Ezzelino II da Romano

Ezzelino II da Romano (called "il Monaco" (the monk); † 1235 as a monk), originally Ezzelino da Onara , called himself from 1200 "da Romano", was an Italian nobleman who in northern Italy owned the imperial feuds Onara, Romano d ' Ezzelino , Bassano del Grappa and Godego and at the turn of the 12th to the 13th century exercised military functions as general and political functions as Podestà in Treviso , Vicenza and Verona . He was remarkable as the father of Ezzelino III. da Romano (* 1194, † 1259), who went down in history as the tyrannical imperial governor of the Verona march.

origin

The family, who originally called themselves "da Onara" after their ancestral seat Onara (today part of the municipality of Tombolo in the province of Padua ), is traditionally derived from an Arpone who lived in Germany under Salian - ie Franconian - law. His son, Ecelo di Arpone († after 1091), who came to Italy with the army of Emperor Conrad II (1027-1039) and from him around 1035 with the castles and dominions Onara and Romano (today Romano d 'Ezzelino , which lies on the slope of Monte Grappa in the province of Vicenza and still bears the coat of arms of the Ezzelini as the municipal coat of arms) was enfeoffed. The Bishop of Vicenza subsequently enfeoffed him with the dominion of Bassano , where the "Castello degli Ezzelini", which goes back to the family, is still shown today. Ecelo married Gisela, an Italian noblewoman of Lombard origin.

The father of Ezzelino II was Ezzelino I da Onara, called "il Balbo" (the bald) († after 1182), who was the lord of the castle of Onara, Romano, Bassano del Grappa and Godego . Because of his reputation, he was elected Podestà of Vicenza and Treviso and acted as a staunch Guelph in 1173 and 1173 rector of the Lombard League (Lega Lombarda) founded in 1167 against Emperor Frederick I "Barbarossa" (1155-1190). The mother of Ezzelino II was Auria von Baone, a daughter of Riccardo from the house of the Counts of Baone (located on the southern slope of the "Colli Euganei" of the " Euganean Hills " in the province of Padua).

Life

Ezzelino II was not born the eldest son of his parents, but had an older brother named Giovanni. Since he died early, Ezzelino II succeeded his father Ezzelino I in the inherited estates Onara, Romano, Bassano and Godego. Ezzelino lived in a time when the power of the ruler of northern Italy - the Roman king or emperor, was often only a theoretical one due to their absence, and where the closer power of the bishops was also called into question and increasingly impaired by the emerging citizens' movement many succeeded in founding free churches. As a result, the regional aristocratic families who lived in their castles in the countryside were also able to secure greater influence in the cities. This was therefore also the endeavor of the Ezzelini, who tried to strengthen their influence in the regional cities by taking on political offices, such as that of a Podestà . The castles of the Ezzelini were formally subordinate to the government of Vicenza, which is why they struggled with other powerful families represented there - for example with the Counts Maltraversi oden da Breganze - for influence and power. However, the influence of the Ezzelini also extended to Padua and Verona, where they also tried to increase their influence by taking on military or civil functions.

Ezzelino II was a militant gentleman, as he came into conflict with the monks of the Sesto al Reghena abbey in 1182 because of various lands , which is far from his real estate, south of Pordenone in today's Friuli-Venezia Giulia region . They turned to the Patriarch of Grado Giovanni VIII Signolo, who excommunicated Ezzelino as punishment. The dispute dragged on for many years, eventually becoming Pope Innocent III. (1198–1216) who lifted the excommunication and commissioned the Patriarch of Aquileia Pellegrino II of Ortenburg (1195–1204) to settle the dispute. The latter is likely to have successfully compared the dispute, as there is no further news about this.

From 1191 to 1193 Ezzelino II was Podestà of Treviso and then from 1193 Podestà of the city of Vicenza . Ezzelino followed his father's tradition of increasing the family's influence by taking on government functions in the region's major cities.

The rivalry between the northern Italian cities in Ezzelino's time also had fatal consequences for himself, since in 1199 the ancestral seat of the family, the castle of the Ezzelini at Onara, was confiscated and destroyed by the armed forces of the city of Padua after he had dared to face a conflict to conclude a separate peace with Vicenza without the consent of Padua. Then Ezzelino II decided not to rebuild the family seat, but to move it to Romano, which is now called Romano d'Ezzelino . From this point on, the family was no longer known as Ezzelini da Onara, but under the new name Ezzelini da Romano. In 1200 he was elected Podestà of the city of Verona and in 1211 he was reappointed Podestà of Vicenza, which shows that he was highly regarded in the region.

Ezzelino showed his positive attitude towards the church by sponsoring the monastery, Santa Croce di Campese (in the valley of the so-called "Canale di Brenta" in the province of Vicenza ). This was founded by Pontius de Melgueil , who was the seventh abbot of the famous monastery of Cluny from 1109 to 1122, was founded in 1124. This foundation was richly endowed with goods by the Ezzelini and has served as the family's burial place ever since. On September 20, 1202, Ezzelino II transferred numerous fiefs in Angarano and Foza to the prior of the monastery of Santa Croce, in 1204 settled a dispute between the monastery and that of the municipality of Angarano (near Bassano del Grappa) and donated the monastery on November 22nd In 1221 the church of Santo Spiritu di Oliero (now part of the municipality of Valbrenta in the province of Vicenza).

During his time in his domain, in Bassano del Grappa , one of the most famous bridges in Italy was first mentioned in a document in 1208 and was therefore probably built shortly beforehand on his behalf: the Ponte Vecchio or Ponte degli Alpini , made entirely of wood , the one near Bassano Crossing the Brenta River. The structure that is preserved today - which was still made entirely of wood - goes back to a more recent plan, which was designed by none other than the famous architect Andrea Palladio .

