Oberto I Obizzo (also known as Otbert) (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 Adalberto the Margrave, also known as "il Margravio" or "Adalberto III" (10th century – 951?) was an Italian nobleman tied with the Obertenghi family and a well-known ancestor to the Este, Pallavicini and Malaspina family. Biography and family ...

. Soon after assuming the Italian throne, Berengar II 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 In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a national "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diff ...

(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'' of

Arduin Glaber Arduin Glaber ( it, Arduino Glabrio,'' Glabrione'', or'' il Glabro'', meaning "the Bald"; died c. 977) was count of Auriate from c. 935, count of Turin from c. 941/942, and Margrave of Turin from c. 950/964. He placed his dynasty, the Arduinici, on ...

, and the ''

marca Obertenga The March of Genoa or Eastern Liguria was created in 961 by the Emperor Otto I. It was originally called either the ''marca Obertenga'' after its first holder, Oberto I, or the ''marca Januensis'' after its original capital and chief city, Genoa. I ...

'' 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 Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...

. 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 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 sons

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 Alberto Azzo II (997 or July 10, 1009, in Modena – August 20, 1097, in Modena), Margrave of Milan, and Liguria, Count of Gavello, Padua, Rovigo, Lunigiana, Monselice, and Montagnana, was a powerful nobleman in the Holy Roman Empire. He is consi ...

founded the

House of Este The House of Este ( , , ) is a European dynasty of North Italian origin whose members ruled parts of Italy and Germany for many centuries. The original House of Este's elder branch, which is known as the House of Welf, included dukes of Bavaria ...

.Luciano Chiappini, Gli Estensi, Varese, 1988.

External links

History of Obertenga
(in Italian)

References

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