The House of Pallavicini, also known as Pallavicino and formerly known as Pelavicino, is an ancient
Italian noble family founded by Oberto II Pelavicino of the
FrankishObertenghi family.[2][3]
The Pallavicini of Genoa
The first recorded member of the Pallavicini family was
Oberto I (died 1148). The first Pallavicino fief was created by
Oberto II, who received it from Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick Barbarossa in 1162. A number of lines are descended from
Guglielmo (died 1217), possessor of a series of fiefs between
Parma and
Piacenza.
The Pallavicini of the Latin Empire
Through the descendants of
Guy and his brother Rubino, sons of Guglielmo, 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. After the death of
Albert in 1311 the Pallavicini influence slowly declined. The subsequent
Zorzi margraves were matrilineal descendants of the last Pallavicini marquise,
Guglielma.
Arms of the Marquises of Pallavicni and Csáky-PallavicniOberto Pelavicino or Pallavicino (1197-1269), Italian field captain under Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
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.
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