The House of Caetani, or Gaetani, is the name of an Italian noble family, originally from the city of

Gaeta Gaeta (; lat, Cāiēta; Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a city in the province of Latina, in Lazio, Southern Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Naples. The town has played a consp ...

, connected by some to the lineage of the lords of the

Duchy of Gaeta The Duchy of Gaeta was an early medieval state centered on the coastal South Italian city of Gaeta. It began in the early ninth century as the local community began to grow autonomous as Byzantine power lagged in the Mediterranean and the penin ...

, as well as to the patrician Gaetani of the

Republic of Pisa The Republic of Pisa ( it, Repubblica di Pisa) was an independent state centered on the Tuscan city of Pisa, which existed from the 11th to the 15th century. It rose to become an economic powerhouse, a commercial center whose merchants dominated ...

. It played an important role in Rome, in the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

and in the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

, and later in the

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ( it, Regno delle Due Sicilie) was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1860. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and size in Italy before Italian unification, comprising Sicily and a ...

Origins

The Caetani, or Gaetani family, according to a family tradition, was descendant of the Dukes of Gaeta. Nevertheless, the family had no more great importance in Rome until the election of Benedetto Caetani to the papacy as

Pope Boniface VIII Pope Boniface VIII ( la, Bonifatius PP. VIII; born Benedetto Caetani, c. 1230 – 11 October 1303) was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 to his death in 1303. The Caetani, Caetani family was of b ...

in 1294, when they at once became the most notable in the city. The pope helped them to buy

Sermoneta Sermoneta is a hill town and ''comune'' in the province of Latina (Lazio), central Italy. It is a walled hill town, with a 13th-century Romanesque cathedral called Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta and a massive castle, built by the Caetani f ...

Bassiano Bassiano (locally ''Vassiano'') is a municipality (Italian: ''comune'') in the Province of Latina in the Italian region Lazio, located about southeast of Rome and about northeast of Latina, Lazio, Latina. As of 31 December 2004, it had a populat ...

, Ninfa and San Donato (1297, 1300), and the marquisate of Ancona in 1300, while Charles II of Anjou created the pope's brother count of Caserta.

Giordano Roffredo Caetani Giordano may refer to: People * Giordano (name) * Giordano (footballer) (born 1993), Brazilian footballer *Umberto Giordano, or simply Giordano, Italian composer Businesses * Giordano International, a Hong Kong-based, global clothing retailer * G ...

by his marriage with

Giovanna dell'Aquila Giovanna is an Italian feminine first name. It is the feminine counterpart of the masculine Giovanni, which in turn is the Italian form of John; it is thus the Italian equivalent of Jane, Joanna, Jeanne, etc. In Brazil, the feminine name Giovann ...

, heiress of the counts of

Fondi Fondi ( la, Fundi; Southern Laziale: ''Fùnn'') is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Latina, Lazio, central Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. I ...

, in 1297 acquired the title of counts of Fondi, and his grandson Giacomo acquired the lordships of Piedimonte and Gioia. The Caetani proved brave warriors and formed a bodyguard to protect Boniface VIII from his many foes. During the 14th and 15th centuries their feuds with the Colonna caused frequent disturbances in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and the

Campagna Campagna (Italian: ) is a small town and ''comune'' of the province of Salerno, in the Campania region of Southern Italy. Its population is 17,148. Its old Latin name was Civitas Campaniae (City of Campagna). Campagna is located in one of the ...

, sometimes amounting to civil war. They also played an important role as Neapolitan nobles: in particular,

Onorato I Caetani Onorato I Caetani ( 1336 – 20 April 1400) was an Italian nobleman, who was the count of Fondi from 1348 and the Great Conestable of the Kingdom of Naples also from 1348. He was also lord of Sermoneta, Bassiano, Marino and also Senator of Rome f ...

was a powerful baron in what is now southern

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

and one of the main supporters of

Antipope An antipope ( la, antipapa) is a person who makes a significant and substantial attempt to occupy the position of Bishop of Rome and leader of the Catholic Church in opposition to the legitimately elected pope. At times between the 3rd and mid- ...

Clement VII Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...

and Benedict XIII. In 1500

Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...

, in his attempt to crush the great Roman feudal nobility, confiscated the Caetani fiefs and gave them to his daughter

Lucrezia Borgia Lucrezia Borgia (; ca-valencia, Lucrècia Borja, links=no ; 18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was a Spanish-Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She reigned as the Govern ...

; but they afterwards regained them.

Lines

Until the 20th century, there were two lines of the Caetani family - Caetani and Caetani d'Aragona (or Gaetani Dell'Aquila d'Aragona). The Caetani line ended with the last male descendant's death in 1961.

