Deleted:Prince of Masserano
The Prince of Masserano (Italian: Principe di Masserano) is a noble title created in 1598 by Pope Clement VIII in favour of Francesco Filiberto Ferrero Fieschi, marquis of Masserano, who was elevated to the princely dignity on the 13th of August the same year. The title was also associated with the marquisate of Crevacuore (Vittorino Barale, The Principality of Masserano and the Marquisate of Crevacuore , Centro Studi Biellesi, Biella 1966).
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History
In 1614 the princely family was granted Imperial Investiture for the county of Lavagna in Liguria, from the Holy Roman Empire, allowing them to place the imperial double-headed eagle on their coat of arms as Princes of the Holy Roman Empire. The princes were also vassals of the Savoy for the counties and lordships of Candelo, Gaglianico, Benna, Roasio, Zumaglia, Serravalle, Bornate, Beatino, Sandigliano, Vintebbio and Lozzolo. During the war of succession of Monferrat the prince allied himself with Spain, provoking the Savoy reaction, who invaded the fiefdom and dismantled the fortifications of Masserano and Crevacuore, which were occupied until 1618. The prince then began to assert and impose new tax burdens on the population, using force, to compensate for the war damage suffered. The principality prospered until 1741 when Vittorio Filippo renounced the state and sovereign rights, selling the state for 400,000 lire in favor of the Savoys.
In 1767 the lands of the Princedom of Masserano passed to the Kingdom of Sardinia, after the congress of Vienna but the princely family was given the privilege to continue keeping their hereditary titles in perpetuity by the Pope as members of the Papal nobility. After the Fieschi branch went into extinct, the titles passed to the Ferrero-Marmora branch of the Ferrero Family by royal decree (Luigi Cesare Bollea, entry "Masserano", in Enciclopedia Treccani , Rome 1934). In 1900, Carlo Emanuele Ferrero della Marmora’s son, Tommaso, died without a heir so the hereditary rights of the family titles passed to Mario Francesco Ferrero Marmora Calichiopulo, the only male living relative of Carlo and great-grandson of Carlo’s father Celestino Ferrero della Marmora. Mario moved with his family to the neighbouring country of Greece, through the island of Corfu, where he had relatives, keeping only the Marmora Calchiopulo part of his surnames. As a matter of fact, since nobody remained in Italy to claim the title, the crown made a new title for the fiefdom of Masserano , named it Marquis of Masserano and bestowed it to the Umbaldini family, who had no genetic relations with the Ferreros. This action was heavily criticised at the time, because the Marquises of Masserano were elevated to Princes by the Pope 302 years before and the King had no legitimate right to change the situation. However, this was not a rare occasion.
Not all pre-unification noble titles were recognised by the Kingdom of Italy, while some of them were replaced by others. However, since there are living descendants of the Ferrero family in Greece, through the Marmora Calichiopulo branch, they are recognised as Princes of Masserano and Marquises of Crevacuore, as members of the papal nobility. The papal nobility are the only Italian noble titles officialy recognised by the State today. All the rest former noble titles are not recognised since the abolition of monarchy in 1946. The princely title of Masserano has descended to the present holder through the following houses: Ferrero Marmora, Marmora Calichiopulo, Calichiopulo Caperdo, Caperdo Triangi and Triangi Theocharopoulo (Spiros Katsaros, Libro D’ oro della magnifica citta di Corfu, Corfu 1980).
Prince of Masserano Title Holders
- First Holder: Francesco Filiberto Ferrero Fieschi
- Present Holder: George Marios Theocharopoulos
Family Coat of Arms
Letter Patent Issued By The Prince of Masserano
External Links
