SALUZZO, MARCHESI di. — They are a branch of the Aleramici, marquises of Savona.
The founder of the line was MANFREDI I, one of the sons of the marquis Boniface del Vasto (d. 1130), who settled with his brother Guglielmo in the territories of the ancient county of Auriate. Manfredi long held possessions in common with his brother Guglielmo, founder of the marquises of Busca. Around 1175 MANFREDI II was already calling himself marquis of S., where he had his residence; yet even between 1202 and 1212 he was occupied in purchasing from the marquises of Busca rights and properties that they held in S. They were faithful vassals of the Swabian emperors, though Manfredi II did not hesitate to pay homage to Otto IV. During the thirteenth century, MANFREDI III and TOMMASO I were assiduous and industrious collectors of domains, enlarging their little state, which was enclosed in the valleys of the Varaita, Moira, and Grasca; they succeeded in retaining only a few other lands in the valleys of the Tanaro and the Po. The formation of the new Comune of Cuneo was a serious blow to the organization of the marquisate; the Comune of Asti was likewise hostile. The marquises, by contrast, relied on the Comune of Alba. In 1213 the first ties with the counts of Savoy are recorded: Man-
fredi II and Tommaso I of Savoy promised each other mutual aid and arranged matrimonial alliances. In 1215 Adelasia of Monferrato, regent for her nephew Manfredi III, agreed to pay homage to the count of Savoy for the territory of Borge. The figure of TOMMASO I (1244–1296) is of great importance; evading the Angevins on one side and the Comune of Asti on the other, he succeeded in organizing and enlarging the marquisate. At the beginning of the fourteenth century, when the Aleramici of Monferrato died out, MANFREDI IV attempted to take up their inheritance, but the other relatives, the Palaiologi of Byzantium, opposed him. The fourteenth century witnessed serious internal struggles within the family of the marquises of S.: they were provoked by the disagreement between Federico I, son of Manfredi IV, and the claimant to the succession, Manfredi of Condé. The struggles between the two families became intertwined with those involving the marquisate, the Savoia-Acaia of Pinerolo, and the Palaiologi of Monferrato. 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 reconfirmed it in 1354 in favor of the new dauphin, Charles of France. In this way the marquis sought to escape the pressure exerted on his domain by the Visconti of Milan and the counts of Savoy. In 1356 Tommaso II took advantage of the anti-Visconti league to occupy Cuneo and attempt to resume his expansion, but this was no longer possible. The powerful count of Savoy, Amadeus VI, rose against the new marquis Federico II, mindful of the ancient ties and indignant that Federico had also paid homage to Bernabò Visconti (1360). In 1363 the count of Savoy invaded the marquisate, besieged S., and forced Federico to pay homage. But as soon as he was free, the marquis hastened across the Alps to pay homage to the dauphin, only to renew it with Amadeus VI in 1364. This double policy led to protests by the count of Savoy at Grenoble and Paris, so that the matter was referred to the Parliament of Paris. In 1375, however, the marquis entrusted his fortress
(fot. Alinari)
SALUZZO, DIOCESI di — Stone cabinet, called della Spina (15th century) — Saluzzo, church of S. Giovanni.
of Carmagnola to dauphinal troops. The struggle between the counts of Savoy and the marquises continued throughout the fifteenth century. In 1386 the Red Count once again attacked the marquis, who found his customary support on one side from the Visconti and on the other from the Dauphinal Council. Amedeo VIII again resumed the struggle against TOMMASO III (1396–1416, patron and man of letters); besieged in S. in 1413, the marquis was forced to yield and pay homage to the victor. The marquises now appeared resigned to submitting to Savoyard sovereignty: LUDOVICO I (1416–75) and LUDOVICO II (1475–1505, man of letters) repeatedly paid homage. Yet, quietly, they secured support from the Italian powers hostile to the Savoia. After the death of Louis XI, the question suddenly resurfaced in the Parliament of Paris: Ludovico, invited to pay homage to the King, sought to impose conditions, until in 1485 an order was issued from Grenoble for the sequestration of the marquisate. The Duke of Savoy protested and ordered the marquis to pay him homage; and when the negotiations produced no result, in 1487 he attacked and occupied the marquisate. The marquis, having taken refuge in France, succeeded in reconquering his state the following year. The matter then remained open and unresolved because of the death of the duke of Savoy, Carlo I.
The marquis Ludovico II was by then wholly devoted to France. He supported Charles VIII in his descent into Italy and expedition to Naples, as he later did Louis XII, whom he accompanied to Naples. When Ludovico II died in 1504, his widow, Margherita di Foix, governed the marquisate for their young sons. The new marquis MICHELE ANTONIO, deeply 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 the third-born brother, FRANCESCO. From this point the fortunes of the marquisate became closely linked to the internal struggles of the marquisal family. Giovanni Ludovico succeeded in conquering S., but was driven out by Francesco, aided by the French: Francis I confiscated the marquisate and granted it to Francesco as a fief. Francesco then joined the imperial side; the King of France again gave the marquisate to Giovanni Ludovico, who likewise went over to the imperial side. The King of France then granted the fief of S. to the youngest 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.