The Acciaioli family, also spelled Acciaiuoli, Accioly, Aciole, Acciajuoli or Acioli was an important Italian noble family from

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, whose members were the ruling

Dukes of Athens Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ...

History

Family name is also written Acciaioli, Acciainoli, or Accioly, Accioli, Aciole, Acioli and Acyoly in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, where there are branches of it. Descent can be traced in an unbroken line from one Gugliarello Acciaioli in the 12th century; family legend says that Gugliarello (a name possibly derived from It. ''guglia'', needle) migrated from

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

to Florence in 1160 because they were

Guelphs The Guelphs and Ghibellines ( , ; ) were Political faction, factions supporting the Pope (Guelphs) and the Holy Roman Emperor (Ghibellines) in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy during the Middle Ages. During the 12th ...

and fled

Barbarossa Barbarossa, a name meaning "red beard" in Italian, primarily refers to: * Frederick Barbarossa (1122–1190), Holy Roman Emperor * Hayreddin Barbarossa (c. 1478–1546), Ottoman admiral * Operation Barbarossa, the Axis invasion of the Soviet Uni ...

's invasion of Northern Italy. The Acciaioli founded a powerful bank in the 13th century (Compagna di Ser Leone degli Acciaioli e de' suoi consorti) which had branches from

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

to Western Europe until the bank collapsed in 1345.Jace Stuckey, ''The Eastern Mediterranean Frontier of Latin Christendom'' Bishop Angiolo Acciaioli briefly ruled Florence in the mid-14th century after the deposition of Gauthier de Brienne. Later they associated themselves to the Albizzi and then to the elder Medici in the 15th century. From about 1390 to 1460 they ruled the

Duchy of Athens The Duchy of Athens (Greek language, Greek: Δουκᾶτον Ἀθηνῶν, ''Doukaton Athinon''; Catalan language, Catalan: ''Ducat d'Atenes'') was one of the Crusader states set up in Greece after the conquest of the Byzantine Empire during ...

and kept close ties with the younger branch of the Medici through the marriage of Laudomia Acciaioli to Pierfrancesco de' Medici, from which the later Grand Dukes of

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

are descended, as well as several royal houses. In Florence, the Lungarno degli Acciaioli borders the Arno from the Ponte Vecchio to the Ponte Santa Trinita. Simone di Zanobi Acciaioli migrated before 1512 to the island of

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

where he represented the family's commercial interests. The Portuguese and Brazilian Accioly, Accioli,Aciole or Acioli family is descended from him and were part of the

Portuguese nobility Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

Notable members

* Angelo Acciaioli I (1298–1357), bishop * Angelo Acciaioli II (1349–1408), cardinal * Angelo Acciaioli di Cassano (died 1467), diplomat * Antonio I Acciaioli (died 1435), Duke of Athens * Antonio II Acciaioli (died 1445), Duke of Athens * Donato Acciaioli (1428–1478), scholar * Francesco I Acciaioli (floruit 1451–1453), Duke of Athens * Francesco II Acciaioli (died 1460), last Duke of Athens * Giovanni Acciaioli (floruit 1422), archbishop of Thebes *

Nerio I Acciaioli Nerio I Acciaioli or Acciajuoli (full name Rainerio; died 25 September 1394) was the ''de facto'' Duchy of Athens, Duke of Athens from 1385 to 1388, after which he reigned uncontested until his death in 1394. Born to a family of Florentine bankers ...

(died 1394), first Acciaioli Duke of Athens * Nerio II Acciaioli (1416–1451), twice Duke of Athens *

Niccolò Acciaioli Niccolò Acciaioli or Acciaiuoli (1310 – 8 November 1365) was an Italian noble, a member of the Florence, Florentine banking family of the Acciaioli. He was the grand seneschal of the Kingdom of Naples and count of Melfi, Count of Malta, Ma ...

(1310–1365), soldier and statesman * Zanobi Acciaioli (1461–1519), Dominican friar and scholar

References

Sources

* * * * {{Authority control Families of Florence Banking families Italian bankers Medieval bankers Medieval banking Republic of Florence

History

Notable members

See also

References

Sources