Aldobrandeschi
The Aldobrandeschi were an Italian noble family from southern Tuscany. Overview Of probable Lombard origin, they appear in history as counts in the 9th century. The first known count was Hildebrand II (857). Their possession extended to what is now southern Tuscany and northern Lazio regions of Italy. In 1274, their lands were divided between the County of Santa Fiora and the County of Sovana, which thenceforth were ruled by different branches of the family. After the extinction of the Aldobrandeschi of Sovana, the county was assigned to the Orsini. The Aldobrandeschi heiress of Santa Fiora married into the Sforza family. The most famous members were: Guglielmo Aldobrandeschi, who lived in the 13th century and is cited by Dante Alighieri as the ''Gran Tosco'' ("Grand Tuscan"); Guglielmo's son is also cited in Canto XI of the ''Purgatorio'' in the ''Divine Comedy'' as an example of a sinner of pride; and Margherita, the last of the Aldobrandeschi of Sovana, who married Guy de M ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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County Of Santa Fiora
The County of Santa Fiora ( it, Contea di Santa Fiora), also known as State of Santa Fiora ( it, Stato di Santa Fiora, links=no) was a small historical state of southern Tuscany, in central Italy. Together with the county of Sovana, it was one of the two subdivisions into which the possessions of the Aldobrandeschi, then lords of much of southern Tuscany, were split in 1274. At the moments of its creation it included part of today's province of Grosseto, up to the Isola del Giglio, and Castiglione d'Orcia, in what is now the province of Siena. In the 14th century the Republic of Siena was able to capture Isola del Giglio, Roccastrada, Istia d'Ombrone, Magliano in Toscana, Selvena, Arcidosso and Castiglione d'Orcia, reducing the county to its capital, Castell'Azzara, Semproniano and Scansano. In 1439, after the marriage of Bosio I Sforza and the last Aldobrandeschi heir, Cecilia, the county was inherited by the Sforza family, who would become ruler of the Duchy of Milan and owned ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Anastasia De Montfort
Anastasia de Montfort, Countess of Nola (born c. 1274), was an Italian noblewoman and a wealthy heiress. She was the eldest daughter of Guy de Montfort, Count of Nola, himself the son of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester. She held the title suo jure Countess of Nola after her father's death in 1291. She also held the titles of ''suo jure'' Dame de Chailly and ''suo jure'' Dame de Longjumeau. She was the wife of Romano Orsini, Senator of Rome. Family Anastasia was born in Italy about 1274, the eldest daughter of Guy de Montfort, Count of Nola, and Margherita Aldobrandeschi, Countess of Sovana and Pitigliano. Anastasia's father, Guy, fled England in 1266 after he had escaped from prison, eventually arriving in Italy. He entered the service of Charles of Anjou who made him Count of Nola and Vicar-general of Tuscany. On 10 August 1270, Guy married Margherita Aldobrandeschi at Viterbo. In 1271, her father was excommunicated for killing his cousin Henry of Almain inside San ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Scarlino Castello
Scarlino is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Grosseto in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southwest of Florence and about northwest of Grosseto. Scarlino borders the following municipalities: Castiglione della Pescaia, Follonica, Gavorrano, Massa Marittima. History Scarlino appeared before the year 1000 as a possession of the Aldobrandeschi family, and was later handed over to the bishops of Roselle and then the Alberti family. In the 13th century it was acquired again by the Aldobrandeschi, but later it passed to Pisa and then the Appiani of Piombino. Scarlino remained part of the Principality of Piombino until the early 19th century, when it became part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. ''Frazioni'' The municipality is formed by the municipal seat of Scarlino and the villages (''frazioni'') of Pian d'Alma,A portion of Pian d'Alma is included in the municipality of Castiglione della Pescaia. Puntone di Scarlino and Scarlino Scalo. Government List of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Republic Of Siena
The Republic of Siena ( it, Repubblica di Siena, la, Respublica Senensis) was a historic state consisting of the city of Siena and its surrounding territory in Tuscany, central Italy. It existed for over 400 years, from 1125 to 1555. During its existence, it gradually expanded throughout southern Tuscany becoming one of the major economic powers of the Middle Ages, and one of the most important commercial, financial and artistic centers in Europe. From 1287 to 1355, during the rule of the Noveschi, the Republic experienced a period of great political and economic splendor: new buildings were commissioned, including that of the Cathedral of Siena, the Palazzo Pubblico, and a substantial part of the city walls completed. This government is in fact defined by historians as the "good governance". A combination of economic decline, sparked by the Black Death, and political instability led to its absorption by the rival Republic of Florence during the Italian War of 1551–1559. Despi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sovana
Sovana is a small town in southern Tuscany, Italy, a ''frazione'' of Sorano, a comune in the province of Grosseto. History Etruscan by origin, Sovana became a Roman ''municipium'', and, from the 5th century, an episcopal see. Conquered by Lombards in 592–605, it was chosen as their administrative center in the area. Later, when Roselle was abandoned due to Saracen ravages, it became the centre of the county under the Aldobrandeschi family. In the Middle Ages it was known as Soana. Its importance declined when the county was acquired by the Orsini, who moved the capital to Pitigliano. In the mid-16th century Sovana was annexed to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany by Cosimo I de' Medici. Main sights *''Rocca Aldobrandesca'' (Aldobrandeschi Castle), probably built over a pre-existing Etruscan/Roman fortress. The current appearance dates from its 1572 renovation, when the bastions were added. Dismantled in the 17th century, today only the portal, a tower and a stretch of walls remain. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Guy De Montfort, Count Of Nola
