
The counts of Segni (, , also known as ''Conti'' or ''De Comitibus'' for short) were an important noble family of medieval and early modern
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
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 Tarquinius ...
,
Lazio
Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...
.
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 (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216.
Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...
in 1198.
The second Conti pope was Ugolino (1227-1241), as
Gregory IX
Pope Gregory IX (; born Ugolino di Conti; 1145 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and the ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decretales'' and instituting the P ...
, 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,
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 Latin Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Cardinal (Catholicism), Cardinal.
While still a subdeacon, he was sent as a papal legate ...
,
Giovanni Conti (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, brothe ...
(built in 1238) and the
Torre delle Milizie, testified to the feudal power of the family.
In the early modern period, Michelangelo Conti reigned as Pope
Innocent XIII from 1721 to 1724.
Torquato Conti (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 Capital, 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 h ...
, and the dukes of Poli and Guadagnolo (cf.
House of Torlonia).
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. Sforza rule began with the family's acquisition of the Duchy of Milan following the extinction of the Visconti of Milan, Visconti family in the mid-15th century and ...
of
Santa Fiora
Santa Fiora is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Grosseto, in the Italian region of Tuscany, located about southeast of Florence and about east of Grosseto. Santa Fiora borders the following municipalities: Abbadia San Salvatore, ...
.
See also
*
House of Visconti
Visconti is a surname which may refer to:
Italian noble families
* Visconti of Milan, ruled Milan from 1277 to 1447
** Visconti di Modrone, collateral branch of the Visconti of Milan
* Visconti of Pisa and Sardinia, ruled Gallura in Sardinia fr ...
*
Visconti (disambiguation)
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 Churchhttps://web.archive.org/web/20130308082100/http://www2.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios1198.htm]
Italian noble families
Papal families
*