The Frangipani family was a powerful

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

patrician clan in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. The family was firmly

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

in sympathy. The name has many spellings, which include Frangipane, Freiapane, Fricapane and Fresapane. In his '' Trattatello in laude di Dante'', Boccaccio traces the descent of

Dante 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: ' ...

from the family.

History

The family claimed descent from the

plebeian In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words " commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins ...

family of

Anicii The gens Anicia (or the Anicii) was a plebeian family at ancient Rome, mentioned first towards the end of the fourth century BC. The first of the Anicii to achieve prominence under the Republic was Lucius Anicius Gallus, who conducted the war agai ...

, however, the first mention of the family dates only from 1014, in a document relating to the

Abbazia di Farfa Farfa Abbey ( it, Abbazia di Farfa) is a territorial abbey in northern Lazio, central Italy. In the Middle Ages it was one of the richest and most famous abbeys in Italy. It belongs to the Benedictine Order and is located about from Rome, ...

. A

parchment Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves, and goats. It has been used as a writing medium for over two millennia. Vellum is a finer quality parchment made from the skins ...

diploma of

Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of He ...

in the Frangipani archive at Castello di

Porpetto Porpetto () is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about south of Udine. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,717 and an area of .Al ...

, in Friuli, is dated 10 January 973. They played a significant part in the struggle between Pope Gregory VII and Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV, and briefly governed Rome from 1107 to 1108. In the feuding between the Orsini and

Colonna The House of Colonna, also known as ''Sciarrillo'' or ''Sciarra'', is an Italian noble family, forming part of the papal nobility. It was powerful in medieval and Renaissance Rome, supplying one pope (Martin V) and many other church and pol ...

families they supported the Orsini. Their power was at its greatest when they achieved the election of Pope

Honorius II Pope Honorius II (9 February 1060 – 13 February 1130), born Lamberto Scannabecchi,Levillain, pg. 731 was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 December 1124 to his death in 1130. Although from a humble background, ...

in 1124. From no later than 1130 the Frangipani held the

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world ...

of Rome, which they had fortified and which gave them strategic control of the approaches to the

Lateran Palace The Lateran Palace ( la, Palatium Lateranense), formally the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran ( la, Palatium Apostolicum Lateranense), is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later the main papal residence in southeast Rome. Located on St. ...

, the papal residence, from the north and west; the family lost control of the Colosseum to the

Annibaldi The Annibaldi were a powerful baronial family of Rome and the Lazio in the Middle Ages. They began to rise to prominence in the 13th century with the favour of Popes Gregory IX and Alexander IV, in the vacuum left by the Counts of Tusculum. In th ...

in the mid-thirteenth century. In 1268 Giovanni Frangipane, lord of Astura, betrayed

Conradin Conrad III (25 March 1252 – 29 October 1268), called ''the Younger'' or ''the Boy'', but usually known by the diminutive Conradin (german: link=no, Konradin, it, Corradino), was the last direct heir of the House of Hohenstaufen. He was Duke ...

, the teenage Duke of Swabia and last of the

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynas ...

dynasty, who took refuge with him after his defeat at the Battle of Tagliacozzo. Frangipane arrested him and handed him over to Charles of Anjou, who beheaded him. The family had feuds in 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 th ...

south of Rome, among them Astura,

Cisterna A cisterna (plural cisternae) is a flattened membrane vesicle found in the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus. Cisternae are an integral part of the packaging and modification processes of proteins occurring in the Golgi. Function Protei ...

, Marino, Ninfa and

Terracina Terracina is an Italian city and '' comune'' of the province of Latina, located on the coast southeast of Rome on the Via Appia ( by rail). The site has been continuously occupied since antiquity. History Ancient times Terracina appears in anc ...

, and later Nemi. The Roman branch of the family was extinguished in 1654 with the death of Mario Frangipane, marquis of Nemi. Two presumed branches continued, one in Friuli and one in

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see names in other languages) is one of the four historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of the Adriatic Sea, str ...

. The former had estates at Tarcento and

, and received patrician status in Rome. The latter descended from the lords of the island of Veglia (now Krk in

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

), who in the fifteenth century claimed to be related to the Roman family, took the name Frangipani (

Frankopan The House of Frankopan ( hr, Frankopani, Frankapani, it, Frangipani, hu, Frangepán, la, Frangepanus, Francopanus), was a Croatian noble family, whose members were among the great landowner magnates and high officers of the Kingdom of Croat ...

or Frankapan) on the basis of documents provided by

Pope Martin V Pope Martin V ( la, Martinus V; it, Martino V; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Otto (or Oddone) Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431. Hi ...

, and from about 1530 used the Frangipane

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

; Croatian historians dispute the historicity of this connection. The Frangipani had the right of burial at the church of San Marcello al Corso in Rome; their chapel – the Frangipani Chapel – in that church is dedicated to

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

. From 1558 or 1559 until his death in 1566, Taddeo Zuccari worked there on a cycle of

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plast ...

es of the life of the saint; the paintings were completed by his brother

Federico Federico (; ) is a given name and surname. It is a form of Frederick, most commonly found in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. People with the given name Federico Artists * Federico Ágreda, Venezuelan composer and DJ. * Federico Aguilar Alc ...

Members of the family

Cencio I Frangipane Cencio I Frangipane (also ''Cencius'' or ''Centius'') was a Roman nobleman of the Frangipani family of the latter half of the eleventh century. He was a Roman consul His parentage is cited first in 1066, when he appeared as ''Cencio vir magnifi ...

* Cencio II Frangipane * Oddone Frangipane * Ottone Frangipane; monk, later canonised. * Aldruda Frangipane

References

{{reflist, 45em, refs= David Lee Bomgardner (2000)
''The Story of the Roman Amphitheatre''
London: Routledge. {{ISBN, 9780415165938. Francesco Frascarelli (1970)
Frangipani
(in Italian). ''Enciclopedia Dantesca''. Archived 17 December 2013. Giovanni Frangipane
(in Italian). ''Enciclopedie on line''. Rome: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana. Accessed April 2015. Frangipane
(in Italian). ''Enciclopedie on line''. Rome: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana. Accessed May 2015. Eugenio Dupré Theseider (1932)
Frangipane
(in Italian). ''Enciclopedia Italiana''. Rome: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana. Accessed May 2015. Frankapan
(in Croatian). ''Hrvatska enciklopedija''. Accessed February 2019. Giuseppe Mazzatinti. (1988 899–1900
''Gli Archivi della Storia d'Ítalia''
(facsimile, in Italian). Hildesheim; New York: Georg Olms Verlag. {{ISBN, 3487090449. 10 - Cappella di San Paolo
(in Italian). Rome: Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo; Soprintendenza Speciale per il Patrimonio Storico-Artistico ed Etnoantropologico e per il Polo Museale della Città di Roma. Accessed June 2017. Medieval Rome Families of post-ancient Rome