The Marquisate of Saluzzo () was a historical Italian state that included parts of the current region of

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

and of the

French Alps The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such as ...

. The Marquisate was much older than the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

lordships, being a legacy of the

feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

of the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended ...

Marquisate territories

The

Marquisate A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman w ...

Saluzzo Saluzzo (; pms, Salusse ) is a town and former principality in the province of Cuneo, in the Piedmont region, Italy. The city of Saluzzo is built on a hill overlooking a vast, well-cultivated plain. Iron, lead, silver, marble, slate etc. are fo ...

occupied parts of the modern

province of Cuneo Cuneo (Italian), or Coni (Piedmontese), is a province in the southwest of the Piedmont region of Italy. To the west it borders on the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur ( departments of Alpes-Maritimes, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Haut ...

and

Metropolitan City of Turin The Metropolitan City of Turin ( it, Città metropolitana di Torino, Piedmontese: ''Sità metropolitan-a 'd Turin'') is a metropolitan city in the Piedmont region, Italy. Its capital is the city of Turin. It replaced the Province of Turin and co ...

, and at times areas now under French control; the core of its lands was the area between the

Stura di Demonte Stura di Demonte ( la, Stura) is a long river in northwestern Italy (Piedmont). Geography The river is a tributary to the river Tanaro, which is a tributary of the river Po. Its source is in the Alps, near the border with France. It flows thr ...

, the Po and the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

. The

del Vasto family Del, or nabla, is an operator used in mathematics (particularly in vector calculus) as a vector differential operator, usually represented by the nabla symbol ∇. When applied to a function defined on a one-dimensional domain, it denotes ...

, who ruled Saluzzo throughout its period, also owned other territories in Italy after a series of arranged marriages, but these were never officially annexed to the marquisate.

Del Vasto rule

The House of Del Vasto became masters of the city when

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. Ulri ...

chose to

enfeoff In the Middle Ages, especially under the European Feudalism, feudal system, feoffment or enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a Fealty, pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions o ...

Boniface del Vasto Boniface del Vasto (''c.'' 1055 – ''c.'' 1125) was the margrave of Savona and Western Liguria from 1084 to ''c.''1130. He was the son and successor of Otto and of Bertha, daughter of Ulric Manfred II of Turin. Boniface was a member of the Alera ...

as marquis. His eldest son

Manfred ''Manfred: A dramatic poem'' is a closet drama written in 1816–1817 by Lord Byron. It contains supernatural elements, in keeping with the popularity of the ghost story in England at the time. It is a typical example of a Gothic fiction. Byr ...

inherited it. From that moment the del Vasto became Marquis of the Piedmontese town and handed the title dynastically as a true seigniory. Manfred II tried to extend the marquisate beyond its domain against the

House of Savoy The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...

. After Manfred's death, his widow Azalaïs had to provide them a number of tributes per year: from these tributes, Savoy established claims of mastery over the marquisate which led them to clash repeatedly against the weak Marquis. Saluzzo-Castello della Manta

Often torn by internal dissension, Saluzzo reached the period of greatest splendor under the rule of Ludovico I and

Ludovico II Ludovico II may refer to: * Ludovico II Gonzaga, capitano del popolo of Mantua (1334-1382) * Ludovico II Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua (1412–1478) * Ludovico II of Saluzzo Ludovico II del Vasto (23 March 1438 in Saluzzo – 27 January 1504) ...

in the 15th century: the former, with a policy of neutrality towards wars in Italy, was able to act as mediator between the discord and received praises from the emperor and the king of France; the latter, looking for glory on the battlefield, was repeatedly defeated, beginning the decline of the Marquisate. During his reign, however, he was attentive in developing trade by building the first Alpine tunnel, the

Buco di Viso The Monte Viso Tunnel (Italian: ''Buco di Viso''; French: ''Pertuis du Viso'') is an Alpine pedestrian tunnel excavated in the rock during the Renaissance and located eight kilometres north of Monviso (Cottian Alps), northern Italy. It is 75 ...

connecting with a safe road Saluzzo with the

Dauphiné The Dauphiné (, ) is a former province in Southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois. In the 12th centu ...

and

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

. At Ludovico II's death, however, his children fought bitterly for the throne, tearing the countryside and draining finances. The King of France, who had its eye over the Marquisate, then formally annexed it to the crown of Paris after deposing the last Marquis,

Gabriele Gabriele is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name Surname *Al Gabriele, American comic book artist *Angel Gabriele (1956–2016), American comic book artist * Corrado Gabriele (born 1966), Italian polit ...

in 1548. Saluzzo became part of France for half a century, until the Savoy, with the

Treaty of Lyon (1601) The Treaty of Lyon was signed on January 17, 1601, between France and Savoy, to bring an end to the Franco-Savoyard War of 1600–1601. Based on the terms of the treaty, Henry IV of France relinquished Saluzzo to Savoy, while Savoy kept Pont de G ...

, succeeded in taking possession of it and retaining control, with alternating phases, until the

Unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century Political movement, political and social movement that resulted in the Merger (politics), consolidation of List of historic stat ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saluzzo, Marquisate of Saluzzo History of Piedmont Marquisates of Italy 1125 establishments in Europe States and territories established in 1125

Marquisate territories

Del Vasto rule

See also

References