For people with the surname Alberti who are or were not members of this family, see Alberti

Alberti

-Places:* Alberti Partido, a partido of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina* Alberti, Buenos Aires, the main town of the partido-Other:*Alberti bass, a musical accompaniment figuration, usually in the left hand on a keyboard instrument...

.

The Alberti family was a major political family in Florence

Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

.

History

The Alberti originated from the castle of Catenaia in Valdarno

Valdarno

The Valdarno is the valley of the river Arno, although it does not apply to the entire basin of the river. The usage of the term generally excludes Casentino and the valleys formed by the major tributaries, such as the Val di Chiana, the Val d'Ambra , The valley of the Sieve, namely Mugello, the...

 Casentinese

Casentino

The Casentino is the valley in which the first tract of the river Arno flows to Subbiano, Italy.It is one of the four valleys in which the Province of Arezzo is divided. Mount Falterona, from which the Arno starts, represents the northern boundary between the Casentino and Romagna...

, whence the presence of two chains (Italian: catena) in their coat of arms. They became established in Florence during the 13th century with judge Rustico Alberti and divided into different lines, who owned several houses and towers near the modern Ponte alle Grazie

Ponte alle Grazie

Ponte alle Grazie is a bridge over the Arno River in Florence, Italy.The original Ponte alle Grazie was constructed in 1227. It was rebuilt in 1345 with nine arches, making it the oldest and longest bridge in Florence. Two of the arches were filled in during 1347 in order to widen piazza dei Mozzi...

. Due to their Guelph

Guelphs and Ghibellines

The Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in central and northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, the split between these two parties was a particularly important aspect of the internal policy of the Italian city-states...

 allegiance, they were exiled after the Battle of Montaperti

Battle of Montaperti

The Battle of Montaperti was fought on September 4, 1260, between Florence and Siena in Tuscany as part of the conflict between the Guelphs and Ghibellines...

, but returned after Manfred of Sicily

Manfred of Sicily

Manfred was the King of Sicily from 1258 to 1266. He was a natural son of the emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen but his mother, Bianca Lancia , is reported by Matthew of Paris to have been married to the emperor while on her deathbed.-Background:Manfred was born in Venosa...

's defeat in the battle of Benevento (1266). They subsequently sided for the Black Guelph faction, and established a flourishing trade company with agencies at Bologna

Bologna

Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...

, Genoa

Genoa

Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

, Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

, Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

, Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, Ghent

Ghent

Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...

, Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

, Bruges

Bruges

Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....

 and London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, as well as in Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

 and Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

.

In 1378 the Alberti were again banned for their support to the Ciompi

Ciompi

The Revolt of the Ciompi was a popular revolt in late medieval Florence by wool carders known as ciompi , who rose up in 1378 to demand a voice in the commune's ordering....

 revolt. Some of them were admitted in the Venetian

Republic of Venice

The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...

 nobility late in the century. Returned to Florence, in the 15th century they were first allied to the Medici

Medici

The House of Medici or Famiglia de' Medici was a political dynasty, banking family and later royal house that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici in the Republic of Florence during the late 14th century. The family originated in the Mugello region of the Tuscan countryside,...

 against the Albizzi

Albizzi

The Albizzi family was a Florentine family originally based in Arezzo, who were rivals of the Medici and Alberti families. They were at the centre of Florentine oligarchy from 1382, in the reaction that followed the Ciompi revolt, to the rise of the Medici in 1434...

. Main members of the period include writer Antonio Alberti

Antonio Alberti

Antonio Alberti was an Italian painter, active mainly in 15th century in his native city of Ferrara, as well as Bologna and Urbino.He painted portraits and devotional topics. For the sacristy of the church of San Bernardino, outside Urbino, he painted a Madonna and Child enthroned...

, cardinal Alberto di Giovanni Alberti

Alberto di Giovanni Alberti

Alberto di Giovanni Alberti, or Berto di San Sepolcro was a Tuscan architect, wood carver and painter.Alberti was born at Sansepolcro. He was engaged as master carver at Arezzo, where he was responsible for the choir stalls in the Cathedral, and at Rome...

 and architect and Renaissance theorist Leon Battista Alberti.

The family's importance decreased after the creation of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany

Grand Duchy of Tuscany

The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was a central Italian monarchy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1859, replacing the Duchy of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence...

 in the 16th century. The main lineage died during the Victorian Era

Victorian era

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

, and their lands passed on to in-laws. After numerous legal battles, the blood-related Alberty branch of the family recovered several properties.