Coat of arms of the House of della Gherardesca

The House della Gherardesca was an old noble family 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 ...

, dating back as early as the 11th century of

Longobard 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 ...

origin. They were an important one of the most prominent initially in

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

, then of

Volterra Volterra (; Latin: ''Volaterrae'') is a walled mountaintop town in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its history dates from before the 8th century BC and it has substantial structures from the Etruscan, Roman, and Medieval periods. History Volter ...

and eventually and of

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. They were of

Ghibelline The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, rival ...

sympathies and held the county of

Donoratico Donoratico is a town in Tuscany, central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Castagneto Carducci, province of Livorno. At the time of the 2011 census its population was . The town is about 52 km from Livorno Livorno () is ...

Story

Constantine I of Gallura Constantine I was the Giudice of Gallura from probably before 1065 to sometime before 1100. He was probably a member of the Gherardeschi family of Pisa and governed Gallura on behalf of the Republic. Constantine was alive in 1073 and a letter of ...

may have been a member of the family, ruling

Gallura Gallura ( sdn, Gaddura or ; sc, Caddura ) is a region in North-Eastern Sardinia, Italy. The name ''Gallùra'' is allegedly supposed to mean "stony area". Geography Gallùra has a surface of and it is situated between 40°55'20"64 latitude ...

on behalf of the

Archdiocese of Pisa The Archdiocese of Pisa ( la, Archidioecesis Pisana) is a metropolitan see of the Catholic Church in Pisa, Italy.717, Pisan">708, Pisan); on 30–31 July 1716

House of Visconti Visconti is a surname which may refer to: Italian noble families * Visconti of Milan, ruled Milan from 1277 to 1447 ** Visconti di Modrone, collateral branch of the Visconti of Milan * Visconti of Pisa and Sardinia, ruled Gallura in Sardinia from ...

, another Ghibelline family of Pisa. In 1237, the Archbishop and the Emperor Frederick II intervened in Pisa to reconcile the two rivals, but failed. In 1254, the citizenry rebelled and imposed twelve ''Anziani del Popolo'' ("Elders of the People") as their political representatives. Early on in the century, the Gherardeschi took an interest in the affairs of Pisa in

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

. In 1230,

Ubaldo of Gallura Ubaldo II Visconti, son of Lamberto di Eldizio and Elena de Lacon, was the Judge of Gallura from 1225 to his death in 1238. He ruled every ''giudicato'' on the island of Sardinia at one point or another save Arborea. By a pact signed November 121 ...

, a Visconti, invaded the

Giudicato of Cagliari The Judicate of Cagliari ( sc, Judicadu de Càralis / Càlaris, it, Giudicato di Cagliari) was one of the four Sardinian ''judicates'' of the Middle Ages, kingdoms of Byzantine origins. The Judicate of Cagliari covered the entire south and centra ...

, but the Gherardeschi repulsed him in the name of

Benedetta Benedetta is a feminine given name of Italian origin, the feminine equivalent of the masculine name Benedetto, a cognate of Benedict. Persons having the name include: * Benedetta Barzini (contemporary), Italian actress and model *Benedetta Bianchi ...

and the young William II. In 1258, they received a third of Cagliari after its dismemberment. Their third was the south-western third; in the 1272 circa the count

Ugolino della Gherardesca Ugolino della Gherardesca (March 1289), Count of Donoratico, was an Italian nobleman, politician and naval commander. He was frequently accused of treason and features prominently in Dante's ''Divine Comedy''. Biography In the 13th century, the ...

founded in the ''Cixerri'' the important mining town of ''Villa di Chiesa'', today Iglesias. A Gherardesca woman also married

John Visconti John (or ''Giovanni'') Visconti (died 1275) was the Judge of Gallura from 1238 to his death. He was a member of the Visconti dynasty of Pisa. John was the son of Ubaldo I Visconti and cousin of Ubaldo of Gallura. When the latter Ubaldo drew up ...

, the

Judge of Gallura The kings or ''judges'' (''iudices'' or ''judikes'') of Kingdom of Gallura, Gallura were the local rulers of the northeast of Sardinia during the Middle Ages. Theirs was the closest kingdom to Corsica. *Manfred of Gallura, Manfred (c. 1020 &nda ...

, who had received the northeastern third of Cagliari. This marriage brought final reconciliation between the Visconti and Gherardeschi. The Gherardeschi reached their height in Pisa in the person of Ugolino della Gherardesca in the 1270s and 1280s. He was forced to share power with his nephew

Nino Visconti Ugolino Visconti (died 1296), better known as Nino, was the Giudice of Gallura from 1275 or 1276 to his death. He was a son of Giovanni Visconti and grandson of Ugolino della Gherardesca. He was the first husband of Beatrice d'Este, daughter of ...

, but they soon quarrelled. The fed-up Pisans arrested Ugolino and deposed Nino from Gallura. After

's betrayal in the

battle of Meloria The Battle of Meloria was fought near the islet of Meloria in the Ligurian Sea on 5 and 6 August 1284 between the fleets of the Republics of Genoa and Pisa as part of the Genoese-Pisan War. The victory of Genoa and the destruction of the Pisan ...

, the

House of Orlandi {{Infobox family , name=House of Orlandi , native_name= , native_name_lang=Italian , type= Noble House , coat_of_arms=Stemma-famiglia-20158-orlandi-0.jpg , coat_of_arms_size=150px , country={{Flagicon image, Heiliges Römisches Reich - Reichssturm ...

also began rivalries with the Gherardeschi. There is a Gherardesca Chapel in the church of Saint Francis in Pisa.

Notable members

(c. 1220–1289) *Countess Sveva della Gherardesca (b. 1930) wife of

Nicholas Romanov, Prince of Russia Nicholas Romanovich Romanov (russian: Николай Романович Романов; 26 September 1922 – 15 September 2014) was a claimant to the headship of the House of Romanov and president of the Romanov Family Association. Although undou ...

Costantino della Gherardesca Costantino della Gherardesca Verecondi Scortecci (born 29 January 1977, in Rome), or simply Costantino della Gherardesca, is an Italian actor, journalist, radio presenter, television personality and presenter. Gherardesca is part of a notable aris ...

(b. 1977) actor, journalist, and television personality {{Authority control Families of Pisa Italian noble families Medieval Sardinia