Adalberto the Margrave, also known as "il Margravio" or "Adalberto III" (10th century – 951?) was an Italian nobleman tied with the

Obertenghi The House of Obertenghi were a prominent Italian noble family of Frankish origin descended from Viscount Adalbert III, first Margrave of Milan. The family held the titles of Marquis of Milan and Genoa, Count of Luni, Tortona, Genoa and Milan ...

family and a well-known ancestor to the Este,

Pallavicini The House of Pallavicini, also known as Pallavicino and formerly known as Pelavicino, is an ancient Italian noble family founded by Oberto II ''Pelavicino'' of the Frankish Obertenghi family. The Pallavicini of Genoa The first recorded member o ...

and

Malaspina family The House of Malaspina was a noble Italian family of Longobard origin that descended from Boniface I, Margrave of Tuscany, Boniface I, through the Obertenghi line, that ruled Lunigiana from the 13th to the 14th centuries, and the Province of Massa ...

Biography and family ties

Adalberto was elevated to the nobiliary title of "Visconte" in 940 and was given the name of Adalberto III. He also possessed the title of "marchese d'Italia" (Italian Marquise), and ruled over the marquisate of Milan which included most of modern-day

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

and half of modern-day

Ligury it, Ligure , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. It is not clear who his parents were. He was either the first born son of

Lambert, margrave of Tuscany Lambert (died after 938) was the second son of Adalbert II of Tuscany and Bertha, daughter of Lothair II of Lotharingia. He succeeded his elder brother, Guy, as count and duke of Lucca and margrave of Tuscany on his death in 938 or 939 without h ...

, or Lambert's brother Guy who was married to

Marozia Marozia, born Maria and also known as Mariuccia or Mariozza ( 890 – 937), was a Roman noblewoman who was the alleged mistress of Pope Sergius III and was given the unprecedented titles ''senatrix'' ("senatoress") and ''patricia'' of Rome by ...

. He was the Count and Duke of

Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one o ...

, and at a later time Marquise of

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

from 915 to 929. Adalberto is considered to be the forefather of the

family, and the junior branch the Miagro family of

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

also called Miagro dei Oberthenghi, one of the most influential noble families of the Italian middle ages that shared ancestry with the families of

and Malaspina. The

family split further with the sons of

Albert Azzo II, Margrave of Milan Alberto Azzo II (997 or July 10, 1009, in Modena – August 20, 1097, in Modena), Margrave of Milan, and Liguria, Count of Gavello, Padua, Rovigo, Lunigiana, Monselice, and Montagnana, was a powerful nobleman in the Holy Roman Empire. He is consi ...

. The younger

Fulco I, Margrave of Milan Fulco I d’Este (c. 1070 – 15 December 1128)According tC. Frison: ''Folco.'' In: ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani''he possibly still lived in 1134 was the ancestor of the Italian line of the House of Este. Life Fulco was a son of Albert ...

founded the important North Italian

House of Este The House of Este ( , , ) is a European dynasty of North Italian origin whose members ruled parts of Italy and Germany for many centuries. The original House of Este's elder branch, which is known as the House of Welf, included dukes of Bavaria ...

ruling in the

Duchy of Ferrara The Duchy of Ferrara ( la, Ducatus Ferrariensis; it, Ducato di Ferrara; egl, Ducà ad Frara) was a state in what is now northern Italy. It consisted of about 1,100 km2 south of the lower Po River, stretching to the valley of the lower Reno ...

and the

Duchy of Modena and Reggio The Duchy of Modena and Reggio ( Emilian: ''Duchêt ed Mòdna e Rèz'', it, Ducato di Modena e Reggio, la, Ducatus Mutinae et Regii) was an Italian state created in 1452 located in Northwestern Italy, in the present day region of Emilia-Romagn ...

that went extinct in 1829; the older

Welf I, Duke of Bavaria Welf I (c. 1035/10406 November 1101) was Duke of Bavaria from 1070 to 1077 and from 1096 to his death. He was the first member of the Welf branch of the House of Este. In the genealogy of the Elder House of Welf, he is counted as Welf IV. Bio ...

founded the German Younger House of Welf after inheriting the lands with his maternal uncle

Welf III Welf III (13 November 1055), the last male member of the Swabian line of the Elder House of Welf, was Duke of Carinthia and Margrave of Verona from 1047 until his death. Life Welf III was the only son of the Swabian count Welf II of Altdorf ...

, the last of the

Elder Welfs An elder is someone with a degree of seniority or authority. Elder or elders may refer to: Positions Administrative * Elder (administrative title), a position of authority Cultural * North American Indigenous elder, a person who has and tr ...

. From 1692 to 1901 the family included the

Monarchs of Great Britain A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power in ...

Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV (1175 – 19 May 1218) was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 until his death in 1218. Otto spent most of his early life in England and France. He was a follower of his uncle Richard the Lionheart, who made him Count of Poitou in 1196 ...

and

Ivan VI of Russia Ivan VI,; – (Julian calendar should be used in this article) Iván or Ioánn Antónovich (12 August 1740 5 July 1764) was an infant emperor of Russia who was overthrown by his cousin Elizabeth Petrovna in 1741. He was only two months old when ...

were also members. The Hanoverian branch of the Welfs that ruled in Britain still exists (they lost the crown because

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

and all monarchs since are agnatically from the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its ori ...

) and all living males descent from

Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick Ernest Augustus (Ernest Augustus Christian George; german: Ernst August Christian Georg; 17 November 1887 – 30 January 1953) was the reigning Duchy of Brunswick, Duke of Brunswick from 2 November 1913 to 8 November 1918. He was a grandson of Geor ...

(30th generation from Adalberto). Besides these Hanoverians, Adalberto also has living agnatic descendants among the aforementioned

Offspring

Oberto I Oberto I Obizzo (also known as Otbert) (died 15 October 975) was an Italian count palatine and margrave and the oldest known member of the Obertenghi family. Biography Oberto I inherited the countship of Milan in 951 from his father Adalberto the M ...

(died 975), Marquise of Milan from 951, he later became palatine count in 953 as well as the count of Luni,

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

and

Tortona Tortona (; pms, Torton-a , ; lat, Dhertona) is a ''comune'' of Piemonte, in the Province of Alessandria, Italy. Tortona is sited on the right bank of the Scrivia between the plain of Marengo and the foothills of the Ligurian Apennines. History ...

*Ambroso (died 988), he was the bishop of

Aléria Aléria (; Ancient Greek: /, ; Latin and Italian: ; co, U Cateraghju) is a commune in the Haute-Corse department of France on the island of Corsica, former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see. It includes the easternmost point in M ...

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adalberto the Margrave Duchy of Massa and Carrara Malaspina family 10th-century births 950s deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death uncertain