Gualganus (Italian ''Gualgano''), surnamed Ridel (Latin ''Ridellus'', Italian ''Ridello''), was the third and last Count (or Lord) of Pontecorvo and Duke of Gaeta of the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

Ridel family from about 1091 until about 1103. He was a son and successor of Duke Raynald Ridel, but his rule in Gaeta was not unopposed. After the death of Prince Jordan I of Capua, the suzerain of Gaeta, the Capuans and Gaetans rose in rebellion. Jordan's successor, Prince

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father died ...

, was forced to abandon Capua for the family stronghold of

Aversa Aversa () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Caserta in Campania, southern Italy, about 24 km north of Naples. It is the centre of an agricultural district, the ''Agro Aversano'', producing wine and cheese (famous for the typical bu ...

, while Duke Raynald of Gaeta had to flee Gaeta for his family's rural stronghold at Pontecorvo. In 1092 or 1093, a man of obscure background,

Landulf Landulf or Landulph, Italian ''Landolfo'' and Latin ''Landolfus'', ''Landulphus'', etc., is a masculine given name of Germanic (possibly Lombardic) origin. It may refer to: *Landulf I of Benevento *Landulf II of Benevento *Landulf III of Benevento * ...

, was installed as duke in Gaeta. After Raynald's death, Gualganus continued to claim Gaeta from the castle of Pontecorvo until his death, around 1103 or shortly after. He may have retaken control of it at some point. Shortly before 1100, Gualganus married Marotta, a daughter of Count

Ranulf I of Caiazzo Ranulf I (also spelled Rainulf or Raynulf; died 1088) was the count of Caiazzo in the Principality of Capua from about 1078. He also brought the formerly Lombard counties of Alife, Telese and Sant'Agata dei Goti and the castles of Airola and Tocc ...

and his wife, Sibylla. They had no children and with Gualganus' death the Italian branch of the Ridels went extinct. Gaeta is next found in the hands of another Norman, William de Blosseville, who may have ousted Gualganus rather than wait for his death. Pontecorvo passed to his widow, sister of Count Robert of Caiazzo and cousin of Prince Richard II. She allegedly conspired with Richard's enemies and so he confiscated Pontecorvo and bestowed it on her brother, who then partially gifted and partially sold it to the Abbey of Monte Cassino on 13 January 1105 in a charter drawn up at Caiazzo.

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* * * * * * * {{end 11th-century Italian nobility 12th-century deaths Italo-Normans Norman warriors Dukes of Gaeta