Sico ( 758 – 832)"Early Medieval Italy"
p. 160, Retrieved 21 oct 2009. was the Lombard

Prince of Benevento This is a list of dukes and princes of Benevento during the Duchy of Benevento between 577–774, the Principality of Benevento between 774–1081, and the Napoleonic creation Principality of Benevento (Napoleonic) between 1806-1815. Dukes of ...

from 817 to his death. Before becoming the Prince of Benevento, he had been the

gastald A gastald (Latin ''gastaldus'' or ''castaldus''; Italian ''gastaldo'' or ''guastaldo'') was a Lombard official in charge of some portion of the royal demesne (a gastaldate, ''gastaldia'' or ''castaldia'') with civil, martial, and judicial powers ...

Acerenza Acerenza ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). History With its strategic position ab ...

. On the assassination of Grimoald IV, Sico succeeded to the princely throne. He made the same empty pledges of tribute and fealty to the

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only ...

which Grimoald had made. Sico tried to extend the principality at the expense of

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion () was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' continued to be used as a n ...

. He besieged

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

at an unknown date (perhaps c. 831), but could not take the city. He did, however, remove the body of the Neapolitan patron saint,

Januarius Januarius ( ; ; Neapolitan and ), also known as , was Bishop of Benevento and is a martyr and saint of the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, and Armenian Apostolic Church. While no contemporary sources on his life are preserved, later ...

, who was originally from Benevento. It was also Sico who founded a line of rulers at Capua by bestowing that ancient fortress on Landulf I as gastald. Landulf honoured his benefactor by naming his first castle Sicopolis.

Children

When Sico died he was succeeded by his son Sicard. His daughter Itta (also spelled Ita or Itana) married Guy I,

Duke of Spoleto The Duke of Spoleto was the ruler of Spoleto and most of central Italy outside the Papal States during the Early and High Middle Ages (c. 500 – 1300). The first dukes were appointed by the Lombard king, but they were independent in practice. Th ...

. Sico is sometimes numbered "Sico I" and Sico of Salerno is numbered "Sico II".

References

{{Authority control 750s births 832 deaths Year of birth uncertain Lombard warriors Princes of Benevento 9th-century monarchs in Europe 9th-century Lombard people