County of Modica
Encyclopedia
The County of Modica was a semi-independent feudal territory within the Kingdom of Sicily
from 1296 to 1812. Its capital was Modica
, on the southern tip of the island, although the cities of Ragusa
and Scicli
housed some government offices for a period. Today it perpetuates as a title only held by the head of the House of Alba
, Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba
.
On 25 March 1296, the Aragonese King Frederick III of Sicily
conceded the great County of Modica to Manfredi I Chiaramonte, who fought the Angevin
and their king, James, and married Isabella Mosca, daughter of the rebel count Federico Mosca.
The king gave the first dynasty of counts many fiefdoms in Agrigento
, Caccamo
, Licata
and Palermo
, where they built the Palazzo Chiaramonte
, also known as Palazzo Steri; once the residence of the Aragonese-Spanish viceroys of Sicily and later the tribunal of the Inquisition
, it now belongs to the University of Palermo
. On its ceilings is one of the most important wood-based pictorial cycles of the Italian Middle Ages.
The Chiaramonte family built many castles at Mussomeli
, Caccamo
, Chiaramonte Gulfi
, Ragusa
and all over Sicily, in a very typical Gothic
style.
On the death of King Frederick IV of Sicily, Manfredi III Chiaramonte became viceroy and tried to defend the throne of Sicily from Martin I of Sicily
. Martin's father was the future King Martin I of Aragon
, and his grandparents were King Peter IV of Aragon
and Eleanor of Sicily
. In 1389 he married Maria of Sicily, who was the only child and daughter of King Frederick IV. In 1392 he returned with Maria to Sicily with a military force and to defeat a group of opposing noblemen. However, the city of Palermo fell and the new King Martin I of Sicily had its governor, Andrea Chiaramonte, son of the late Manfredi, 8th Count of Modica, beheaded on 1 July 1392 in front of his palace in the Marina Square in Palermo.
, Spaccaforno (today's Ispica
), Ragusa, Chiaramonte Gulfi, Comiso
, Giarratana
, Monterosso Almo
and Biscari and the castles of Dirillo
and Cammarana. The Count had the faculty to export over three thousand tons of grain per year free of duties from two of his seven ports, Pozzallo
, where he built the Cabrera Tower, and Mazzarelli (today called Marina di Ragusa
), where a smaller tower was built.
From 1296, the city of Modica
was the capital of a "state within a state": the Investiture Diploma for Bernat Cabrera says Sicut ego in regno meo tu in comitato tuo ("You in your county as I in my kingdom"). The county had a Governor, its own tribunals including the Tribunal of Second Instance, and a police force. The cities of the state were ruled by municipal magistracies.
and the privatization of the land by Governor Bernaldo Del Nero made the city of Modica the foremost in the south-east of Sicily. The lower part of Modica grew with churches, high-class palaces and monasteries, until the 1693 earthquake
that killed over 60,000 people in Sicily from Catania
to Syracuse and destroyed numerous buildings. The Late Baroque architecture of Val di Noto
is the result of reconstruction following the earthquake.
On 5 March 1607, Vittoria Colonna Enriquez-Cabrera, Countess of Modica, daughter of the Viceroy Marcantonio Duke of Tagliacozzo
and wife of Ludovico III Enriquez-Cabrera, founded the new city of Vittoria, now the second most populous city in the province of Ragusa.
Pasquale Enríquez de Cabrera died childless in 1740, and the title passed to his sister Maria Enríquez de Cabrera de Toledo, who was unmarried and also childless. With her death in 1740 two years later, the House of Enríquez-Cabrera became extinct and by statutes of succession the county passed to María Teresa Álvarez de Toledo, 11th Duchess of Alba, the great-granddaughter of Juan Gaspare Enríquez de Cabrera, 10th Count of Modica. Hereby the county came into possession of the House of Alba
, and the title is since then held in succession by the Dukes of Alba
of its three cadet houses: first the House of Álvarez de Toledo (extinct in 1755), secondly the House of Silva (extinct in 1802,), and thirdly the House of FitzJames-Stuart
.
However, by the time of these dynasties the title of Count was meaningless and carried little power, and Modica governed itself. This situation continued until the 18th century, when Sicily was ruled by the Austrian Empire
. Then, in the late 18th and early 19th century, it was part of the Kingdom of Sicily
, ruled from Naples
(this kingdom changed its name to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
). Finally, after the Risorgimento it was unified with the rest of Italy, as it is today.
