Pallavicini family

The Pallavicini, Pallavicino, and sometimes Paravicino, Paravisini, or Paravicini, were an Italian noble family descended from Oberto I (died 1148). The first Pallavicino fief was created by Oberto II, who received them it by Frederick Barbarossa in 1162. A number of lines descended from Guglielmo (died 1217), possessor of a series of fiefs between Parma and Piacenza and a descendant of the Lombard Obertenga family (along with the Este, the Cavalcabò and Malaspina). They are:

• The Pallavicini of the Latin Empire
  • descendants of Guglielmo through his sons Guy (also known as Galdo) and Rubino
• The Pallavicini of Lombardy
• The Pallavicini of Varano
• The Pallavicini of Polesine
• The Pallavicini of Busseto
• The Pallavicini of Ravarano (today part of Calestano)
• The Pallavicino of Sicily

A second main branch of the family (or perhaps a separate family) was formed by the descendants of Niccolò Pallavicini (alive in 1154), whose origins are doubtful—probably he belonged to the Genoese patriciate—and whose links with the Obertenghi are uncertain: ^[1]

• The Pallavicini of Genoa
  • patricians of Genoa

The Pallavicini of the Latin Empire

Through Guy and his brother Rubino, a branch of the family rose to prominence in the Latin Empire founded after the Fourth Crusade in 1204.

They governed the Margraviate of Bodonitsa from 1204 to 1358. They grew in riches and, after 1224, became also the most powerful family in the former Kingdom of Thessalonica (northern Greece). The first margraves were of Guy's line until his daughter Isabella died, at which time the line of Rubino inherited the throne. The Pallavicini were related to the De la Roche family then ruling in Athens. Albert divided the principality between his widow and his daughter in 1311 and the Pallavicini influence slowly declined. The subsequent Zorzi margraves were matrilineal descendants of the last Pallavicini marquise, Guglielma.

Notable members

• Guglielmo Pallavicino (Pallavicino) (died 1217)^[2]
• Oberto I Pallavicino
• Oberto II Pallavicino
• Guy (died 1237)
• Oberto Pelavicino (1197-1269)
• Ubertino (died 1278)
• Isabella (died 1286)
• Thomas (born before 1286, died after 1331), margrave of Bodonitsa, grandson of Rubino
• Albert (died 1311)
• Guglielma (died 1358)
• Orlando (sometimes Rolando) “il Magnifico” (c.1393–1457)^[2]
• Benedetto Pallavicino (c.1551–1601), from Cremona, composer
• Pietro Sforza Pallavicino (1607–1667), historian and cardinal
• Ferrante Pallavicino (1618–1644), Italian writer
• Carlo Pallavicino (c.1630–1688), composer
• Stefano Benedetto Pallavicino (1672-1742), Italian poet and opera librettist
• Lazzaro Opizio Pallavicino (1776-1777) Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals
• Gianluca Pallavicino, general and governor of Lombardy (second half of 18th century)
• Markgraf (Őrgróf) Tamás Csáky-Pallavicini (1960- ), Secretary General of the World Federation of Catholic Medical Associations in the Vatican^[3]
• Karen Akers (1945-) American chanteuse
• Markgraf Alfonso von Pallavicini (1964-) Brother-in-Law of Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant & Princess Mathilde, Duchess of Brabant, Crown Prince & Princess of Belgium

See also

A number of buildings are named after the family:

• Palais Pallavicini in Vienna, Austria
• Palazzo Pallavicini-Rospigliosi in Rome, Italy.
• Villa Durazzo-Pallavicini near Genoa, Italy

Businesses Owned and Operated by the members of the Paravisini/Pallavicini Family

• Paravisini Coffee Company in Rhode Island, USA.^[4]

Notes

Sources

• Miller, W. "The Marquisate of Boudonitza (1204-1414)." Journal of Hellenic Studies, Vol. 28, 1908, pp 234-249.
• Setton, Kenneth M. (general editor) A History of the Crusades: Volume III — The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries. Harry W. Hazard, editor. University of Wisconsin Press: Madison, 1975.
• Latin Lordships of Greece: Boudonitza.
• Marquisate of Bodonitsa