci of Florence. She also is alleged to have been the mistress of Giuliano de' Medici, Lorenzo the Magnificent's younger brother...

    , she was born as Simonetta Cattaneo de Candia circa 1453 in Liguria, by birth she was a noble lady of the House of Candia and the House of Volta. Her father was a Genoese nobleman named Gaspare Cattaneo Della Volta, and her mother was his wife, Cattocchia Spinola de Candia
  • "Giuseppe Mario" was the Marquis de Candia, Cavaliere Giovanni Matteo de Candia, considered the most famous tenor of the 19th century.
  • Countess Cecilia Maria de Candia
    Cecilia Maria de Candia
    Cecilia Maria de Candia , later Mrs Godfrey Pearse, was a British-Italian writer, amateur singer and society hostess. She was the daughter of two famous opera singers, Giulia Grisi and Giovanni Matteo de Candia—a marquise who sang under the popular name of Mario the tenor.In her childhood, she...

    -Pearse became a well-known biographical writer, wife of Lord Pearse from the British nobility.


The monarchy
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...

 ended with the 1946 referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...

 by which Italians chose the republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...

 as the form of state (see also birth of the Italian Republic
Birth of the Italian Republic
The Italian constitutional referendum which officially took place on 2 June 1946, is a key event of Italian contemporary history. Until 1946, Italy was a kingdom ruled by the House of Savoy, kings of Italy since the Risorgimento and previously rulers of Savoy...

). Under the Constitution of the Italian Republic
Constitution of Italy
The Constitution of the Italian Republic was enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 December 1947, with 453 votes in favour and 62 against. The text, which has since been amended 13 times, was promulgated in the extraordinary edition of Gazzetta Ufficiale No. 298 on 27 December 1947...

, all Italian titles were frozen until today. The de Candia family today enjoy the memory and legacy of their ancestry.

Summary

The House of Candiæ ( Italian= Casa Candia, French= Maison de Candie) is a dynasty of nobles who traced their lineage to the 'Castrum Candia' (Castello di Candia in Candia Canavese
Candia Canavese
Candia Canavese is a comune of the Province of Turin situated in the historical region of the Canavese in Piedmont, Italy about 35 km northeast of Turin. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,322 and an area of 9.2 km²...

, Italy) and their fiefdom of the Castle of Candie (Château de Candie situé a Chambéry
Chambéry
Chambéry is a city in the department of Savoie, located in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.It is the capital of the department and has been the historical capital of the Savoy region since the 13th century, when Amadeus V of Savoy made the city his seat of power.-Geography:Chambéry...

-le-Vieux) built by a Burgundes count who named his feudal state in honour of Skaend or Scandia
Scandia
Scandia was a name used for various uncharted islands in Northern Europe by the first Greek and Roman geographers. The name originated in Greek sources, where it had been used for a long time for different islands in the Mediterranean region...

 (Scandinavian Goddess and mother of Europa
Europa (mythology)
In Greek mythology Europa was a Phoenician woman of high lineage, from whom the name of the continent Europe has ultimately been taken. The name Europa occurs in Hesiod's long list of daughters of primordial Oceanus and Tethys...

) other sources mentioned the relation to Candidus
Candidus
In Latin, candidus/candida means "clear and white". Candidus became a common Roman cognomen. Candidus may also refer to:- Pen names :*Pen name of Alexander Campbell, Restoration Movement Leader*Pen-name of Loyalist Lt. Col...

 a previous member of the family, they traditionally had their domain near Chambéry
Chambéry
Chambéry is a city in the department of Savoie, located in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.It is the capital of the department and has been the historical capital of the Savoy region since the 13th century, when Amadeus V of Savoy made the city his seat of power.-Geography:Chambéry...

 in the Duchy of Savoy
Duchy of Savoy
From 1416 to 1847, the House of Savoy ruled the eponymous Duchy of Savoy . The Duchy was a state in the northern part of the Italian Peninsula, with some territories that are now in France. It was a continuation of the County of Savoy...

, today part of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, and the Kingdom of Sardinia
Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia consisted of the island of Sardinia first as a part of the Crown of Aragon and subsequently the Spanish Empire , and second as a part of the composite state of the House of Savoy . Its capital was originally Cagliari, in the south of the island, and later Turin, on the...

, a state which, in 1860, became the Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...

 under the Savoia or Savoy family, the Italian reigning house until 1946. They once had the lordship of the Vice-Count of Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

, vidame de Genève, in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

, but their access to it was cut by the Swiss during the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...

, after which it was conquered by Bern. Though originally a simple noble family, later heirs to a large account of feudal possessions and titles. They were diplomatically skilled, and gained control over strategic passes in the Swiss-French Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....

 and in Southern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. This caused the great powers such as France, England, and Spain to take the head of the family opinions into account. They contributed a great deal in the expansion of European culture and the Roman Catholic faith and in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, Jerusalem and along the conquest of the Americas.

The monarchy ended with the 1946 referendum by which Italians chose the republic as the form of state (see also birth of the Italian Republic).
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