Oberto I Obizzo (also known as Otbert) (born around 910; died 15 October 975) was an Italian

count palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an ord ...

and

margrave Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Emp ...

and the oldest known member of the

Obertenghi The House of Obertenghi were a prominent Italian noble family of Frankish origin descended from Viscount Adalbert III, first Margrave of Milan. The family held the titles of Marquis of Milan and Genoa, Count of Luni, Tortona, Genoa and Milan ...

family.

Biography

Oberto I inherited the countship of

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 951 from his father Adalberto the Margrave. Soon after assuming the Italian throne,

Berengar II Berengar II ( 900 – 4 August 966) was the King of Italy from 950 until his deposition in 961. He was a scion of the Anscarid and Unruoching dynasties, and was named after his maternal grandfather, Berengar I. He succeeded his father as Marg ...

reorganised his territories south of the

Po River The Po ( , ; la, Padus or ; Ligurian language (ancient), Ancient Ligurian: or ) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is either or , if the Maira (river), Mair ...

, dividing them into three new marches (frontier districts) named after their respective margraves: the ''

marca Aleramica The March (also ''margraviate'' or ''marquisate'') of Montferrat was a frontier march of the Kingdom of Italy during the Middle Ages and a state of the Holy Roman Empire. The margraviate was raised to become the Duchy of Montferrat in 1574. O ...

'' of

Aleram of Montferrat Aleram ( it, Aleramo; died 991) was the first Marquis of Montferrat and Liguria (the '' marca Aleramica'') in Northern Italy until his death. He was son of William I of Montferrat and is mentioned in documents for the first time in 933 when he rece ...

, the ''

marca Arduinica The March or Marquisate of Turin ( it, marca di Torino) was a territory of Kingdom of Italy (HRE), medieval Italy from the mid-10th century, when it was established as the Arduinic March ( la, marca Arduinica). It comprised several counties in Pie ...

'' of Arduin Glaber, and the '' marca Obertenga'' of Oberto. This last division consisted of eastern

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

and was also known as the ''marca Januensis'' or March 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 ...

. It consisted of Tuscany with the cities of Genoa, Luni,

Tortona Tortona (; pms, Torton-a , ; lat, Dhertona) is a ''comune'' of Piemonte, in the Province of Alessandria, Italy. Tortona is sited on the right bank of the Scrivia between the plain of Marengo and the foothills of the Ligurian Apennines. History ...

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

, and Piacenza. In 960, he had to take refuge in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The next year,

Pope John XII Pope John XII ( la, Ioannes XII; c. 930/93714 May 964), born Octavian, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 16 December 955 to his death in 964. He was related to the counts of Tusculum, a powerful Roman family which had do ...

asked

Otto I of Germany Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of Henr ...

to intervene in Italy to protect him from Berengar. When Otto took control of Italy, Oberto was able to return to his lands, with the title of count palatine confirmed by Otto. He was succeeded as Count of Milan by his son

Adalberto II of Milan Alberto is the Romance version of the Latinized form (''Albertus'') of Germanic '' Adalbert''. It is used in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. It derives from the Old German '' Athala'' (meaning noble) and ''Berth'' (meaning bright). Notable peopl ...

who at a later time was succeeded by

Oberto II Otbert (Latin Otbertus, Italian Oberto; died after 1014) was Margrave of Milan. A member of the Obertenghi family, he succeeded his father, Otbert I, as margrave after his father's death in 975, together with his brother Adalbert. He was also c ...

. His great-grandson Albert Azzo II, Margrave of Milan founded the House of Este.Luciano Chiappini, Gli Estensi, Varese, 1988.

External links

History of Obertenga
(in Italian)

References

Counts in Italy House of Este History of Milan Obertenghi 975 deaths Year of birth unknown 10th-century Italian nobility Counts palatine {{Italy-noble-stub