Ingo (or Ingone) della Volta (late 11th century or early 12th century – after 1174) was an Genoese politician, an authoritative figure in the political events of

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

in the 12th century, at the head of one of the factions that dominated the consular municipality of

and who contributed decisively to the Republic of Genoa's expansion in the Mediterranean. He can be considered the progenitor of the powerful Genoese Della Volta family of

viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

origin and also the maker of the change of the

agnatic Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...

surname to Cattaneo.

Biography

In the 12th century, della Volta was owner by feudal right of lands in

and in the Bisagno valley. He was the recognized head of a consortium of related families and financed commercial enterprises in the East. In the first half of the 12th century, the Della Volta family were one of the five families of Genoa that alone controlled 80% of the trade between the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the Lat ...

and

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. Due to his authority he was repeatedly called to hold the office of Console de' placiti, magistrates in charge of the administration of justice in the Republic of Genoa. He was in office in 1134, 1139 and 1147. In this capacity he was the promoter of important legal innovations, such as the law that prohibited the stipulation of sales and pledge contracts between spouses or close relatives, Another of his laws prohibited citizens from buying real estate in the district territory from people who lived in or had married across borders. In 1144 he managed to reach an agreement between Ugo and Guglielmo Embriaco who, following his intervention, then promised to put an end to mutual hostilities and to live in friendship with each other. In 1146 he appears among the citizens who swore the agreement stipulated between the

and the Count

Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona Ramon Berenguer IV (; c. 1114 – 6 August 1162, Anglicized Raymond Berengar IV), sometimes called ''the Saint'', was the count of Barcelona who brought about the union of the County of Barcelona with the Kingdom of Aragon to form the Crown of Ara ...

for a common action against Almeria and

Tortosa Tortosa (; ) is the capital of the ''Catalonia/Comarques, comarca'' of Baix Ebre, in Catalonia, Spain. Tortosa is located at above sea level, by the Ebro river, protected on its northern side by the mountains of the Cardó Massif, of which Buin ...

. He was probably also one of those who the following year financed the expedition against the

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

. The campaign was part of the

Reconquista The ' (Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Nasrid ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Volta, Ingo della 11th-century births 12th-century births 12th-century deaths 12th-century Genoese people Italian politicians Medieval legislators People of the Reconquista

Biography

See also

References