Prince or Princess Belmonte
Encyclopedia
Prince or Princess Belmonte (Principe o Principessa di Belmonte) is a noble title created in 1619 by the Spanish crown for the Barons of Badolato and Belmonte.

In addition to the princely title, the Princes were made Grandees of Spain, First Class in 1712, and in 1726 were granted the rank of 'Reichsfürsten', Princes of the Holy Roman Empire
Princes of the Holy Roman Empire
The term Prince of the Holy Roman Empire denoted a secular or ecclesiastical Imperial State, who ruled over an immediate fief directly assigned by the Holy Roman Emperor...

, with the title Serene Highness (Durchlaucht). The Princes hold a number of subsidiary titles, including Duke of Acerenza (1593), Marquess of Galatone (1562) and Count of Copertino (1562).

The seat of the princes is Palazzo Belmonte, on the Bay of Salerno and south of Amalfi
Amalfi
Amalfi is a town and comune in the province of Salerno, in the region of Campania, Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno, c. 35 km southeast of Naples. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto , surrounded by dramatic cliffs and coastal scenery...

, although the name of the senior title is taken from the fortress town of Belmonte, historically important for the defence of the Italian coast from Saracen
Saracen
Saracen was a term used by the ancient Romans to refer to a people who lived in desert areas in and around the Roman province of Arabia, and who were distinguished from Arabs. In Europe during the Middle Ages the term was expanded to include Arabs, and then all who professed the religion of Islam...

 invasion. Belmonte has been known since the Risorgimento as Belmonte Calabro
Belmonte Calabro
Belmonte Calabro, known simply as Belmonte prior to the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, is a town and comune in the province of Cosenza, in Calabria...

.

The princes are descendants of the Fieschi family of Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

, who were ennobled as Counts Palatine
Count palatine
Count palatine is a high noble title, used to render several comital styles, in some cases also shortened to Palatine, which can have other meanings as well.-Comes palatinus:...

 in the year 1010 by Henry the Holy, King of Italy
King of Italy
King of Italy is a title adopted by many rulers of the Italian peninsula after the fall of the Roman Empire...

 and later Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...

. The Emperor created the title of Count of Lavagna and appointed the Fieschi as Imperial Vice Regents of all Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....

 and of the coast of Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

.

Ancestry

The Princes of Belmonte descended from the Fieschi, Counts Palatine
Count palatine
Count palatine is a high noble title, used to render several comital styles, in some cases also shortened to Palatine, which can have other meanings as well.-Comes palatinus:...

 of Lavagna
Lavagna
Lavagna is a fishing port city of c. 13,000 inhabitants in the curving stretch of the Italian Riviera di Levante called the gulf of Tigullio, in the province of Genoa in Liguria. The borgo of Lavagna was an important Ligurian cultural center in the Middle Ages...

. The Fieschi were a one of the main families of Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

, with the Grimaldi, Spinola
Spinola
Spinola may refer to:*Spinola family a leading political family in Genoa in the 13th and 14th Centuries.-People:* Battista Spinola, 16th century Doge of Genoa* Benedict Spinola , a 16th century Genoese merchant in London...

 and Doria
Doria
Doria, originally de Auria , meaning "the sons of Auria", and then de Oria or d'Oria, is the name of an old and extremely wealthy Genoese family who played a major role in the history of the Republic of Genoa and in Italy, from the 12th century to the 16th century.-Origins:According to legend, a...

. In the 13th century, the Fieschi were allied to the House of Grimaldi
House of Grimaldi
The House of Grimaldi is associated with the history of the Republic of Genoa and of the Principality of Monaco.-History:The Grimaldi family descends from Grimaldo, a Genoese statesman at the time of the early Crusades. He might have been a son of Otto Canella, a consul of the Republic of Genoa in...

, modern day Princes of Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...

, in the struggle between the Guelphs and Ghibellines
Guelphs and Ghibellines
The Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in central and northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, the split between these two parties was a particularly important aspect of the internal policy of the Italian city-states...

. The current prince is 35th in line from Frisco, 1st Count of Lavagna.

