Vicente Pío Osorio de Moscoso y Ponce de León, 13th Count of Altamira, GE, OM, LH (22 July 1801 – 22 February 1864), was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

peer, Head of the

House of Osorio The House of Osorio is a Spanish noble lineage of the Crown of Castile. They descend from count Osorio Martínez, a prominent nobleman in the first half of the 12th century who was member of the Flagínez family and husband to a granddaughter of ...

. He held 109 titles of nobility, mostly in the peerage of Spain, and was 14 times a Grandee, making him the most titled person in the history of the world.

Biography

Family origins

Vicente Pío was born 22 July 1801, son of Vicente Isabel Osorio de Moscoso y Álvarez de Toledo, who was the 12th Count of Altamira and many other titles. His mother was María del Carmen Ponce de León y Carvajal, 5th Duchess of Montemar. Through the deaths with no descendants of several of the main peers in Spain at the time, Osorio's family inherited many of the grandest titles in the country as the closest descendants.

Early years

From a young age, he entered the body of

pages Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young mal ...

of the court, being orphaned of his mother at the age of 12. In 1821, when he was only twenty, he married María Luisa Carvajal y Queralt, daughter of José Miguel de Carvajal, 2nd Duke of San Carlos, in the

Bordeaux Cathedral Bordeaux Cathedral, officially known as the Primatial Cathedral of St Andrew of Bordeaux (french: Cathédrale-Primatiale Saint-André de Bordeaux), is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Saint Andrew and located in Bordeaux, France. It is the ...

. His father, a moderate liberal, had served in the

Royal Household of Spain The Royal Household of Spain, officially the Household of His Majesty the King, is the constitutional body whose primary function is to provide aid and support to the King of Spain in the exercise of his royal duties and prerogatives. These incl ...

, as

Ferdinand VII , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_plac ...

's senior groom during the Liberal Triennium, for which, in 1823, he had been retaliated, the king removing him from that position and withdrawing the key of Gentilhombre Grande de España con ejercicio y servidumbre. Despite the repeated efforts of his son, the king never rehabilitated him. In 1837 he passed away, and Vicente Pío inherited the numerous paternal titles from him.

Later years

In 1842, the Law of

Confiscation Confiscation (from the Latin ''confiscatio'' "to consign to the ''fiscus'', i.e. transfer to the treasury") is a legal form of seizure by a government or other public authority. The word is also used, popularly, of spoliation under legal forms, ...

of Mayorazgos that made him lose the territories of his large estates (Osorio, Moscoso, Cárdenas, Fernández de Córdoba, Guzmán, etc.), forced him to sell and mortgage a large part of his ''

finca In English usage, a ''finca'' (; ) refers to a piece of rural or agricultural land, typically with a cottage, farmhouse or estate building present, and often adjacent to a woodland or plantation. Overview Especially in tourism, the term has r ...

s''. A widower in 1843, he immediately became close to

Isabella II Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successi ...

and his eldest son and heir, José María, married into the royal family in 1847 with Infanta Luisa Teresa. In 1843, he became Senator for the

Province of León León (, , ; ; ) is a province of northwestern Spain in the northern part of the Region of León and in the northwestern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. About one quarter of its population of 463,746 (2018) lives in the ca ...

along with the Marquess of San Isidro, and in 1845, Life Senator. From 1849 to 1850, he was vice-president of the Senate of Spain. Isabella II appointed him, in 1854, her senior groom and, just two years later, her

sommelier A sommelier ( or or ; ), or wine steward, is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, normally working in fine restaurants, who specializes in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food pairing. The role of the wine steward in fin ...

of corps, who, as head of the Royal Chamber, implied enormous confidence from the queen. In fact, he would not hesitate to marry his daughter Rosalía, in 1859, to José María Ruiz de Arana, a well-known lover of the queen. He was sommelier until his death, which occurred in Madrid in February 1864. After his death 22 February 1864,Partida de Fallecimiento (Madrid, 22-02-1864). Copia certificada
/ref> a testamentary commission was established to guarantee the distribution of his substantial inheritance and titles, headed by José Genaro Villanova as executor.

Titles held

Dukedoms

* 17th Duke of Maqueda ( GE) * 13th Duke of Baena ( GE) * 15th

Duke of Sessa Duke of Sessa is a Spanish noble title awarded to Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba by Ferdinand II in 1507. It was the fifth ducal title bestowed on Gonzalo, after the ducal titles of Santángelo (1497), Terranova (1502), Andría (1507) and M ...

