Duchy of Alvito
Encyclopedia
The Duchy of Alvito
was a fiefdom of the Kingdom of Naples
, in southern Italy
.
conquered Naples (1266). From the Angevins the Cantelmo received several castles and fiefs around Alvito
in what is now the Valcomino
, dominated by the numerous fiefs of the powerful regional monasteries (such as Monte Cassino
and San Vincenzo al Volturno), as well as of the rival family of the Counts of Aquino. Rostaino and his successors tried unsuccessfully to extend their control over the whole region in the 14th century. They sided with Queen Joan II of Naples
but were defeated by the troops of Charles of Durazzo
. In a document of 1384, Giacomo IV is mentioned as "lord of the lands of Alvito".
During the turmoil caused by the succession of Ladislaus of Naples, the Cantelmo sided with his rival, Louis II of Anjou. Rostainuccio ("little Rostaino") was defeated and captured by Jacopo Orsini at Pereto
in Abruzzo in 1369, and Alvito was granted by Ladislaus to Andrea Tomacelli, brother of the Count of Sora
and of Pope Boniface IX
. Alvito was soon returned to the Cantelmo, and Giacomo V, Rostainuccio's son, was the first ruler of Alvito to bear the title count
. He likely obtained the title as a dowry
from his wife, Elisabetta d'Aquino. After Giacomo's death the county was expanded by his son Antonio, who acquired Gallinaro
, Fontechiari
, Arce, Popoli
(this from his brother Francesco, who had died heirless), and other lands in the Abruzzo and Valcomino. Otherwise, Antonio's rule was troubled by the turmoil and succession crises of the Kingdom of Naples in the early 15th century, and he lost his lands repeatedly. His son Nicolò was able to establish his rule more firmly by backing the successful Alfonso V of Aragon
in his conquests of 1443. Alfonso created Nicolò Duke of Sora, and in this capacity he stripped his brother Onofrio of the County of Popoli in Abruzzo. Nicolò also obtained the position of royal counsellor in 1452 and, just before his death, his title was raised to Duke of Alvito.
Nicolò's son Piergiampaolo inherited Sora and Alvito, while another son, Piergiovanni, inherited Popoli. Piergiampaolo soon annexed his brother's Abruzzese lands and, after siding against the new king, Ferdinand I
, in the revolt of 1460, captured the territories of Montecassino, Arce, and the fiefs of the Colonna
in Abruzzo. He also took part in the sieges of Sulmona
and L'Aquila
, but was in turn besieged and defeated by Napoleone Orsini
at Sora. As a result he was forced to cede Sora, Arpino
, Casalvieri
, Isola del Liri
, and Fontana Liri
to the Papal States
in 1463. His duchy was downgraded to a county, the title being assigned to Piergiovanni. At the same time, Alvito and Sora were given the right to mint cavalli
(a type of coin). Piergiampaolo organized a second plot against Ferdinand, but was again defeated and had to abandon hopes in returning to Alvito. Exiled to France, he returned with the invading army of Charles VIII of France
during the War of 1494–95
. With his brother, Sigismondo II of Sora, he re-conquered most of his lands. He was able to resist the Neapolitans after the French retreat, but in 1496 Sora fell to Frederick I of Naples, followed in 1496 by Alvito, captured by general Gonzalo de Córdoba
. This put an end to the Cantelmo rule.
, son of Pope Alexander VI
, was invested with the title Count of Alvito. During the War of 1499–1504, when Louis II of France tried to conquer Naples, Gioffre sided with the French, but captured by Prospero Colonna
he sided with the Spanish
, which caused a rebellion in Alvito. He sent the condottiero Fabrizio Colonna
to stabilise his lands, to which he finally returned in 1504. After the death of his wife, Sancha of Aragon
, he lost the rights to the county, which were given in 1507 to the Spanish general Pietro Navarro.
In 1515, after Pietro had embraced the French cause, Alvito was conferred on the viceroy Ramón (Raimondo) de Cardona
, who did not live there but rather administered it through a governor. The county was inherited by Ramón's son Folch (or Ferrante), under the regency of his mother, Isabella de Requesens. She was able to exploit the ongoing Franco-Spanish wars
to acquire the nearby Duchy of Somma. Ferrante was succedeed in 1571 by his sons Loise (1572–74) and Antonio (1574–92), who let Alvito decline under ruthless local governors. Despite the acquisition of the Duchy of Sessa, in 1592 the county was ceded to Matteo di Caua for 100,000 ducats. It was sold a second time to the Milan
ese nobleman Matteo Taverna, who acquired it with money from Tolomeo II Gallio, nephew and namesake of the Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio
. In the end Tolomeo obtained full rule in Alvito, receiving the title of Duke in 1606 from Philip III of Spain
.
