Marquess of Geraci


The following is a chronological list of the Counts and Marquesses of the County of Geraci, from the Norman Conquest to the suppression of the feudal orders in 1816.

Counts of Geraci

According to tradition, the County of Geraci originates from the Battle of Cerami, which saw King Roger I of Sicily cede the city and fiefdom of Geraci to Roger's nephew, Serlo II of Hauteville, in 1063.

Hauteville dyanasty

Craon">Craon family">Craon dynasty

's widow, Aldruda di Moulins, married the Norman soldier Ingelmarius as her second husband, passing the title of Count of Geraci to him. Ingelmarius eventually rebelled against King Roger I, was stripped of his title and fiefdom and the County passed to the dynasty closest to Serlo. Roger I de Craon, Count of Ischia and Geraci, son of Guglielmo de Craon and father of Guerrera de Craon, appears in a document from 1159. The latter inherited the title of Countess and passed the County to her husband. The sources indicate two hypotheses: Guerrera's marriage to Aldoino of Candida or to Elia d'Hauteville of Gesualdo, both already Barons of Candida and Lapio.
ImageNameBirthDeathPeriod
Relationship with predecessor
Roger I de CraonBefore 1159??–??
Guerrera de CraonBefore 1195?–?Daughter
Aldoino of Candida???–?Husband?

Count of Ischia and Geraci (?–1258)

Some sources speak of a Roger, son of Elia d'Hauteville of Gesualdo, who in turn married to Guerrera, appointed Count of Ischia by Henry VI, exiled in 1212 perhaps because he rebelled against King Frederick between 1209 and 1211, as can be seen in a letter from the Abbot of Monte Cassino. Roger II of Ischia and Isabella di Parisio were the parents of Aldoino of Ischia. The last Countess was Aldoino's daughter, Isabella of Geraci, who married Henry II of Ventimiglia, introducing the long-lived dynasty of Ligurian origin in the County. However, between the death of Count Aldoino and the passage of the title to his daughter, the presence of chamberlains appointed by the emperor is documented.
ImageNameBirthDeathPeriod
Relationship with predecessor
Elia d'Hauteville of Gesualdo ??Before May 1206?–?Husband of Guerrera?
Roger II of Ischia?Before 1222?–?Son
Aldoino of Ischia?Before 1240?–?Son
Isabella of Geraci???–?Daughter

Ventimiglia">Ventimiglia (family)">Ventimiglia dynasty (1258–1338)

The Ventimiglia dynasty, whose first Count of Geraci was Henry II, became the most powerful in the County, elevating it to a Marquessate in 1436. During the long War of the Vespers and the subsequent political instability of the Kingdom, the County was incorporated into the Girgenti valley and experienced a brief period of exclusion of the Ventimiglia family from the fiefdom following an act of rebellion against the crown. In 1271, Charles I of Anjou expropriated the County from Henry and entrusted it to Simon and John de Montfort-Leicester, his cousins, who however did not keep it for long, selling it or giving it to other French vassals. In 1282, King Peter I confirmed Henry as Count of Geraci again, who would co-regency with his son Aldoino. In 1285, Girgenti valley, the County of Geracim and the parts of Termini and Cefalù were created and, in 1289, Henry, finding himself in Liguria, returned to his old fiefdom on the occasion of the funeral of his son, who had died that year; in 1292 he managed to regain the title of Count which he would maintain until his death in 1308. In the first half of the 14th century, Peter II confiscated the County of Geraci from Francesco I Ventimiglia, after a military siege. The County was incorporated into the possessions of the Crown of Aragon for a long time and was only redeemed by Emanuele Ventimiglia in 1354.
ImageNameBirthDeathPeriod
Relationship with predecessor
Henry II of Ventimiglia13081258–1271Husband
Simon de Montfort-Leicester??1271-
John de Montfort-Leicester??1271Brother
Aldoino Ventimiglia

?12891282–1285None
Henry II Ventimiglia13081292–1308Father
Francesco I Ventimiglia?1338–1338Grandchild

Royal Aragon">House of Barcelona">Aragon dynasty (1338–1354)

The county confiscated from the Ventimiglia family was granted to Elizabeth of Carinthia, Queen of Sicily, remaining in the royal chamber until at least July 1348. Part of the fiefdom was granted to Matteo Palizzi, already husband of the cousin of Francis I, while Damiano Palizzi, brother of Matteo, obtained Collesano and Gratteri. In 1340 the counties passed to the vicar Giovanni d'Aragona who in 1344 sold them to the soldier Giovanni Lombardo. Two years later Pietro Siragusa appeared as Count of Geraci. Finally, upon the death of the Queen around 1350, the County of Geraci was assigned to the infant Giovanni "John" of Aragon, and upon his death, around 1352, to his brother Frederick.
ImageNameBirthDeathPeriod
Relationship with predecessor
Elizabeth of Carinthia1303–1348-
Matteo Palizzi?1353?–1340-
Damiano Palizzi???–1340Brother
John of Aragon131713481340–1344None
Giovanni Lombardo??1344–1346-
Pietro Siragusa??1346-
John of Aragon134013531346–1352None
Frederick IV of Sicily134113771352–1354Brother

Ventimiglia">Ventimiglia (family)">Ventimiglia dynasty (1353–1436)

The County was redeemed by Emanuele Ventimiglia in 1353 who obtained the fiefdom again, although the previous year Emanuele and his brother Francesco II, both sons of Francesco I, had already regained possession of their father's assets. Their County would last until his nephew Giovanni I Ventimiglia, who would obtain the elevation of the County to Marquessate.
ImageNameBirthDeathPeriod
Relationship with predecessor
Emanuele Ventimiglia?Before 13651353–1361None
Francesco II Ventimiglia?13871361–1387He dismisses his brother Emanuele and grants him an annual income of 100 gold ounces
Henry III Ventimiglia?13981387–1398Son
Giovanni I Ventimiglia138314751398–1436Son

Marquesses of Geraci

In 1436 Giovanni obtained the elevation of the County to a Marquessate. The Marquessate of Geraci existed until 1816, when, as a result of the Sicilian Constitution of 1812, feudalism was abolished. For the four centuries of the marquessate, the ruling family remained that of the Ventimiglias. For five years, from 1485 to 1490, the Count of Geraci - at the time Henry IV - was exiled on charges of rebellion, with his father still in exile, it was his son Filippo who redeemed the County. The last Count of Geraci was Luigi Roger II Ventimiglia.
ImageNameBirthDeathPeriod
Relationship with predecessor
Giovanni I Ventimiglia138314751436–1475–
Antonio Ventimiglia Prades14801475–1480Son
Henry IV Ventimiglia?14931480–1485Son
Filippo Ventimiglia??1490–?Son
Simone I Ventimiglia?1544?–1544Son
Giovanni II Ventimiglia?15531544–1553Son
Simone II Ventimiglia152815601553–1560Son
Maria Ventimiglia e Alliata153915851560–?Wife
Giovanni III Ventimiglia15591619?–1619Son
Giuseppe Ventimiglia?16201620
Son
Francesco III Ventimiglia?16481620–1648Son
Giovanni IV Ventimiglia?16751648–1675Son
Francesco IV Rodrigo Ventimiglia?16881676–1688Son
Giovanni V Ventimiglia168016891688–1689Son
Blasco Ventimiglia??1689–1712Brother
Giovanni VI Ventimiglia?17481712–1748Brother
Luigi Roger Ventimiglia170517711749–1771Son
Luigi Roger II Ventimiglia??1771–1816Son