Manfred I (died 1175) was the founder and first ruler of the
marquisate of Saluzzo
The Marquisate of Saluzzo () was a historical Italian state that included parts of the current region of Piedmont and of the French Alps. The Marquisate was much older than the Renaissance lordships, being a legacy of the feudalism of the High ...
from 1142 until his death.
Manfred was the eldest of seven sons of
Bonifacio del Vasto, the ruler of scattered holdings between
Savona
Savona (; lij, Sann-a ) is a seaport and ''comune'' in the west part of the northern Italy, Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea.
Savona used to be one of the chie ...
and the
Tanaro. He is first recorded in a document of 1123. After Bonifacio's death in 1125, his lands were ruled jointly by the brothers, but in 1142 they divided them up. Manfred took most of the lands between the
Alps, the
Po and the
Stura. His new lordship was larger than his brother's and better positioned to become a true principality.
[ It only came to be known as the marquisate of Saluzzo after his death. In his own life he used the title of marquis without a territorial designation, or else "marquis of Vasto" ( Latin ''marchio de Vasto'').][Armando Tallone]
''Regesto dei marchesi di Saluzzo (1091–1340)''
(Pinerolo, 1906), nos. 37, 40, 44, 51. He made his the strategically important castle of Saluzzo in the centre of his domain his seat.[Manfrédo I marchese di Saluzzo]
''Enciclopedia on line'', Treccani. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
In 1127, Manfred founded the monastery of Staffarda. He was an ally of the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa
Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on ...
, recognizing him as his suzerain and trying to maintain peace between him and the Lombard cities.[ Four diploma attest to his periodic attendance at Barbarossa's court at Milan (1161), Turin (1162) and Rimini (1167).][ Charles William Previté-Orton, ''The Early History of the House of Savoy (1000–1233)'' (Cambridge University Press, 1912), p. 332.][
Manfred married Eleonora, the daughter of Judge Gonario II of Arborea.][Riccardo Rao, "Fra comune e marchese. Dinamiche aristocratiche a Vercelli (XII-XIII secolo)", ''Studi Storici'' 4, 1 (2003), pp. 43–93. ] He was succeeded by his son Manfred II.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manfred 01 Of Saluzzo
1175 deaths
Manfred 1
Year of birth unknown