History
An ancient family of the Milanese aristocracy, from Milano Porta Nuova, according to the tradition of descendant line of the De La Tour di Borgogna, of whom two members moved around the year 1000 in Val Sassina to marry two daughters of Count Tacius. The De La Tour in turn are said to be descendants of Anscario I, count of Oscheret (kingdom of Burgundy) and later marquis d'Ivrea, related to the imperial family of Charlemagne.
The Della Torre family had been enfeoffed by the archdiocese of Milan with vast territories reaching as far as the Canton Ticino, whose main body was the county of Valsassina, with the fortified village of Primaluna in the center.
The first notable member was one Martino, nicknamed Il Gigante ("The Giant"), who fought in the Holy Land during the Crusades. His son Jacopo married Berta Visconti, and was captain of Milan. His nephew Raimondo was bishop of Como in 1262–1273 and Patriarch of Aquileia (1273–1299), while another nephew, Salvino, was podestà of Vercelli.
Jacopo's son, Pagano, became capitano del popolo of Milan in 1240, holding the position until his death in 1247. His brother Martino (III) imposed his personal power over the city, beginning the Torriani lordship, which lasted some 50 years. He died in 1259 and was succeeded by another brother, Filippo. Torriani possessions included Bergamo, Lodi, Novara and Vercelli. The Torriani were staunch members of the Guelph faction in Italy.
Napoleone, son of Pagano, gained power in Milan in 1265, but was defeated by the Visconti in 1277: he died the following year, imprisoned. His brother Francesco was podestà of Brescia, Alessandria, Bergamo, Lodi and Novara, and was killed in the Battle of Desio (1277), against the Visconti. With that victory, the Visconti acquired power in Milan. In 1302 they were in turn ousted. Corrado Mosca, who had already been signore between 1277 and 1281, was returned to power, which he held until 1307, when he was succeeded by his son Guido. Having tried to incite the people against the Emperor Henry VII, Guido was forced to flee, and died in 1312.
Florimondo della Torre, son of Corrado Mosca, attempted in vain to regain power in Milan. His son Pagano was bishop of Padua and Patriarch of Aquileia from 1319 to 1332. Another member of the family, Cassono (or Gastone), had been Archbishop of Milan from 1308 to 1316 and patriarch of Aquileia from 1317 to 1318. Paganino, Corrado's youngest son, was podestà of Como and Senator of Rome. Lodovico della Torre was also Patriarch of Aquileia (1359–65).
Salvino della Torre's descendant Eriprando married Eurilla, daughter and heiress of the Count of Valsassina. [1] Made Barons zum Creutz by the Holy Roman Emperor in 1532, the Carinthian branch, called von Thurn und Valsassina, became Imperial counts in 1541, [1] acquiring Bleiburg castle in 1601, still the family seat. In 1552 they obtained the post of hereditary marshal in the County of Gorizia, where their ancestral nobility had been recognized in the person of Valveno della Torre in 1329. [1] A later member of the Torriani, Girolamo, was named Count of Valsassina by Emperor Charles V, and held possessions in Moravia until his death in Venice in 1530. Francesco Torriani was counsellor of Emperor Ferdinand I and baron of the Holy Roman Empire: he was ambassador to Venice (1558). Carlo Torriani was governor of Trieste in 1666.
Other families took on the name della Torre (or German von Thurn) without being male descendants of the Milan family (like the countess Alexandrine von Taxis in 1650, changing her family name to Thurn und Taxis, or cardinal Carlo Rezzonico, who in 1758 became Pope Clement XIII). Although both of these two families had similar names and both later belonged to the German and Austrian nobility, they were not to be confused, as they are related only through the female line, and as such, were not agnatically part of one same noble House. Their cognatic cousins, the House of Thurn und Taxis were raised to the dignity of Reichsfürst in 1695 by Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, only to be mediatised in 1806 after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire.
