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Piccolomini

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Piccolomini
Noble family
CountryItalian Republic

Republic of Siena
Papal States
Grand Duchy of Tuscany
Kingdom of Naples
Holy Roman Empire

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
EtymologyLiterally "little men"
Place of originProbablyKingdom of the Lombards
Founded1098;926 years ago(1098)
FounderMartino Piccolomo[1]
TitlesPope(non-hereditary)

Princes of the Holy Roman Empire
Prince of Náchod
Prince of Valle di Casale
Prince ofMaida
Grandee of Spain
Duke of Amalfi
Duke ofLaconia
Duke ofGirifalco
Duke ofMontemarciano
MarquessofGioiosa
Marquess ofMontesoro
Marquess ofCittà Sant'Angelo
Imperial Count
Count Palatine
Count ofCelanoandGagliano
Patriciansof Siena
Patrician ofOrvieto

Several minor dukedoms, marquisates and counties across Italy.[2]
MembersPope Pius II
Pope Pius III
Francesco Piccolomini
Joachim Piccolomini
Francesco Piccolomini
Celio Piccolomini
Marietta Piccolomini
Motto
Et Deo et hominibus

( "both for God and for men" )
Cadet branchesPiccolomini Todeschini
Piccolomini Pieri
Piccolomini Naldi Bandini
Piccolomini Salamoneschi
Piccolomini of Modanella
Piccolomini of Rustichino
Piccolomini Clementini Adami
Piccolomini of Aragon

TheHouse of Piccolomini(pronounced[pikkoˈlɔːmini]) is the name of anItalian noble family,PatriciansofSiena,who were prominent from the beginning of the 13th century until the 18th century.[3]The family achieved the recognized titles ofPopeof the Catholic Church,Prince of the Holy Roman Empire,Grandeeof Spain, andDukeof Amalfi. The family is also featured inFlorentine Histories,a book written byNiccolò Machiavelli,where he describes the reign of PopePius II,who had allied himself with theVenetiansand PrinceVlad Dracula,to wage a war against theSultanof theOttoman empire.[4]

History

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See also:it:Piccolomini

In 1220, Engelberto d'Ugo Piccolomini received the fief of Montertari inVal d'Orciafrom the Holy Roman EmperorFrederick IIas a reward for the services rendered. The family acquired houses and towers in Siena as well as castles and territories in the republic, includingMontoneandCastiglione;the latter sold to thecomunein 1321.[3]

They obtained great wealth through trade, and establishedcounting-houses(merchant banks) inVenice,Genoa,Trieste,Aquileia,and in various cities ofFranceandGermany.Supporters of theGuelphcause in the civil broils by which Siena was torn, they were driven from the city during the time of KingManfred of Sicily.Their houses were demolished but they returned in triumph after the victory of theAngevin Kings.They were expelled once more during the brief reign of KingConradin,and again returned to Siena with the help of KingCharles of Anjou.But through their riotous political activity, the Piccolominis lost their commercial influence, which passed into the hands of theFlorentines,although they retained their palaces, castles and about twenty fiefs, some of which were in the territory ofAmalfi,to a great extent.[3]

Another branch of the family obtained great success in theKingdom of Naples,becoming one of the "seven great houses"[5]of the Kingdom.

Ancestry

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In the 17th century, two Piccolomini brothers, from theModanellabranch, were about to make a large family tree of the family. To seal their ancient genealogy with a legal certification, they commissioned anotary,Alessandro Rocchigiani, to put in order the various sources that disserted the family's origin. Evidently the fascination of myth, mixed with the reverence due to the illustrious patrons, instead of eliminating the legendary components ended up increasing them.Horatius Cocleswas indicated with certainty, by the zealous notary, as the new progenitor of the family. Undoubtedly some coincidences arouse astonishment. Indeed, in the column that adorned theCampidoglio,his enterprise, was acoat of armsidentical to that of the Sienese family, stood out carved in theshieldof theancient Roman.[6]Once attached to Horace, the Piccolomini lineage had, in ancient Rome, the name of Parenzi, and from there one of its members chose theSienese colonyas his new residence, becamePodestà(chief magistrate), and abandoned his name, Chiaramontese, and changed it to Piccholuomo.[7]