( GE) * 14th Duke of Soma ( GE) * 11th

Duke of Sanlúcar la Mayor Duke of Sanlúcar la Mayor ( es, Duque de Sanlúcar la Mayor) is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1625 by Philip IV to Gaspar de Guzmán, 3rd Count of Olivares and royal ''favour ...

( GE) * 9th Duke of Medina de las Torres ( GE) * 8th Duke of Atrisco ( GE) * 6th Duke of Montemar ( GE) * 14th

Duke of Terranova Duke of Terranova ( es, Duque de Terranova) is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1502 by Ferdinand II to "El Gran Capitán" (Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba), a general who negotiat ...

( GE) - held unofficially due to extinction * 14th

Duke of Santángelo Duke of Santángelo ( es, Duque de Santángelo) is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1497 by the Catholic Monarchs to "El Gran Capitán" (Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba), a general ...

( GE) - held unofficially due to extinction * 14th

Duke of Andría Duke of Andría ( es, Duque de Andría) is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1507 by Ferdinand II to "El Gran Capitán" (Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba), a general who negotiated ...

( GE) - held unofficially due to extinction

Marquessates

*18th Marquess of Astorga ( GE) *9th Marquess of Castromonte ( GE) *9th Marquess of Leganés ( GE) *12th Marquess of Velada ( GE) *12th Marquess of Almazán *13th Marquess of Poza *9th Marquess of Mairena *8th Marquess of Morata de la Vega *9th Marquess of Monasterio *15th Marquess of Ayamonte *10th Marquess of Villamanrique *10th Marquess of Villa de San Román *17th Marquess of Elche *12th Marquess of Montemayor *11th Marquess of Águila

Countships

*13th Count of Altamira ( GE) *14th

Count of Cabra Count of Cabra is a Spanish noble title created by King Henry IV of Castile on 2 November 1455 for Diego Fernandez de Cordova and Montemayor, 1st Viscount of Iznájar. The titleholder is a Grandee of Spain, the third oldest such title in Spain. T ...

( GE) *19th Count of Palamós *15th Count of Trivento *15th Countof Avellino *14th Count of Oliveto *17th Count of Monteagudo de Mendoza *12th Count of Losada *10th Count of Arzacóllar *14th Count of Trastámara *17th Count of Santa María de Ortigueira *12th Count of Lodosa *11th Count of Saltés *20th Count of Nieva *6th Count of Garcíez *5th Count of Valhermoso *? Count of Cantillana

Viscountcies

*14th Viscount of Iznájar

Baronies

*24th Baron of Bellpuig *15th Baron of Calonge *16th Baron Liñola

Other titles

He held 4 princely titles from the peerage of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, namely the principalities of

Maratea Maratea (; nap, Marathia, label= Marateota ) is an Italian town and ''comune'' of Basilicata, in the province of Potenza. It is the only ''comune'' of the region on the Tyrrhenian coast, and is known as "the Pearl of the Tyrrhenian". Owing to t ...

Venosa Venosa ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata, in the Vulture area. It is bounded by the comuni of Barile, Ginestra, Lavello, Maschito, Montemilone, Palazzo San Gervas ...

, Jaffa and

Aracena Aracena () is a town and municipality located in the province of Huelva, south-western Spain. , the city has a population of 7,814 inhabitants. The town derived its name from the Sierra de Aracena, which is part of the Sierra Morena system. Arac ...

. He was also Guarda Mayor de Castilla, Alférez mayor del pendón de la Divisa del rey, Grand Admiral of

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 ...

, Grand Chancellor of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and of the Tax Council, Chancellor of the

Real Audiencia A ''Real Audiencia'' (), or simply an ''Audiencia'' ( ca, Reial Audiència, Audiència Reial, or Audiència), was an appellate court in Spain and its empire. The name of the institution literally translates as Royal Audience. The additional des ...

of the Indies and ''

adelantado ''Adelantado'' (, , ; meaning "advanced") was a title held by Spanish nobles in service of their respective kings during the Middle Ages. It was later used as a military title held by some Spanish ''conquistadores'' of the 15th, 16th and 17th cen ...

'' mayor of the

Kingdom of Granada ) , common_languages = Official language:Classical ArabicOther languages: Andalusi Arabic, Mozarabic, Berber, Ladino , capital = Granada , religion = Majority religion:Sunni IslamMinority religions:Roman ...

References

1801 births 1864 deaths {{Spain-noble-stub