The House of Antelminelli was a noble family from

Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one o ...

. The family was involved in the struggle between the Guelph and the Ghibellini parties in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

. The leader of the family in the early 14th century was

Castruccio Castracani Castruccio Castracani degli Antelminelli (; 1281 – 3 September 1328) was an Italian ''condottiero'' and duke of Lucca. Biography Castruccio was born in Lucca, a member of the noble family of Antelminelli, of the Ghibelline party. In 1300 he w ...

a famous Ghibelline leader. Serving under the Ghibelline chief,

Uguccione della Faggiuola Uguccione della Faggiuola (c. 1250 – 1 November 1319) was an Italian condottiero, and Ghibelline magistrate of Pisa, Lucca and Forlì (from 1297). Biography Uguccione was born at Casteldelci and came to prominence in the late 13th century as ca ...

, he was elected lord (as lifelong

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

) of

on June 12, 1316, displacing the

Quartigiani The Quartigiani were a noble family from Lucca, the family was mentioned in the Lucca statute of 1308 as noble and powerful. The family was united by means of marriage with the Simonetti and Antelminelli families. The Antelminelli and Quartigian ...

family, and was appointed

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

Pistoia Pistoia (, is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typi ...

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 Luni by emperor Frederick of Austria. In the following generation the power of the family collapsed in the general success of the Guelfs.

References

External links

''Note biografiche di Capitani di Guerra e di Condottieri di Ventura operanti in Italia nel 1330 - 1550'': Castruccio Castracani

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070423132127/http://www.liberliber.it/biblioteca/m/machiavelli/index.htm Niccolò Machiavelli
Niccolò Machiavelli: ''Vita di Castruccio''

Costanza Moscheni: ''Castruccio - poema epico'' (1811)

Domenico Luigi Moscheni: ''Notizie istoriche intorno la vita di Castruccio degli Antelminelli Castracani'' (1811)

* ttp://www2.shu.ac.uk/corvey/cw3journal/Issue%20one/lillacrusifilla.html Lilla Maria Crisafulli: Letitia Elizabeth Landon's ''Castruccio Castrucani'': Gender Through History {{Royal houses of Italy Surnames Families of Lucca Antelminelli