Francesco Tocco | |
---|---|
Lord of Refrancore | |
Despot of Epirus Count Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos (titular) | |
Reign | 1564–1596 |
Predecessor | Leonardo IV Tocco |
Successor | Leonardo V Tocco |
Born | Unknown [1] |
Died | 16 August 1596 |
Spouse | Veronica Malaspina |
Issue | Leonardo V Tocco |
Dynasty | Tocco |
Father | Leonardo IV Tocco |
Mother | Maddalena (Graziosa) Colli |
Francesco Tocco (died 16 August 1596) was the titular Despot of Epirus and Count Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos from the death of his father Leonardo IV Tocco in 1564 to his own death in 1596. He served as infantry captain in the army of the Republic of Venice.
Francesco Tocco was the second son of Leonardo IV Tocco and the Italian noblewoman Maddalena (Graziosa) Colli. His older brother Carlo predeceased Leonardo IV, which made Francesco the oldest surviving son and thus the heir to his father's claims. [1]
He was a patrician of Venice, and held the castle of Refrancore in Montferrat, [1] granted to his father by Constantine Arianiti, another pretender to lands in Greece. [2] As an adult, Francesco worked as a soldier, serving as an infantry captain in the army of the Republic of Venice. [3]
Francesco died on 16 August 1596. [1] At an unknown point in time, Francesco married Veronica Malaspina, a daughter of the Veronese nobleman Girolamo Malaspina. Veronica outlived Francesco by more than a decade, still attested as being alive as late as 1611. [3] Francesco and Veronica had only a single child, the son Leonardo V Tocco, born in 1591, who inherited and continued Francesco's claims. [4]
The Prince of Achaea was the ruler of the Principality of Achaea, one of the crusader states founded in Greece in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade (1202–1204). Though more or less autonomous, the principality was never a fully independent state, initially being a vassal state subservient of the Latin Empire of Constantinople, which had supplanted the Byzantine Empire, and later of the Angevin Kingdom of Naples. During the Angevin period, the princes were often absent, being represented in the Principality by their baillis, who governed in their name.
The despot of Epirus was the ruler of the Despotate of Epirus, one of the successor states of the Byzantine Empire in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade. The name "Despotate of Epirus" and the title "despot of Epirus" are modern historiographical names, and were not in use by the despots themselves. In the Byzantine Empire, the title of despot was a prestigious court title and did not designate rule over some specific territory. Though several of the early Greek rulers of the Epirote realm did use the title of despot, it was never in reference to the lands they governed, but instead in reference to their position in the imperial hierarchy.
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Leonardo III Tocco was the last ruler of the Despotate of Epirus, ruling from the death of his father Carlo II Tocco in 1448 to the despotate's fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1479. Leonardo was one of the last independent Latin rulers in Greece and the last to hold territories on the Greek mainland. After the fall of his realm, Leonardo fled to Italy and became a landowner and diplomat. He continued to claim his titles in exile until his death.
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The House of Tocco was an Italian noble family from Benevento that came to prominence in the late 14th and 15th centuries, when they ruled various territories in western Greece as Counts Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos and Despots of Epirus. During their brief period of rule in Greece, they were one of the most ambitious and able Latin dynasties in the region, and they were one of the few to leave descendants lasting until modern times.
Carlo III Tocco (1464–1518) was the titular despot of Epirus and count palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos from the death of his father Leonardo III Tocco c. 1503 to his own death in 1518. Carlo lived in Rome, where he received pensions from both the Papacy and the Kingdom of Naples. As an adult, Carlo worked as a military officer, serving both the Papacy and Emperor Maximilian I.
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Constantine Cominato Arianiti also known as Constantine Komnenos Arianites, was a 15th and 16th-century Albanian nobleman, military leader, diplomat and pretender who lived most of his life in exile in Italy due to the conquest of his homeland by the Ottoman Empire. Constantine sought to establish himself as a leader among the Christian Balkan refugees in Italy and claimed lordship over various former Christian lands in Greece, using the titles Prince of Macedonia, Duke of Achaea and Despot of the Morea.
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Don Restaino Gioacchino di Tocco Cantelmo Stuart, or Restaino di Tocco for short, was an 18th-century Italian noble, serving as the Prince of Montemiletto and the titular Prince of Achaea, among other titles, from the death of his father Leonardo VII Tocco in 1776 to his own death in 1796.
Don Carlo II di Tocco Cantelmo Stuart, or Carlo di Tocco for short, was an 18th/19th-century Italian noble, serving as the Prince of Montemiletto and the titular Prince of Achaea, among other titles, from the death of his father Restaino di Tocco Cantelmo Stuart in 1796 to his own death in 1823. In addition to holding various fiefs throughout Italy, Carlo also rose to prominent positions within the Kingdom of Naples and its successor state, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. In 1808, he came one of the earliest knights of the Royal Order of the Two-Sicilies and from 1821 to 1823, he served as a Councellor of State in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
Don Francesco di Paola Mariano Luigi di Tocco Cantelmo Stuart, or Francesco di Tocco for short, was an 18th/19th-century Italian noble, serving as the Prince of Montemiletto and the titular Prince of Achaea from the death of his father Carlo II di Tocco Cantelmo Stuart in 1823 to his own death in 1877. Francesco was high-ranking among the nobility of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, serving as a governmental and military official, and was a knight of three different orders of knighthood.
Don Carlo III di Tocco Cantelmo Stuart, or Carlo di Tocco for short, was a 19th-century Italian noble, serving as the Prince of Montemiletto and the titular Prince of Achaea from the death of his father Francesco di Tocco Cantelmo Stuart in 1877 to his own death in 1884. Carlo III di Tocco Cantelmo Stuart was the last living member of the Tocco family, which had once ruled the Despotate of Epirus. Carlo was prominent among the nobility of Italy, having held high honors in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies until its fall in 1861 and thereafter becoming a leader figure among those who sought to restore it.
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