Loderingo degli Andalò (1210–1293) was an Italian nobleman from a Bolognese Ghibelline family. He held many important civic positions and founded the Knights of Saint Mary (also known as the Order of the glorious Saint Mary or Jovial Friars (Frati Gaudenti, in Latin)) in 1261. Loderingo was the brother of Diana, who founded the Dominican Monastery of Saint Agnes. He was governor of

Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

in 1251, and, with Catalano dei Malavolti, shared the position of governor of Bologna in 1265, of

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

in 1266, and of Bologna again in 1267. The Order and the monastery were founded in 1233. The Order, which was approved by

Pope Alexander IV Pope Alexander IV (1199 or 1185 – 25 May 1261) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 December 1254 to his death. Early career He was born as Rinaldo di Jenne in Jenne, Italy, Jenne (now in the Province of Rome ...

in 1261, was the first religious order of knighthood to grant the rank of 'militissa' to women who were the daughter, spouse or widow of a Knight. Its mission was to promote peace between warring municipal factions, but its members soon succumbed to self-interest and it was suppressed by

Sixtus V Pope Sixtus V (; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death, in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order, where h ...

in 1558. In 1267 he joined the Jovial Friars' monastery that he had founded at Ronzano where he stayed until his death. In

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

's '' Inferno'' (of the ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poetry, narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of ...

''), he is found among the hypocrites in the Eighth Circle of

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...

. Loderingo is extolled for his fortitude in dying by his friend the poet

Guittone d'Arezzo Guittone d'Arezzo (Arezzo, 123521 August 1294) was a Tuscan poet and the founder of the Tuscan School. He was an acclaimed secular love poet before his conversion in the 1260s, when he became a religious poet joining the Order of the Blessed Vi ...

. He is also known as Loderingo degli Andalò, Loderingo d'Andalò, and Loderigo d'Andalo.

References

* ''The Inferno/Dante Alighieri'', bilingual edition with commentaries and notes, translated by Robert Hollander and Jean Hollander (New York: Doubleday, 2000). * Toynbee, Paget. ''Concise Dictionary of Proper Names and Notable Matters in the Works of Dante'' (Oxford: University, 1914) Italian Dominicans 1210 births 1293 deaths Nobility from Bologna Medieval Italian knights 13th-century Italian nobility Characters in the Divine Comedy {{italy-noble-stub