Caetani (noble family)

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Caetani coat of arms

Caetani or Gaetani is the name of one of the oldest, to this day flourishing Italian noble families, belonging to the papal nobility and the European nobility . The family ruled the city of Gaeta in the 10th century . She later played an important role in the history of the cities of Rome and Pisa and rose to princely and ducal dignities, mainly thanks to the two popes she appointed .

history

Princes of Gaeta, Itri, Fondi

The lineage begins with Docibilis I of Gaeta († before 914), who was prefecturius from 867 and from 877 until his death Hypatos (Byzantine court and prince title, corresponding to the Roman consul ) of Gaeta , as a vassal of the Emperor of Byzantium . He had the still-preserved corner tower of Rocca Caetani Castle built in Itri and was involved in the battles of Pope John VIII against the Saracens , where he sometimes made use of Saracen mercenaries in the struggle with neighboring Lombard and Greek princes. He was followed by his son John I († 933 or 934), who belonged to the Christian alliance of princes that drove the Saracens from Lazio in the Battle of Garigliano (915) . He was followed by his son Docibilis II (approx. 880–954), this successively his sons Johannes II, Gregory and finally Marinus II. This divided his principality among several sons, Johannes III. († around 1008) inherited Gaeta and received as a follower of Emperor Otto III. In 999 Pontecorvo Castle , Marinus became Duke of Fondi in 999 and thus became the progenitor of the later Gaetani, Gregor and Daufer, Counts of Castro d'Argento and Traetto , and Bernhard Bishop in Gaeta. John V (c. 1010-1040) was finally driven out of Gaeta by Pandulf IV of Capua .

  • The Rocca Caetani in Itri , the corner tower built by Docibilis I around 880

  • The castle of Fondi , built in the 14th century. by Onorato I. Caetani

Popes

Marinus' son Constantin I of Fondi, who ruled in the second half of the 10th century, called himself Cagetanus . His descendant Crescentius was Duke of Fondi in the late 11th century, his son Marinus II. Continued the line, while his brother John was elected Pope in 1118 as Gelasius II . This led the investiture dispute against Emperor Heinrich V and was supported by his nephew Crescentius II von Fondi.

With Benedetto Caetani ascended in 1294 again a family member the Holy See as Boniface VIII. He reached for the throne in the struggles Kingdom of Sicily one, was an opponent of the cardinals from the Ghibelline home Colonna and fought with the French king Philip the Fair , who finally In 1303 Sciarra Colonna and Wilhelm von Nogaret carried out the Anagni assassination attempt on him.

Boniface VIII enfeoffed his family, who vigorously defended and supported him, with Sermoneta , Bassiano , Ninfa and San Donato as well as the margraviate of Ancona , while Charles II of Naples made them Count of Caserta . Giordano Loffredo Caetani acquired the estates of Fondi and Traetto for the family through his marriage to Giovanna dell'Aquila, while his grandson Giacomo won the estates of Piedimonte and Gioia .

During the 14th and 15th centuries, the rivalries between the Caetani and Colonna caused intermittent civil wars in Rome and the Campagna Romana . Onorato I. Caetani (approx. 1336–1400), Count of Fondi, Sermoneta, Bassiano and Marino (Latium) , was one of the supporters of the anti-popes Clement VII and Benedict XIII. In 1500 Pope Alexander VI moved. from the house of Borgia the fiefs of the Caetani and gave them to his daughter Lucrezia Borgia , but they were later given back. In Rome, the Caetani owned a medieval family tower and on the Via Appia Antica they built the tomb of Caecilia Metella into a castle.

Lines

Caetani di Sermoneta

From 1503 the Caetani were dukes of Sermoneta and princes of Teano , and from 1585 margraves of Cisterna di Latina . There the family resided in a Renaissance palace. Around the ruins of the medieval castle, the church and the abandoned village Ninfa created Gelasio Caetani (1877-1934), brother of the historian Leone Caetani , in 1921 an extensive English garden, the Giardino di Ninfa .

