Lamberto Visconti di Eldizio (died 1225) was the
Judge of Gallura from 1206, when he married the heiress
Elena, to his own death. He was a member of the
Visconti family of
Pisa
Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...
and the first of that dynasty to rule in Sardinia, where they lasted in Gallura for almost another century.
His grandfather,
Alberto
Alberto is the Romance languages, Romance version of the Latinized form (''Albertus'') of Germanic languages, Germanic ''Albert (given name), Albert''. It is used in Italian language, Italian, Portuguese language, Portuguese and Spanish language, ...
, was a
patrician of Pisa, while his father,
Eldizio, was patrician and
consul
Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...
(1184–1185). He and his brother
Ubaldo in turn served as patrician and ''
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 ...
''. Lambert's grandmother was Aligarda and his mother was a daughter of
Torchitorio III of Cagliari.
In 1207, Elena chose of her own will to marry Lambert, despite the fact that
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 ...
, to whom she and her state were pledged, had arranged a marriage with one of his own relatives. In 1209,
Comita III of Logudoro invaded Gallura and took
Civita and briefly held sway over the hold kingdom, but Lambert and his Pisan allies soon retook it. Between 1210 and 1215, with more Pisan support, Lambert attacked
Logudoro
The Logudoro (; ) is a large historical region Sardinia, Italy. It is the namesake of the Logudorese dialect of Sardinian language, Sardinian, which covers a large area of northern-central Sardinia.
The first denomination of the area is contai ...
and
Arborea
Arborea is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Oristano, Sardinia, Italy, whose economy is largely based on agriculture and cattle breeding with production of vegetables, rice, fruit and milk (notably the local milk product Arborea).
Histo ...
. In 1215, profiting from the weakness of
Benedetta of Cagliari, he assembled a large fleet and landed an army at Cagliari. He captured the adjacent hill, which dominated the city, and fortified it. He gave the job of finishing up the conquest to his brother Ubaldo.
Elena died before 1220 and in that year, after the death of
Torchitorio IV of Cagliari, Ubaldo arranged the marriage of his widow Benedetta to his brother Lambert. Lambert thus controlled two ''
giudicati'' comprising most of
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...
, the one in the right of his now-deceased wife and the other in the right of his stepson
William II.
Lambert died in 1225 and was succeeded by his son
Ubaldo in Gallura.
Sources
*
Ferrabino, Aldo (ed). ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: I Aaron – Albertucci''.
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, 1960.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Visconti Di Eldizio, Lamberto
1225 deaths
Judges (judikes) of Gallura
Year of birth unknown
Visconti of Pisa and Sardinia
Remarried jure uxoris kings
Jure uxoris kings