The family of Pepoli were lords of Bologna

Bologna

Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...

 who took power in the chaotic commune riven by the struggles between Guelfs and Ghibellines and ruled during the first half of the 14th century. Their seat in the city was Palazzo Pepoli Antico, constructed by Taddeo. The Pepoli maintained dynastic alliances through well-considered marriages: Obizzo III d'Este, Marquis of Ferrara, married Jacopa Pepoli in 1317 and the condottiero Roberto Alidosi

Roberto Alidosi

Roberto Alidosi was a lord of Imola in the 14th century.He was appointed as Papal vicar in the city in December 1350, and in 1356 he was captain of the Papal army...

, papal vicar and lord of Imola

Imola

thumb|250px|The Cathedral of Imola.Imola is a town and comune in the province of Bologna, located on the Santerno river, in the Emilia-Romagna region of north-central Italy...

, was given Giacoma Pepoli.

After the happy years of the rule of Taddeo Pepoli (1337—1347), Bologna fell to the Visconti of Milan; though Cardinal Gil de Albornoz forcibly returned the city to the papal orbit in 1360, the Pepoli never regained their former civic power.

The family remained prominent landowners. Guido Pepoli

Guido Pepoli

Guido Pepoli was an Italian cardinal. He was ordained by Pope Sixtus V on December 20, 1589.Guido Pepoli was an Italian Cardinal....

  was ordained cardinal by Pope Sixtus V

Pope Sixtus V

Pope Sixtus V , born Felice Peretti di Montalto, was Pope from 1585 to 1590.-Early life:The chronicler Andrija Zmajević states that Felice's family originated from modern-day Montenegro...

 in 1589. In the 17th century, Palazzo Pepoli Campogrande, today housing the Pinacoteca Nazionale, was constructed following designs of G.B. Albertoni and G.A. Torri.

A later member of the family, conte Carlo Pepoli, wrote Vincenzo Bellini

Vincenzo Bellini

Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini was an Italian opera composer. His greatest works are I Capuleti ed i Montecchi , La sonnambula , Norma , Beatrice di Tenda , and I puritani...

's libretto for I Puritani

I puritani

I puritani is an opera in three acts by Vincenzo Bellini. It was his last opera. Its libretto is by Count Carlo Pepoli, based on Têtes rondes et Cavaliers by Jacques-François Ancelot and Joseph Xavier Saintine, which is in turn based on Walter Scott's novel Old Mortality. It was first produced at...

and provided the lyrics for Rossini's song "La Danza

La Danza

"La danza" is a patter song by Gioachino Rossini, in Tarantella napoletana time, the eighth song of the collection Les soirées musicales . The lyrics are by Count Carlo Pepoli, librettist of Vincenzo Bellini's opera I puritani. "La danza" is a stand-alone chamber vocal piece, rather than part of a...

". To him Giacomo Leopardi

Giacomo Leopardi

Giacomo Taldegardo Francesco di Sales Saverio Pietro Leopardi was an Italian poet, essayist, philosopher, and philologist...

 dedicated one of his canti.

The commune of Castiglione dei Pepoli

Castiglione dei Pepoli

Castiglione dei Pepoli is a comune in the province of Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, located about 40 km southwest of Bologna.It takes its name from the Pepoli noble family of Bologna.-External links:...

 in the Italian Province of Bologna

Province of Bologna

The Province of Bologna is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Bologna.-Geography:It has an area of 3,702 km², and a total population of 991,647 . There are 60 comuni in the province, see Comuni of the Province of Bologna...

still bears the family's name.