The Aldobrandeschi were an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

noble family Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteris ...

from southern

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

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

regions of Italy. In 1274, their lands were divided between the

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 ...

and the County of

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 ...

, 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 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 m ...

family. The most famous members were: Guglielmo Aldobrandeschi, who lived in the 13th century and is cited by

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: ...

as the ''Gran Tosco'' ("Grand Tuscan"); Guglielmo's son is also cited in Canto XI of the ''Purgatorio'' in the ''

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 a ...

'' as an example of a sinner of pride; and Margherita, the last of the Aldobrandeschi of Sovana, who married Guy de Montfort, Count of Nola, and passed rule over Soana to her daughter

Anastasia Anastasia (from el, Ἀναστασία, translit=Anastasía) is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning " resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia, where it was the mo ...

and son-in-law, Romano "Romanello" Orsini and their heirs.

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Italian noble families Lombard families {{noble-stub

Overview

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