The Pepoli family was an Italian aristocratic banking family of

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, in northern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. They were lords of the city for thirteen years in the fourteenth century. A branch of the family moved to

Trapani Trapani ( ; ; ) is a city and municipality (''comune'') with 54,887 inhabitants, on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an important fishing port and the mai ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

and were granted several feudal lordships and baronies.

History

Origins

The presence of the family in Bologna seems to have been documented since the last decade of the eleventh century. The testament of Romeo Pepoli's Zerra, written by Rolandino de 'Passaggeri on 8 October 1251, shows the presence of the family in the area of via Castiglione at that time.I Pepoli a Bologna e in Europa
Archivio di Stato di Bologna From the beginning, the Pepoli had established a prominent banking house in Bologna and became among the richest families in Italy at that time. For this reason, the chessboard used to count the relationship between different coins was adopted as the family's coat of arms. After years of private financial activity, the family eventually took a leading role in the political scene of the city.

Lordship of Bologna

The House of Pepoli reached its apogee in the first half of the 14th century. The family took power as Lords of Bologna during the chaotic struggles between Guelfs and Ghibellines in the city. In August, 1337, Taddeo Pepoli orchestrated an armed occupation of the city and gained support for his election as Lord of Bologna. While initially reluctant to acknowledge Pepoli,

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

Benedict XII Pope Benedict XII (, , ; 1285 – 25 April 1342), born Jacques Fournier, was a cardinal and inquisitor, and later, head of the Catholic Church from 30 December 1334 to his death, in April 1342. He was the third Avignon pope and reformed monasti ...

sent the bishop of Como, a Paravicini, to the city. The papal nuncio delivered the keys of the city to Taddeo, appointing him papal vicar for a three-year term. With this title Taddeo obtained the legitimacy to his office. These episodes are commemorated in two ovals frescoed in the 17th century by Canuti in the stairwell entrance of the Palazzo Pepoli Campogrande, across the street from the Palazzo Pepoli Vecchio. Their seat in the city was Palazzo Pepoli Vecchio, constructed by Taddeo Pepoli. The Pepoli maintained dynastic alliances through well-considered marriages: Obizzo III d'Este, Marquis of Ferrara, married Jacopa Pepoli in 1317 and the

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 ...

Roberto Alidosi, papal vicar and lord of

Imola Imola (; or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical region Romagna ...

, was given Giacoma Pepoli. The commune of Castiglione dei Pepoli in the Italian

Province of Bologna The province of Bologna () was a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its provincial capital was the city of Bologna. The province of Bologna covered an area of and had a total population of 1,004,323 inhabitants as of 31 December 2014 ...

still bears the family's name.Cesare De Seta, Maria Antonietta Spadaro, Sergio Troisi (1998). Palermo city of art: a guide to the monuments of Palermo and Monreale . Palermo: Aries.

15th and 16th Centuries

After the rule of Taddeo Pepoli (1337-1347), Bologna fell to the Visconti of Milan. While Cardinal Gil de Albornoz forcibly returned the city to the papal orbit in 1360, the Pepoli never regained their former civic power. The family remained prominent landowners. Guido Pepoli was ordained cardinal by

Pope Sixtus V Pope Sixtus V (; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death, in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order, where h ...

in 1589. The imposing Palazzo Pepoli Campogrande was commissioned in 1653 by the newly minted Senator Odoardo Pepoli; the architects were Giovanni Battista Alberoni and Giuseppe Antonio Torri. Today it houses the Baroque works once in the

Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna The National Art Gallery of Bologna (''Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna'') is a museum in Bologna, Italy. It is located in the former Saint Ignatius Jesuit novitiate of the city's University district, and inside the same building that houses the ...

. A later member of the family, conte Carlo Pepoli, wrote

Vincenzo Bellini Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (; ; 3 November 1801 – 23 September 1835) was an Italian opera composer famed for his long, graceful melodies and evocative musical settings. A central figure of the era, he was admired not only ...

's libretto for ''

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'' and provided the lyrics for

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's song " La Danza". To him

Giacomo Leopardi Count Giacomo Taldegardo Francesco di Sales Saverio Pietro Leopardi (29 June 1798 – 14 June 1837) was an Italian philosopher, poet, essayist, and philologist. Considered the greatest Italian poet of the 19th century and one of the greatest a ...

dedicated one of his ''canti''.

House of Bonaparte The House of Bonaparte (originally ''Buonaparte'') is a former imperial and royal European dynasty of French and Italian origin. It was founded in 1804 by Napoleon I, the son of Corsican nobleman Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Buonaparte (née ...

Napoleone Gioacchino Pepoli was a senator of the

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, and Italian envoy to Russia. Moreover, he was also a grand-nephew of

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

through his mother, Princess Louisa Julie Caroline Murat the daughter of

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

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- Napoleon's

brother-in-law A sibling-in-law is the spouse of one's sibling or the sibling of one’s spouse. More commonly, a sibling-in-law is referred to as a brother-in-law for a male sibling-in-law and a sister-in-law for a female sibling-in-law. Sibling-in-law al ...

References