Loritello was an

Italo-Norman The Italo-Normans ( it, Italo-Normanni), or Siculo-Normans (''Siculo-Normanni'') when referring to Sicily and Southern Italy, are the Italian-born descendants of the first Norman conquerors to travel to southern Italy in the first half of th ...

county along the Adriatic north of the Gargano, now called Rotello, in the

Molise it, Molisano (man) it, Molisana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 ...

region. It was carved out of the eastern seaboard of the

Principality of Benevento The Duchy of Benevento (after 774, Principality of Benevento) was the southernmost Lombard duchy in the Italian Peninsula that was centred on Benevento, a city in Southern Italy. Lombard dukes ruled Benevento from 571 to 1077, when it was conq ...

following the

Battle of Civitate The Battle of Civitate was fought on 18 June 1053 in southern Italy, between the Normans, led by the Count of Apulia Humphrey of Hauteville, and a Swabian-Italian- Lombard army, organised by Pope Leo IX and led on the battlefield by Gerard, Du ...

in 1053 by members of the

Hauteville family The Hauteville ( it, Altavilla) was a Norman family originally of seigneurial rank from the Cotentin. The Hautevilles rose to prominence through their part in the Norman conquest of southern Italy. By 1130, one of their members, Roger II, was ma ...

. The last Count of Loritello died in 1184 and the title was never revived.

Geoffrey of Hauteville Geoffrey of Hauteville (also ''Gottfried'', ''Godfrey'', ''Godefroi'', ''Goffredo'', or ''Gaufrido''; about 1020-1071) was a Norman military leader, the second youngest son of Tancred of Hauteville by his first wife Muriella. He joined his brothers ...

, a younger brother of

Humphrey Humphrey is both a masculine given name and a surname. An earlier form, not attested since Medieval times, was Hunfrid. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Medieval period :''Ordered chronologically'' *Hunfrid of P ...

Count of Apulia The County of Apulia and Calabria (), later the Duchy of Apulia and Calabria (), was a Norman state founded by William of Hauteville in 1042 in the territories of Gargano, Capitanata, Apulia, Vulture, and most of Campania. It became a duchy whe ...

, began the conquest of what would become Loritello when he attacked the Lombard county of

Larino Larino ( nap, label= Campobassan dialect, Larìne; la, Larinum) is a town and ''comune'' of approximately 8,100 inhabitants in Molise, province of Campobasso, southern Italy. It is located in the fertile valley of the Biferno River. The old to ...

and captured the castle of

Morrone Morrone ( gd, Mór Bheinn, or Mór Shròn) is a Scottish hill immediately southwest of the village of Braemar in Aberdeenshire. Geography and topography The hill reaches a height of 859 metres (2818 feet) and qualifies as a Corbett an ...

in Samnium Guillamatum. In 1061, Geoffrey's son

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

received the title ''primo comiti de Loritello'': first count of Loritello. Robert continued expanding his county by conquering the county of Teate (modern

Chieti Chieti (, ; , nap, label= Abruzzese, Chjïétë, ; gr, Θεάτη, Theátē; lat, Theate, ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Central Italy, east by northeast of Rome. It is the capital of the province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region. ...

), with which he invested his brother Drogo, and attacking Ortona, which was to become the chief objective of the count's later career. Robert was at odds with the church, whose

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

neighboured Loritello. In 1080, Robert counted men, both Lombard and Norman, as far as the river

Pescara Pescara (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Pescàrë; nap, label= Pescarese, Piscàrë) is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 119,217 (2018) residents (and approxim ...

as his vassals and Pope Gregory VII, concluding a truce with Robert's overlord, Robert Guiscard, recognised Loritello as Robert's and requested that papal lands be treated with respect. In the early twelfth century, Loritello was extended across the

Fortore The Fortore (Latin: ''Fertor'' or ''Frento'') is a river which flows through the provinces of Benevento, Campobasso and Foggia in southern Italy. It is long. The river rises from the slopes of Monte Altieri, which reaches above sea level. The F ...

to include

Bovino Bovino is a '' comune'' and hill town at the eastern side of the Apennines in the province of Foggia, Apulia, southern Italy. Located within the woody Daunian Mountains as a terrace over the Tavoliere plains, Bovino is currently a member of the ...

and

Dragonara Torremaggiore is a town, ''comune'' (municipality) and former seat of a bishopric, in the province of Foggia in the Apulia (in Italian: ''Puglia''), region of southeast Italy. It lies on a hill, over the sea, and is famous for production of win ...

. Robert's successors, Robert II and

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, allied themselves with the Church and the

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

and opposed their own overlords, for which reasons Loritello was confiscated. It remained a part of the royal demesne of the Kingdom of Sicily until William the Bad granted it to Robert of Bassunvilla in 1154. Under Robert III, Loritello enjoined near complete autonomy from royal officials and the counts retained the right to administer justice (''justiciaria''). The power of the county peaked during the regency of William the Good, but afterwards declined, and when Robert III died in 1184, the county was not regranted.

Counts of Loritello

Sources

*Matthew, Donald. ''The Norman Kingdom of Sicily (Cambridge Medieval Textbooks)'', 1992.
History of the Norman World
{{coord missing, Italy Italian city-states Norman conquest of southern Italy States and territories established in 1053