Manfred I (died 1175) was the founder and first ruler of the

marquisate of Saluzzo The Marquisate of Saluzzo () was a historical Italian state that included parts of the current region of Piedmont and of the French Alps. The Marquisate was much older than the Renaissance lordships, being a legacy of the feudalism of the High ...

from 1142 until his death. Manfred was the eldest of seven sons of Bonifacio del Vasto, the ruler of scattered holdings between

Savona Savona (; ) is a seaport and (municipality) in the west part of the northern Italian region of Liguria, and the capital of the Province of Savona. Facing the Ligurian Sea, Savona is the main center of the Riviera di Ponente (the western se ...

and the

Tanaro The Tanaro (; ; ; ) is a long river in northwestern Italy. The river begins in the Ligurian Alps, near the border with France, and is the most significant right-side tributary to the Po in terms of length, size of drainage basin (partly Alpi ...

, and Agnes of Vermandois. He is first recorded in a document of 1123. After Bonifacio's death in 1125, his lands were ruled jointly by the brothers, but in 1142 they divided them up. Manfred took most of the lands between the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

, the Po and the

Stura Stura () was a department of the French First Republic and of the First French Empire in present-day Italy. It was named after the river Stura di Demonte. It was formed in 1801, when the Subalpine Republic (formerly the mainland portion of th ...

. His new lordship was larger than his brother's and better positioned to become a true principality. It only came to be known as the marquisate of Saluzzo after his death. In his own life he used the title of marquis without a territorial designation, or else "marquis of Vasto" (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''marchio de Vasto'').Armando Tallone
''Regesto dei marchesi di Saluzzo (1091–1340)''
(Pinerolo, 1906), nos. 37, 40, 44, 51. He made his the strategically important castle of

Saluzzo Saluzzo (; ) is a town and former principality in the province of Cuneo, in the Piedmont region, Italy. The city of Saluzzo is built on a hill overlooking a vast, well-cultivated plain. Iron, lead, silver, marble, slate etc. are found in the su ...

in the centre of his domain his seat.Manfrédo I marchese di Saluzzo
''Enciclopedia on line'',

Treccani Institute Giovanni Treccani for the publication of the Italian Encyclopedia (), also known as Treccani Institute or simply Treccani, is a cultural institution of national interest, active in the publishing field, founded by Giovanni Treccani ...

. Retrieved 18 February 2022. In 1127, Manfred founded the monastery of

Staffarda Staffarda Abbey (''Abbazia Santa Maria di Staffarda'') is a Cistercian monastery located near Saluzzo in north-west Italy; it was founded as a daughter house of Tiglieto Abbey in 1135 by Manfred I of Saluzzo, Manfred I, Marquis of Saluzzo. The a ...

. He was an ally of the Emperor

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

, recognizing him as his suzerain and trying to maintain peace between him and the Lombard cities. Four diploma attest to his periodic attendance at Barbarossa's court at

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

(1161),

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

(1162) and

Rimini Rimini ( , ; or ; ) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. Sprawling along the Adriatic Sea, Rimini is situated at a strategically-important north-south passage along the coast at the southern tip of the Po Valley. It is ...

(1167).

Charles William Previté-Orton Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

, ''The Early History of the House of Savoy (1000–1233)'' (Cambridge University Press, 1912), p. 332. Manfred married Eleonora, the daughter of Judge Gonario II of Arborea.Riccardo Rao, "Fra comune e marchese. Dinamiche aristocratiche a Vercelli (XII-XIII secolo)", ''Studi Storici'' 4, 1 (2003), pp. 43–93. He was succeeded by his son Manfred II.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Manfred 01 Of Saluzzo 1175 deaths Manfred 1 Year of birth unknown