- Fieschi family
The Fieschi were a noble family from
Genoa ,Italy , from whom descend the Fieschi Ravaschieri Princes of Belmonte.They held the
fief ofLavagna under theHoly Roman Emperor s. As Counts of Lavagna the Fieschi represented the Emperor of the West in Liguria from the earliest years of the C11th. In1010 the investiture of the Fieschi took place atGenoa : the family were created Counts of Lavagna and Imperial Vicars General (ie Viceroys) of the whole ofTuscany and of the coast ofGenoa . In the words of Henry the Holy, King of Italy since1004 andHoly Roman Emperor from1014 and the last of theOttonian dynasty, 'Ordiniamo il predominato Fieschi vicario generale di essa città con ampio potere.' ('We appoint the pre-eminent Fieschi to be Vicars General of this city-state with broad powers').The Imperial Houses of
Hohenstaufen ,Luxembourg and laterHabsburg each in turn confirmed the Counts in the rank ofCount Palatine .Males of the Fieschi— all of them styled "Conte di Lavagna"— played major roles as Guelph partisans in the governance and military history of medieval
Genoa , ever in conflict with the Republic and always retaining their connection with their holdings here.In 1138, in an agreement between the Fieschi and the commune of Genoa, the Fieschi agreed to spend part of the year in the city. They earned great riches from trading and financial activities, and later developed in numerous different branches. Apart from Liguria, they possessed fiefs in
Piedmont ,Lombardy ,Umbria and in theKingdom of Naples .Sinibaldo de' Fieschi, Count of Lavagna, became pope as Innocent IV in 1243, and his nephew Ottobuono was elected pope to succeed Adrian V on July 12, 1276, but died at Viterbo on August 18.
In the Fieschi conspiracy of 1547,
Giovanni Luigi Fieschi and the nobles unsuccessfully attempted to recapture the dogate fromAndrea Doria , and the power of the Fieschi was broken.Famous members
*
Pope Innocent IV
*Pope Adrian V
*Niccolò Fieschi
*St Catherine (Fieschi) (1447-1510)
*Giovanni Luigi Fieschi (1522-1547)
*Don Orazio Giovan Battista Ravaschieri Fieschi, 1st Prince of Belmonte (?-1645)
*Giuseppe Fieschi (1790-1836)ee also
*
Republic of Genoa
*Guelphs and Ghibellines
*TheFieschi Letter
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