Guy de Montfort, Count of Nola (1244–1291) was the son of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester and Eleanor of England. Biography He participated in the Battle of Evesham against the royalist forces of his uncle, King Henry III of England, and his cousin, Prince Edward. Both his father and elder brother were traumatically killed during the disastrous battle. Guy de Montfort was seriously wounded and captured. He was held at Windsor Castle until spring 1266, when he bribed his captors and escaped to France to rejoin his exiled family. Guy and his brother, Simon the Younger, wandered across Europe for several years, eventually making their way to Italy. Guy took service with Charles of Anjou, serving as his Vicar-General in Tuscany. He distinguished himself at the Battle of Tagliacozzo and was given Nola by Charles of Anjou. In 1271, Guy and Simon discovered that their cousin Henry of Almain (son of Richard, Earl of Cornwall) was in Viterbo at the church of San Silvestr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pitigliano
Pitigliano is a town in the province of Grosseto, located about south-east of the city of Grosseto, Tuscany, Italy. The quaint old town is known as ''the little Jerusalem'', for the historical presence of a Jewish community that has always been well integrated into the social context and that has its own synagogue. History Pitigliano and its area were inhabited in Etruscan times but the first extant written mention of it dates only to 1061. In the early 13th century it belonged to the Aldobrandeschi family and by the middle of the century it had become the capital of the surrounding county. In 1293 the county passed to the Orsini family, signalling the start of 150 years of on-again/off-again wars with Siena, at the end of which, in 1455, a compromise of sorts was reached: Siena acknowledged the status of county to Pitigliano, which in exchange placed herself under the sovereignty of Siena. From then onwards the history of Pitigliano resorbs into the gradually wid ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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9th Century
The 9th century was a period from 801 ( DCCCI) through 900 ( CM) in accordance with the Julian calendar. The Carolingian Renaissance and the Viking raids occurred within this period. In the Middle East, the House of Wisdom was founded in Abbasid Baghdad, attracting many scholars to the city. The field of algebra was founded by the Muslim polymath al-Khwarizmi. The most famous Islamic Scholar Ahmad ibn Hanbal was tortured and imprisoned by Abbasid official Ahmad ibn Abi Du'ad during the reign of Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim and caliph al-Wathiq. In Southeast Asia, the height of the Mataram Kingdom happened in this century, while Burma would see the establishment of the major kingdom of Pagan. Tang China started the century with the effective rule under Emperor Xianzong and ended the century with the Huang Chao rebellions. While the Maya experienced widespread political collapse in the central Maya region, resulting in internecine warfare, the abandonment of cities, and a northward ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sforza
The House of Sforza () was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. They acquired the Duchy of Milan following the extinction of the Visconti family in the mid-15th century, Sforza rule ending in Milan with the death of the last member of the family's main branch in 1535. History The first son of Muzio Attendolo Sforza, Francesco I Sforza, married Bianca Maria (1425–1468) in 1441. She was the daughter and only heir of the last Duke of Milan, (Filippo Maria Visconti). He thus acquired the title of Duke of Milan (1450–1466), ruled Milan for 16 years, and made the Sforzas the heirs of the house of Visconti. The family also held the seigniory of Pesaro, starting with Muzio Attendolo's second son, Alessandro (1409–1473). The Sforza held Pesaro until 1512, after the death of Costanzo II Sforza. Muzio's third son, Bosio (1411–1476), founded the branch of Santa Fiora, who held the title of count of Cotignola; the Sforza ruled the small county of Santa Fiora in so ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Divine Comedy
The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest works of world literature. The poem's imaginative vision of the afterlife is representative of the medieval worldview as it existed in the Western Church by the 14th century. It helped establish the Tuscan language, in which it is written, as the standardized Italian language. It is divided into three parts: ''Inferno'', ''Purgatorio'', and '' Paradiso''. The narrative takes as its literal subject the state of the soul after death and presents an image of divine justice meted out as due punishment or reward, and describes Dante's travels through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. Allegorically, the poem represents the soul's journey towards God, beginning with the recognition and rejection of sin (''Inferno''), followed ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ''Commedia'') and later christened by Giovanni Boccaccio, is widely considered one of the most important poems of the Middle Ages and the greatest literary work in the Italian language. Dante is known for establishing the use of the vernacular in literature at a time when most poetry was written in Latin, which was accessible only to the most educated readers. His ''De vulgari eloquentia'' (''On Eloquence in the Vernacular'') was one of the first scholarly defenses of the vernacular. His use of the Florentine dialect for works such as '' The New Life'' (1295) and ''Divine Comedy'' helped establish the modern-day standardized Italian language. His work set a precedent that important Italian writers such as Petrarch and Boccaccio would later ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lombards
The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 and 796) that the Lombards descended from a small tribe called the Winnili,: "From Proto-Germanic '' winna-'', meaning "to fight, win" who dwelt in southern Scandinavia (''Scadanan'') before migrating to seek new lands. By the time of the Roman-era - historians wrote of the Lombards in the 1st century AD, as being one of the Suebian peoples, in what is now northern Germany, near the Elbe river. They continued to migrate south. By the end of the fifth century, the Lombards had moved into the area roughly coinciding with modern Austria and Slovakia north of the Danube, where they subdued the Heruls and later fought frequent wars with the Gepids. The Lombard king Audoin defeated the Gepid leader Thurisind in 551 or 552, and his successor Alboin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |