Bishops with lordships · Kingdom of Sicily under the regency · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Lipari and Patti

The bishop of Lipari and Patti, head of a Benedictine cathedral community founded under Count Roger, is lord of the Aeolian islands and of the town of Patti with its hinterland on the north coast of Sicily.

On 1 January 1200 the see may be empty: its last known bishop, Stefano, drops out of the record in 1199, and the next, Anselmo, appears only in 1207. A vacant see in a kingdom at war is an opening for the chancellor and for Markward alike.

Who holds it

Name
Not pinned: Stefano (bishop 1180-1199) is the last attested before 1 January 1200 and Anselmo (from 1207) the next (GCatholic); the see may be vacant
Title
Bishop of Lipari and Patti, head of the Benedictine cathedral houses of Lipari and Patti
Since
Not pinned
Confidence
low

The sees of Lipari and Patti were united on equal terms from 1157 to 1399 (GCatholic). The first bishop of Lipari, Giovanni (1131-1139), was made by the antipope Anacletus II and deposed (GCatholic).

What it holds

  • The Aeolian islands (Lipari, Vulcano, Salina and the rest): lordship granted by Count Roger I to the Benedictine abbey of Lipari [medium]
  • Patti and its territory on the north coast, the land of the abbey of San Salvatore [medium]
  • Villages of the Patti hinterland such as Librizzi [thin]

How it was acquired

Count Roger I founded the Benedictine house of San Bartolomeo on Lipari in the 1080s and endowed it with the islands, and San Salvatore at Patti in the 1090s [medium]; Lipari became a bishopric in 1131 and was united with Patti in 1157 (GCatholic).

How things stand that morning

Held by the church of Lipari and Patti; whether a bishop is in office is not pinned.

Wealth

The sea lane between Palermo and Messina; the islands' fisheries and pumice; the farms of the Patti plain.

Threats

  • A vacant see open to the chancellor's or Markward's candidate
  • Corsairs and war fleets passing the islands [thin]

Advocates and rivals

The royal government at Palermo; the lords of the Val Demone; Markward's party, strong enough on this coast by 1202 that he dies at Patti (en.wikipedia).

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The union of the sees and the bishops' dates come from GCatholic; the lordship's content is standard history not checked in a consulted source.

On the map: Patti's hinterland is drawn as two modern communes; the church's lands there may have been larger or smaller.

Primary sources for Sicily

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

7 more in the sources library for Southern Italy and the Islands.

Sources and studies

  1. Diocese of Patti: bishops (GCatholic)
  2. Markward von Annweiler (en.wikipedia)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.