Marquisate of Saluzzo

Last updated
Marquisate of Saluzzo
Marchesato di Saluzzo (Italian)
1142 [1] –1548
Motto: Noch, noch e Ne pour ce (Latin)
"Ancòra, ancòra" e "Non sol per questo" (Italian)
"Still, still" and "Not just for this reason"
Savoye1494.jpg
Map of Italy in 1494. Saluzzo is northwest, in magic mint (pale green).
Capital Saluzzo
Common languages
Religion
Roman Catholicism
Government Monarchy (Marquistate)
Marquis  
 1142–1175
Manfred I of Saluzzo (first)
 1537–1548
Gian Gabriele I of Saluzzo (last)
Historical era
 Donation of Boniface del Vasto to his son Manfred
1142 [1]
 Annexion to France
23 February 1548
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Arms of the house of Savoy (Ancient).svg March of Turin
Kingdom of France Royal Standard of the King of France.svg
Duchy of Savoy State Flag of the Savoyard States (late 16th - late 18th century).svg
Today part of

The Marquisate of Saluzzo (Italian : Marchesato di Saluzzo) was a historical Italian state that included parts of the current region of Piedmont and of the French Alps. The Marquisate was much older than the Renaissance lordships, being a legacy of the feudalism of the High Middle Ages.

Contents

Marquisate territories

The Marquisate of Saluzzo occupied parts of the modern province of Cuneo and Metropolitan City of Turin, and at times areas now under French control; the core of its lands was the area between the Stura di Demonte, the Po and the Alps. The del Vasto family, who ruled Saluzzo throughout its period, also owned other territories in Italy after a series of arranged marriages, but these were never officially annexed to the marquisate.

Del Vasto rule

The House of Del Vasto became masters of the city when Ulric Manfred II of Turin chose to enfeoff Boniface del Vasto as marquis. His eldest son Manfred inherited it. From that moment the del Vasto became Marquis of the Piedmontese town and handed the title dynastically as a true seigniory. [2]

Manfred II tried to extend the marquisate beyond its domain against the House of Savoy. After Manfred's death, his widow Azalaïs had to provide them a number of tributes per year: from these tributes, Savoy established claims of mastery over the marquisate which led them to clash repeatedly against the weak Marquis. [3]

The Castello della Manta, a possession of the lords of Saluzzo. Saluzzo-Castello della Manta.jpg
The Castello della Manta, a possession of the lords of Saluzzo.

Often torn by internal dissension, Saluzzo reached the period of greatest splendor under the rule of Ludovico I and Ludovico II in the 15th century: the former, with a policy of neutrality towards wars in Italy, was able to act as mediator between the discord and received praises from the emperor and the king of France; the latter, looking for glory on the battlefield, was repeatedly defeated, beginning the decline of the Marquisate. During his reign, however, he was attentive in developing trade by building the first Alpine tunnel, the Buco di Viso connecting with a safe road Saluzzo with the Dauphiné and Provence. [3] [4]

At Ludovico II's death, however, his children fought bitterly for the throne, tearing the countryside and draining finances. The King of France, who had its eye over the Marquisate, then formally annexed it to the crown of Paris after deposing the last Marquis, Gabriele in 1548. [4]

Saluzzo became part of France for half a century, until the Savoy, with the Treaty of Lyon (1601), succeeded in taking possession of it and retaining control, with alternating phases, until the Unification of Italy.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saluzzo</span> Comune in Piedmont, Italy

Saluzzo is a town and former principality in the province of Cuneo, in the Piedmont region, Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manfred I of Saluzzo</span>

Manfred I was the founder and first ruler of the marquisate of Saluzzo from 1142 until his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boniface del Vasto</span> Italian noble

Boniface del Vasto was the margrave of Savona and Western Liguria from 1084 to c.1130. He was the son and successor of Otto and of Bertha, daughter of Ulric Manfred II of Turin. Boniface was a member of the Aleramici dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monte Viso Tunnel</span>

The Monte Viso Tunnel is an Alpine pedestrian tunnel excavated in the rock during the Renaissance and located eight kilometres north of Monviso, northern Italy. It is 75 m long, 3 m wide, and located at an altitude of 2,882 metres linking the villages of Crissolo in the modern Italian province of Cuneo and Ristolas in the French department of Hautes-Alpes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barge, Piedmont</span> Comune in Piedmont, Italy

Barge is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 50 kilometres (31 mi) southwest of Turin and about 45 kilometres (28 mi) northwest of Cuneo. The population numbered 7,589 as of 30 November 2019.

