The counts of Segni ( it, Conti di Segni, la, de Comitibus Signie, also known as ''Conti'' or ''De Comitibus'' for short) were an important noble family of medieval and early modern Italy originating in

Segni Segni (, ) is an Italian town and ''comune'' located in Lazio. The city is situated on a hilltop in the Lepini Mountains, and overlooks the valley of the Sacco River. History Early history According to ancient Roman sources, Lucius Tarquiniu ...

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. Many members of the family acted as military commanders or ecclesiastical dignitaries, including many cardinals and four popes. The family is on historical record beginning with Trasimondo, the father of Lotario Conti, who became

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 ...

in 1198. The second Conti pope was Ugolino (1227-1241), as

Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...

, the third Rinaldo, as Alexander IV (r. 1254-1261). Bishop Paul of Tripoli (1261–1285) was a Conti and his sister Lucienne was the princess of Antioch. Medieval to Renaissance era cardinals of the family include

Giovanni dei Conti di Segni Giovanni dei Conti di Segni (died 14 June 1213) was an Italian cardinal and cardinal-nephew of Pope Innocent III, his cousin, who elevated him in 1200 with the deaconry of Santa Maria in Cosmedin. He was also Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church 1 ...

, Niccolò dei Conti di Segni,

Ottaviano di Paoli Ottaviano di Poli (surname given variously) (died 1206), a member of the family of the Counts of Poli, was an Italian Roman Catholic Cardinal. While still a subdeacon, he was sent as a papal legate to France by Pope Alexander III in 1178, to s ...

Giovanni Conti Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * '' Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend ...

(d. 1493) and Francesco Conti (d. 1521). In medieval Rome, both the

Torre dei Conti The Torre dei Conti is a medieval fortified tower in Rome, Italy, located near the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. The tower was one of the most impressive towers that dominated medieval Rome. History It was built in 1238 by Richard Conti, brother ...

(built in 1238) and the

Torre delle Milizie The Torre delle Milizie ("Tower of the Militia") is a fortified tower in Rome, Italy, located between Trajan's Market in the Imperial fora to the southwest and the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, or Angelicum, to the east. Histor ...

, testified to the feudal power of the family. In the early modern period, Michelangelo Conti reigned as Pope

Innocent XIII Pope Innocent XIII ( la, Innocentius XIII; it, Innocenzo XIII; 13 May 1655 – 7 March 1724), born as Michelangelo dei Conti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 May 1721 to his death in March 1724. He is ...

from 1721 to 1724.

Torquato Conti Torquato Conti (1591–1636) was an Italian military commander who served as a General-Field Marshal of the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years' War. His barbarous treatment of defenceless villagers earned him the nickname, ''The Devil''. H ...

(1591–1636) served as a general-field marshal of the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years' War, where his cruelty earned him the nickname ''The Devil''. The family became divided into numerous branches, the principal of which were the counts of Segni and

Valmontone Valmontone is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome in the Italian region Lazio, located about southeast of Rome. Geography The historic part of the town is situated on a tuffaceous hill, above sea level, part of a mor ...

, and the dukes of Poli and Guadagnolo (cf.

House of Torlonia 200px, Coat of arms of the House of Torlonia. The House of Torlonia is the name of an Italian princely family from Rome, which acquired a huge fortune in the 18th and 19th centuries through administering the finances of the Vatican. The first influ ...

). The former branch was extinct with Donna Fulvia (died 1611), who had married the count

Sforza The House of Sforza () was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. They acquired the Duchy of Milan following the extinction of the Visconti family in the mid-15th century, Sforza rule ending in Milan with the death of the last me ...

of Santa Fiora.

References

* ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'', Ed. Treccani, v. alle singole voci della famiglia. * Gaetano Moroni, ''Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica da S. Pietro sino ai nostri giorni'', Tipografia Emiliana, Venezia, 1840–1861.

External links

{{commons category, House of Conti
The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church
https://web.archive.org/web/20130308082100/http://www2.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios1198.htm] Italian noble families Papal families *

See also

References

External links