Richard II (died 1111), called Richard of Aquila (''Riccardo dell'Aquila''), was the

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

and

duke of Gaeta This is a list of the hypati, patricians, consuls, and dukes of Gaeta. Many of the dates are uncertain and sometimes the status of the rulership, with co-rulers and suzerain–vassal relations, is vague. Native rule (839–1032) Anatolian dynasty ...

, ruling from 1104 or 1105 to his death. Riccardo di Aquila was the son of Bartolomeo, Count of Caleno, possibly from a junior branch of the Counts of Aversa .Petri Diaconi, Chronica Monasterii Casinensis IV.54, MGH SS VII, p. 788., "Richardus de Aquila...Bartholomei de Caleno filius", quoted fro
Medlands, Riccardo di Aquila
/ref> Other researchers link him to the Norman lords of L'Aigle and assume him to be a younger son of Richer, the lord of L'Aigle, and nephew of

Hugh d'Avranches, Earl of Chester Hugh d'Avranches ( 1047 – 27 July 1101), nicknamed ''le Gros'' (the Large) or ''Lupus'' (the Wolf), was from 1071 the second Norman Earl of Chester and one of the great magnates of early Norman England. Early life and career Hugh d'Avra ...

. He conquered the duchy from his predecessor,

William Blosseville William de Blosseville, probably from Blosseville Blosseville () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography A small farming village situated in the Pays de Caux, some west of Dieppe, at t ...

, whom he exiled. He subsequently minted his own coinage as an independent prince. He was also count of Suessa. He lent troops to

Pope Paschal II Pope Paschal II ( la, Paschalis II; 1050 1055 – 21 January 1118), born Ranierius, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 August 1099 to his death in 1118. A monk of the Abbey of Cluny, he was cre ...

in 1108 to retake

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. He was a constant ally of the pope and enemy of

Ptolemy I of Tusculum Ptolemy I ( la, Ptolemaeus or it, Tolomeo; died 1126) was the count of Tusculum in the first quarter of the twelfth century. He was a son of Gregory III. Peter Pisanus, in his ''Vita Paschalis II'' refers to Ptolemy and the abbot of Farfa as th ...

Notes

References

Sources

''Chronology of the ipati, consuls, dukes, princes, kings, and emperors who governed Gaeta from the 9th to the 13th Century''.
* Gregorovius, Ferdinand. ''Rome in the Middle Ages Vol. IV Part 1''. 1905. *Thompson, Kathleen, "The Lords of Laigle: Ambition and Insecurity on the borders of Normandy" in ''Anglo-Norman Studies''; XVIII; ed. Christopher Harper-Bill, Woodbridge, 1996, pp. 177–199. 1111 deaths Italo-Normans Norman warriors 12th-century Italian nobility Dukes of Gaeta Year of birth unknown {{Italy-noble-stub