Francesco I Ventimiglia (1285-2 January 1338) was an Italian nobleman and politician. He inherited the title of Count of Geraci.

Biography

The

Ventimiglia Ventimiglia (; lij, label=Intemelio, Ventemiglia , lij, label= Genoese, Vintimiggia; french: Vintimille ; oc, label= Provençal, Ventemilha ) is a resort town in the province of Imperia, Liguria, northern Italy. It is located southwest of ...

of Sicily putatively derive from a noble Frank or Lombard family, descendants of

Berengar II of Italy Berengar II ( 900 – 4 August 966) was the King of Italy from 950 until his deposition in 961. He was a scion of the Anscarid and Unruoching dynasties, and was named after his maternal grandfather, Berengar I. He succeeded his father as Marg ...

, and ruling the county in Ventimiglia (

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 ...

) until 1180 when a branch moved to Sicily. Francesco inherited the title of Count of Geraci from his father, Enrico II. In 1315, he wed Costanza Chiaramonte Mosca, daughter of Manfredi, count of

Modica Modica (; scn, Muòrica) is a city and ''comune'' of 54,456 inhabitants in the Province of Ragusa, Sicily, southern Italy. The city is situated in the Hyblaean Mountains. Modica has neolithic origins and it represents the historical capital ...

. However ten years later, he repudiated his wife as barren. He remarried with a noblewoman from the Antiochia family, counts of Capizzi. However, a feud with the Chiaramonte family would contribute to his ultimate downfall. Francesco served king

Frederick III of Sicily Frederick II (or III) (13 December 1272 – 25 June 1337) was the regent of the Kingdom of Sicily from 1291 until 1295 and subsequently King of Sicily from 1295 until his death. He was the third son of Peter III of Aragon and served in the W ...

as ambassador to the papal court in Avignon. He fought in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

for the Anjou forces. In 1318, he served in a mission to negotiate peace with James II of Aragon. In 1336–1337, he briefly served King Frederick as main Chamberlain or minister, but upon Frederick's death,

Peter II of Aragon Peter II the Catholic (; ) (July 1178 – 12 September 1213) was the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona from 1196 to 1213. Background Peter was born in Huesca, the son of Alfonso II of Aragon and Sancha of Castile. In 1205 he acknowled ...

favored the Palizzi and

Chiaramonte The Chiaramonte are a noble family of Sicily. They became the most powerful and wealthy family in Sicily. In the 13th century the marriage of Manfredi Chiaramonte to Isabella Mosca, united the two Sicilian counties of Modica and Ragusa. Aroun ...

families. Francesco's son, called Franceschello, and his secretary, on a mission to the King's court in Palermo, were imprisoned and the secretary was tortured to confess that Francesco and Federico Antiochia were complicit in a plot against King Peter. The King and his allies forces, including the Chiaramonte, besieged the castle of Geraci, to which Ventimiglia had retired. The facts of his death are unclear, but legend holds he attempted to flee with his weapon and either fell down a cliff or was stabbed (or both) by Francesco di Valguernera, Lord of Godrano. His properties were confiscated but in 1354 returned to two of his children. Francesco was buried in the church of San Bartolomeo in Geraci Siculo.Much derived from Italian Wikipedia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ventimiglia 1285 births 1338 deaths Sicilian nobility 14th-century Sicilian people Italian politicians