The ancestors of the Belmonte Princes include Sinibaldo, Pope Innocent IV
Pope Innocent IV
Pope Innocent IV , born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was pope from June 25, 1243 until his death in 1254.-Early life:...

, and Ottobuono, Pope Adrian V
Pope Adrian V
Pope Adrian V , born Ottobuono de' Fieschi, was pope in 1276.-Biography:Ottobuono belonged to a feudal family of Liguria, the Fieschi, Counts of Lavagna....

, as well as several cardinals, a King of Sicily, the Viceroy of Naples under René I of Naples
René I of Naples
René of Anjou , also known as René I of Naples and Good King René , was Duke of Anjou, Count of Provence , Count of Piedmont, Duke of Bar , Duke of Lorraine , King of Naples , titular King of Jerusalem...

 (Jacopo Fieschi), three saints including Saint Catherine of Genoa
Saint Catherine of Genoa
Saint Catherine of Genoa is an Italian Roman Catholic saint and mystic, admired for her work among the sick and the poor. She was a member of the noble Fieschi family, and spent most of her life and her means serving the sick, especially during the plague which ravaged Genoa in 1497 and 1501...

 (1447–1510), and both generals and admirals of Genoa and other states. Through their later marriage to a line of the Pignatelli, the Princes of Belmonte share blood with a third pope, Pope Innocent XII
Pope Innocent XII
Pope Innocent XII , born Antonio Pignatelli, was Pope from 1691 to 1700.-Biography:He was born in Spinazzola to one of the most aristocratic families of the Kingdom of Naples, which included many Viceroys, and ministers to the crown, and was educated at the Jesuit college in Rome.In his twentieth...

, and the Jesuit Saint Joseph Pignatelli
Saint Joseph Pignatelli
Saint Joseph Maria Pignatelli was a Roman Catholic Jesuit priest born in Zaragoza, Spain, who was the unofficialleader of the Jesuits in exile in Sardinia, after the suppression of the Society of Jesus....

.
Ugone of Lavagna was alleged to have been the first to bear the name 'Fiesco' or Fieschi, attributed to his control of the fiscal affairs of the Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...

. His descendant, Rubaldo/Robaldo di Fiesco or 'Fieschi', was confirmed as Count of Lavagna
Lavagna
Lavagna is a fishing port city of c. 13,000 inhabitants in the curving stretch of the Italian Riviera di Levante called the gulf of Tigullio, in the province of Genoa in Liguria. The borgo of Lavagna was an important Ligurian cultural center in the Middle Ages...

 in the 11th Century. In the mid 12th Century (c1158) Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I Barbarossa was a German Holy Roman Emperor. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March, crowned King of Italy in Pavia in 1155, and finally crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV, on 18 June 1155, and two years later in 1157 the term...

 'Barbarossa' confirmed feudal rights in Lavagna to the Fieschi: the beneficiaries included Rubaldo and his nephews Gulielmo, Tebaldo, Enrico, Ruffino, Aldedado, Gherardo; Ottone and his brother Ugone; and Alberto and his brother Beltramino. The rank of Count Palatine
Count palatine
Count palatine is a high noble title, used to render several comital styles, in some cases also shortened to Palatine, which can have other meanings as well.-Comes palatinus:...

 was confirmed once again at Lucca
Lucca
Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plainnear the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca...

 on 27 May 1369 by Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....

 of the House of Luxembourg
House of Luxembourg
The House of Luxembourg was a late medieval German dynasty, which between 1308 and 1437 ruled the Holy Roman Empire, twice interrupted by the rivaling House of Wittelsbach.-History:...

. Later confirmations of the Fieschi status as direct vassals to the Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...

 were given by the House of Habsburg in 1521, 1529, 1568, and 1620.

Beltramino Fieschi, 7th Count of Lavagna, was succeeded by his son Gerardo Fieschi, 8th Count, who was known as 'Gerardo Ravascherius'. Taking the name Ravaschieri Fieschi, this branch rose to greater prominence as royal bankers in the Kingdom of Naples: Giovanni Battista was appointed Master of the Mint of Naples and Aquila (Maestro di Zecca di Napoli e l'Aquila) in 1552 under His Imperial Majesty Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...

