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The Da Varano was an Italian noble family who had an important role in the medieval and Renaissance history of central Italy, as rulers of Camerino and other lands in the Marche and Umbria.
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The Da Varano was an Italian noble family who had an important role in the medieval and Renaissance history of central Italy, as rulers of Camerino and other lands in the Marche and Umbria.
The family is first mentioned in the 13th century with one Prontaguerra ("Ready-at-War") da Varano, a powerful Guelph leader, who inaugurated the traditional appartenance of the family to that party. His descendant Gentile was also a Guelph leader in Camerino when the town was destroyed by Manfred of Sicily. In the aftermath of the Ghibelline defeat at the Battle of Benevento (1266), Gentile had the town rebuilt and he became its lord. He was made "Count of the Roman Campagna" by Pope Martin IV (1282), a title which was inherited by his son Rodolfo after Gentile's death two years later. Rodolfo was also capitano del popolo in Lucca.
Rodolfo's brother, Berardo, was commander of the papal army for Boniface VIII against the troops sent to Rome by King Philip IV of France. In 1316 Rodolfo died and Berardo became lord of Camerino; three years later he was made "Marquis of Ancona" by pope John XXI, for which he reconquered the territories of the Papal States in the Marche (Urbino, Fano, Osimo and Recanati). In 1322 he died and was succeeded by his son Gentile, who added Tolentino, Gualdo Tadino and San Ginesio to the family's lands.
At Gentile's death in 1355 Camerino and the da Varano territories went to his grandson Rodolfo, who supported cardinal Gil de Albornoz's campaign of reconquest of the Papal States against the local barons. Created gonfaloniere of the Roman Church by Pope Innocent IV, he won several battles against the league of the Ordelaffi and Visconti families. He was later commander of the Florentine army and fought against Bernabò Visconti.
Rodolfo died heirless in 1384. His brother Giovanni, also heirless, ruled briefly in Camerino until 1385, being succeeded by the last brother, Gentile III, who continued to traditional pro-Papal policy of the da Varano, obtaining the title of Senator of Rome in 1362. In 1393 his son Rodolfo III, a skilled condottiero, succeeded him, gaining the town of Civitanova and supporting king Ladislaus of Naples during his reign.
His death begin the decline of the family, which was weakened by the struggle of power between his members. This ended only in 1444 when Rodolfo IV conquered Camerino; he was however forced to give back Tolentino. His son Giulio Cesare was a capable military leader, but could do little against the assault of Cesare Borgia (the son of Pope Alexander VI) who in 1502 captured and killed him, together with his sons Vincenzo, Annibale and Pirro. The last surviving son, Giovanni Maria, could return in Camerino after the fall of the Borgia. In 1515 he was created Duke of Camerino. He died without heirs in 1529, and the family's lands were annexed to the Duchy of Urbino. {The daughter of the Lord of Camerino Giulia da Varano was married to the Duke of Urbino Guidobaldo II della Rovere}.
One Ercole, a son of Rodolfo IV, attempted in vain to reconquer Camerino. His son Mattia was more successful, but was also ousted after a short rule. Piergentile da Varano was the last member of the family to attempt reconquer Camerino in 1549, but again without success.
Saint Camilla Battista da Varano, O.S.C., (April 9, 1458 – May 31, 1524), from Camerino, was an Italian princess and a Poor Clare nun and abbess. She was canonized as a saint in the Catholic Church.
Cesare Borgia was a Spanish-Italian cardinal and condottiero, an illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI and member of the Valencian (Spanish-Aragonese) House of Borgia. His fight for power was a major inspiration for The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli.
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Camerino is a town in the province of Macerata, Marche, central-eastern Italy. It is located in the Apennines bordering Umbria, between the valleys of the rivers Potenza and Chienti, about 64 kilometres (40 mi) from Ancona.
Duke of Camerino is a title of nobility, originally in Papal peerage. It was created on 1503 by Apostolic authority of Pope Alexander VI and cardinal council over the ancient Marquissate of Camerino, which was part of the Dukedom of Spoleto.
The Italian Archdiocese of Camerino-San Severino Marche is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church seated in Camerino, a city in the Province of Macerata, in the central Italian Marche region, in the Apennines. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Fermo.
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Francesco Maria I della Rovere was an Italian condottiero, who was Duke of Urbino from 1508 to 1516 and, after retaking the throne from Lorenzo II de' Medici, from 1521 to 1538.
Malatesta II Malatesta, best known as Guastafamiglia was an Italian condottiero and lord of Rimini.
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Galeotto I Malatesta (1299–1385) was an Italian condottiero, who was lord of Rimini, Fano, Ascoli Piceno, Cesena and Fossombrone.
RidolfoII da Varano, signore di Camerino, was a condottiero operating in Italy from the 1360s. His forebears had long held the rocca of Varano on the borderland of the Papal States, controlling a major strategic pass between Umbria and the Marche, a link between Rome and the Adriatic coast. He inherited from Gentile di Berardo da Varano in 1355, and undertook the improvement of the fortifications that protected the commune and its rocca.
Camilla Battista da Varano OSCl,, from Camerino, Italy, was an Italian princess and a Poor Clare nun and abbess. She is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church.
Costanza Varano (1426–1447) was a noted humanist, scholar, and writer in early modern Italy. She is regarded as "one of the best known learned women" of the mid-15th century.
The papal nobility are the aristocracy of the Holy See, composed of persons holding titles bestowed by the Pope. From the Middle Ages into the nineteenth century, the papacy held direct temporal power in the Papal States, and many titles of papal nobility were derived from fiefs with territorial privileges attached. During this time, the Pope also bestowed ancient civic titles such as patrician. Today, the Pope still exercises authority to grant titles with territorial designations, although these are purely nominal and the privileges enjoyed by the holders pertain to styles of address and heraldry. Additionally, the Pope grants personal and familial titles that carry no territorial designation. Their titles being merely honorific, the modern papal nobility includes descendants of ancient Roman families as well as notable Catholics from many countries. All pontifical noble titles are within the personal gift of the pontiff, and are not recorded in the Official Acts of the Holy See.
Carlo II Malatesta was an Italian politician and condottiero. He was lord of Pesaro, Gradara, Senigallia, Fossombrone and Civitanova Marche. He was the son of Malatesta IV Malatesta and Elisabetta da Varano.
Santa Chiara is a Roman Catholic church and monastery in the town of Camerino, province of Macerata, region of the Marche, Italy. It is located just outside the old city walls, and is best known for housing for during the late 15th and early 16th centuries, the Clarissan nun, Saint Camilla Battista da Varano.
Giulia da Varano, also known after her marriage as Giulia da Varano della Rovere, was an Italian noblewoman and member of the Da Varano family. She was the ruling Duchess of Camerino during 1527–1539 and by marriage Duchess of Urbino from 1534 until her death.