Manfred I (died 1175) was the founder and first ruler of the

marquisate of Saluzzo The Marquisate of Saluzzo () was a historical Italian state that included parts of the current region of Piedmont and of the French Alps. The Marquisate was much older than the Renaissance lordships, being a legacy of the feudalism of the High ...

from 1142 until his death. Manfred was the eldest of seven sons of

Bonifacio del Vasto Boniface del Vasto (''c.'' 1055 – ''c.'' 1125) was the margrave of Savona and Western Liguria from 1084 to ''c.''1130. He was the son and successor of Otto and of Bertha, daughter of Ulric Manfred II of Turin. Boniface was a member of the Aler ...

, the ruler of scattered holdings between

Savona Savona (; lij, Sann-a ) is a seaport and ''comune'' in the west part of the northern Italy, Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea. Savona used to be one of the chie ...

and the

Tanaro The Tanaro (; pms, Tane ; ; la, Tanarus), is a long river in northwestern Italy. The river begins in the Ligurian Alps, near the border with France, and is the most significant right-side tributary to the Po in terms of length, size of drai ...

. He is first recorded in a document of 1123. After Bonifacio's death in 1125, his lands were ruled jointly by the brothers, but in 1142 they divided them up. Manfred took most of the lands between the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

, the Po and the

Stura Stura was a department of the French Consulate and of the First French Empire in present-day Italy. It was named after the river Stura di Demonte. It was formed in 1802, when the Subalpine Republic (formerly the mainland portion of the Kingd ...

. His new lordship was larger than his brother's and better positioned to become a true principality. It only came to be known as the marquisate of Saluzzo after his death. In his own life he used the title of marquis without a territorial designation, or else "marquis of Vasto" (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''marchio de Vasto'').Armando Tallone
''Regesto dei marchesi di Saluzzo (1091–1340)''
(Pinerolo, 1906), nos. 37, 40, 44, 51. He made his the strategically important castle of

Saluzzo Saluzzo (; pms, Salusse ) is a town and former principality in the province of Cuneo, in the Piedmont region, Italy. The city of Saluzzo is built on a hill overlooking a vast, well-cultivated plain. Iron, lead, silver, marble, slate etc. are fo ...

in the centre of his domain his seat.Manfrédo I marchese di Saluzzo
''Enciclopedia on line'',

Treccani The ''Enciclopedia Italiana di Scienze, Lettere e Arti'' (Italian for "Italian Encyclopedia of Science, Letters, and Arts"), best known as ''Treccani'' for its developer Giovanni Treccani or ''Enciclopedia Italiana'', is an Italian-language en ...

. Retrieved 18 February 2022. In 1127, Manfred founded the monastery of

Staffarda Staffarda Abbey (''Abbazia Santa Maria di Staffarda'') is a Cistercian monastery located near Saluzzo in north-west Italy; it was founded as a daughter house of Tiglieto Abbey in 1135 by Manfred I, Marquis of Saluzzo. The abbey became an import ...

. He was an ally of the Emperor

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on ...

, recognizing him as his suzerain and trying to maintain peace between him and the Lombard cities. Four diploma attest to his periodic attendance at Barbarossa's court at

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

(1161),

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

(1162) and

Rimini Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminu ...

(1167).

Charles William Previté-Orton Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

, ''The Early History of the House of Savoy (1000–1233)'' (Cambridge University Press, 1912), p. 332. Manfred married Eleonora, the daughter of Judge

Gonario II of Arborea Gonario or Gonnario II (born c. 1090) was the Judge of Arborea circa 1116. He is known to have been a scion of the House of Serra and married Elena, the heiress of Comita I of the Lacon- Zori. He left behind a daughter, Elena, and a son, Const ...

.Riccardo Rao, "Fra comune e marchese. Dinamiche aristocratiche a Vercelli (XII-XIII secolo)", ''Studi Storici'' 4, 1 (2003), pp. 43–93. He was succeeded by his son Manfred II.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manfred 01 Of Saluzzo 1175 deaths Manfred 1 Year of birth unknown