The Marquisate of Incisa (''Marchesato di Incisa'' in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

) was a

lordship A lordship is a territory held by a lord. It was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and judicial unit in rural areas. It originated as a unit under the feudal system during the Middle Ages. In a lordship, the functions of econ ...

of the House of

Aleramici The House of Aleramici were a medieval Italian noble family of Frankish origin which ruled various northwestern counties and marches, in Piedmont and Liguria from the tenth to the 14th centuries. History The founder of the family was William I of ...

in southern

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, which existed between the 12th and 16th centuries.

History

The castle of Incisa is mentioned for the first time in 984. The marquisate originated from Alberto del Vasto, a descendant of the Aleramici who had been exiled to

southern Italy Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the peop ...

; here he helped

Roger II of Sicily Roger II ( it, Ruggero II; 22 December 1095 – 26 February 1154) was King of Sicily and Africa, son of Roger I of Sicily Roger I ( it, Ruggero I, Arabic: ''رُجار'', ''Rujār''; Maltese: ''Ruġġieru'', – 22 June 1101), nicknamed Rog ...

against the rebel baron, and was made count of Gravina. His son Alberto in 1161 obtained several lands near Incisa. He died in 1181 during a battle, in which his son was also severely wounded; Alberto's wife, Domicella, acted as regent. In 1189 she imprisoned two ambassadors of 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 ...

, a feat which caused emperor Henry VI to transfer her fiefs to

Boniface I of Montferrat Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations o ...

; she was however able to keep her lands by allying with the commune of

Asti Asti ( , , ; pms, Ast ) is a ''comune'' of 74,348 inhabitants (1-1-2021) located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and it is deemed t ...

. In 1203 her junior sons Manfredo and Pagano obtained Montaldo and Rocchetta, starting the branch of Incisa di Rocchetta. During the Angevine wars in Piedmont of the 14th century, the marquisate of Incisa found itself in a dangerous situation, being forced to recognize the authority of Montferrat. In the following century their policy wavered from the alliance with Montferrat or with the

Visconti Visconti is a surname which may refer to: Italian noble families * Visconti of Milan, ruled Milan from 1277 to 1447 ** Visconti di Modrone, collateral branch of the Visconti of Milan * Visconti of Pisa and Sardinia, ruled Gallura in Sardinia from ...

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 ...

. In 1428 marquis Petrino fought with Milan against

Amadeus VIII of Savoy Amadeus VIII (4 September 1383 – 7 January 1451), nicknamed the Peaceful, was Count of Savoy from 1391 to 1416 and Duke of Savoy from 1416 to 1440. He was the son of Amadeus VII, Count of Savoy and Bonne of Berry. He was a claimant to the papa ...

. In 1497 Oddone d'Incisa was able to regain the control of the whole marquisate, which had been previously split between several branches of the family. In 1513 he allied with

Charles II of Savoy Charles II or Charles John Amadeus (''Carlo Giovanni Amedeo'' in Italian) (23 June 1489, Turin, Piedmont – 16 April 1496), was the Duke of Savoy from 1490 to 1496 but his mother Blanche of Montferrat (1472–1519) was the actual ruler as ...

to obtain the investiture as marquis of Montferrat; however, he was discovered, and Incisa was besieged and easily captured in 1514 by

William IX of Montferrat William IX Palaeologus (10 August 1486 – 4 October 1518) was Marquis of Montferrat from 1494 until his death. He was a member of the House of Palaeologus-Montferrat, a cadet branch of the Palaiologos dynasty which had once ruled the Byzantine ...

. Oddone and his son Badone were executed at

Nizza della Paglia Nizza Monferrato (''Nissa dla Paja'' in Piedmontese) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Asti in the Italian region of Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Asti. Nizza Monferrato borders the followi ...

. After a dispute with the emperor, Incisa was annexed to Montferrat in 1518. The marquisate was returned to the Incisa in 1536, with Giangiacomo. He died in 1545, being succeeded by his cousin Boarello II. The latter renounced to Incisa in 1548 in exchange for the territories of

Camerana Camerana is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about east of Cuneo. Camerana borders the following municipalities: Gottasecca, Mombarcaro Mombarcaro is a ' ...

and

Gottasecca Gottasecca is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about east of Cuneo. Gottasecca borders the following municipalities: Cairo Montenotte, Camerana Camerana i ...

in favour of the

Gonzaga family ) , type = Noble house , country = , estates = Ducal Palace (Mantua) Ducal Palace (Nevers) , titles = * Prince of Arches * Duke of Montferrat * Duke of Mantua * Duke of Guastalla * Duke of Nevers * Duke ...

of Milan, who were also namely marquisses of Montferrat at the time.

Sources

* {{coord, 44, 49, N, 8, 23, E, type:county, display=title Incisa March of Montferrat