Piccolomini
Encyclopedia
Piccolomini is the name of 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, which was prominent in Siena
Siena
Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...

 from the beginning of the 13th century onwards. In 1220, Engelberto d'Ugo Piccolomini received the fief of Montertari in Val d'Orcia from the emperor Frederick II
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...

 as a reward for services rendered. The family acquired houses and towers in Siena and castles in the republic: territory, including Montone
Montone
Montone is a comune in the Province of Perugia in the Italian region Umbria, located about 35 km north of Perugia.Montone is a walled medieval village with a small industrial and housing estate surrounding the walled town center...

 and Castiglione
Castiglione
-Places:Towns in Italy, many of which were simply called Castiglione prior to the unification of Italy in the 19th century:* Castiglion Fibocchi, in the province of Arezzo* Castiglion Fiorentino, in the province of Arezzo...

; the latter they sold to the commune in 1321.

The Piccolomini also produced two popes during the early renaissance: Pius II and Pius III. They obtained great wealth through trade, and established counting-houses in 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...

, Aquileia
Aquileia
Aquileia is an ancient Roman city in what is now Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about 10 km from the sea, on the river Natiso , the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times...

, Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...

, and in various cities of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. Supporters of the 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...

 cause in the civil broils by which Siena was torn, they were driven from the city during the time of 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...

 and their houses demolished; they returned in triumph after 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...

 victories, were expelled once more during the brief reign of Conradin
Conradin
Conrad , called the Younger or the Boy, but usually known by the diminutive Conradin , was the Duke of Swabia , King of Jerusalem , and King of Sicily .-Early childhood:Conradin was born in Wolfstein, Bavaria, to Conrad...

, and again returned to Siena with the help of Charles of Anjou. But through their riotous political activity, the Piccolomini lost their commercial influence, which passed into the hands of the Florentine
Republic of Florence
The Republic of Florence , or the Florentine Republic, was a city-state that was centered on the city of Florence, located in modern Tuscany, Italy. The republic was founded in 1115, when the Florentine people rebelled against the Margraviate of Tuscany upon Margravine Matilda's death. The...

s, although they retained their palaces, castles and about twenty fiefs, some of which were in the territory of Amalfi
Amalfi
Amalfi is a town and comune in the province of Salerno, in the region of Campania, Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno, c. 35 km southeast of Naples. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto , surrounded by dramatic cliffs and coastal scenery...

 and of great extent.

Prominent family members

Many members of he house were distinguished ecclesiastics, generals and statesmen in Siena and elsewhere.

Two of them became popes:
  • Enea Silvio Piccolomini (papal name Pius II)
  • Francesco Piccolomini (papal name Pius III)


Other distinguished members include:
  • Joachim Piccolomini
    Joachim Piccolomini
    Joachim Piccolomini , also known as Joachim of Siena, or, in Italian, Giovacchino Piccolomini, was an Italian Servite tertiary from Siena.-Life:...

     (1258–1305), beatified Sienese
  • Antonio Piccolomini, First Duke of Amalfi (d. 1493), Antonio Todeschini Piccolomini, Duke of Amalfi, a nephew of Pope Pius II and brother of Pope Pius III.
  • Alfonso Piccolomini, Duke of Amalfi (d. 1499), son of Antonio and duke from 1493, hapless husband of Joan (Giovanna) of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand I, King of Naples. The story of their marriage is dramatised in John Webster
    John Webster
    John Webster was an English Jacobean dramatist best known for his tragedies The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi, which are often regarded as masterpieces of the early 17th-century English stage. He was a contemporary of William Shakespeare.- Biography :Webster's life is obscure, and the dates...

    's infamous "Duchess of Malfi".
  • Alessandro Piccolomini
    Alessandro Piccolomini
    Alessandro Piccolomini was an Italian humanist and philosopher from Siena, who promoted the popularization in the vernacular of Latin and Greek scientific and philosophical treatises...

     (1508–1579), astronomer and author
  • Ascanio I Piccolomini (d. 1597), Archbishop of Siena from 1588
  • Francesco Piccolomini (Jesuit) (1582–1651), 8th Superior-General of the Society of Jesus
  • Ascanio II Piccolomini (1590–1671), Archbishop of Siena from 1629, patron of Galileo Galilei
    Galileo Galilei
    Galileo Galilei , was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism...

  • Ottavio Piccolomini (1599–1656), Imperial general in the Thirty Years' War
    Thirty Years' War
    The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....

    , prominent in the events leading to Albrecht von Wallenstein
    Albrecht von Wallenstein
    Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein , actually von Waldstein, was a Bohemian soldier and politician, who offered his services, and an army of 30,000 to 100,000 men during the Danish period of the Thirty Years' War , to the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II...

    's assassination, and basis for a main character in Schiller's Wallenstein
    Wallenstein (play)
    Wallenstein is the popular designation for a trilogy of dramas by German author Friedrich Schiller. It consists of the plays Wallenstein's Camp with a lengthy prologue, The Piccolomini , and Wallenstein's Death...

    .
  • Enea Silvio Piccolomini
    General Enea Silvio Piccolomini
    Enea Silvio Piccolomini was an Italian nobleman coming from a well known family from Siena in Italy, who served in the Habsburg army...

     (ca. 1640-1689), Imperial general in the Great Turkish War
    Great Turkish War
    The Great Turkish War refers to a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and contemporary European powers, then joined into a Holy League, during the second half of the 17th century.-1667–1683:...

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