As head of the House of Alba, the title is currently held by Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba
, who is the 21st Countess of Modica since 1955. Besides the titles Duchess of Alba and Countess of Modica, she holds more than 50 others. According to Guinness World Records
, she has more titles recognized by an existing government than any other noble in the world.
House of Enríquez-Cabrera
House of Alba
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...
from 1296 to 1812. Its capital was Modica
Modica
-External links:*...
, on the southern tip of the island, although the cities of Ragusa
Ragusa, Italy
Ragusa is a city and comune in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Ragusa, on the island of Sicily, with around 75,000 inhabitants. It is built on a wide limestone hill between two deep valleys, Cava San Leonardo and Cava Santa Domenica...
and Scicli
Scicli
*...
housed some government offices for a period. Today it perpetuates as a title only held by the head of the House of Alba
House of Alba
The House of Alba is an important Spanish aristocratic family who derive from the 12th century Mozarab nobility of post-conquest Toledo. Their claim to Alba traces to 1429, when the first Álvarez de Toledo was made Lord of the City of Alba de Tormes...
, Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba
Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba
Doña María del Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart y Silva, 18th Duchess of Alba de Tormes, Grandee of Spain is the current head of the House of Alba and the third woman to carry the title in her own right...
.
The Chiaramontes
Frederick III of Sicily
Frederick II was the regent and subsequently King of Sicily from 1295 until his death. He was the third son of Peter III of Aragon and served in the War of the Sicilian Vespers on behalf of his father and brothers, Alfonso and James...
conceded the great County of Modica to Manfredi I Chiaramonte, who fought the Angevin
Capetian House of Anjou
The Capetian House of Anjou, also known as the House of Anjou-Sicily and House of Anjou-Naples, was a royal house and cadet branch of the direct House of Capet. Founded by Charles I of Sicily, a son of Louis VIII of France, the Capetian king first ruled the Kingdom of Sicily during the 13th century...
and their king, James, and married Isabella Mosca, daughter of the rebel count Federico Mosca.
The king gave the first dynasty of counts many fiefdoms in Agrigento
Agrigento
Agrigento , is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy, and capital of the province of Agrigento. It is renowned as the site of the ancient Greek city of Akragas , one of the leading cities of Magna Graecia during the golden...
, Caccamo
Caccamo
Caccamo is a town and comune located on the Tyrrhenian coast of Sicily in the Province of Palermo.-History:The official founding of Caccamo was not until 1093, when the Normans began building the castle on a rocky spur overlooking a cliff. The castle itself is actually now being slowly converted...
, Licata
Licata
Licata is a city and comune located on the south coast of Sicily, at the mouth of the Salso River , about midway between Agrigento and Gela...
and Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, where they built the Palazzo Chiaramonte
Palazzo Chiaramonte
thumb|250px|Palazzo Chiaramonte-Steri.Palazzo Chiaramonte-Steri is a historical palace in Palermo, Sicily, southern Italy.The building was begun in the early 14th century, and was the residence of the powerful Sicilian lord Manfredi III Chiaramonte...
, also known as Palazzo Steri; once the residence of the Aragonese-Spanish viceroys of Sicily and later the tribunal of the Inquisition
Inquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
, it now belongs to the University of Palermo
University of Palermo
The University of Palermo is a university located in Palermo, Italy, and founded in 1806. It is organized in 12 Faculties.-History:The University of Palermo was officially founded in 1806, although its earliest roots date back to 1498 when medicine and law were taught there...
. On its ceilings is one of the most important wood-based pictorial cycles of the Italian Middle Ages.
The Chiaramonte family built many castles at Mussomeli
Mussomeli
Mussomeli is a town and comune in the province of Caltanissetta, Sicily, Italy.-History:Mussomeli was founded in the 14th century by Manfredo III Chiaramonte with the name Manfredi, but later the current name, probable of Arab origin, was reimposed. In 1549 it became a county under the Lanza family...
, Caccamo
Caccamo
Caccamo is a town and comune located on the Tyrrhenian coast of Sicily in the Province of Palermo.-History:The official founding of Caccamo was not until 1093, when the Normans began building the castle on a rocky spur overlooking a cliff. The castle itself is actually now being slowly converted...
