Thomas I (1239–1296) was the fourth

Marquess of Saluzzo The marquises (also marquesses or margraves) of Saluzzo were the medieval feudal rulers city of Saluzzo (today part of Piedmont, Italy) and its countryside from 1175 to 1549. Originally counts, the family received in ''feudum'' the city from the ...

from 1244 to his death. He was the son of Manfred III and Beatrice of Savoy. He succeeded his father Manfred III. He was also the grandson of

Amadeus IV, Count of Savoy Amadeus IV (119711 June 1253) was Count of Savoy from 1233 to 1253. Amadeus was born in Montmélian, Savoy. The legitimate heir of Thomas I of Savoy and Margaret of Geneva, he had however to fight with his brothers for the inheritance of Savo ...

Biography

Under the reign of Thomas,

Saluzzo Saluzzo (; pms, Salusse ) is a town and former principality in the province of Cuneo, in the Piedmont region, Italy. The city of Saluzzo is built on a hill overlooking a vast, well-cultivated plain. Iron, lead, silver, marble, slate etc. are ...

blossomed, achieving a greatness which had eluded his ancestors. He crafted a state the borders of which remained unchanged for over two centuries. He extended the march to include

Carmagnola Carmagnola (; pms, Carmagnòla ) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located south of Turin. The town is on the right side of the Po river. The nature of the soil determined over t ...

. He was often at odds with

Asti Asti ( , , ; pms, Ast ) is a ''comune'' of 74,348 inhabitants (1-1-2021) located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and it is deemed t ...

and he was a prime enemy of

Charles of Anjou Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou, was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the second House of Anjou. He was Count of Provence (1246–85) and Forcalquier (1246–48, 1256–85) i ...

and his Italian pretensions. During his tenure, he made Saluzzo a free city, giving it a''

podestà Podestà (, English: Potestate, Podesta) was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of Central and Northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a city ...

''to govern in his name. He defended his castles and ''roccaforti'' (strongholds) vigorously and built many new ones in the cities.

Marriage & issue

He married Luisa of Ceva. They had: * Manfred IV, succeeded his father * Alice of Saluzzo, who married Richard Fitzalan, 8th Earl of Arundel

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas 01 of Saluzzo 1296 deaths Thomas 1 1239 births Aleramici