Filangieri


The Filangieri were an Italo-Norman noble family that first established as counts and lords in the province of Avellino. Having established itself in much of Southern Italy in the second half of the 11th century, the family played a key role in the history of the Kingdom of Sicily and the Kingdom of Naples after the fall of the Altavilla family, which occurred at the end of the 12th century at the hands of the Hohenstaufen.

History

The name Filangieri originates from the Latin Filli Angerii named after Richard "Angerio" of Arnes, who adopted the nickname "Angerio" during his military service as captain of the Italian falangerio in the First Crusade. They played a prominent role in the Kingdom of Sicily and the subsequent Kingdom of Naples.
The family eventually branched out into the following lines: Princes of Arianello, Princes of Satriano, Counts of Avellino, Lords of Lapio and Lords of Vietri in the Kingdom of Naples, Princes of Cutò, Princes of Mirto, Princes of Santa Flavia and Dukes of Pino in the Kingdom of Sicily, and Candida Gonzaga.

Princes of Cutò

The first to be invested with the Principality of Cutò was Alessandro Filangieri, Marquis of Lucca Sicula, who married Giulia Platamone, heiress of the fiefdom, in 1706. Among the Princes of Cutò there was another Alessandro, Captain and Justiciar of Palermo in 1726 and, Girolamo, also Captain and Justiciar in 1743 and gentleman of the chamber of King Charles III of Spain. The branch boasted various Viceroys and Lieutenants, including Alessandro Filangieri and his son Niccolò Filangieri. Their main residences were the Palazzo Cutò located in Bagheria in Via Maqueda, designed by Giacomo Amato, with a staircase built by the architect Giovanni Del Frago, and the Palazzo Cutò in Corso Vittorio Emanuele, opposite the Palermo Cathedral, whose façade is by the architect Emmanuele Palazzotto in 1836. Teresa Mastrogiovanni Tasca Filangieri di Cutò, mother of the poet Lucio Piccolo, Baron of Calanovella, son of Giuseppe, and his sister Beatrice, mother of the writer Giuseppe Tomasi, 11th Prince of Lampedusa, 12th Duke of Palma, belonged to this branch.

Notable members

Campania