The civil discords that agitatedRomein those times favored Siena because of their previous affiliation with the members of theHoratia gens,of which Chiaramontese belonged to.[8]Having left from his homeland in Rome and also his surname, he came to live in the jurisdiction of Siena, and just as it is customary for men from one city when they move to another to take a different name from the usage of their native country, so it happened, Rocchigiani explained, that the Roman exile named Chiaramontese, took on in his new homeland the nickname Piccoluomo (Piccholuomo) from which the surname Piccolomini was later derived.[9]The Piccolominis also descended from a certain Iulius Piccolomini Amideis, a member of theAmidei family,who was also of Roman descent.[10][11] Pope Pius II,his full name being Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini, was named in relation to his Roman ancestry and refers toAeneas Silvius,King ofAlba Longa,from which theAmideisalso claimed descent through thegens Julia.[12]

Prominent family members

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For other uses, seePiccolomini (disambiguation).

Many members of the house were distinguished ecclesiastics, generals and statesmen in Siena and elsewhere.[3]

Two of them became popes:[3]

Other distinguished members include:

Castles

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Citations

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  1. ^Vittorio Spreti - Enciclopedia Storico Nobiliare Italiana 1928–1936 (Ristampa Anastatica Forni Editore Bologna -1981) Vol. V, pag. 325.
  2. ^Anderson, James (1732)."Royal Genealogies: Or, the Genealogical Tables of Emperors, Kings, and Princes, from Adam to These Times".Retrieved2022-10-26.
  3. ^abcdeChisholm 1911,p. 580.
  4. ^Penny cyclopaedia,Vol. 18, citing Niccolò Machiavelli. (1532).Historie fiorentine(History of Florence and of the affairs of Italy: from the earliest times to the death of Lorenzo the Magnificent).
  5. ^Le "Serenissime Sette Grandi Case del Regno di Napoli" comprendevano: Acquaviva, Celano, Evoli, Marzano, Molise, Ruffo, Sanseverino; estintesi le famiglie d'Evoli, Marzano e Molise, queste furono sostituite da quelle dei d'Aquino, del Balzo e Piccolomini (in merito si vedano:Archivio di Stato di Napoli scheda famiglia SanseverinoArchived2013-12-24 at theWayback Machine;B. Filangieri di Candida Gonzaga,op.cit,ad voces; Spreti,op.cit,ad voces).
  6. ^Roberta Mucciarelli,op. cit.Archived2014-05-18 at theWayback Machine,p. 6
  7. ^Roberta Mucciarelli,op. cit.Archived2014-05-18 at theWayback Machine,pp. 1 - 7
  8. ^Roberta Mucciarelli,op. cit.Archived2014-05-18 at theWayback Machine,pp. 7
  9. ^Roberta Mucciarelli,op. cit.Archived2014-05-18 at theWayback Machine,pp. 6-7
  10. ^Fabio Stok."Aeneas redivivus: Piccolomini and Virgil: From Piccolomini to Pope Pius II, Musings on a Renaissance Holy Man".academia.edu.Baylor University (Waco, Texas). p. 6.Retrieved2022-11-02.
  11. ^Ponsonby and Murphy (1879).The Journal of the Royal Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland.Fourth series. Vol. IV. The Association of Ireland. pp. 263–264.Retrieved29 September2022.
  12. ^Giovanni Nuzzo (2009).La "Chrysis" di Enea Silvio Piccolomini. Note di lettura (PDF), in Mario Blancato e Giovanni Nuzzo (a cura di), La commedia latina: modelli, forme, ideologia, fortuna, Palermo(PDF).Istituto Nazionale del Dramma Antico. pp. 135–147.ISBN9788890705717.Retrieved30 September2022.

General bibliography

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