Oberto I Obizzo (also known as Otbert) (born around 910; died 15 October 975) was an Italian

count palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an or ...

and

margrave Margrave was originally the Middle Ages, medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a monarchy, kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain Feudal ...

and the oldest known member of the Obertenghi family.

Biography

Oberto I inherited the countship of

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 ...

in 951 from his father Adalberto the Margrave. Soon after assuming the Italian throne,

Berengar II Berengar II ( 900 – 4 August 966) was the king of Italy from 950 until his deposition in 961. He was a scion of the Anscarid and Unruoching dynasties, and was named after his maternal grandfather, Berengar I. He succeeded his father as ma ...

reorganised his territories south of the

Po River The Po ( , ) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy, starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is , or if the Maira (river), Maira, a right bank tributary, is included. The headwaters of the Po are forme ...

, dividing them into three new

marches In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a state's "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diffe ...

(frontier districts) named after their respective margraves: the '' marca Aleramica'' of Aleram of Montferrat, the '' marca Arduinica'' of Arduin Glaber, and the ''

marca Obertenga The March of Genoa or Eastern Liguria was created in 961 by Holy Roman Emperor Otto I. The formal history of the march began around 951 after Berengar of Ivrea became the king of Italy. At that time Berengar completed the reorganization of the mil ...

'' of Oberto. This last division consisted of eastern

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

and was also known as the ''marca Januensis'' or March of

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

. It consisted of Tuscany with the cities of Genoa, Luni,

Tortona Tortona (; , ; ) is a ''comune'' of Piemonte, in the Province of Alessandria, Italy. Tortona is sited on the right bank of the Scrivia between the plain of Spinetta Marengo, Marengo and the foothills of the Ligurian Apennines. Its ''frazione'' of ...

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

, and

Piacenza Piacenza (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Piacenza, eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with more ...

. In 960, he had to take refuge in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The next year,

Pope John XII Pope John XII (; 14 May 964), born Octavian, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 16 December 955 to his death in 964. He was related to the counts of Tusculum, a powerful Roman family which had dominated papal politics for ...

asked Otto I of Germany to intervene in Italy to protect him from Berengar. When Otto took control of Italy, Oberto was able to return to his lands, with the title of count palatine confirmed by Otto. He was succeeded as Count of Milan by his son Adalberto II of Milan who at a later time was succeeded by Oberto II. His great-grandson Albert Azzo II, Margrave of Milan founded the

House of Este The House of Este ( , , ) is a European dynasty of North Italian origin whose members ruled parts of Italy and Germany for many centuries. The original House of Este's elder branch, which is known as the House of Welf, included dukes of Bavaria ...

.Luciano Chiappini, Gli Estensi, Varese, 1988.

External links

History of Obertenga
(in Italian)

References

Counts in Italy House of Este History of Milan Obertenghi family 910 births 975 deaths Year of birth uncertain 10th-century Italian nobility Counts palatine {{Italy-noble-stub