, Chiaramonte Gulfi
Chiaramonte Gulfi
Chiaramonte Gulfi is a town and comune in the province of Ragusa, Sicilia, Italy. As of 2007 Chiaramonte Gulfi had an estimated population of 8,035.-Geography:...
, Ragusa
Ragusa, Italy
Ragusa is a city and comune in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Ragusa, on the island of Sicily, with around 75,000 inhabitants. It is built on a wide limestone hill between two deep valleys, Cava San Leonardo and Cava Santa Domenica...
and all over Sicily, in a very typical Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
style.
On the death of King Frederick IV of Sicily, Manfredi III Chiaramonte became viceroy and tried to defend the throne of Sicily from Martin I of Sicily
Martin I of Sicily
Martin I of Sicily , called "The Younger", was King of Sicily from 1390 to 1409.Martin's father was the future King Martin I of Aragon, and his grandparents were King Peter IV of Aragon and Eleanor of Sicily. In 1389/1390/February, 1392 he married Maria of Sicily, born in 1362/1363...
. Martin's father was the future King Martin I of Aragon
Martin I of Aragon
Martin of Aragon , called the Elder, the Humane, the Ecclesiastic, was the King of Aragon, Valencia, Sardinia, and Corsica and Count of Barcelona from 1396 and King of Sicily from 1409...
, and his grandparents were King Peter IV of Aragon
Peter IV of Aragon
Peter IV, , called el Cerimoniós or el del punyalet , was the King of Aragon, King of Sardinia and Corsica , King of Valencia , and Count of Barcelona Peter IV, (Balaguer, September 5, 1319 – Barcelona, January 6, 1387), called el Cerimoniós ("the Ceremonious") or el del punyalet ("the one...
and Eleanor of Sicily
Eleanor of Sicily
Eleanor of Sicily was Queen Consort of Aragon . She was the daughter of Peter II of Sicily and Elisabeth of Carinthia. She was the third wife of Peter IV of Aragon.- Early life and family :...
. In 1389 he married Maria of Sicily, who was the only child and daughter of King Frederick IV. In 1392 he returned with Maria to Sicily with a military force and to defeat a group of opposing noblemen. However, the city of Palermo fell and the new King Martin I of Sicily had its governor, Andrea Chiaramonte, son of the late Manfredi, 8th Count of Modica, beheaded on 1 July 1392 in front of his palace in the Marina Square in Palermo.
The Cabreras
The next count was Bernat IV de Cabrera, a Spanish condottiero who conquered Sicily for the new king Martin I. The county of Modica was now bigger and stronger: it included the towns of ScicliScicli
*...
, Spaccaforno (today's Ispica
Ispica
Ispica is a city and comune in the south of Sicily, Italy. It is 30 km from Ragusa, 50 km from Syracuse, and 90 km away from La Valletta, on the coast of Malta...
), Ragusa, Chiaramonte Gulfi, Comiso
Comiso
Comiso is an Italian municipality in the Province of Ragusa in Sicily.-Geography:Comiso consists of three boroughs: Comiso, Pedalino, and Quaglio. It lies some 22 km west of Ragusa in the South of Sicily...
, Giarratana
Giarratana
Giarratana is a town and comune in the province of Ragusa, Sicily, southern Italy....
, Monterosso Almo
Monterosso Almo
Monterosso Almo is a comune in the province of Ragusa, Sicilia, Italy. As of December 2006, Monterosso Almo had an estimated population of 3,343....
and Biscari and the castles of Dirillo
Dirillo
The Dirillo, or Acate, is a river in Sicily which springs from the Hyblaean Mountains and flows through the areas of Vizzini, Licodia Eubea, Mazzarrone, Chiaramonte Gulfi, Acate, Vittoria, Gela. It enters the Strait of Sicily south-east of the town of Gela...
and Cammarana. The Count had the faculty to export over three thousand tons of grain per year free of duties from two of his seven ports, Pozzallo
Pozzallo
Pozzallo is a town and comune in the province of Ragusa, Sicily, Italy. The beaches of Pozzallo have received the Blu Flag by FEE award. A prestigious award given to beaches which meet strict criteria dealing with water quality, environmental education and information, environmental management,...