 (1516–1554), and his seal of 'IBR' frequently appears on the coinage of that time. Giovanni Battista was one of 7 children, of whom the eldest brother Giovan Francesco, was Prior of Bari of the Order of Malta (died 1555). Germano followed his father as 'Maestro di Zecca', under King Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....

, and was the father of Giovan Battista, 1st Baron of Badolato, and therefore grandfather of Orazio, the first Prince Belmonte.

The princely title of Belmonte has descended to its present holder through the following houses: Ravaschieri Fieschi, Squarciafico Pinelli, and Pignatelli y Aymerich. The heiress of the last of these married the Marquess of Castellabate
Castellabate
Castellabate is a town and comune in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy.-History:The are was inhabited since Upper Palaeolithic times...

, uniting her lands and titles with those of the Granito family, patricians of Salerno
Salerno
Salerno is a city and comune in Campania and is the capital of the province of the same name. It is located on the Gulf of Salerno on the Tyrrhenian Sea....

 (Seggio di Campo) since 1380.

Residences

  • Palazzo Ravaschieri Fieschi della Torre
    Palazzo Ravaschieri Fieschi della Torre
    Palazzo Ravaschieri Fieschi della Torre or Palazzo Ravaschieri Fieschi-del Giudice is a 16th century noble palace in the historical center of Belmonte Calabro in the province of Cosenza, Calabria, southern Italy....

  • Palazzo Rivellino
    Palace of Rivellino
    Palazzo Rivellino, also called Rivellino, is a historical building in the municipality of Belmonte Calabro, in the province of Cosenza, Calabria, southern Italy....

    .
  • Acerenza
    Acerenza
    Acerenza is a town and comune in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata.-History:With its strategic position 800 m above sea-level, Acerenza has been sacked by a series of invaders....

  • Castle of Galatone
    Galatone
    Galatone is a town and comune located in Salento, in the province of Lecce , ancient seat of the Marquess of Galatone.-History:...

  • Copertino Castle
    Copertino Castle
    thumb|250px|View of the bastions.The Copertino Castle is a castle in Apulia, southern Italy. It is located in the eponymous city of Copertino, north of Gallipoli on the heel of Apulia, between Manduria and Galatina.-Overview:...

  • Palace of Muro Leccese
    Muro Leccese
    Muro Leccese is a town and comune in the province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy....

  • Palazzo Belmonte at Santa Maria di Castellabate
    Santa Maria di Castellabate
    Santa Maria di Castellabate is a frazione of Castellabate, a commune in the province of Salerno, southern Italy. It is the largest frazione of its comune and of the province. It is also the seat of the town hall.-History:...


See also

  • Belmonte Calabro
    Belmonte Calabro
    Belmonte Calabro, known simply as Belmonte prior to the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, is a town and comune in the province of Cosenza, in Calabria...

  • Castellabate
    Castellabate
    Castellabate is a town and comune in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy.-History:The are was inhabited since Upper Palaeolithic times...

  • Muro Leccese
    Muro Leccese
    Muro Leccese is a town and comune in the province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy....

  • Acerenza
    Acerenza
    Acerenza is a town and comune in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata.-History:With its strategic position 800 m above sea-level, Acerenza has been sacked by a series of invaders....

  • Corigliano d'Otranto
    Corigliano d'Otranto
    Corigliano d'Otranto is a small town and comune of 5,632 inhabitants in the province of Lecce in Apulia, Italy. It is one of the nine towns of Grecìa Salentina.-Sister cities: Ilion, Greece...

  • Galatone
    Galatone
    Galatone is a town and comune located in Salento, in the province of Lecce , ancient seat of the Marquess of Galatone.-History:...

  • Argençola
    Argençola
    Argençola is a municipality in the comarca of the Anoia inCatalonia, Spain. It is situated in the east of the comarca, bordering the Segarra and the Conca de Barberà.The Anoia river has its source on the territory of the municipality...