Caetani

Caetani, princes of Teano and dukes of

, founded by Giacobello Caetani, whose grandson, Guglielmo Caetani, was granted the duchy of Sermoneta by

Pope Pius III Pope Pius III ( it, Pio III; 9 May 1439 – 18 October 1503), born Francesco Todeschini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 September 1503 to his death. At just twenty-six days, he had one of the shortest ...

in 1503, the marquisate of Cisterna being conferred on the family by Sixtus V in 1585. In 1642, Francesco, the 7th Duke of Sermoneta, acquired by marriage the county of Caserta, which was exchanged for the principality of Teano in 1750. The 19th century head of the house,

Onorato Caetani Onorato Caetani, XIV Duke of Sermoneta and IV Prince of Teano (18 January 1842 – 2 September 1917) was an Italian politician from the noble Caetani family.(In Italian) He was born in Rome, which was then part of the Papal States, to Michel ...

, 14th Duke of Sermoneta, 4th Prince of Teano, Duke of San Marco, Marquis of Cisterna, etc. (1842 – 1917), was a senator of the

kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

, and was minister for foreign affairs for a short time. His son Gelasio Caetani rose to fame during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as a military mining engineer. The last agnate (male member) of the family was the noted composer, Don , 17th Duke of Sermoneta and 8th Prince of Teano (1871–1961); his wife, Marguerite Chapin, founded and edited the literary journal ''

Botteghe Oscure ''Botteghe Oscure'' was a literary journal that was published and edited in Rome by Marguerite Caetani (Princess di Bassiano) from 1948 to 1960. History and profile ''Botteghe Oscure'' was established in 1948. The magazine was named after via d ...

''. His niece Topazia (1921—90) married the composer and conductor

Igor Markevitch Igor Borisovich Markevitch (russian: Игорь Борисович Маркевич, ''Igor Borisovich Markevich'', uk, Ігор Борисович Маркевич, ''Ihor Borysovych Markevych''; 27 July 1912 – 7 March 1983) was a Russian- ...

and was the mother of the conductor

Oleg Caetani Oleg Caetani (born 1956) is an Italian conductor. Life and career Born in Lausanne, Caetani studied with Nadia Boulanger. At the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia in Rome, he studied conducting with Franco Ferrara and composition with Irma Ravinale ...

, who perpetuates his mother's surname as an enate, a uterine member, of the Italian noble family.

Caetani d'Aragona (or Gaetani dell'Aquila d'Aragona)

Caetani d'Aragona, Princes of Piedimonte, and Dukes of

Laurenzana Laurenzana ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the region of Basilicata (southern Italy). It rises on a spur between the torre Camastro and the wood surrounding the Serrapotamo valley. History Laurenzana's origins ...

, founded by Onorato II Caetani, Count of Fondi, Alife and Morcone, Lord of Piedimonte and Gioia, in 1454. The additional surname of Aragona was assumed in 1466. The duchy of Laurenzana, in the kingdom of Naples, was acquired by Alfonso Gaetani by his marriage in 1606 with Giulia di Ruggiero, Duchess of Laurenzana. The lordship of Piedimonte was raised to a principality in 1715. The family is currently represented by Don Bonifacio Gaetani Dell'Aquilla D'Aragona, Duca di Laurenzana e Principe di Piedimonte (b. 1950) whose heir is Conte Don Giovanni Gaetani dell’Aquila d’Aragona (* 1973) who married

Ginevra Elkann Ginevra Elkann (born 24 September 1979) is a London-born Italian film producer and director. She is a member of the Agnelli family and granddaughter of Italian industrialist Gianni Agnelli. Early life Elkann was born in London,

(the sister of

John Elkann John Philip Jacob Elkann (born 1 April 1976) is an Italian industrialist. In 1997, he became the chosen heir of his grandfather Gianni Agnelli, following the death of Gianni's nephew Giovanni Alberto Agnelli and since 2004 has been leading the A ...

daughter of Alain Elkann, and granddaughter of

Gianni Agnelli Giovanni "Gianni" Agnelli (; 12 March 192124 January 2003), nicknamed ("The Lawyer"), was an Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial workforce a ...

) in 2009.

References

*{{cite web , last= , first= , title=CAETANI E GAETANI , work=Enciclopedia genealogica del Mediterraneo , publisher=Italian Genealogical Society , date= , url=http://www.genmarenostrum.com/pagine-lettere/letterac/Caetani/anteprimacaetani.htm , doi= , accessdate=January 24, 2013 , language=Italian
Original 1922 Almanach de Gotha (edited by Justice Perthes) entry for the Caetani family
link to the original universally-recognised genealogical reference document, with details of family honours Surnames Italian-language surnames