The Princely House of Thurn and Taxis is a family of German nobility that is part of the Briefadel. It was a key player in the postal services in Europe during the 16th century, until the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, and became well known as the owner of breweries and commissioner of several castles. The family has resided in Regensburg since 1748 with their seat at St. Emmeram Castle from 1803. The family is one of the wealthiest in Germany, and the current head of the House is Albert, 12th Prince of Thurn and Taxis.
The Visconti of Milan are a noble Italian family. They rose to power in Milan during the Middle Ages where they ruled from 1277 to 1447, initially as Lords then as Dukes, and several collateral branches still exist. The effective founder of the Visconti Lordship of Milan was the Archbishop Ottone, who wrested control of the city from the rival Della Torre family in 1277.
Martino della Torre was an Italian condottiero and statesman.
Ottone Visconti was Archbishop of Milan and Lord of Milan, the first of the Visconti line. Under his rule, the commune of Milan became a strong Ghibelline city and one of the Holy Roman Empire's seats in Italy.
Count Jindřich Matyáš of Thurn-Valsassina, was one of the leaders of the Protestant Bohemian Revolt against Emperor Ferdinand II. He took part in events that led to the Thirty Years' War, and after the war he became a military leader and diplomat in Swedish service, who eventually resided in Swedish Estonia.
Lodovico della Torre was Patriarch of Aquileia from 1359 until 1365.
The Battle of Desio was fought on 21 January 1277 between the Della Torre and Visconti families for the control of Milan and its countryside. The battlefield is located near the modern Desio, a commune outside the city in Lombardy, Northern Italy.
Napoleone della Torre, also known as Napo della Torre or Napo Torriani, was an Italian nobleman, who was effective Lord of Milan in the late 13th century. He was a member of the della Torre family, the father of Corrado della Torre and the brother of Raimondo della Torre.
Guido della Torre was a Lord of Milan between 1302 and 1312.
The Lordship of Milan was a state in Northern Italy created in May 1259 following the election of Martino della Torre as lord of Milan. From 1259 to 1277 it was governed by the Della Torre family until, following the Battle of Desio, Napo della Torre was forced to yield his position to Ottone Visconti. The domination of the Visconti dynasty led to a series of territorial conquests that led the family to achieve the title of Dukes of Milan in 1395.
Tolberto III da Camino (1263–1317) was an Italian nobleman and military leader, a member of the Da Camino family.
Matteo I Visconti (1250–1322) was the second of the Milanese Visconti family to govern Milan. Matteo was born to Teobaldo Visconti and Anastasia Pirovano.
Francesco Sfondrati (1493–1550) was a professor of law at a series of Italian universities, and held important positions as a counselor of Emperor Charles V. He married Anna Visconti, with whom he had a number of children, one of which eventually became Pope Gregory XIV.
Raimondo della Torre was an Italian clergyman, who was patriarch of Aquileia from 1273 until his death.
Corrado della Torre, also called Mosca was an Italian medieval politician and condottiero, a member of the Torriani family.
Cassone della Torre, also called Mosca was an Italian medieval condottiero and feudal lord. A member of the Torriani family, he was Archbishop of Milan from 1308 to 1316 and patriarch of Aquileia from 1317 to 1318.
Pagano della Torre was Patriarch of Aquileia from 1319 until 1332. Another with the same name, Pagano I della Torre, was a Guelph military leader and lord of the Valchiavenna during the first half of the 13th century. Among his grandchildren were Martino, Napoleone, Guido, and Filippo della Torre, all involved in regional conflicts of Lombardy.
Countess Isabella Maria von Thurn und Valsássina-Como-Vercelli, styled upon her marriage as Princess Ludwig Rudolph of Hanover, was an Austrian model, socialite, and noblewoman. She was a princess of the House of Hanover through her marriage to Prince Ludwig Rudolph of Hanover. She died of a drug overdose in 1988, which reportedly led to her husband's suicide later that day.
Saint Ambrose faith was an assembly of the free commune of Milan and, later, of the Lordship of Milan, named after its patron saint.
