The Pepoli are an aristocratic banking family of

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different na ...

, in northern Italy. They were

lords Lords may refer to: * The plural of Lord Places *Lords Creek, a stream in New Hanover County, North Carolina *Lord's, English Cricket Ground and home of Marylebone Cricket Club and Middlesex County Cricket Club People *Traci Lords (born 19 ...

of the city for thirteen years in the fourteenth century. A branch of the family moved to

Trapani Trapani ( , ; scn, Tràpani ; lat, Drepanum; grc, Δρέπανον) is a city and municipality (''comune'') on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an imp ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

and were granted several feudal lordships and baronies.

History

Origins

The presence of the family in Bologna seems to have been documented since the last decade of the eleventh century. The testament of Romeo Pepoli's Zerra, written by Rolandino de 'Passaggeri on 8 October 1251, shows the presence of the family in the area of via Castiglione at that time.I Pepoli a Bologna e in Europa
Archivio di Stato di Bologna From the beginning, the Pepoli had established a prominent banking house in Bologna and became among the richest families in Italy at that time. For this reason, the chessboard used to count the relationship between different coins was adopted as the family's coat of arms. After years of private financial activity, the family eventually took a leading role in the political scene of the city.

Lordship of Bologna

The House of Pepoli reached its apogee in the first half of the 14th century. The family took power as Lords of Bologna during the chaotic struggles between

Guelfs and Ghibellines The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, r ...

in the city. In August, 1337, Taddeo Pepoli orchestrated an armed occupation of the city and gained support for his election as Lord of Bologna. While initially reluctant to acknowledge Pepoli,

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Benedict XII Pope Benedict XII ( la, Benedictus XII, french: Benoît XII; 1285 – 25 April 1342), born Jacques Fournier, was head of the Catholic Church from 30 December 1334 to his death in April 1342. He was the third Avignon pope. Benedict was a careful ...

sent the

bishop of Como The Diocese of Como ( la, Dioecesis Comensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in northern Italy. It was established in the Fourth Century. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of ...

, a Parravicini, to the city. The papal nuncio delivered the keys of the city to

Taddeo Taddeo is a masculine given name which may refer to: * Taddeo Alderotti (between 1206 and 1215-1295), Italian doctor and professor of medicine * Taddeo Altini O.S.A. (1609-1685), Roman Catholic Bishop of Civita Castellana e Orte, and Titular Bishop ...

, appointing him papal vicar for a three-year term. With this title Taddeo obtained the legitimacy to his office. These episodes are commemorated in two ovals frescoed in the 17th century by Canuti in the stairwell entrance of the Palazzo Pepoli Campogrande, across the street from the Palazzo Pepoli Vecchio. Their seat in the city was Palazzo Pepoli Vecchio, constructed by Taddeo Pepoli. The Pepoli maintained dynastic alliances through well-considered marriages: Obizzo III d'Este, Marquis of Ferrara, married Jacopa Pepoli in 1317 and the

condottiero ''Condottieri'' (; singular ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian captains in command of mercenary companies during the Middle Ages and of multinational armies during the early modern period. They notably served popes and other Euro ...

Roberto Alidosi Roberto Alidosi (died 29 November 1362) was a lord of Imola in the 14th century. He was appointed as Papal vicar in the city in December 1350, and in 1356 he was captain of the Papal army. Roberto Alidosi married Michelina Malatesta, daughter of ...

, papal vicar and lord of

Imola Imola (; rgn, Jômla or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical ...

, was given Giacoma Pepoli. The commune of Castiglione dei Pepoli in the Italian

Province of Bologna The province of Bologna ( it, provincia di Bologna) was a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its provincial capital was the city of Bologna. The province of Bologna covered an area of and had a total population of 1,004,323 inhabitan ...

still bears the family's name.Cesare De Seta, Maria Antonietta Spadaro, Sergio Troisi (1998). Palermo city of art: a guide to the monuments of Palermo and Monreale . Palermo: Aries. San domenico, bologna, monumento a taddeo pepoli, m

San domenico, bologna, monumento a taddeo pepoli, m

15th and 16th Centuries

After the rule of Taddeo Pepoli (1337-1347), Bologna fell to the Visconti of Milan. While Cardinal Gil de Albornoz forcibly returned the city to the papal orbit in 1360, the Pepoli never regained their former civic power. The family remained prominent landowners.

Guido Pepoli Guido Pepoli (May 6, 1560 – June 1599) was an Italian cardinal. He was ordained by Pope Sixtus V Pope Sixtus V ( it, Sisto V; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal ...

was ordained cardinal by Pope Sixtus V in 1589. The imposing

Palazzo Pepoli Campogrande The Palazzo Pepoli Campogrande, also known as ''Palazzo Pepoli Nuovo'', is a Baroque architecture, Baroque style palace on Via Castiglione 7 in central Bologna, region of Emilia-Romagna, Italy. In 2015, it served as a public art gallery for late-Ba ...

was commissioned in 1653 by the newly minted Senator Odoardo Pepoli; the architects were Giovanni Battista Alberoni and

Giuseppe Antonio Torri Giuseppe Antonio Torri (1655 – c. 1713) was an Italian architect of the early 18th century. He was born and died in Bologna, where he was active in a late-Baroque style. His surname is also spelled Tórri. He initially trained with his fat ...

. Today it houses the Baroque works once in the

Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna The National Art Gallery of Bologna (''Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna'') is a museum in Bologna, Italy. It is located in the former Saint Ignatius Jesuit novitiate of the city's University district, and inside the same building that houses the ...

. A later member of the family, conte Carlo Pepoli, wrote

Vincenzo Bellini Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (; 3 November 1801 – 23 September 1835) was a Sicilian opera composer, who was known for his long-flowing melodic lines for which he was named "the Swan of Catania". Many years later, in 1898, Gius ...

's libretto for ''

I Puritani ' (''The Puritans'') is an 1835 opera by Vincenzo Bellini. It was originally written in two acts and later changed to three acts on the advice of Gioachino Rossini, with whom the young composer had become friends. The music was set to a libretto ...

'' and provided the lyrics for Rossini's song "

La Danza "La danza" (Dance) (1835) is a patter song by Gioachino Rossini, in Tarantella napoletana time, the eighth song of the collection ''Les soirées musicales'' (1830–1835). The lyrics are by Count Carlo Pepoli ( it), librettist of Vincenzo Bellin ...

". To him

Giacomo Leopardi Count Giacomo Taldegardo Francesco di Sales Saverio Pietro Leopardi (, ; 29 June 1798 – 14 June 1837) was an Italian philosopher, poet, essayist, and philologist. He is considered the greatest Italian poet of the nineteenth century and one of ...

dedicated one of his ''canti''.

House of Bonaparte

Napoleone Gioacchino Pepoli was a senator of the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and f ...

, Mayor of Bologna, and Italian envoy to Russia. Moreover, he was also a grand-nephew of

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

through his mother, Princess Louisa Julie Caroline Murat the daughter of

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

Joachim Murat Joachim Murat ( , also , ; it, Gioacchino Murati; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French military commander and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the ...

- Napoleon's

brother-in-law A sibling-in-law is the spouse of one's sibling, or the sibling of one's spouse, or the person who is married to the sibling of one's spouse.Cambridge Dictionaries Online.Family: non-blood relations. More commonly, a sibling-in-law is referre ...

References