Ezzelino II da Romano, also known as Ezzelino il Monaco ("Ezzelino the Monk"; died 1235) was an Italian nobleman of the

Ezzelini The Ezzelini were a noble family in medieval Italy. The family was founded by Ecelo (Ezzelo), who received the fiefs of Romano d'Ezzelino and Onara * Ezzelino I da Romano (died 1189), called ''il Balbo'' ** Ezzelino II da Romano (died 1235), ca ...

family, who was lord of Onara (until 1199),

Romano Romano may refer to: Food * Pecorino Romano, a hard, salty Italian cheese * Romano cheese, an American English and Canadian English term for a class of cheeses Places Italy Municipalities in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Latium * Arcinazzo Ro ...

, Bassano and Godego.

Biography

The son of Ezzelino I, in 1182 he fought for lands belonging to the monks of a monastery in

Sesto al Reghena Sesto al Reghena () is a (municipality) in the Province of Pordenone, Regional decentralization entity of Pordenone, in the Italy, Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located in the lower Friulian-Venetian plain about northwest of Trieste a ...

. On 24 April 1198

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 ...

asked Pellegrinus II, Patriarch of Aquileia, to resolve the matter and to raise the excommunication which Ezzelino had received from the

patriarch of Grado The Patriarchate of Grado, also known as the Patriarchate of New Aquileia, was an episcopal see and ecclesiastical province in northeastern Italy, centered in Grado, on the northern coasts of the Adriatic Sea. It was created as a result of an in ...

. In 1191-1193 Ezzelino was ''

podestà (), also potestate or podesta in English, was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of central and northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a c ...

'' of

Treviso Treviso ( ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 87.322 inhabitants (as of December 2024). Some 3,000 live within the Venetian wall ...

, and later of

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

(1200). Ezzelino raised an army to expel

Azzo VI of Este Azzo VI (1170 – November 1212), also known as Azzolino, was an Italian nobleman and condottiero. He held the title of Marquis of Este (''marchio Eystensis'') from the death of his father, Azzo V of Este, Azzo V, in 1190 until his death. Biogr ...

after the latter became ''podestà'' of Verona in 1207. In 1199 his castle at Onara was destroyed by the

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

ns after Ezzelino had signed a separate peace with Vicenza; he therefore moved the family residence to Romano, by which name his family would be known in the following decades. In 1209-1210 he was among the followers of emperor

Otto IV Otto IV (1175 – 19 May 1218) was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 until his death in 1218. Otto spent most of his early life in England and France. He was a follower of his uncle Richard the Lionheart, who made him Count of Poitou in 1196 ...

, who gave him possession of Bassano (1211). Ezzelino II became ''

'' of

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...

in 1211. In 1212 Ezzelino II clashed near Verona with the troops of the

Lombard League The Lombard League (; ) was an alliance of cities formed in 1167, and supported by the popes, to counter the attempts by the Hohenstaufen Holy Roman emperors to establish direct royal administrative control over the cities of the Kingdom of It ...

; the latter was defeated and its commander, Azzo VI d'Este, perished. In 1213 he fought with Padua against the Estensi and, the following year, against the Venetians. In 1221 Ezzelino retreated into a monastery at Oliero in Valstagna and then at Campese, hence his surname of ''Monaco'' ("monk"), leaving the administration of the fiefs to his sons Ezzelino and

Alberico da Romano Alberico da Romano (1196 – 26 August 1260), called Alberico II, was an Italian condottiero, troubadour, and an alternatingly Guelph and Ghibelline statesman. He was also a patron of Occitan literature. Biography Alberico was born in the cas ...

. His daughter Cunizza da Romano was married to Riccardo di San Bonifacio, lord of Verona. He died in the monastery of Campese in 1235.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Romano, Ezzelino II da 12th-century births 1235 deaths Ezzelino 02 Nobility from Veneto People excommunicated by the Catholic Church 13th-century condottieri Wars of the Guelphs and Ghibellines