In 1393, Antonio di Acquaviva, who was the first to hold, by concession of
Charles III of Naples, the titles of Count of San Flaviano and Montorio. He purchased from
King Ladislaus the cities of
Atri, with the title of Duke, and Teramo for 35,000 ducats. Andrea Matteo I, son of Antonio, was 2nd Duke of Atri, 2nd Count of San Flaviano. He died, stabbed in Teramo, on 17 February 1407. The titles and possessions passed to his sons, first Antonio, then Pierbonifacio and finally, in 1443, with the death of the son of the latter, Andrea Matteo II, to his third son, Giosia († 1462), 6th Duke of Atri and 6th Count of San Flaviano.
Giulio Antonio I, son of Giosia and seventh Duke of Atri, commanded the fleet that supported the Neapolitan army of King Ferrante of Aragon, which had joined the coalition formed by
Pope Sixtus IV against the Republic of Florence in 1478. For his service he was awarded the
Order of the Ermine. The following year, he received the honour of being able to add the name of Aragon to his surname and to add to the family coat of arms the colours of the royal house. During the campaign for the reconquest of Otranto in 1481, he lost his life in an ambush at Serrano. He was succeeded by his elder son, writer
Andrea Matteo III (1456–1528), eighth Duca d'Atri. Andrea Matteo Acquaviva d'Aragona III, 8th Duke of Atri, was the elder surviving son of Giulio Antonio Acquaviva I and his wife, Caterina Orsini del Balzo. He fought for
King Ferrante of Naples in the
War of Ferrara in 1482, and against him three years later during the
Conspiracy of the Barons. Upon the defeat of the conspirators, Duke Andrea was spared due to the intervention of his father-in-law, Antonio Piccolomini, who happened to be the King's son-in-law. Andrea Matteo left the Duchy of Atri to his eldest son Giovan Francesco, the county of Gioia to his second son Giannantonio Donato, and the county of Conversano and the fiefdoms of the Ratta in Caserta to his son Giulio Antonio II. Gian Girolamo (1521-1592) was the eldest son of Giannantonio Donato. He became the 10th Duke of Atri and 17th Count of Conversano; he was father of two cardinals, Giulio and Ottavio. In 1575[7], he divided the Duchy of Atri and the County of Conversano between his sons Alberto (11th Duke) and Adriano (18th Count). In 1598, the line of the Counts of Conversano merged with that of the Dukes of Nardò with the marriage between the 19th Count Giulio Antonio and his cousin Caterina Acquaviva, daughter and heir of Duke Belisario II. ==Dukes of Nardò==