The Aldobrandeschi were an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 noble family

Nobility of Italy

The Nobility of Italy consisted of individuals and their families of Italy recognized by sovereigns, such as the Holy Roman Emperor, the Holy See, Kings of Italy or certain other Italian kings and sovereigns as members of a class of persons officially enjoying hereditary privileges which...

 from southern Tuscany

Tuscany

Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....

.

Of probable Lombard

Lombards

The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...

 origin, they appear in history as the counts of Santa Fiora

Santa Fiora

Santa Fiora is a comune in the Province of Grosseto, in the Italian region of Tuscany, located about 110 km southeast of Florence and about 40 km east of Grosseto...

 in the late 8th/early 9th centuries, although a Ghidelmo Aldobrandeschi is mentioned as lord of Roselle

Rusellae

Rusellae was an ancient town of Etruria , which survived until the Middle Ages before being abandoned. The ruins lie in the modern frazione of Roselle in the comune of Grosseto.-Geography:...

 as early as 729

729

Year 729 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 729 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* The Battle of Ravenna is fought between...

. The possession extended to what are now southern Tuscany and northern Lazio regions of Italy.

In 1274, their lands were divided between the County of Sovana and the County of Santa Fiora

County of Santa Fiora

The County of Santa Fiora was a small historical state of southern Tuscany, in central Italy. Together with the county of Sovana, it was one of the two subdivisions into which the possessions of the Aldobrandeschi, then lords of much of southern Tuscany, were split in 1274.At the moments of its...

, which thenceforth were ruled by different branches of the family. After the extinction of the Aldobrandeschi of Sovana, the county was assigned to the Orsini. The Santa Fiora lands went instead to the Sforza.

The most famous members were Guglielmo Aldobrandeschi, who lived in the 13th century and is cited by Dante Alighieri

Dante Alighieri

Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...

 as the Gran Tosco ("Grand Tuscan"), and Pope Gregory VII

Pope Gregory VII

Pope St. Gregory VII , born Hildebrand of Sovana , was Pope from April 22, 1073, until his death. One of the great reforming popes, he is perhaps best known for the part he played in the Investiture Controversy, his dispute with Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor affirming the primacy of the papal...

.