| Della Torre | |
|---|---|
.svg) Coat of arms of the Della Torre (1274) | |
| Founded | XI century |
| Founder | Martino "Gigante" Della Torre |
| Final ruler | Guido della Torre |
| Titles | Lord of Milan (1259–1277) (1302–1311) |
TheHouse of Della Torre (Torriani orThurn) was an Italian noble family who dominated Lombardy and much of northern Italy between the 12th and 14th centuries. They owned the Lordship of Milan, before being expelled by the Visconti. They were members of the Guelph party.
According to the linealogy of the family, the house would descend from the imperial family of Charlemagne.
Over the centuries, different branches of the family have acquired numerous titles: barons, counts, marquesses and even dukes and princes. Many members of the Society have also been awarded various titles related to orders of knightly.
An ancient family of the Milanese aristocracy from Milano Porta Nuova, according to the tradition of descendant line of the De La Tour di Borgogna, of whom two members moved around the year 1000 in Val Sassina to marry two daughters of Count Tacius. The De La Tour in turn are said to be descendants of Anscario I, count of Oscheret (kingdom of Burgundy) and later marquis d'Ivrea, related to the imperial family of Charlemagne.
The Della Torre family had been enfeoffed by the archdiocese of Milan with vast territories reaching as far as the Canton Ticino, whose main body was the county of Valsassina, with the fortified village of Primaluna in the center.
The first notable member was one Martino, nicknamedIl Gigante ("The Giant"), who fought in theHoly Land during theCrusades. His son Jacopo married BertaVisconti, and was captain ofMilan. His nephewRaimondo wasbishop of Como in 1262–1273 andPatriarch of Aquileia (1273–1299), while another nephew, Salvino, waspodestà ofVercelli.
Jacopo's son, Pagano, becamecapitano del popolo of Milan in 1240, holding the position until his death in 1247. His brotherMartino (III) imposed his personal power over the city, beginning the Torriani lordship, which lasted some 50 years. He died in 1259 and was succeeded by another brother,Filippo. Torriani possessions includedBergamo,Lodi,Novara and Vercelli. The Torriani were staunch members of theGuelph faction in Italy.
Napoleone, son of Pagano, gained power in Milan in 1265, but was defeated by the Visconti in 1277; he died the following year, imprisoned. His brother Francesco waspodestà ofBrescia,Alessandria, Bergamo, Lodi and Novara, and was killed in theBattle of Desio (1277), against the Visconti. With that victory, the Visconti acquired power in Milan. In 1302 they were in turn ousted.Corrado Mosca, who had already beensignore between 1277 and 1281, was returned to power, which he held until 1307 when he was succeeded by his sonGuido. Having tried to incite the people against EmperorHenry VII, Guido was forced to flee and died in 1312.
Florimondo della Torre, son of Corrado Mosca, attempted in vain to regain power in Milan. His sonPagano wasbishop of Padua andPatriarch of Aquileia from 1319 to 1332. Another member of the family,Cassono (or Gastone), had beenArchbishop of Milan from 1308 to 1316 andpatriarch of Aquileia from 1317 to 1318. Paganino, Corrado's youngest son, waspodestà of Como andSenator of Rome.Lodovico della Torre was also Patriarch of Aquileia (1359–65).
Salvino della Torre's descendant Eriprando married Eurilla, daughter and heiress of the Count of Valsassina.[1] Made Barons zum Creutz by the Holy Roman Emperor in 1532, theCarinthian branch, calledvon Thurn und Valsassina, becameImperial counts in 1541,[1] acquiringBleiburg castle in 1601, still thefamily seat. In 1552 they obtained the post of hereditary marshal in theCounty of Gorizia, where their ancestral nobility had been recognized in the person of Valveno della Torre in 1329.[1] A later member of the Torriani, Girolamo, was named Count of Valsassina byEmperor Charles V, and held possessions inMoravia until his death inVenice in 1530. Francesco Torriani was counsellor ofEmperor Ferdinand I and baron of the Holy Roman Empire: he was ambassador to Venice (1558). Carlo Torriani was governor ofTrieste in 1666.
Other families took on the namedella Torre (or Germanvon Thurn) without being male descendants of the Milan family (like the countessAlexandrine von Taxis in 1650, changing her family name toThurn und Taxis, or cardinal Carlo Rezzonico, who in 1758 becamePope Clement XIII). Although both of these two families had similar names and both later belonged to theGerman andAustrian nobility, they were not to be confused, as they are related only through the female line, and as such, were notagnatically part of one same noble House. Theircognatic cousins, the House of Thurn und Taxis were raised to the dignity ofReichsfürst in 1695 byLeopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, only to bemediatised in 1806 after the dissolution of theHoly Roman Empire.
