Desiderius was a king of the Lombard Kingdom of northern Italy, ruling from 756 to 774. He is chiefly known for his connection to Charlemagne, who married his daughter and conquered his realm.
Spoleto is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is 20 km (12 mi) S. of Trevi, 29 km (18 mi) N. of Terni, 63 km (39 mi) SE of Perugia; 212 km (132 mi) SE of Florence; and 126 km (78 mi) N of Rome.
The Duchy of Spoleto was a Lombard territory founded about 570 in central Italy by the Lombard dux Faroald. Its capital was the city of Spoleto.
The House of Leo or the Leonid Dynasty ruled the Eastern Roman Empire from 457 to 518.
Milan Obrenović II in Kragujevac, Serbia. He was the ruling Prince of Serbia for just short of four weeks in 1839.
Aripert II was the king of the Lombards from 701 to 712. Duke of Turin and son of King Raginpert, and thus a scion of the Bavarian Dynasty, he was associated with the throne as early as 700. He was removed by Liutpert, who reigned from 700 to 702, with the exception of the year 701, when Raginpert seized the throne. After his father's death, he tried to take the throne, too. He defeated Liutpert and the regent Ansprand's men at Pavia and captured the king, whom he later had strangled in his bath. He seized the capital and forced Ansprand over the Alps. He was firmly in power by 703.
The Residences of the Royal House of Savoy are a group of buildings in Turin and the Metropolitan City of Turin, in Piedmont. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 1997.
Ariulf was the second Duke of Spoleto from 592 to his own death.
Theodelap or Theudelapius was one of the sons of Faroald, the first Duke of Spoleto. After the death of Ariulf in 601 or 602, Theodelap and his brother fought for the throne. Theodelap won and was crowned duke. He held the dukedom for more than half a century, until his death. His reign was nevertheless uneventful and he appears to have been largely or completely independent of royal authority throughout. He was succeeded by Atto.
Transamund II was the Lombard Duke of Spoleto from 724 to 745, though he was twice driven from power by the king, Liutprand. Transamund rose to power by deposing his own father, Faroald II, and tonsuring him in a monastery.
Hilderic was the Lombard Duke of Spoleto briefly from 739 to 740. He was the first appointee of Liutprand, King of the Lombards, against the rebellious Thrasimund II.
Faroald I was the first Duke of Spoleto, which he established during the decade of interregnum that followed the death of Alboin's successor. He led the Lombards into the centre of the Italian peninsula while Zotto led them into the south.
Atto was the Duke of Spoleto from 653 to 663, the successor of Theodelap.
Thrasimund I or Transamund I was the Count of Capua and then Duke of Spoleto, a faithful follower of Grimoald I of Benevento.
Faroald II was the duke of Spoleto from 703, when he succeeded his own father Thrasimund I.
Agiprand was briefly the Duke of Spoleto between 742 and 744.
Theodicius was the Duke of Spoleto from 763 to 773. Though it is often stated that he died at the Siege of Pavia (774), he was still alive on 9 June 776, when Charlemagne confirmed the properties of the monastery of Farfa and Abbot Ingoald in the reign of his successor Hildeprand.
Gisulf was the Duke of Spoleto from 759 to 761.
Gian Carlo Menotti was an Italian-American composer and librettist. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept his Italian citizenship. He wrote the classic Christmas opera Amahl and the Night Visitors, along with over two dozen other operas intended to appeal to popular taste.