The son of Duke Camillo was Niccolò Caetani di Sermoneta , cardinal and archbishop of Capua . In 1642, Francesco, 7th Duke of Sermoneta, acquired the county of Caserta by marrying Anna Acquaviva (1596-1659) , which in 1750 was exchanged for the Principality of Teano . In the 19th century Onorato Caetani, 14th Duke of Sermoneta and 4th Prince of Teano (1842-1917) held the post of Italian Foreign Minister. One of his younger sons, Gelasio Caetani (1877-1934), fought at Col di Lana in World War I and in 1922 became the Italian ambassador to the United States. One of the last of this line was Roffredo Caetani, 17th Duke of Sermoneta and 8th Prince of Teano (1871–1961). His niece Topazia (1921–1990) married the composer Igor Markevitch . Her son Oleg Caetani continues the name with his wife Susanna Caetani.

Gaetani Dell'Aquila d'Aragona

Onorato Gaetani dell'Aquila, Count of Fondi , Traetto, Alife and Morcone, Lord of Piedimonte and Gioia, founded the Gaetani Dell'Aquila d'Aragona line in 1454 . The line took the name Aragon as a result of a marriage of Onorato Gaetani, Duke of Traetto († 1529), with Lucrezia of Aragon, a natural daughter of King Ferdinand I of Naples . Alfonso Gaetani acquired the Duchy of Laurenzana in 1606 by marrying Giulia di Ruggiero . In 1715 the rule of Piedimonte was elevated to a principality. The current head of this line is Don Bonifacio Gaetani Dell'Aquilla d'Aragona, Duca di Laurenzana e Principe di Piedimonte (* 1950); his son Conte Don Giovanni Gaetani dell'Aquila d'Aragona (* 1973) married Ginevra Elkann in 2009 .

Gaetani del Cassaro

Cesare Gaetani, praetor of Palermo in 1604, founded this line and was elevated to Principe del Cassaro and Marchese di Sortino in 1631 . The last of this branch was Principe Cesare Gaetani († 1773), Praetor of Palermo, who had the Greek theater in Syracuse excavated from his own resources . The titles of this line then passed to the Prince Borghese .

The Gaetani from Pisa

Coat of arms of the Gaetani from Pisa

The line based in Pisa was traced back to a Ugone, a son of Docibilis II of Gaeta (approx. 880–954). In 962 he received the fiefdom of Terriccio , south of Pisa, from Emperor Otto I. The line gained importance with Giovanni (around 1083/1098), captain-general of the Pisans and Genoese, who took part in the siege of Toledo in 1085 and, according to some chronicles, led the Pisan troops in the First Crusade . Another prominent representative was Gherardo, Conte di Terriccio, captain general of the Pisans on the campaigns to Sardinia in 1108 and to the Balearic Islands in 1113, whom Pope Paschal II made Count of Oriseo . In 1137 he fought with Emperor Lothar III. the Sicilian King Roger II. He donated the Church of San Giovanni al Gatano in Pisa. Count Corrado Gaetani d'Oriseo e Terriccio married Violante von Hohenstaufen , a daughter of Emperor Frederick II with Bianca Lancia , which made him viceroy of Sicily from 1246 to 1256. In the 14th century, Giacomo Gaetani, Conte d'Oriseo, Terriccio e Pomaya, as Pisan captain-general, took part in piracy in Sicily, which Pisa took as an opportunity to banish the all too powerful family from the city. This led to the establishment of a branch of Gaetani d'Oriseo in Sicily, which went out with Donna Rosalia, married Countess Giarrizzo, at the end of the 19th century; their descendants bear the name Giarrizzo Gaetani d'Oriseo . The branch of Gaetani di Terriccio , which dates back to Benedetto (1496) in Pisa, died out in the first half of the 19th century with Alessandro Gaetani, owner of the Palazzo Gaetani on Piazza Carrara in Pisa and the castle in Terriccio.

family members

Web links

Commons : House of Caetani  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ferdinand Gregorovius : Wanderjahre in Italien in the Gutenberg-DE Beck project, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-406-42803-7