, where he built the Cabrera Tower, and Mazzarelli (today called Marina di Ragusa
Marina di Ragusa
Marina di Ragusa is a village in southern Italy, a frazione of the comune of Ragusa. The site is noted for its beautiful beaches and lively nightlife. Marina di Ragusa is located on the Mediterranean coast of the island of Sicily, directly opposite the island of Malta...
), where a smaller tower was built.
From 1296, the city of Modica
Modica
-External links:*...
was the capital of a "state within a state": the Investiture Diploma for Bernat Cabrera says Sicut ego in regno meo tu in comitato tuo ("You in your county as I in my kingdom"). The county had a Governor, its own tribunals including the Tribunal of Second Instance, and a police force. The cities of the state were ruled by municipal magistracies.
15th century to the present
In the 15th and 16th centuries, the spread of emphyteusisEmphyteusis
The Law of Emphyteusis is a right, susceptible of assignment and of descent, charged on productive real estate, the right being coupled with the enjoyment of the property on condition of taking care of the estate and paying taxes, and sometimes the payment of a small rent.Akin to a system of...
and the privatization of the land by Governor Bernaldo Del Nero made the city of Modica the foremost in the south-east of Sicily. The lower part of Modica grew with churches, high-class palaces and monasteries, until the 1693 earthquake
1693 Sicily earthquake
The 1693 Sicily earthquake refers to a powerful earthquake that struck parts of southern Italy, notably Sicily, Calabria and Malta on January 11, 1693 around 9 pm local time. This earthquake was preceded by a damaging foreshock on January 9th...
that killed over 60,000 people in Sicily from Catania
Catania
Catania is an Italian city on the east coast of Sicily facing the Ionian Sea, between Messina and Syracuse. It is the capital of the homonymous province, and with 298,957 inhabitants it is the second-largest city in Sicily and the tenth in Italy.Catania is known to have a seismic history and...
to Syracuse and destroyed numerous buildings. The Late Baroque architecture of Val di Noto
Val di Noto
Val di Noto is a geographical area of south east Sicily; it is dominated by the limestone Iblean plateau.-The Val di Noto in the Arts:...
is the result of reconstruction following the earthquake.
On 5 March 1607, Vittoria Colonna Enriquez-Cabrera, Countess of Modica, daughter of the Viceroy Marcantonio Duke of Tagliacozzo
Tagliacozzo
-History:Near the modern city was fought the Battle of Tagliacozzo between Conradin of Hohenstaufen and Charles I of Anjou.-Main sights:*The Palazzo Ducale , built by Roberto Orsini....
and wife of Ludovico III Enriquez-Cabrera, founded the new city of Vittoria, now the second most populous city in the province of Ragusa.
Pasquale Enríquez de Cabrera died childless in 1740, and the title passed to his sister Maria Enríquez de Cabrera de Toledo, who was unmarried and also childless. With her death in 1740 two years later, the House of Enríquez-Cabrera became extinct and by statutes of succession the county passed to María Teresa Álvarez de Toledo, 11th Duchess of Alba, the great-granddaughter of Juan Gaspare Enríquez de Cabrera, 10th Count of Modica. Hereby the county came into possession of the House of Alba
House of Alba
The House of Alba is an important Spanish aristocratic family who derive from the 12th century Mozarab nobility of post-conquest Toledo. Their claim to Alba traces to 1429, when the first Álvarez de Toledo was made Lord of the City of Alba de Tormes...
, and the title is since then held in succession by the Dukes of Alba
Dukes of Alba
Duke of Alba is a Spanish title of nobility accompanied with the dignity Grandee of Spain. In 1472 the title Count of Alba de Tormes, inherited by García Álvarez de Toledo, was elevated to the title Duke of Alba by King Henry IV of Castile....
of its three cadet houses: first the House of Álvarez de Toledo (extinct in 1755), secondly the House of Silva (extinct in 1802,), and thirdly the House of FitzJames-Stuart
House of FitzJames
The House of FitzJames is a noble house of British-origin founded by James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick who was the illegitimate son of James II & VII, King of England, Scotland and Ireland, a Catholic monarch from the House of Stuart...
.
However, by the time of these dynasties the title of Count was meaningless and carried little power, and Modica governed itself. This situation continued until the 18th century, when Sicily was ruled by the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
. Then, in the late 18th and early 19th century, it was part of the 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...
