Vinciguerra d'Aragona was the eldest son of Sanciolo and Lucia Palizzi and thus a grandson of Frederick II of Sicily

Frederick III of Sicily

Frederick II was the regent and subsequently King of Sicily from 1295 until his death. He was the third son of Peter III of Aragon and served in the War of the Sicilian Vespers on behalf of his father and brothers, Alfonso and James...

.

In 1355 he rebelled against his cousin Frederick III

Frederick III the Simple

Frederick III , called the Simple, was King of Sicily from 1355 to 1377. He was the second son of Peter II of Sicily and Elisabeth of Carinthia. He succeeded his brother Louis...

, who in December sent him to Patti as Captain to serve until December 1356. With Guglielmo Rosso and Corrado Spadafora, the captain and castellan

Castellan

A castellan was the governor or captain of a castle. The word stems from the Latin Castellanus, derived from castellum "castle". Also known as a constable.-Duties:...

 of Lipari

Lipari

Lipari is the largest of the Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the north coast of Sicily, and the name of the island's main town. It has a permanent population of 11,231; during the May–September tourist season, its population may reach up to 20,000....

, he joined his younger brother Sancho (Sanciolo) in a pro-Angevin

Capetian House of Anjou

The Capetian House of Anjou, also known as the House of Anjou-Sicily and House of Anjou-Naples, was a royal house and cadet branch of the direct House of Capet. Founded by Charles I of Sicily, a son of Louis VIII of France, the Capetian king first ruled the Kingdom of Sicily during the 13th century...

 revolt in 1357. In March 1359 he fell out with Anjou and helped his cousin the king put down what remained of the insurrection. He was rewarded with the lordship of Termini

Termini Imerese

Termini Imerese is a town and comune in the province of Palermo on the northern coast of Sicily, southern Italy.-Ancient:The site where the town now sits has been populated since prehistoric times, as many archeologial excavations have shown through the years...

 and the county of Novara

Novara di Sicilia

Novara di Sicilia is a comune in the Province of Messina in the Italian region Sicily, located about 160 km east of Palermo and about 40 km southwest of Messina...

, which had been his maternal grandfather's, in 1364. From his nephew Mattiotto, the son of Sancho, he inherited the county of Cammarata

Cammarata

Cammarata is a comune in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region Sicily, located about 60 km southeast of Palermo and about 35 km north of Agrigento on the eponymous mountain in a territory rich of forests....

 in 1369. In 1371 he became Baron of Militello, his own father's barony, and San Marco. From 1365 to 1368 he acted as Grand Chancellor

Chancellor

Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...

 of Sicily

Kingdom of Sicily

The Kingdom of Sicily was a state that existed in the south of Italy from its founding by Roger II in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of southern Italy...

, replacing Enrico Rosso. He left as his heir his son Bartholomew.

A fortress he built in 1366, the Torre Vinciguerra, in Gioiosa Marea

Gioiosa Marea

Gioiosa Marea is a comune in the Province of Messina in the Italian region Sicily, located about 130 km east of Palermo and about 60 km west of Messina...

, still bears his name; he also built a castle on the top of Gioiosa Guardia.

Sources

• Ghisalberti, Alberto M., ed. Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: III Ammirato – Arcoleo. Rome, 1961.