Bernezzo is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 80 kilometres (50 mi) southwest of Turin and about 9 kilometres (6 mi) west of Cuneo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas III of Saluzzo</span>

Thomas III of Saluzzo (1356–1416) was Marquess of Saluzzo from 1396 until his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Saluzzo</span> Roman Catholic diocese in Italy

The Diocese of Saluzzo is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, centered in the comune of Saluzzo. The diocese was established on 29 October 1511 for political reasons, to transform the Marquisate of Saluzzo into an ecclesiastic territory, and was directly dependent upon the Holy See. It is now a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Turin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William VIII, Marquis of Montferrat</span> Marquess of Montferrat

William VIII Palaiologos was the Marquis of Montferrat from 1464 until his death.

Ludovico I del Vasto was Marquess of Saluzzo from 1416 until his death.

The March or Marquisate of Turin was a territory of medieval Italy from the mid-10th century, when it was established as the Arduinic March. It comprised several counties in Piedmont, including the counties of Turin, Auriate, Albenga and, probably, Ventimiglia. The confines of the march thus stretched across the Po Valley from the Western Alps in the north, to the Ligurian Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aleramici</span> Medieval Italian noble family

The Aleramici were a Northern Italian noble and royal dynasty of Frankish origin which ruled various northwestern Italian territories in Piedmont and Liguria from the 10th to the 14th century, also reigning over the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Kingdom of Thessalonica during the 12th and 13th centuries.

John Jacob Palaeologus was the Margrave of Montferrat from 1418 to 1445.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marquisate of Ceva</span> Italian state (1125–1427)

The Marquisate of Ceva was a small independent state in north-western Italy, situated at the foot of the Apennines, with its seat at Ceva, in what is now a part of Piedmont.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marquisate of Incisa</span>

The Marquisate of Incisa was a lordship of the House of Aleramici in southern Piedmont, northern Italy, which existed between the 12th and 16th centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valle Gesso</span> Valley in the Italian Maritime Alps

Valle Gesso is a valley in the Maritime Alps, located in the Italian province of Cuneo and crossed by the Gesso torrent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marquisate of Finale</span> Italian state (967–1797)

The Marquisate of Finale was an Italian state in what is now Liguria, part of the former medieval Aleramici March. It was ruled for some six centuries by the Aleramici branch known as marquesses del Vasto and later Del Carretto, when Savona became a free commune. In 1598 the Marquisate was sold by its last marquis, Sforza Andrea to Philip II of Spain and in 1713 it was finally ceded to the Republic of Genoa, where it remained so until 1797, when it was invaded by Napoleon, ceasing its existence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franco-Savoyard War (1600–1601)</span>

The Franco-Savoyard War of 1600-1601 was an armed conflict between the Kingdom of France, led by Henry IV, and the Duchy of Savoy, led by Charles Emmanuel I. The war was fought to determine the fate of the former Marquisate of Saluzzo, and ended with the Treaty of Lyon which was favorable to France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Verzuolo Castle</span> Medieval castle in Piedmont, Italy

Verzuolo Castle is a medieval castle in the Piedmont region of Italy, near Verzuolo, Province of Cuneo. It is located around 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from the city of Saluzzo and 84 kilometres (52 mi) from Turin.

References

  1. 1 2
    M. Ruggiero,Storia del Piemonte
    .
  2. "SALUZZO, marchesi di in "Dizionario Biografico"". www.treccani.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  3. 1 2 "Il Marchesato di Saluzzo". Comune di Saluzzo (in Italian). Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  4. 1 2 "Il Marchesato di Saluzzo". www.gruppostoricodelsaluzzese.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2022-09-19.

44°39′N07°29′E / 44.650°N 7.483°E / 44.650; 7.483