  • San Vicente
    San Vicente
    San Vicente can refer to:*Argentina**San Vicente, Buenos Aires**San Vicente Partido*Bolivia**San Vicente Canton, Bolivia and its seat San Vicente*Chile**San Vicente, Chile*Colombia**San Vicente del Caguán** San Vicente, Antioquia...

  • Castellabate
    Castellabate
    Castellabate is a town and comune in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy.-History:The are was inhabited since Upper Palaeolithic times...

  • Copertino
    Copertino
    Copertino is a town and comune in the province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.-History:Following Charles of Anjou's successful campaign in 1266, the Hohenstaufen tower of Copertino was held first by the de Pratis family and then by Walter VI of Brienne, Duke of Athens, Duke of...

  • Badolato
    Badolato
    Badolato is a comune and town in the province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region of Italy. As of 2007 Badolato had an estimated population of 3,275.- Territory :The village of Badolato is 30 km from Catanzaro on Calabria's Ionian coast...

  • Veglie
    Veglie
    -History:Veglie was founded around the 10th century. Veglie was a small village.The tomb founded in Via Novoli in 1957 dates back to the Messapic times it is displayed in a provincial museum...

  • Leverano
    Leverano
    Leverano is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the southeastern part of the Apulia region of south-east Italy. Its 2001 population was 13,981.-Population History:-History:...

  • Rocca Cilento
    Cilento
    Cilento is an Italian geographical region of Campania in the central and southern part of the Province of Salerno and an important tourist area of southern Italy.-Geography:...

  • Santa Maria di Castellabate
    Santa Maria di Castellabate
    Santa Maria di Castellabate is a frazione of Castellabate, a commune in the province of Salerno, southern Italy. It is the largest frazione of its comune and of the province. It is also the seat of the town hall.-History:...


Further reading

  • Adels, Genealogisches Handbuch des, Fürstliche Häuser
  • Ammirato, Scipione (1580, 1651), Delle famiglie nobili Napoletane, Firenze (2 volumes)
  • Bernabo, B. (1994/1998), I Conti di Lavagna e l’alta Val di Vara, in Atti del Convegno I Fieschi tra Papato e Impero, ed. Calcagno, D., Lavagna and Chiavari Casa Ravaschiera
  • Firpo, M. (1994/1998), La ricchezza e il potere: le origini patrimoniali dell’ascesa della famiglia Fieschi nella Liguria Orientale tra XII e XIII secolo, in Atti del Convegno I Fieschi tra Papato e Impero, ed. Calcagno, D., Lavagna and Chiavari
  • Frank, Karl Friedrich von (1967–1975), Standeserhöhungen und Gnadenakte für das Reich und die österreichischen Erblande bis 1823, volumes I-V, Senfteneg
  • Frank, Karl Friedrich von (1928), Alt-Österreichisches Adels-Lexikon, Vienna
  • Ganducci, O. Famiglie nobili di Genova, secolo XVIII, ms. 94. Santa Margherita Ligure, Biblioteca Comunale
  • Granito, Giacchino (1912), Memorie, notizie e docc. della Gente Granita, Napoli
  • Ilari, Annibale (2001- Tipografica L. Palazzotti), I Gran Priori di Roma del Sovrano Militare Ordine di Malta
  • Magri, Andrea (1640), Memorie della Nobilissima Famiglia Ravaschiera, Discendente da Gli'Antichissimi Conti di Lavagna
  • Mediolani (1611), Antiquae Familie Scortiae, et Aliarum Comitum Lavaniae Antiquissima Monumenta
  • Montefusco, Luigiantonio, Nobilta nel Salento Vol. III, Istituto Araldico Salentino, Lecce
  • Musso, G.A. Stemmario p. 95
  • Rietstap (1887), Armorial Général, 2eme Edition
  • Rolland, V. H. (1926), Supplément à Rietstap
  • Ruvigny, Marquis de (1914), The Titled Nobility of Europe
  • Turchi, Gabriele (2004), Storia di Belmonte (Dalle origini alla fine del secolo XIX)

External links

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