The Princes of Ottajano (or Ottaiano) are a

cadet branch In history and heraldry, a cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets— realm, title ...

of the ducal dynasty of

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

. Along with the Veronese Medici Counts of Caprara, and Gavardo, they make up the last and closest descendants to the main line of the

House of Medici The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Mug ...

History

The founder of the Ottajano line was

Ottaviano de' Medici Ottaviano de' Medici (11 July 1484 – 28 May 1546) was an Italian politician. He was the ancestor of the Princes of Ottajano line of the Medici family. From a minor branch of the Medici family, he gained prominence through his marriage to Franc ...

, who married Bartholomea Giugni and gave issue to Bernardetto and Countess Constance, della Gherardesca of Donoratico. Bernardetto married

Giulia de' Medici Giulia Romola di Alessandro de' Medici (c. 1535 – c. 1588) was the illegitimate, possibly multiracial, daughter of Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence and his mistress (lover), mistress Taddea Malaspina. Following her father's assassinat ...

, daughter of

Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence Alessandro is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Alexander. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Alessandro * Alessandro Allori (1535–1607), Italian portrait painter * Alessandro Baricco ...

, descended from

Cosimo il Vecchio Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici (27 September 1389 – 1 August 1464) was an Italian banker and politician who established the Medici family as effective rulers of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance. His power derived from his wealth ...

and

Lorenzo the Magnificent Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici (; 1 January 1449 – 8 April 1492) was an Italian statesman, banker, ''de facto'' ruler of the Florentine Republic and the most powerful and enthusiastic patron of Renaissance culture in Italy. Also known as Lorenzo ...

of the Medici family's senior line. It was Bernardetto who bought from Gonzaga in 1567 the fiefdom of

Ottaviano Ottaviano ( nap, Uttajano) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about east of Naples and is located in the Vesuvian Area. Ottaviano was in Roman times a hamlet of houses within ...

, located near

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. Over the centuries, this remaining House of Medici has reached a leading position in the aristocracy of the

Kingdom of Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ( it, Regno delle Due Sicilie) was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1860. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and size in Italy before Italian unification, comprising Sicily and all ...

. Among the members of the dynasty are leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, ambassadors, cardinals ( Francesco de Medici di Ottaiano), a pope, and

Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

Luigi de' Medici Luigi de' Medici (22 April 1759 - 25 January 1830) was an Italian nobleman, legal scholar, diplomat and statesman, who served as Prime minister of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the legal representative at the Congress of Vienna. Early life ...

, representative of the Kingdom of Naples at the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

Tuscan succession claim

In his book "The History of My Dynasty," Ottaviano de' Medici points to Vatican law at the time and claims that either the Medici Princes of Ottaiano or the Veronese Medici should have inherited the Grand Duchy of Tuscany upon the death of last of the Medici Grand Dukes,

Gian Gastone de' Medici Gian Gastone de' Medici (born Giovanni Battista Gastone; 24 May 1671 – 9 July 1737) was the seventh and last Medicean Grand Duke of Tuscany. He was the second son of Grand Duke Cosimo III and Marguerite Louise d'Orléans. His sister, Elect ...

, instead of the

Habsburg-Lorraine The House of Habsburg-Lorraine (german: Haus Habsburg-Lothringen) originated from the marriage in 1736 of Francis III, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Maria Theresa of Austria, later successively Queen of Bohemia, Queen of Hungary, Queen of Cr ...

line, since both Medici branches were closer descendants than Francis Stephen of Lorraine (

Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor Francis I (Francis Stephen; french: François Étienne; german: Franz Stefan; 8 December 1708 – 18 August 1765) was Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Grand Duke of Tuscany. He became the ruler of the Holy ...

), who was a great-great-great-grandson of

Francesco I de' Medici Francesco I (25 March 1541 – 19 October 1587) was the second Grand Duke of Tuscany, ruling from 1574 until his death in 1587. He was a member of the House of Medici. Biography Born in Florence, Francesco was the son of Cosimo I de' Medic ...

via the female line. However, due to the Habsburg-Lorraine influence, they were able to secure

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

for themselves.

21st century

The branch is still in existence under the current head, Giuliano de' Medici di Toscana di Ottajano, who holds the titles of 14th Prince of Ottajano and 12th Duke of Sarno. The Princes of Ottaiano and the Veronese Counts have common ancestry with most royal monarchies, and the branches are the collateral branch of the

. In the modern day, the resulting House of Medici has still maintained close ties with the remains of the

House of Bonaparte Italian and Corsican: ''Casa di Buonaparte'', native_name_lang=French, coat of arms=Arms of the French Empire3.svg, caption=Coat of arms assumed by Emperor Napoleon I, image_size=150px, alt=Coat of Arms of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, typ ...

.Ottajano, p 98

List of Princes of Ottajano

* 1606–93 Ottaviano de' Medici, 1st Prince of Ottajano * 1693–1717 Giuseppe de' Medici, 2nd Prince of Ottajano b. 1635 * 1717-63 Giuseppe de' Medici, 3rd Prince of Ottajano * 1763-70 Michele de' Medici, 4th Prince of Ottajano * 1770-28 Aug 1793 Giuseppe de' Medici, 5th Prince of Ottajano * 28 Aug 1793-11 Aug 1832 Michele de' Medici, 6th Prince of Ottajano * 11 Aug 1832– 1 Jan 1874 Giuseppe de' Medici, 7th Prince of Ottajano * 1 Jan 1874–28 Feb 1883 Michele de' Medici di Ottajano, 8th Prince of Ottajano * 28 Feb 1883– 9 Apr 1894 Giuseppe de' Medici, 9th Prince of Ottajano * 9 Apr 1894–1912 Angelica de' Medici, 10th Princess of Ottajano * 1912 – 7 May 1925 Alberto Marino de' Medici, 11th Prince of Ottajano * 7 May 1925– 2 Dec 1983 Armando de' Medici, 12th Prince of Ottajano * 2 Dec 1983–2 Feb 2015 Giovanni Battista de' Medici di Ottajano, 13th Prince of Ottajano * 2 Feb 2015 – current Giuliano de' Medici di Ottajano, 14th Prince of Ottajano

Footnotes

References

Famiglie de' Medici di Ottaiano e di SarnoGenealogical Tree of the House De' Medici of Tuscany
(Italian) *Ottaviano de' Medici di Toscana di Ottajano, ''Storia della mia dinastia'', Polistampa 2001. *

Christopher Hibbert Christopher Hibbert MC (born Arthur Raymond Hibbert; 5 March 1924 – 21 December 2008) was an English author, historian and biographer. He has been called "a pearl of biographers" (''New Statesman'') and "probably the most widely-read popular ...