The Counts of Gravina, later Dukes of Gravina, were the medieval rulers of Gravina di Puglia, in the old Kingdom of Sicily

Kingdom of Sicily

The Kingdom of Sicily was a state that existed in the south of Italy from its founding by Roger II in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of southern Italy...

 and the Kingdom of Naples

Kingdom of Naples

The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...

. The county was settled on various royal favorites, and was held by members of the Neapolitan royal family from about 1300 until 1385. In 1417, it was granted to Francesco Orsini, who was created a duke in 1436; his descendant holds the title today, and represents the remaining branch of the Orsini family

Orsini family

Orsini: the origin of learning.We love Mrs. Orsini forever! ~8F Social Studies 2011The Orsini family is an Italian noble family; it was one of the most influential princely families in medieval Italy and renaissance Rome...

. Among the Orsini dukes, Pietro Francesco resigned his temporal dignities in 1667 to become a Dominican

Dominican Order

The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...

, and subsequently ascended the papal throne as Pope Benedict XIII

Pope Benedict XIII

-Footnotes:...

. His nephew, Duke Domenico II, was created cardinal. Francesco (d. 1503) also achieved notoriety by being strangled while a captive of Cesare Borgia

Cesare Borgia

Cesare Borgia , Duke of Valentinois, was an Italian condottiero, nobleman, politician, and cardinal. He was the son of Pope Alexander VI and his long-term mistress Vannozza dei Cattanei. He was the brother of Lucrezia Borgia; Giovanni Borgia , Duke of Gandia; and Gioffre Borgia , Prince of Squillace...

.

Counts of Gravina

• Robert, in 1132
• Alexander, mid-12th century
• Gilbert
  Gilbert, Count of Gravina
  Gilbert was a Norman Count of Gravina from 1159.He was a cousin of Margaret of Navarre, the queen of Sicily. He arrived in Sicily sometime around 1159 and, through Margaret's influence, was created Count of Gravina in Apulia immediately....
  
  , 1159–1167
• Richard de Say, from 1168
• Riccardo I Orsini (d. 1304), 1284–1291, also Lord of Cefalonia & Zante, Capt. Gen. of Corfu 1286–1289, Baili of Morea 1297–1300
• Peter Tempesta
  Peter Tempesta
  Peter , called Tempesta , was the Count of Eboli from 1306. He was the eighth son of Charles II of Naples and Mary of Hungary . His sobriquet came from his stormy temperament.In 1309, he received Nocera and Isernia and exchanged Montescaglioso for Sorrento and Castellammare di Stabia...
  
   (1292–1315), Count of Gravina ?–1315
• John, Duke of Durazzo
  John, Duke of Durazzo
  John of Gravina , Count of Gravina 1315–1336, Duke of Durazzo 1332–1336 and ruler of the Kingdom of Albania , was a younger son of Charles II of Naples and Maria of Hungary....
  
   (1294–1336), Count of Gravina 1315
• Charles, Duke of Durazzo
  Charles, Duke of Durazzo
  Charles of Durazzo was a Neapolitan nobleman, the eldest son of John, Duke of Durazzo and Agnes de Périgord.He succeeded his father as Duke of Durazzo and Count of Gravina in 1336....
  
  
• Louis of Durazzo
  Louis of Durazzo
  Louis of Durazzo was Count of Gravina and Morrone. He was the son of John of Gravina and Agnes of Périgord.In 1337, he was named Vicar- and Captain-General of the Kingdom of Albania. During the ascension of the Durazzeschi at the court of Naples during the reign of Joan I, he was one of the royal...
  
   (1324–1362)
• Charles III of Naples
  Charles III of Naples
  Charles the Short or Charles of Durazzo was King of Naples and titular King of Jerusalem from 1382 to 1386 as Charles III, and King of Hungary from 1385 to 1386 as Charles II. In 1382 Charles created the order of Argonauts of Saint Nicholas...
  
   (1345–1386), Count of Gravina 1362–1385
• Spinetta II Malaspina (d. 1398), Count of Gravina from April 8, 1385
• Francesco Orsini (d. 1456), Count of Gravina from 1417, created Duke of Gravina in 1436

Dukes of Gravina

• Francesco Orsini (d. 1456), created Duke in 1436
• Giacomo Orsini (d. 1472)
• Raimondo Orsini (d. c. 1488)
• Francesco Orsini (d. 1503)
• Ferdinando I Orsini (d. 1549)
• Antonio Orsini (d. 1553)
• Ferdinando II Orsini (1538–1583)
• Michele Antonio I Orsini (d. 1627)
• Felicia Maria Orsini (d. 1647), resigned the Duchy to her cousin in 1635
• Pietro Francesco Orsini (d. bef. 1641)
• Ferdinando II Orsini (1623–1658)
• Pietro Francesco Orsini
  Pope Benedict XIII
  -Footnotes:...
  
   (1649–1730), resigned the Duchy in 1667
• Domenico I Orsini (1652–1705)
• Ferdinando Bernualdo Filippo Orsini (1685–1734)
• Domenico II Orsini (1719–1789)
• Filippo Bernualdo Orsini (1742–1824)
• Domenico III Orsini (1790–1874)
• Filippo I Orsini (1842–1924)
• Domenico Napoleone I (1868–1947)
• Virginio (1892–1972)
• Filippo II (1920–1984)
• Domenico Napoleone II (b. 1948)

Don Federico Carlos

Don Federico Carlos

Don Federico Carlos Gravina y Nápoli, , was a Spanish Admiral during the American Revolution and Napoleonic Wars, who died of wounds sustained during the Battle of Trafalgar....

(1756–1806), a Spanish grandee and son of the Duke of San Miguel, also used the title of Duke of Gravina.