Gravina line
The line of Gravina, from the name of the eponymous city in Apulia, is the only existing line of the Orsini.
It descends from Francesco (died 1456), a son of Count Carlo of Bracciano. Most of his fief were located in northern Lazio, but he entered in the Neapolitan orbit when in 1418 he was called by Sergianni Caracciolo to fight against the Angevine troops, which he defeated.
By marriage, he obtained the title of count of Gravina. He was made Duke of Gravina by King Alfonso, title definitely assigned to his son Giacomo (died 1472), to which had been added the counties of Conversano, Campagna and Copertino.
Two of Francesco’s son, Marino (died 1471) and Giovanni Battista (died June 8, 1476), were respectively archbishop of Taranto and Grand Master of Knights of Rhodes.
The fourth duke, Francesco, was strangled by Cesare Borgia in 1503.
One of his nephews, Flavio Orsini, was created cardinal in 1565. The fifth duke, Ferdinando (died December 6, 1549) had all his fiefs confiscated by the Spaniards, but regained it after a 40,000 scudi payment.
After the heirless death of Duke Michele Antonio (January 26, 1627), his lands passed to his cousin Pietro Orsini, count of Muro Lucano (died 1641). The latter’s nephew Pier Francesco, who had renounced to the succession in favour to his brother Domenico to became a Dominican, was later elected pope with the name of Benedict XIII.
His successor raised Benedict XIII’s nephew, Prince Beroaldo Orsini, to the dignity of Prince Assistants to the Papal Throne (title held until 1958), after the emperor Charles VI had already, in 1724, made him a prince of the Holy Roman Empire. The last cardinal from the family was Domenico.
The family moved to Rome in the 18th century, where Duke Domenico (November 23, 1790 ? April 28, 1874), married Maria Luisa Torlonia in 1823. In 1850 he was Minister of War and General Lieutenant of the Papal Armies, and Senator of Rome as well.
The descendants of the family live in Rome, Torino, Singapore and in the United States. In the US there are a few people with the last name Orazine, the name was changed when family members emigrated to the United States due to translation difficulties.
Many members of the bloodline reside on the East coast of the United States and some still maintain the proper Orsini name.
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten