Prince of Belmonte ( it, Principe di Belmonte; es, Príncipe de Belmonte) is a noble title created in 1619 by the Spanish crown for the Barons of Badolato and Belmonte. The name of the title is taken from the fortress town of Belmonte in

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, historically important for the defence of the Italian coast from Saracen invasion. Belmonte has been known since the '' Risorgimento'' as Belmonte Calabro. In addition to the princely title, the princes were made Grandees of Spain (First Class) in 1712, and in 1726 were granted the rank of Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (german: Reichsfürst) with the style of Serene Highness (german: Durchlaucht). The princes hold a number of

subsidiary title A subsidiary title is a title of authority or title of honour that is held by a royal or noble person but which is not regularly used to identify that person, due to the concurrent holding of a greater title. United Kingdom An example in the Unit ...

s, including

Duke of Acerenza Prince of Belmonte ( it, Principe di Belmonte; es, Príncipe de Belmonte) is a noble title created in 1619 by the Spanish crown for the Barons of Badolato and Belmonte. The name of the title is taken from the fortress town of Belmonte in Calabria ...

(1593), Marquess of Galatone (1562) and Count of Copertino (1562). The seat of the princes is Palazzo Belmonte, on the Bay of Salerno and south of Amalfi. The princes are descendants of the Fieschi family of Genoa, who were ennobled as Counts Palatine in the year 1010 by Henry the Holy, King of Italy and later

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

. The Emperor created the title of Count of Lavagna and appointed the Fieschi as Imperial Vice-Regents of all Tuscany and of the coast of Genoa.

Ancestry

The Princes of Belmonte descended from the Fieschi, Counts Palatine of Lavagna. The Fieschi were one of the main families of Genoa, along with the Grimaldi, Spinola and Doria families. In the 13th century, the Fieschi were allied to the

House of Grimaldi The House of Grimaldi ( , also , , ) is the current reigning house of the Principality of Monaco. The house was founded in 1160 by Grimaldo Canella in Genoa and became the ruling house of Monaco when Francesco Grimaldi captured Monaco in 1297 ...

, modern day Princes of Monaco, in the struggle between the

Guelphs and Ghibellines 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, ri ...

. The current prince is 35th in line from Frisco, 1st Count of Lavagna. The ancestors of the Princes of Belmonte include Sinibaldo, Pope Innocent IV, and Ottobuono, Pope Adrian V, as well as several cardinals, a King of Sicily, the Viceroy of Naples under

René I of Naples René (''born again'' or ''reborn'' in French) is a common first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus. René is the masculine form of the name (Renée being the feminine ...

(Jacopo Fieschi), three saints including

Saint Catherine of Genoa Catherine of Genoa (Caterina Fieschi Adorno, 1447 – 15 September 1510) was an Italian Roman Catholic saint and mystic, admired for her work among the sick and the poor and remembered because of various writings describing both these acti ...

(1447–1510), and both generals and admirals of Genoa and other states. Through their later marriage to a line of the Pignatelli, the Princes of Belmonte share blood with a third pope, Pope Innocent XII, and the Jesuit

Saint Joseph Pignatelli Joseph Mary Pignatelli, SJ ( es, José María Pignatelli) (27 December 1737 – 15 November 1811) was a Spanish priest who was the unofficial leader of the Jesuits in exile in Sardinia, after the suppression of the Society. Supervising its resto ...

. Ugone of Lavagna was alleged to have been the first to bear the name "Fiesco" or Fieschi, attributed to his control of the fiscal affairs of the

. His descendant, Rubaldo Fieschi, was confirmed as Count of Lavagna in the 11th Century. Around 1156,

Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on ...

confirmed feudal rights in Lavagna to the Fieschi: the beneficiaries included Rubaldo and his nephews Gulielmo, Tebaldo, Enrico, Ruffino, Aldedado, Gherardo; Ottone and his brother Ugone; and Alberto and his brother Beltramino. The rank of Count Palatine was confirmed once again at Lucca on 27 May 1369 by

Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV ( cs, Karel IV.; german: Karl IV.; la, Carolus IV; 14 May 1316 – 29 November 1378''Karl IV''. In: (1960): ''Geschichte in Gestalten'' (''History in figures''), vol. 2: ''F–K''. 38, Frankfurt 1963, p. 294), also known as Charle ...

of the House of Luxembourg. Later confirmations of the Fieschi status as direct vassals to the

were given by the House of Habsburg in 1521, 1529, 1568, and 1620. Beltramino Fieschi, 7th Count of Lavagna, was succeeded by his son Gerardo Fieschi, 8th Count, who was known as 'Gerardo Ravascherius'. Taking the name Ravaschieri Fieschi, this branch rose to greater prominence as royal bankers in the Kingdom of Naples: Giovanni Battista was appointed Master of the Mint of Naples and Aquila (Maestro di Zecca di Napoli e L'Aquila) in 1552 under His Imperial Majesty

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (Crown of Castile, Castil ...

(1516–1554), and his seal of 'IBR' frequently appears on the coinage of that time. Giovanni Battista was one of 7 children, of whom the eldest brother Giovan Francesco, was Prior of Bari of the Order of Malta (died 1555). Germano followed his father as 'Maestro di Zecca', under King

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

, and was the father of Giovan Battista, 1st Baron of Badolato, and therefore grandfather of Orazio, the first Prince of Belmonte. The princely title of Belmonte has descended to its present holder through the following houses: Ravaschieri Fieschi, Squarciafico Pinelli, and Pignatelli y Aymerich. The heiress of the last of these married the Marquess of Castellabate, uniting her lands and titles with those of the Granito family, patricians of

Salerno Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...

(Seggio di Campo) since 1380.

Residences

* Palazzo Ravaschieri Fieschi della Torre * Palazzo Rivellino * Acerenza *Castle of Galatone * Copertino Castle *Palace of Muro Leccese *Palazzo Belmonte at Santa Maria di Castellabate

Ancestry

Residences

See also

Notes

Further reading