Saluzzo, Marquises of

SALUZZO, MARCHESI di [Marquises of]. - They are a branch of the Aleramici marquises of Savona.

The founder of the line is MANFREDI I, one of the sons of Marquis Boniface of Vasto (d. 1130), who settled with his brother William in the territories of the ancient county of Auriate. Manfredi long held possessions in common with his brother William, founder of the marquises of Busca. Around 1175 MANFREDI II already styled himself marquis of S., where he had his residence, but still between 1202 and 1212 he was occupied in buying from the marquises of Busca the rights and properties they held in S. They were faithful vassals of the Swabian emperors, yet Manfredi II did not hesitate to pay homage to Otto IV. During the 13th century, MANFREDI III and TOMMASO I were assiduous and industrious accumulators of domains in order to expand their small state, which was enclosed in the valleys of the Varaita, Moira and Grasca; they managed to retain a few other lands in the valley of the Tanaro and the Po. A serious blow to the organization of the marquisate was the formation of the new Commune of Cuneo; the Commune of Asti was hostile as well. The marquises relied, by contrast, on the Commune of Alba. In 1213 the first ties with the counts of Savoy appear: Manfredi II and Tommaso I of Savoy promised each other mutual aid and arranged matrimonial ties. In 1215 Adelasia of Montferrat, regent for her nephew Manfredi III, agreed to pay homage to the count of Savoy for the land of Borge. The figure of TOMMASO I (1244-1296) is of great importance; escaping on the one hand from the Angevins and on the other from the Commune of Asti, he knew how to organize and expand the marquisate. MANFREDI IV at the beginning of the 14th century, upon the extinction of the Aleramici of Montferrat, attempted to gather up their inheritance, but the other kinsmen, the Palaeologi of Byzantium, opposed him. The 14th century saw serious internal struggles within the family of the marquises of S.: they were provoked by the discord between Federico I, son of Manfredi IV, and the claimant to the succession, Manfredi of Condé. The struggles between the two families are interwoven with those of the marquisate with the Savoy-Achaia of Pinerolo and with the Palaeologi of Montferrat. In 1343 TOMMASO II, in order to obtain help against the Condé, who persisted in their opposition, paid homage to the dauphin of Grenoble, Humbert II; he confirmed it again in 1354 in favor of the new dauphin Charles of France. In this way the marquis sought to escape the pressure that the Visconti of Milan and the counts of Savoy were exerting on his domain. In 1356 Tommaso II took advantage of the anti-Visconti league to occupy Cuneo and attempt the resumption of expansion, but it was no longer possible. Against the new marquis Federico II the count of Savoy, Amedeo VI, rose up in power, mindful of the ancient ties and indignant that Federico had paid homage for the marquisate even to Bernabò Visconti (1360). In 1363 the count of Savoy invaded the marquisate, besieged S. and forced Federico to pay homage. But the marquis, as soon as he was free, rushed beyond the mountains to pay homage to the dauphin, only to renew it to Amedeo VI in 1364. This double policy brought protests from the count of Savoy at Grenoble and at Paris, so that the matter was claimed by the Parliament of Paris. In 1375 the marquis, however, entrusted his advanced stronghold

(phot. Alinari)

SALUZZO, DIOCESI di [Diocese of] - Stone cabinet, called of the Spina (15th century) - Saluzzo, church of S. Giovanni.

of Carmagnola to dauphine militias. The struggle between the counts of Savoy and the marquises dragged on throughout the 15th century. The Red Count in 1386 again attacked the marquis, who found support, as usual, in the Visconti on the one hand and in the dauphine Council. Once again Amedeo VIII resumed the struggle against TOMMASO III (1396-1416, patron and man of letters); besieged in S. in 1413, the marquis had to yield and pay homage to the victor. Now the marquises seemed resigned to submitting to Savoyard sovereignty: LUDOVICO I (1416-75) and LUDOVICO II (1475-1505, man of letters) repeatedly paid homage. Yet in silence they secured support among the Italian powers hostile to Savoy. After the death of Louis XI the question suddenly revived in the Parliament of Paris: Ludovico, invited to pay homage to the King, sought to put forward conditions, until in 1485 the sequestration of the marquisate was ordered from Grenoble. The Duke of Savoy protested and ordered the marquis to pay him homage; and since the negotiations came to nothing, in 1487 he attacked the marquisate and occupied it. The marquis, having taken refuge in France, succeeded the following year in reconquering his state. Then the question remained open and unresolved because of the death of the duke of Savoy Charles I.

The marquis Ludovico II was by now wholly devoted to France. He supported Charles VIII in his descent into Italy and expedition to Naples, as he later did with Louis XII, whom he accompanied to Naples. After Ludovico II died in 1504, the marquisate was governed for his young sons by his widow Margherita of Foix. The new marquis MICHELE ANTONIO, most devoted to France, followed Louis XII and Francis I in their wars, until he died at Aversa in 1524. His brother and heir GIOVANNI LUDOVICO, a partisan of Charles V, was disinherited by the marquis in favor of his third-born brother FRANCESCO. Now the fortunes of the marquisate are closely bound to those of the internal struggles of the marquisal family. Giovanni Ludovico succeeded in conquering S., but was driven out of it by Francesco, aided by the French: Francis I confiscated the marquisate and gave it to Francesco as a fief. Then Francesco went over to the imperial side; the King of France gave the marquisate again to Giovanni Ludovico, who likewise went over to the imperial side. The King of France then granted the fief of S. to the last of the brothers, GABRIELE, who died, it was said, of poison, in 1548. The communes of the marquisate, assembled in Parliament, invited the King of France to annex the marquisate to France (1 Aug. 1548); this annexation lasted until the Treaty of Lyon (17 Jan. 1601), which assigned it to the House of Savoy.

Francesco Cognasso