The Gallio family held the duchy until 1806, when feudalism was suppressed in the Kingdom of Naples.
Alvito
Alvito is a town and comune in central Italy, in the province of Frosinone, south of Rome in the Lazio region. Its home to one of the oldest Italian castles.-History:...
was a fiefdom of the Kingdom of Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
, 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...
.
Rule of the Cantelmo
The Cantelmo family, of French origins, had arrived in Italy in the 13th century around the time the AngevinsCapetian 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...
conquered Naples (1266). From the Angevins the Cantelmo received several castles and fiefs around Alvito
Alvito
Alvito is a town and comune in central Italy, in the province of Frosinone, south of Rome in the Lazio region. Its home to one of the oldest Italian castles.-History:...
in what is now the Valcomino
Comino Valley
The Comino Valley, or Valle di Comino, is a valley located in the province of Frosinone, in central Italy. It runs from San Biagio Saracinisco to Vicalvi and is adjacent to the Abruzzi mountains...
, dominated by the numerous fiefs of the powerful regional monasteries (such as Monte Cassino
Monte Cassino
Monte Cassino is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, Italy, c. to the west of the town of Cassino and altitude. St. Benedict of Nursia established his first monastery, the source of the Benedictine Order, here around 529. It was the site of Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944...
and San Vincenzo al Volturno), as well as of the rival family of the Counts of Aquino. Rostaino and his successors tried unsuccessfully to extend their control over the whole region in the 14th century. They sided with Queen Joan II of Naples
Joan II of Naples
Joan II was Queen of Naples from 1414 to her death, upon which the senior Angevin line of Naples became extinct. As a mere formality, she used the title of Queen of Jerusalem, Sicily, and Hungary....
but were defeated by the troops of Charles of Durazzo
Charles III of Naples
Charles the Short or Charles of Durazzo was King of Naples and titular King of Jerusalem from 1382 to 1386 as Charles III, and King of Hungary from 1385 to 1386 as Charles II. In 1382 Charles created the order of Argonauts of Saint Nicholas...
. In a document of 1384, Giacomo IV is mentioned as "lord of the lands of Alvito".
During the turmoil caused by the succession of Ladislaus of Naples, the Cantelmo sided with his rival, Louis II of Anjou. Rostainuccio ("little Rostaino") was defeated and captured by Jacopo Orsini at Pereto
Pereto
Pereto is a comune and town in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy.It was an ancient centre of the Marsi.-Main sights:...
in Abruzzo in 1369, and Alvito was granted by Ladislaus to Andrea Tomacelli, brother of the Count of Sora
Duchy of Sora
The Duchy of Sora was a semi-independent state in Italy, created in 1443 by King Alfonso I of Naples and dissolved in 1796. It occupied the south-eastern part of what is today Lazio, bordering what is now Abruzzo...
and of Pope Boniface IX
Pope Boniface IX
Pope Boniface IX , born Piero Tomacelli, was the second Roman Pope of the Western Schism from November 2, 1389, until October 1, 1404...
. Alvito was soon returned to the Cantelmo, and Giacomo V, Rostainuccio's son, was the first ruler of Alvito to bear the title count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
. He likely obtained the title as a dowry
Dowry
A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...
from his wife, Elisabetta d'Aquino. After Giacomo's death the county was expanded by his son Antonio, who acquired Gallinaro
Gallinaro
Gallinaro is a comune in the Province of Frosinone in the Italian region Lazio, located about 110 km east of Rome and about 40 km east of Frosinone...
, Fontechiari
Fontechiari
Fontechiari is a town and comune in province of Frosinone, Lazio, Italy.The town has borders with the towns of Arpino, Broccostella, Casalvieri, Posta Fibreno and Vicalvi.-External links:* * *...
, Arce, Popoli
Popoli
Popoli is a comune and town in the province of Pescara in the Abruzzo region of Italy.-History:Its Latin name was Castrum Properi , which name was recorded as early as 1016 as the property of Girardo, son of Roccone...
