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 ...

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, ...

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