Albert Azzo I ( it, Alberto Azzo or ''Adalberto Azzo'') (c. 970 – 1029) was an Italian nobleman. He was a 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 ...

(or Adalbertini) family. From 1014 onward, he was margrave of Milan and count of Luni, Genoa and Tortona.

Life

Albert was the son of

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 ...

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 or ...

of Milan, and Railenda, daughter of Count Riprand, and widow of Sigfred, Count of

Seprio Castelseprio was the site of a Roman fort in antiquity, and a significant Lombard town in the early Middle Ages, before being destroyed and abandoned in 1287. It is today preserved as an archaeological park in the modern ''comune'' of Castelsepri ...

. Albert is attested in documents between 1011 and 1026. On 10 May 1013, he was acting as a '' missus'' in Italy. Also in May 1013 Albert is documented with ''iudiciaria'' (the right of justice) in

Monselice Monselice (; vec, Monséłexe ) is a town and municipality (comune) located in northeastern Italy, in the Veneto region, in the province of Padua about southwest of the city of Padua, at the southern edge of the Euganean Hills (''Colli Euganei ...

. In 1014, he inherited the counties of 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 ...

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

, and

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 ...

on the death of his father, Otbert II,

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 Em ...

of Milan. His holdings were extensive and both feudal and

allodial Allodial title constitutes ownership of real property (land, buildings, and fixtures) that is independent of any superior landlord. Allodial title is related to the concept of land held "in allodium", or land ownership by occupancy and defens ...

. Albert and his brothers Hugh, Adalbert (IV), and Obizzo all carried the title

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 Em ...

. Their sister Bertha married Arduin of Italy to ally the Anscarid and Obertenga families. Another sister named

Bertha Bertha is a female Germanic name, from Old High German ''berhta'' meaning "bright one". It was usually a short form of Anglo Saxon names ''Beorhtgifu'' meaning "bright gift" or ''Beorhtwynn'' meaning "bright joy". The name occurs as a theonym, s ...

married

Ulric Manfred II of Turin Ulric Manfred II ( it, Olderico Manfredi II; 975 992 – 29 October 1033 or 1034) or Manfred Ulric (') was the count of Turin and marquis of Susa in the early 11th century. He was the last male margrave from the Arduinid dynasty. Ul ...

. Albert himself married Adela of Milan, a

Salian The Salian dynasty or Salic dynasty (german: Salier) was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages. The dynasty provided four kings of Germany (1024–1125), all of whom went on to be crowned Holy Roman emperors (1027–1125). After the death of the l ...

and relative of Lanfranc, Count of Piacenza and Aucia. At first, Albert and his brothers supported their brother-in-law Arduin against the

Emperor Henry II Henry II (german: Heinrich II; it, Enrico II; 6 May 973 – 13 July 1024), also known as Saint Henry the Exuberant, Obl. S. B., was Holy Roman Emperor ("Romanorum Imperator") from 1014. He died without an heir in 1024, and was the last ruler ...

in the war for the Italian throne. In 1014, he did not oppose Henry's imperial coronation, but after Henry left in May, he sought to aid Arduin. Albert was named as one of Henry II's opponents in an imperial diploma issued in July 1014 at

Solingen Solingen (; li, Solich) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located some 25 km east of Düsseldorf along the northern edge of the region called Bergisches Land, south of the Ruhr area, and, with a 2009 population of 161,366 ...

. The diploma indicates that Albert was among those who supported Arduin, and who had assaulted

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the cap ...

Vercelli Vercelli (; pms, Vërsèj ), is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, ...

, and

Novara Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It i ...

. In 1019, he reconciled with Henry, but in 1022, all four brothers were captured by Henry's forces and Albert submitted. In Spring 1026, Albert joined Ulric Manfred in defending Pavia from Conrad II.

Marriage and children

With his wife, Adela of Milan (d. after 1012), Albert had two children: * Albert Azzo II * Adela of Saluzzo, who married Anselm II,

margrave of Saluzzo The marquises (also marquesses or margraves) of Saluzzo were the medieval feudal rulers city of Saluzzo (today part of Piedmont, Italy) and its countryside from 1175 to 1549. Originally counts, the family received in ''feudum'' the city from the ...

(d. before 1055)Brunhofer, ''Arduin von Ivrea'', p. 212.

Notes

References

*U. Brunhofer, ''Arduin von Ivrea. Untersuchungen zum letzten italienischen Königtum des Mittelalters'' (Augsburg, 1999). *A. Thiele, ''Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln zur europäischen Geschichte Band III Europäische Kaiser-, Königs- und Fürstenhäuser'' (R.G. Fischer Verlag, 1994). *Luciano Chiappini, ''Gli Estensi'' (Varese, 1988).
M.G. Bertolini, 'Alberto Azzo' in ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'' Vol. 1 (1960)
*H. Bresslau, ''Jahrbücher des deutschen Reiches unter Konrad II.'' vol. 1 (Leipzig, 1879).

Sources

*Ferrabino, Aldo (ed). ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: I Aaron – Albertucci''.

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 ...

, 1960.
Adalbert Azzo I Markgraf von Mailand
(in German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Albert Azzo 01, Margrave of Milan Margraves of Italy House of Este 970 births 11th-century deaths Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain