(1705-1772), by
Giuseppe Bonito The Sanseverino family originates from the
Norman knight
Turgisio of Arnes, an alleged descendant of the
House of Normandy, who was invested with the county of Rota by
Robert Guiscard in 1061. The name Sanseverino originates from the castle in
Mercato San Severino which Turgisio adopted as his surname. In the struggle between the Aragonese and the Angevins for the throne of Naples, the family was divided:
Roberto Sanseverino d'Aragona, count of Caiazzo (d. 1487), supported
Ferdinand I of Naples, but his son
Galeazzo (d. 1525), who was married to a daughter of
Ludovico Sforza, died fighting for the French at the
battle of Pavia. The condottiere
Ferdinando Sanseverino, Prince of Salerno (d. 1507), who was the patron of
Bernardo Tasso, fought in the imperial army of
Charles V. Ferrante was a resolute defender of Neapolitan rights in the face of imposed Spanish institutions and when the
Spanish Inquisition was introduced in Naples in 1552 he was obliged to flee to France. The family owned 300
fiefs, 40
counties, nine
marquisates, twelve
duchies and ten
principalities, primarily located in
Calabria,
Campania,
Basilicata, and
Apulia. From this family emerged
cardinals,
viceroys,
marshals and
condottieri. == See also ==