| Branciforte Italian: Casa di Branciforte | |
|---|---|
| Italian noble family | |
 | |
| Country |  Italy Former countries |
| Founded | 9th century |
| Founder | Obizzo Branciforte |
| Final head | Stefania Branciforte, 12th Princess of Butera |
| Titles | |
Branciforte (sometimes Branciforti) is the name of an influential Sicilian aristocratic family of Italian nobles, clergy, [1] and men of arts, from the 9th century. Tradition has it the family began with Obizzo Branciforte, a knight who fought under Charlemagne. [2] [3]
The first to settle permanently from Piacenza on Sicilian soil was Guglielmo Branciforti under King Frederick I, but already at that time the family was considered important in Sicily. He was in fact preceded by some years by Aloisia Branciforte, who married Orlando I Grifeo Maniace, 5th Baron of Partanna and Strategote of Messina in 1275. Guglielmo died during a duel in Catania in 1347; he left the Piacenza possessions to his brothers Bosso and Gaspare, while the lands in Sicily went to his nephews Raffaello and Ottaviano, sons of a third brother, Stefano, who was in charge of collecting duties and controlling the traffic of goods in the Port of Licata, as well as rational master of the Kingdom. [4]
Giovanni, son of Raffaele, a man of arms, under Frederick III the Simple "reduced to royal obedience", the city of Piazza and thus received it as a gift from the same sovereign, also obtaining the title of Baron. From King Martin I he also received the fortress and the fiefdom of Grassuliato, in addition to the fiefdoms of Condrò and Gatto. [5]
In the 17th century, Niccolò Branciforte, 1st Prince of Leonforte (1593–1661) married the noblewoman Caterina Branciforti e Barresi (1600–1634), daughter of Fabrizio Branciforte, 3rd Prince of Butera, with whom he had seven children: Giuseppe, Agata, Maria, Francesco, Caterina, Placida and Margherita. The latter were destined for religious life and entered the monastery of the Chiesa di San Francesco delle Stimmate in Palermo with the names of Sister Placida Caterina, Sister Agata Rosalia, Sister Caterina Giuseppa. The prince then married, as a second wife, Donna Francesca D'Urso with whom he had Caterina Anna in 1637 in Leonforte, who was then married to Don Antonio Raccuja, a nobleman from Partinico, generating a collateral branch of the family. [6]
Starting from Fabrizio Branciforte, 3rd Prince of Butera, many members of the family have held important positions in the Kingdom of Sicily. Among them are Giuseppe Branciforti, the vicar general of the Kingdom for the grain supply in 1671, Supreme Prefect of the Sicilian Cavalry, decorated with the Order of the Golden Fleece and the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation, the highest honor of the House of Savoy. [7]
In 1805, Stefania Branciforte, 12th Princess of Butera (1788–1843), daughter of Niccolò Placido Branciforte (1761–1806) and Caterina Branciforte (1768–1789), sole heir of the Branciforte estate and titles, married Giuseppe Lanza, 8th Prince of Trabia (1780–1855), an archaeologist and Director of Fine Arts in Sicily, bringing as a dowry all the titles and fiefs of the Branciforte family. Their descendants took the surname Lanza-Branciforte. [8] [9]
End of the Branciforte family and beginning of the Lanza-Branciforte
End of the Branciforte family and beginning of the Lanza-Branciforte
Title merged with the Princes of Butera
Elevated to Counts of Mazzarino