(this from his brother Francesco, who had died heirless), and other lands in the Abruzzo and Valcomino. Otherwise, Antonio's rule was troubled by the turmoil and succession crises of the Kingdom of Naples in the early 15th century, and he lost his lands repeatedly. His son Nicolò was able to establish his rule more firmly by backing the successful Alfonso V of Aragon
Alfonso V of Aragon
Alfonso the Magnanimous KG was the King of Aragon , Valencia , Majorca, Sardinia and Corsica , and Sicily and Count of Barcelona from 1416 and King of Naples from 1442 until his death...
in his conquests of 1443. Alfonso created Nicolò Duke of Sora, and in this capacity he stripped his brother Onofrio of the County of Popoli in Abruzzo. Nicolò also obtained the position of royal counsellor in 1452 and, just before his death, his title was raised to Duke of Alvito.
Nicolò's son Piergiampaolo inherited Sora and Alvito, while another son, Piergiovanni, inherited Popoli. Piergiampaolo soon annexed his brother's Abruzzese lands and, after siding against the new king, Ferdinand I
Ferdinand I of Naples
Ferdinand I , also called Don Ferrante, was the King of Naples from 1458 to 1494. He was the natural son of Alfonso V of Aragon by Giraldona Carlino.-Biography:...
, in the revolt of 1460, captured the territories of Montecassino, Arce, and the fiefs of the Colonna
Colonna family
The Colonna family is an Italian noble family; it was powerful in medieval and Renaissance Rome, supplying one Pope and many other Church and political leaders...
in Abruzzo. He also took part in the sieges of Sulmona
Sulmona
thumb|150px|Celestine V's hermitage and the remains of the Shrine of Hercules Curinus.thumb|150px|Palazzo SS. Annunziata and Museo Civicothumb|150px|Church of SS...
and L'Aquila
L'Aquila
L'Aquila is a city and comune in central Italy, both the capital city of the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila. , it has a population of 73,150 inhabitants, but has a daily presence in the territory of 100,000 people for study, tertiary activities, jobs and tourism...
, but was in turn besieged and defeated by Napoleone Orsini
Napoleone Orsini
Napoleone Orsini was an Italian condottiero.The son of Orso Orsini of Bracciano, he fought for Pope Eugene IV against Francesco Sforza in 1443. Later, in the 1450s, he flanked Ferdinand of Aragon in the struggle between the Kingdom of Naples and the Duchy of Milan...
at Sora. As a result he was forced to cede Sora, Arpino
Arpino
Arpino is a comune in the province of Frosinone in the region of Latium in central Italy. Its Roman name was Arpinum.-History:...
, Casalvieri
Casalvieri
Casalvieri is a comune in the Province of Frosinone in the Italian region Lazio, located about 110 km southeast of Rome and about 30 km east of Frosinone...
, Isola del Liri
Isola del Liri
Isola del Liri is an Italian town in Lazio, Frosinone. As its name implies, Isola is situated between two arms of the Liri. The many waterfalls of this river and of the Fibreno are used by factories.-History:...
, and Fontana Liri
Fontana Liri
Fontana Liri is a comune in the Province of Frosinone in the Italian region Lazio, located about 90 km southeast of Rome and about 15 km east of Frosinone...
to the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
in 1463. His duchy was downgraded to a county, the title being assigned to Piergiovanni. At the same time, Alvito and Sora were given the right to mint cavalli
Cavallo (coin)
thumb|220px|Cavallo of Ferdinand I of Naples.The cavallo was a coin of southern Italy in the Renaissance. It was minted for the first time by King Ferdinand I of Naples in 1472....
(a type of coin). Piergiampaolo organized a second plot against Ferdinand, but was again defeated and had to abandon hopes in returning to Alvito. Exiled to France, he returned with the invading army of Charles VIII of France
Charles VIII of France
Charles VIII, called the Affable, , was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. Charles was a member of the House of Valois...
during the War of 1494–95
First Italian War
The First Italian War , sometimes referred to as the Italian War of 1494 or Charles VIII's Italian War, was the opening phase of the Italian Wars...
