The House of Spinola, or Spinola family, is a Genoese noble family which played a leading role in the
Republic of Genoa
The Republic of Genoa ( ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Maritime republics, maritime republic from the years 1099 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italy, Italian coast. During the Late Middle Ages, it was a major commercial power in ...
. Their influence was at its greatest extent in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
Notable members
Guido Spinola was one of the first important members of the family. He served as Consul of Genoa in 1102. The family, which founded its wealth on trading, finance and the acquisition of land, originates from Guido and Oberto, grandsons of Belo Bozumi.
The next Spinola to come to prominence after Guido was
Oberto. In May 1262 he joined forces with
Oberto Doria to drive the foreign
capitano del popolo
Captain of the people () was an administrative title used in Italy during the Middle Ages, established essentially to balance the power and authority of the noble families of the Italian city-states.Najemy, John M. 2006. ''A History of Florence 1 ...
of Genoa,
Guglielmo Boccanegra, from power and reform the government. They replaced him with two captains of the people, elected for 22 years, under Oberto Spinola and Oberto Doria. How long Oberto Spinola remained as Captain of the people is not clear. However, his son
Corrado Spinola was a leading admiral in the Genoese war with
Pisa
Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...
. In 1266 Oberto lead the Genoese fleets in a victory against the
Venetians. Then in 1270, they exiled the
Fieschi and
Grimaldi families.
In about 1289 Corrado Spinola became the captain of the people in place of his father Oberto. In 1301 Corrado Spinola resigned the office of Captain of the people, as did
Lamba Doria.
The next phase of Spinola involvement was done by
Opicino Spinola.
Galeotto Spinola was appointed Captain of the people in 1335 along with Raffaele Doria. They overthrew the power of
Robert of Naples in Genoa.
In 1435, Francesco Spinola was successful at the
Siege of Gaeta in the war over the control of
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 ...
. Shortly afterwards, Francesco led a revolt that ended the rule of a
Visconti based in
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 ...
over Genoa.
The great Italian-Spanish general,
Ambrogio Spinola, Captain-General of the
Army of Flanders from 1603 to 1629 is a member of this family.
Doges of the Republic of Genoa and Kings of Corsica
*
Battista Spinola, 47th doge.
*
Luca Spinola, 57th doge.
*
Simone Spinola, 66th doge.
*
Tomaso Spinola, 90th doge
*
Andrea Spinola, 99th doge.
*
Alessandro Spinola, 112th
doge.
*
Agostino Spinola, 125th doge.
*
Luca Spinola, 129th doge.
*
Domenico Maria Spinola, 151st doge.
*
Nicolò Spinola, 155th doge.
*
Ferdinando Spinola, 172nd doge.
Sources
* Malleson, George Bruce. ''Studies in Genoese History''. p. 294ff
References
{{Authority control
Families of Genoa
Italian noble families
Political families of Italy
Republic of Genoa families