, ruled from Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
(this kingdom changed its name to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, commonly known as the Two Sicilies even before formally coming into being, was the largest and wealthiest of the Italian states before Italian unification...
). Finally, after the Risorgimento it was unified with the rest of Italy, as it is today.
As head of the House of Alba, the title is currently held by Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba
Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba
Doña María del Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart y Silva, 18th Duchess of Alba de Tormes, Grandee of Spain is the current head of the House of Alba and the third woman to carry the title in her own right...
, who is the 21st Countess of Modica since 1955. Besides the titles Duchess of Alba and Countess of Modica, she holds more than 50 others. According to Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
, she has more titles recognized by an existing government than any other noble in the world.
First Creation in 1296
House of ChiaramonteChiaramonte
The Chiaramonte are a noble family of Sicily, claiming descent from Charlemagne. They became the most powerful and wealthy family in Sicily. In the 13th century the marriage of Manfredi Chiaramonte to Isabella Mosca, united the two Sicilian counties of Modica and Ragusa...
| No | Name | Became Count | Ceased to be Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manfredi | 1296 | 1321 |
| 2 | Giovanni II | 1321 | 1342 |
| 3 | Manfredi II | 1342 | 1353 |
| 4 | Simone | 1353 | 1357 |
| 5 | Federico III | 1357 | 1364 |
| 6 | Matteo | 1364 | 1377 |
| 7 | Manfredi III | 1377 | 1391 |
| 8 | Andrea | 1391 | 1392 |
Second Creation in 1392
House of CabreraHouse of Cabrera
The House of Cabrera was an important Catalan dynasty. It began to rule in the Viscounty of Girona, which would be called Viscounty of Cabrera, as well as the Viscounty of Àger, the Sicilian County of Modica and the County of Urgell.- Origin :...
| No | Name | Became Count | Ceased to be Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bernat | 1392 | 1423 |
| 2 | Giovanni Bernardo | 1423 | 1466 |
| 3 | Joan I | 1466 | 1474 |
| 4 | Joan II | 1474 | 1477 |
| 5 | Anna I with Frederick Enriquez | 1477 | 1526/1530 |
House of Enríquez-Cabrera
| No | Name | Became Count | Ceased to be Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Ludovico I | 1530 | 1565. |
| 7 | Ludovico II | 1565 | 1596 |
| 8 | Ludovico III | 1596 | 1600 |
| 9 | Juan Alfonso | 1600 | 1647 |
| 10 | Juan Gaspare | 1647 | 1691 |
| 11 | Giovanni Tommaso | 1691 | 1702 |
| 12 | Pasquale | 1729 | 1740 |
| 13 | Maria | 1740 | 1742 |
House of Alba
House of Alba
The House of Alba is an important Spanish aristocratic family who derive from the 12th century Mozarab nobility of post-conquest Toledo. Their claim to Alba traces to 1429, when the first Álvarez de Toledo was made Lord of the City of Alba de Tormes...
| No | Name | Became Count | Ceased to be Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | María Teresa | 1742 | 1755 |
| 15 | Fernando Fernando de Silva, 12th Duke of Alba Fernando de Silva Mendoza y Toledo, 12th Duke of Alba, Grandee of Spain , was a Spanish politician and general.-Biography:... |
1755 | 1776 |
| 16 | María Cayetana | 1776 | 1802 |
| 17 | Carlos Miguel Carlos Miguel Fitz-James Stuart, 14th Duke of Alba Don Carlos Miguel Fitz-James Stuart y Silva, 14th Duke of Alba, Grandee of Spain 1st Class was a Spanish aristocrat.-Biography:... |
1802 | 1835 |
| 18 | Jacobo Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, 15th Duke of Alba Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart y Ventimiglia, 15th Duke of Alba was a Spanish nobleman.... |
1835 | 1881 |
| 19 | Carlos María | 1881 | 1902 |
| 20 | Jacobo Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, 17th Duke of Alba Don Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart y Falcó, 17th Duke of Alba de Tormes, Grandee of Spain was a Spanish noble, diplomat, politician and art collector... |
1902 | 1953 |
| 21 | Cayetana Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba Doña María del Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart y Silva, 18th Duchess of Alba de Tormes, Grandee of Spain is the current head of the House of Alba and the third woman to carry the title in her own right... |
1953 | present |