
The House of Obizzi, which claimed descent from the Frankish
Counts of Burgundy
This is a list of the counts of Burgundy, i.e., of the region known as Franche-Comté, not to be confused with the Duchy of Burgundy, from 982 to 1678.
House of Ivrea (982–1184)
House of Hohenstaufen (1190–1231)
House of Andechs ( ...
, was a prominent Italian noble family of
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 ...
, who amassed great political power and wealth as feudatories of the
Este, and is noted as early as the eleventh century. The Marquesses "degli Obizzi del Catajo", ending with the death in 1805 of
marquess
A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wid ...
Tommaso degli Obizzi, were the heads of the great
Guelf
The Guelphs and Ghibellines ( , ; ) were factions supporting the Pope (Guelphs) and the Holy Roman Emperor (Ghibellines) in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy during the Middle Ages. During the 12th and 13th centurie ...
family.
History
The Obizzi family is noted for its military triumphs; it even provided a private army to protect the Pope. Tommaso degli Obizzi, who was a general of
Pope Urban V
Pope Urban V (; 1310 – 19 December 1370), born Guillaume de Grimoard, was head of the Catholic Church from 28 September 1362 until his death, in December 1370 and was also a member of the Order of Saint Benedict. He was the only Avignon pope ...
and was appointed to a regency council in
Ferrara
Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...
by the dying Alberto d'Este, was the first Italian to be inducted into the
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...
. In the 1570s, Pio Enea degli Obizzi, a wealthy ''
condottiero
Condottieri (; singular: ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian military leaders active during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The term originally referred specifically to commanders of mercenary companies, derived from the ...
'', constructed the enormous
Castello del Catajo in
Battaglia Terme Battaglia Terme () is a town and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of Italy, in the province of Padua.
Battaglia lies at the easternmost edge of the volcanic Euganean Hills, and has been noted for its warm saline springs and natural vapour grotto s ...
, near
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 ...
; he hired the poet Giuseppe Betussi to record a glamorous version of Obizzi family history and had a main floor frescoed by
Giovanni Battista Zelotti
Giovanni Battista Zelotti (; 1526 – 28 August 1578) was an Italians, Italian Painting, painter of the late Renaissance, active in Venice and her mainland territories.
He appears to have been born in Verona, then part of the Venetian mainla ...
in the 1570s, in tribute to the degli Obizzi family. Pio Enea II was a connoisseur of music and a poet who figured among the early figures introducing
opera
Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
to Venice, where he provided the
libretto
A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...
to ''
Ermione
''Ermione'' (1819) is a tragic opera (azione tragica) in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola, based on the play '' Andromaque'' by Jean Racine.
Performance history
19th century
''Ermione'' was first p ...
'', offered as an "introduction to a
tourney
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
"; in Padua he built the Teatro degli Obizzi (1652), which was the seat of opera in Padua during the first half of the 18th century.
Tommaso degli Obizzi was a pioneering collector who added to the works of art at Catajo some Italian 'primitives', refined late Gothic works that were far from the current taste. Like his friend
Teodoro Correr in Venice, he protected his works of the ''trecento'' and ''quattrocento'' from the Napoleonic forces in Italy, and they were never sequestered and sent to Paris. The ''Saint Jerome'' altarpiece by
Antonio Vivarini
Antonio Vivarini (Antonio of Murano) (active c. 14401480) was an Italian painter of the early Renaissance-late Gothic period, who worked mostly in the Republic of Venice. He is probably the earliest of a family of painters, which was descended ...
now in the
Kunsthistorisches Museum
The Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien ( "Vienna Museum of art history, Art History", often referred to as the "Museum of Fine Arts, Vienna") is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on the Vienna Ring Road, i ...
, Vienna, was purchased by him and eventually passed to the
Este in Austria, with other early Italian paintings that made it one of the first of its kind in Europe.
In the 19th century, the Catajo's collections were further enriched with coins and medals, musical instruments and paintings. The complex was inherited by Archduke
Franz Ferdinand d'Este, who removed the early paintings to his primary residence,
Konopiště
Konopiště Castle (; , ) is a four-winged, three-storey castle located in Konopiště, now a part of the town of Benešov in Central Bohemian Region, Czech Republic. It has become famous as the last residence of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austr ...
, where, after his assassination at Sarajevo, they were housed until World War II. The bulk of these "Este" paintings have come to the
National Gallery in Prague
The National Gallery Prague (, NGP), formerly the National Gallery in Prague (), is a state-owned art gallery in Prague, which manages the largest collection of art in the Czech Republic and presents masterpieces of Czech and international fine a ...
. The remainder at Catajo, property the late archduke's heir, Karl I, the last Emperor and King of
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
, was sequestered as war reparations by the Italian State, which resold it in 1926 to the Dalla Francesca family, who currently open it to the public.
References
{{Authority control
Italian art collectors
Italian families
History of Lucca