ThePallavicini family (often used in the singularPallavicino for individual members) is an ancientItalian noble family whose name dates back to the 11th century. The first known representative of this name wasOberto il Pelavicino († 1148), a descendant of the FrankishHouse of Obertenghi from the early Middle Ages. The Obertenghi had beenMargraves of Eastern Liguria since 951 and from around 1000 also Margraves of Milan, Tortona, and Genoa.
The family split into two main branches, one based in Lombardy and the other in Genoa, both of which developed extensive sub-branches. In 1360, the family was granted the title ofMargrave (Marchese). The Lombard branch expanded its ancestral holdings in the 13th century and established its own state, theStato Pallavicino, in the Emilia region betweenCremona,Parma, andPiacenza. This state was annexed by theDuchy of Parma in 1587. The Genoese branch was part of the patrician class of theRepublic of Genoa. Some branches from both main lines still exist today, including one from the Genoese line that settled inAustria-Hungary in the 18th century.[2][3]
Through the descendants ofGuy and his brother Rubino, sons of Guglielmo, a branch of the family rose to prominence in theLatin Empire founded after theFourth Crusade in 1204.
They governed theMargraviate of Bodonitsa from 1204 to 1358. They grew in riches and, after 1224, became also the most powerful family in the formerKingdom of Thessalonica (northern Greece). The first margraves were of Guy's line until his daughterIsabella died, at which time the line of Rubino inherited the throne. The Pallavicini were related to theDe la Roche family then ruling inAthens. After the death ofAlbert in 1311 the Pallavicini influence slowly declined. The subsequentZorzi margraves were matrilineal descendants of the last Pallavicini marquise,Guglielma.
The first recorded member of the Pallavicini family wasOberto I (died 1148). The first Pallavicino fief was created byOberto II, who received it from Holy Roman EmperorFrederick Barbarossa in 1162. A number of lines are descended fromGuglielmo (died 1217), possessor of a series of fiefs betweenParma andPiacenza.
Setton, Kenneth M. (general editor)A History of the Crusades: Volume III — The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries. Harry W. Hazard, editor. University of Wisconsin Press: Madison, 1975.
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