Antinori (noble family)
The Antinori are an old patrician family from Florence . In the 18th century they received from the grand dukes of Tuscany (House Austria-Tuscany ) the title of Marchese (Marquis), while a Neapolitan branch in the 15th century the Duchy of Brindisi held. Thanks to their wine production , the family is one of the most famous Italian noble families today .
Family history
The family originally comes from Val di Sieve in the Mugello north of Florence, where they owned several castles in the Middle Ages . The first evidence of viticulture by Rinuccio Antinori on Castello di Combiate dates back to 1180. During the wars between the Ghibellines and Guelphs , there was considerable damage in the area. In 1202 the Castello di Combiate was destroyed and the Antinori decided to move to Florence , where the family had been farming for more than a hundred years. The family's first known house was on Via de Serragli .
In 1285 Filippo and Chiaro Antinori can be found in the handicrafts of the Arte della Seta , the silk weavers. They are associated with the success of Florentine silk on the markets in Central Europe and had branches in Bruges and Lyon , among others . Between 1336 and 1340, the economically most important years for the city of Florence, the Antinori operated a company that was one of the most important in Florence. The heads of the families Lippo and Piero Antinori were the leaders of the company that produced strong profits and managed to avoid the tragic chain of mistakes that led to the closure of the banks of Bardi and Peruzzi, and subsequently other companies. At the same time as the economic rise, the political importance of the family grows, always known for its prudent leadership and good political instinct. As power passed from the republican structure to the Grand Duchy, the family continued to maintain good relations with all members of the ruling class, which sees the Antinori as some of its most active supporters. In 1385 Giovanni di Pietro Antinori joined the Florence wine merchants' guild , the Corporazione dei Vinattieri , founded in 1293 .
In the 15th century, a branch of the Antonio di Giovanni Antinori line moved to Naples. Here he earned the respect of the king and received the Duchy of Brindisi.
In the meantime, the two brothers Antonio and Bernardo Thomas Antinori expanded their political success in Florence. Bernardo's grandson, Niccolò Antinori, bought the Martelli family mansion , today's Palazzo Antinori , in 1506 . The building erected by Giuliano da Maiano and Baccio d'Agnolo was the outward sign of the family's prosperity and is still inhabited by Antinori.
During the reign of the House of Habsburg-Lothringen , in the second half of the 18th century, the Antinori gained the title of “Marchese”, which meant their inclusion in the small number of Florentine families and a further increase in their importance in political life Florence 'meant.
Today the interests of the family, which belongs to the circle of the Primum Familiae Vini , are mainly limited to the wine production, which reaches the highest international level. The traditional family business Marchesi Antinori is run by Piero Antinori and his daughters Alessia, Albiera and Allegra.
Personalities of the House of Antinori
- Ludovico Antinori , Archbishop of Pisa , was chosen by Pope Pius IV to assist Cardinal Giovanni Morone , President of the Council of Trent , and then to disseminate the results of the Council in France at the court of Caterina de 'Medici
- Antonio Antinori was the chamberlain of Vittoria della Rovere and later of her son Grand Duke Cosimo III. de 'Medici towards the end of the seventeenth century
- Vincenzo Antinori was a scientist and mathematician, director of the Museum of the Observatory in the 19th century, later at the Museum of Physics and Natural History
literature
- Ralf Frenzel (Ed.): Marchesi Antinori. 26 generations of viticulture. With contributions by Till Ehrlich , Stuart Pigott , Heinz-Joachim Fischer , Gerwin Zohlen. Tre Torri Verlag, Wiesbaden 2014. ISBN 978-3-944628-20-2 .
