The Marquisate of Ceva was a small independent

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

in north-western

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, situated at the foot of the Apennines, with its seat at

Ceva Ceva, the ancient Ceba, is a small Italian town in the province of Cuneo, region of Piedmont, 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 In the pre-Roman period t ...

, in what is now a part of

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

Establishment

The marquisate was created in 1125 at the death of

Boniface del Vasto Boniface del Vasto (''c.'' 1055 – ''c.'' 1125) was the margrave of Savona and Western Liguria from 1084 to ''c.''1130. He was the son and successor of Otto and of Bertha, daughter of Ulric Manfred II of Turin. Boniface was a member of the Aler ...

, of the Aleramici family, his son Anselmo becoming the first marquis of the newly formed state. He subsequently acquired a part of the province Clavesana from his brother Ugo, but at Anselmo's death Ceva (assigned to his son Guglielmo) was again divided from Clavesana, which went to the other son Bonifacio. Grandi_Casate_Italiane_nel_1499

The marquisate was partitioned in several petty states between Guglielmos, and its fortunes began to decline. Marquis Giorgio Nano had thus to submit to the increasingly powerful

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

of Asti, which had previously helped marquis Guglielmo II in extending his territories during the 12th century. Further weakened by internal strife, the marquisate submitted to Amadeus V of Savoy on 22 February 1313. During the wars between the marquisates of

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 fo ...

, Monteferrat and the Angevines, Ceva swore loyalty to

John II of Montferrat John II Palaeologus (5 February 1321 – 19 March 1372) was the Margrave of Montferrat from 1338. Career John was the son of Theodore I of Montferrat, with whom he was associated in the government from 1336. He had great fortune in extending ...

. In 1352 it was conquered by the Visconti of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, who were pushed back by the marquis in 1356. The fragmented marquisate was eventually acquired by the French Duke of Orleans, and ultimately Savoy in 1531.Thomas Wright, A Comprehensive Dictionary of the World
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ceva, Marquisate of Italian states States and territories established in 1125 Marquisates of Italy Ceva

Establishment

See also

References