Obertenghi
Encyclopedia
The Obertenghi were a family of Italian nobility
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...

 descended from Count Obert I of Luni
Oberto I
Oberto I Obizzo was an Italian count palatine and margrave and the oldest known member of the Obertenghi family. He was, by heredity, Count of Milan from 951...

, the first margrave
Margrave
A margrave or margravine was a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom. Border provinces usually had more exposure to military incursions from the outside, compared to interior provinces, and thus a margrave usually had larger and more active...

 of Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

 and Eastern Liguria, a march
Marches
A march or mark refers to a border region similar to a frontier, such as the Welsh Marches, the borderland between England and Wales. During the Frankish Carolingian Dynasty, the word spread throughout Europe....

 called the marca Januensis, marca Obertenga or march of 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....

.

Early in 951
951
Year 951 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* The king of Italy dies and his widow, Adelaide of Italy, is overthrown by an usurper, Berengar of Ivrea.- Asia :...

, Berengar II of Italy
Berengar II of Italy
Berengar of Ivrea , sometimes also referred to as Berengar II of Italy, was Margrave of Ivrea and usurper King of Italy from 950 until his deposition in 961, the last before Italy's incorporation into the Holy Roman Empire...

 finished the reorganisation of the Italian feudal structure begun by his predecessor Hugh
Hugh of Italy
Hugh of Arles was King of Italy from 924 until his death. He was a Bosonid. During his reign, he empowered his relatives at the expense of the aristocracy and tried to establish a relationship with the Byzantine-Roman Empire...

. He named three new margraves to three new territories:
  • Aleram, Count of Vercelli, he named margrave of Western Liguria: (Vercelli
    Vercelli
    Vercelli is a city and comune of about 47,000 inhabitants in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, around the year 600 BC.The city is situated on the river Sesia in the plain of the river...

    , Monferrato, Ceva
    Ceva
    Ceva, the ancient Ceba, is a small Italian town in the province of Cuneo, region of Piedmont, 49 km east of Cuneo. It lies on the right bank of the Tanaro on a wedge of land between that river and the Cevetta stream.-History:...

    , Acqui Terme
    Acqui Terme
    Acqui Terme is a city and comune of Piedmont, northern Italy, in the province of Alessandria. It is c. 35 km SSW of Alessandria...

    , Oneglia
    Oneglia
    Oneglia was a town in northern Italy on the Ligurian coast that was joined to Porto Maurizio to form the Comune of Imperia in 1923....

    , Albenga
    Albenga
    Albenga is a city and comune situated on the Gulf of Genoa on the Italian Riviera in the Province of Savona in Liguria, northern Italy.left|thumb|220px|Towers of Albenga.The economy is mostly based on tourism, local commerce and agriculture-History:...

    ) (marca Aleramica);
  • Arduin Glaber
    Arduin Glaber
    Arduin Glaber was the Count of Auriate from c. 935 and Margrave of Turin from c. 950. He placed his family, the Arduinici, on a firm foundation and established the march of Turin through conquests and royal concessions...

     was elevated from count to margrave of Turin: (Torino, Ivrea
    Ivrea
    Ivrea is a town and comune of the province of Turin in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. Situated on the road leading to the Aosta Valley , it straddles the Dora Baltea and is regarded as the centre of the Canavese area. Ivrea lies in a basin that, in prehistoric times, formed a great lake...

    , Maritime Alps
    Maritime Alps
    The Maritime Alps are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between the French département Alpes-Maritimes and the Italian province of Cuneo. The Col de Tende separates them from the Ligurian Alps; the Maddalena Pass separates them from the Cottian Alps...

    , Nizza, Ventimiglia
    Ventimiglia
    Ventimiglia is a city and comune in Liguria, northern Italy, in the province of Imperia. It is located southwest of Genoa by rail, and 7 km from the French-Italian border, on the Gulf of Genoa, having a small harbour at the mouth of the Roia River, which divides the town into two parts...

    , Sanremo
    Sanremo
    Sanremo or San Remo is a city with about 57,000 inhabitants on the Mediterranean coast of western Liguria in north-western Italy. Founded in Roman times, the city is best known as a tourist destination on the Italian Riviera. It hosts numerous cultural events, such as the Sanremo Music Festival...

    ) (the marca Arduinica);
  • Obert I margrave of Milan and count of Luni, was given the new marca Obertenga, Milan
    Milan
    Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

     and Eastern Liguria. Eastern Liguria at this time contained the counties of 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....

    , Luni, Tortona
    Tortona
    Tortona is a comune of Piemonte, in the Province of Alessandria, Italy. Tortona is sited on the right bank of the Scrivia between the plain of Marengo and the foothills of the Ligurian Apennines.-History:...

    , Bobbio
    Bobbio
    Bobbio is a small town and commune in the province of Piacenza in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. It is located in the Trebbia River valley southwest of the town Piacenza. There is also an abbey and a diocese of the same name...

    , Parma
    Parma
    Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....

     and Piacenza
    Piacenza
    Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...

    , Modena
    Modena
    Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....

     and Reggio Emilia
    Reggio Emilia
    Reggio Emilia is an affluent city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 170,000 inhabitants and is the main comune of the Province of Reggio Emilia....

    , Ferrara
    Ferrara
    Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...

    , Ascoli Piceno
    Ascoli Piceno
    Ascoli Piceno is a town and comune in the Marche region of Italy, capital of the province of the same name. Its population is c. 51,400.-Geography:...

    .


The Obertenghi margraviate was the source of the fiefs of the Este, Pallavicini
Pallavicini
The Pallavicini, Pallavicino, were an Italian noble family descended from Oberto I . The first Pallavicino fief was created by Oberto II, who received them it by Frederick Barbarossa in 1162...

, Malaspina, Fieschi, Della Torre
Della Torre
The Della Torre were an Italian noble family who rose to prominence in Lombardy during the 12th-14th centuries, until they held the seigniory of Milan before being ousted by the Visconti....

, Visconti
House of Visconti
Visconti is the family name of two important Italian noble dynasties of the Middle Ages. There are two distinct Visconti families: The first one in the Republic of Pisa in the mid twelfth century who achieved prominence first in Pisa, then in Sardinia where they became rulers of Gallura...

 of Gallura, Parodi, Pinelli
Pinelli
Pinelli is an Italian surname, and may refer to:*Antonia Bertucci-Pinelli, Italian painter of the Baroque*Babe Pinelli , American baseball umpire*Bartolomeo Pinelli , illustrator and engraver*Dario Pinelli , jazz guitarist...

, Lupi, Massa, Della Berardenga, Cavalcabò, Adalbertina, etc.

Further resources

  • GLI OBERTENGHI is a page from sardimpex.com, which provides genealogical and historical information on the family.
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