. With his brother, Sigismondo II of Sora, he re-conquered most of his lands. He was able to resist the Neapolitans after the French retreat, but in 1496 Sora fell to Frederick I of Naples, followed in 1496 by Alvito, captured by general Gonzalo de Córdoba
Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba
Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba known as The Great Captain, Duke of Terranova and Santangelo, Andria, Montalto and Sessa, also known as Gonzalo de Córdoba, Italian: Gonsalvo or Consalvo Ernandes di Cordova was a Spanish general fighting in the times of the Conquest of Granada and the Italian Wars...
. This put an end to the Cantelmo rule.
Royal demesne
The Valcomino became a royal demesne. In 1497 Gioffre BorgiaGioffre Borgia
Gioffre de Candia Borgia, in Italian, or Jofré Borja in Valencian, was the youngest son of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei, sibling to Lucrezia Borgia, Cesare Borgia and Giovanni Borgia....
, son of Pope Alexander VI
Pope Alexander VI
Pope Alexander VI , born Roderic Llançol i Borja was Pope from 1492 until his death on 18 August 1503. He is one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes, and his Italianized surname—Borgia—became a byword for the debased standards of the Papacy of that era, most notoriously the Banquet...
, was invested with the title Count of Alvito. During the War of 1499–1504, when Louis II of France tried to conquer Naples, Gioffre sided with the French, but captured by Prospero Colonna
Prospero Colonna
Prospero Colonna , sometimes referred to as Prosper Colonna, was an Italian condottiero in the service of the Papal States and the Holy Roman Empire during the Italian Wars.-Biography:...
he sided with the Spanish
Catholic Monarchs
The Catholic Monarchs is the collective title used in history for Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both descended from John I of Castile; they were given a papal dispensation to deal with...
, which caused a rebellion in Alvito. He sent the condottiero Fabrizio Colonna
Fabrizio Colonna
Fabrizio Colonna was an Italian condottiero, a member of the powerful Colonna family. He was the son of Edoardo Colonna and Filippa Conti....
to stabilise his lands, to which he finally returned in 1504. After the death of his wife, Sancha of Aragon
Sancha of Aragon
Donna Sancha of Aragon , or Sancia of Aragon, was an illegitimate daughter of King Alfonso II of Naples and his mistress Trogia Gazzela. In 1494, she was married to Gioffre Borgia, the son of Pope Alexander VI. Upon her marriage she and her new husband were created Prince and Princess of Squillace,...
, he lost the rights to the county, which were given in 1507 to the Spanish general Pietro Navarro.
In 1515, after Pietro had embraced the French cause, Alvito was conferred on the viceroy Ramón (Raimondo) de Cardona
Ramón de Cardona
thumb|250px|Tomb of Ramon de Cardona, by [[Giovanni da Nola]].Ramón Folc de Cardona y Anglesola was a Spanish general and politician, who served as the viceroy of Naples during the Italian Wars and commanded the Spanish forces in Italy during the War of the League of Cambrai...
, who did not live there but rather administered it through a governor. The county was inherited by Ramón's son Folch (or Ferrante), under the regency of his mother, Isabella de Requesens. She was able to exploit the ongoing Franco-Spanish wars
Italian Wars
The Italian Wars, often referred to as the Great Italian Wars or the Great Wars of Italy and sometimes as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a series of conflicts from 1494 to 1559 that involved, at various times, most of the city-states of Italy, the Papal States, most of the major states of Western...
to acquire the nearby Duchy of Somma. Ferrante was succedeed in 1571 by his sons Loise (1572–74) and Antonio (1574–92), who let Alvito decline under ruthless local governors. Despite the acquisition of the Duchy of Sessa, in 1592 the county was ceded to Matteo di Caua for 100,000 ducats. It was sold a second time to the Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
ese nobleman Matteo Taverna, who acquired it with money from Tolomeo II Gallio, nephew and namesake of the Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio
Tolomeo Gallio
Tolomeo Gallio was an Italian Cardinal.In the time of Pope Gregory XIII, he acted as papal secretary of state , having a key role in the curia....
. In the end Tolomeo obtained full rule in Alvito, receiving the title of Duke in 1606 from Philip III of Spain
Philip III of Spain
Philip III , also known as Philip the Pious, was the King of Spain and King of Portugal and the Algarves, where he ruled as Philip II , from 1598 until his death...
.
The Gallio family held the duchy until 1806, when feudalism was suppressed in the Kingdom of Naples.