Otto I (also ''Otho'' or ''Ottone''; died 991) was the second

Marquis of Montferrat The Marquises and Dukes of Montferrat were the rulers of a territory in Piedmont south of the Po and east of Turin called Montferrat. The March of Montferrat was created by Berengar II of Italy in 950 during a redistribution of power in the no ...

briefly following his father Aleram on the throne.

Life

Otto was the son of Aleram and his first wife. Notably obscure, he did not appear with his parents and his younger brother Anselm at the foundation of the monastery of

Grazzano Grazzano Badoglio (Grazzano Monferrato until 1939) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about east of Turin and about northeast of Asti. Grazzano, which developed round the abbey found ...

in 961. On Aleram's death in 967, the large ''marca Aleramica'' was broken up: Montferrat went to Otto and

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 ...

to Anselm. Their elder brother William II had already deceased. In his own lifetime, Otto does not appear in any document with the margravial title, but he appears in the documents of later generations cited as such. He appears in a confirmation of the possessions of the abbacy of

Fruttuaria 300px, Bell tower of the abbey. Fruttuaria is an abbey in the territory of San Benigno Canavese, about twenty kilometers north of Turin, northern Italy. History The abbey was founded by Guglielmo da Volpiano. The first stone was laid 23 February ...

with the title in a patronymic. He probably never used the title in life, but his descendants retroactively applied it to him, as he held the same post as they. Otto died in 991, as known by the foundation act of his son for the monastery of Spigno, which Otto himself had planned on building. He arranged to have built a monastery ''in loco et fundo Spignni ad locum hubi monte Sancti Quintini dicitur in onore Domini Dei Salvatoris, Sanctique Thome apostoli et beati martiris Christi Quintini''. Spigno lies between Acqui and

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 ...

, at the confluence of the Valla and the Bormida. Otto's family finished his project ''pro salute illius anime nostrorumque atque omnium fidelium'' ("for the health of his soul and ours with all faith"). The monastery also replaced that of

Giusvalla Giusvalla ( lij, Giüsvala, pms, Giusvâla) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Savona in the Italian region Liguria, located about west of Genoa and about northwest of Savona. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 439 an ...

, destroyed by 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 ...

. By his unnamed wife, he left two sons: an eldest named

William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily (c. 1186–c. 1198) * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ...

, who succeeded him, and younger named Riprando. He also left two daughters, Otta and Waldrada (Gualderada).

References and Notes

991 deaths Marquesses of Montferrat Aleramici Year of birth unknown People from Grazzano Badoglio {{Europe-noble-stub