Ezzelino II was able to prove his military qualities in 1212, when he opposed the troops of a coalition of Lombard cities near Verona, which was led by Azzo VI. d'Este († 1212), Podestà of Ferrara waged war against him. He managed to defeat the coalition forces, with the head of the same - Azzo d'Este - falling. As a result, he fought as an ally of the city of Padua in 1213 against the Margraves of Este and in 1214 against the Republic of Venice . Ezzelino's willingness to fight and fight was, however, combined with a deep religiousness, so that Ezzelino decided in 1221 to spend the rest of his life as a monk and therefore entered the monastery of Oliero and from there later to the "home monastery" of his family, Santa Croce di Campese, entrusted the administration of his dominions and estates to his sons Ezzelino III. and left to Alberico da Romano. This decision earned him the nickname "il Monaco" (the monk). He died in the Monastery of Campese in 1235 and was buried there.

Marriages and offspring

Ezzelino II was married four times: First marriage to Beatrice d'Este († 1167 as a result of childbirth). She was a daughter of Margrave Obizzo I. d'Este († 1193) and Sofia da Lendinara. In her second marriage in 1170 with Speronella Dalesmanni (* 1149 in Padua, † December 24, 1199), thanks to multiple marriages, she was the owner of important fiefs of the diocese of Padua , between the rivers Brenta and Musone and from Curtarolo (in the province of Padua ) to Venice lagoon . She was the daughter of Dalesmanno and Mabilia Dalesmanni. Speronella, who had already married Jacobino da Carrara in 1163/64 and divorced him in order to marry Count Pagano, the imperial vicar of Padua, had meanwhile had two other husbands, but married Ezzelino II in 1170, but soon left him to live with him with Olderico Fontana da Monselice, to whom she gave birth to a son and a daughter. Dante Alighieri mentions them in the Divine Comedy in Canto 13 of Inferno 133-35. In his third marriage, Ezzelino II was married to Cecilia, an heir to the Count Manfredo von Baone and Abano . This marriage was not entirely unproblematic either, since Cecilia was engaged to Gherardo da Camposanpiero. Because of the significant legacy, Ezzelino's father - Ezzelino I. “il Balbo” moved the bride's guardian to break this engagement and to agree to marry his son. This maneuver succeeded, whereby Ezzelino II got the rich heiress as his wife. However, Gherardo da Camposanpiero was not ready to accept this defeat. So he took advantage of the opportunity and raped his escaped wife in order to get revenge on both - on Ezzelino and also on Cecilia. This also had the result he wanted, as Ezzelino shortly afterwards dismissed Cecilia because of this incident. In his fourth marriage, Ezzelino II was finally married from 1184 to Adelaida da Magnona, a daughter of Alberto IV. Count of Magnona near Prato and Emilia Guidi from the house of Count Guidi .

Children:

From the first marriage:

• Agnese, was married to Giacomo dei Guidotti

Coming from fourth marriage

• Palma († 1218) ⚭ 1207 Valpertino da Cavaso (Cavaso del Tomba)
• Palma Novella, married to Alberto da Baone
• Ezzelino III. da Romano "il Terribile" (the terrible) (born April 25, 1194 in Onara near Padua; † September 27, 1259 in captivity in Castello Soncino near Cremona , the famous Ghibelline and imperial vicar of the Verona marches and lord (tyrant) of Verona (1226-1233)
• Alberico II da Romano († executed on August 26, 1260 in Treviso ), Podestà of Vicenza 1227 and Treviso 1240–1257) excommunicated in 1258.
• Emilia († after 1289); married Alberto dei Conti di Vicenza in 1207
• Sofia († after 1260 in Ferrara) was married to Henry II Lords of Egna († around 1230) and her second marriage to Salinguerra II Torelli, Lords of Ferrara .
• Kunizza (test. November 3, 1191), a widow nun in Florence , is given a will in the will of the monastery of Santa Croce di Campese, † in Florence. She married Count Riccardo von Sambonifacio († 1254 in Brescia) in her first marriage, Sordello Visconti in her second marriage, Bonio da Treviso in her third marriage, Rainerio von Breganze (in the province of Vicenza) in her fourth marriage and an unknown nobleman in her fifth marriage.

Out of wedlock from the relationship with Maria da Camposampiero, a sister of Gherardo da Camposanpiero.

• Adelasia (* 1204)

Out of wedlock from another relationship:

• Ziramonte († 1255)

literature

• Giovanbattista Verci, storia degli Ecelini, Bassano 1779 - Genealogia in “Catalogo Ezzelini, Signori della marca nel cuore dell'Impero di Federico II - a cura di Carlo Bertelli e Giovanni Marcadella - Comune di Bassano del Grappa - 2001”
• Gina Fasoli: Ezzelino da Romano fra tradizione cronachistica e revisione storiografica. In: Storia e cultura a Padova nell'età di Sant'Antonio. Padua 1985, pp. 85-101.
• Mario Rapisarda: La signoria di Ezzelino da Romano. Del Bianco, Udine 1965.
• Antonio Rigon: Ezzelino II da Romano, il Monaco. In: Enciclopedia Federiciana, 2005
• Wolfgang Stürner : Friedrich II. 2 vol. WBG, Darmstadt 1992–2000.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ after the Wiki article “List of Patriarchs of Aquileia” Pilgrim von Dornberg
2. ↑ ^{a b} See Wiki article in Italian: "Campese"
3. ↑ Romano.htm  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ↑ Order not certain, here according to the wiki article in Italian "Ezzelino II il Monaco"