A Family Genealogy of
the Gentle House of Stapleton
the Gentle House of Stapleton
HomeFamily ListDatabaseSurname IndexIndex of IndividualsIndex of Noble HousesFamous and Infamous People
Cajo Orso ORSINI I #83849
ABT 535 - ABT 600
Personal Information
- BIRTH: ABT 535, Roma, Lazio, Italy
- DEATH: ABT 600, Italy
Notes
Founder of the House of Orsini
The Orsini descend from Cajo Orso Orsini who lived c. 600 AD. Five popes are descended from him: Stephen II, Paul I, Celestine III, Nicholas III and Benedict XIII. Some members used the surname of Bobone-Orsini. One member by the name Bobone, lived during the early 11th century, father of Pietro, who was in turn father of Giacinto Bobone (1110-1198), who in 1191 became pope as Celestine III. One of the first great nepotist popes, he made two of his nephews cardinals and allowed his cousin Giovanni Gaetano (Giangaetano, died 1232) to buy the fiefs of Vicovaro, Licenza, Roccagiovine and Nettuno, which formed the nucleus of the future territorial power of the family.
The Bobone surname was lost with his children, who were called de domo filiorum Ursi. Two of them, Napoleone and Matteo Rosso the Great (1178-1246), considerably increased the prestige of the family. The former was the founder of the first southern line, which died out with Camillo Pardo in 1553. He obtained the city of Manoppello, later a countship, and was gonfaloniere of the Papal States. Matteo Rosso, called the Great, was the effective lord of Rome from 1241, when he defeated the Imperial troops, until 1243, holding the title of Senator. Two of his sons, and Napoleone, were also Senators. Matteo ousted the family's traditional rivals, the Colonna family, from Rome and extended the Orsini territories southwards down to Avellino and northwards to Pitigliano. During his life, the family was firmly in the Guelph faction. He had some ten sons, who divided the fiefs after his deaths: Gentile (died 1246) originated the Pitigliano line and the second southern line, Rinaldo that of Monterotondo, Napoleone (died 1267) that of Bracciano, and another Matteo Rosso that of Montegiordano, from the name of the district in Rome housing the family's fortress. The most distinguished of his sons was Giovanni Gaetano (died 1280): elected pope as Nicholas III, he named his nephew Bertoldo (d. 1289) as count of Romagna, and had two nephews and a brother created cardinals.
The Orsini descend from Cajo Orso Orsini who lived c. 600 AD. Five popes are descended from him: Stephen II, Paul I, Celestine III, Nicholas III and Benedict XIII. Some members used the surname of Bobone-Orsini. One member by the name Bobone, lived during the early 11th century, father of Pietro, who was in turn father of Giacinto Bobone (1110-1198), who in 1191 became pope as Celestine III. One of the first great nepotist popes, he made two of his nephews cardinals and allowed his cousin Giovanni Gaetano (Giangaetano, died 1232) to buy the fiefs of Vicovaro, Licenza, Roccagiovine and Nettuno, which formed the nucleus of the future territorial power of the family.
The Bobone surname was lost with his children, who were called de domo filiorum Ursi. Two of them, Napoleone and Matteo Rosso the Great (1178-1246), considerably increased the prestige of the family. The former was the founder of the first southern line, which died out with Camillo Pardo in 1553. He obtained the city of Manoppello, later a countship, and was gonfaloniere of the Papal States. Matteo Rosso, called the Great, was the effective lord of Rome from 1241, when he defeated the Imperial troops, until 1243, holding the title of Senator. Two of his sons, and Napoleone, were also Senators. Matteo ousted the family's traditional rivals, the Colonna family, from Rome and extended the Orsini territories southwards down to Avellino and northwards to Pitigliano. During his life, the family was firmly in the Guelph faction. He had some ten sons, who divided the fiefs after his deaths: Gentile (died 1246) originated the Pitigliano line and the second southern line, Rinaldo that of Monterotondo, Napoleone (died 1267) that of Bracciano, and another Matteo Rosso that of Montegiordano, from the name of the district in Rome housing the family's fortress. The most distinguished of his sons was Giovanni Gaetano (died 1280): elected pope as Nicholas III, he named his nephew Bertoldo (d. 1289) as count of Romagna, and had two nephews and a brother created cardinals.
Family 1 :
