The counts of Ventimiglia once held a county from the Tinée and the Vésubie to the Arroscia.
Genoa took Ventimiglia by land and sea in 1139-1140, and in 1146 the counts and the new commune of Ventimiglia had to accept Genoa as feudal overlord; the counts kept most of their local power, exercised under Genoa, until the mid-13th century. In 1185 Count Ottone III offered to swear to the commune's sworn association. East of the Roya their hill castles lie in the Nervia valley, the upper Argentina and the Prino and Maro valleys behind Porto Maurizio.
The France map has their lands west of the Roya.
Who he is
- Name
- The comital house of Ventimiglia (Count Ottone III is attested in 1185; the count or counts on 1 January 1200 are not pinned)
- Title
- Counts of Ventimiglia
- Since
- not pinned
- Family
- Counts of Ventimiglia; Ottone III's nephews Guglielmo II (podestà of Ventimiglia 1222) and Manuele I
- Confidence
- low
it.wikipedia (Contea di Ventimiglia); matches the France map's record for the lands west of the Roya.
Overlord
Genoa (feudal overlord since 1139-1146)
What it holds
- The Nervia valley: Dolceacqua, Apricale, Perinaldo, Pigna, Castel Vittorio (Castelfranco), Bajardo [listed from later evidence; not pinned for 1200]
- The upper Argentina: Badalucco, Montalto, Triora [not pinned]
- Castellaro, Bussana and Prelà (named among their lands in 1258)
- The Maro valley (Borgomaro) [the later Maro branch; not pinned for 1200]
How it was acquired
Comital rights from the 10th century; held of Genoa since 1146.
Allies and rivals
Genoa (overlord); the commune of Ventimiglia (rival and partner); the marquises of Clavesana (neighbours at Taggia); the archbishop of Genoa at Sanremo and Ceriana.
How things stand that morning
Holding their castles under Genoa; the commune of Ventimiglia governs the town.
Wealth
Mountain castles and rents; the Roya and Nervia roads.
Military
Hill castles; their men serve Genoa or the commune.
Threats
- Genoa's tightening grip (siege of Ventimiglia 1218-1222)
Places of note
- Dolceacqua: Comital castle in the Nervia [not pinned for 1200]
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The 1146 submission and the 1258 list are reported; the counts of 1200 and their castles east of the Roya are not pinned.
On the map: Drawn from the lands named in 1258 and later; the county's extent east of the Roya in 1200 is not pinned. Coloured as empire, like the France map's record for the lands west of the Roya (Ventimiglia), because the counts kept their local power under Genoa's overlordship rather than being governed by the commune.
Primary sources for Empire
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.
- Annals of Marbach (compiled to 1238, the section on 1198 to 1210 written in the early 13th century). Alsatian annals on the Staufen side of the Upper Rhine. Read online
- Annals of Reiner of Saint James, Liège, Reiner of Liège (1197 to 1230, kept year by year). Contemporary annals kept inside Liège. Read online
- Chronicle of Burchard of Ursberg, Burchard of Ursberg (about 1229 to 1230, reworked by Conrad of Lichtenau). Written a generation later by a fierce partisan of the Staufen and a critic of Innocent III. Read online
- Chronicle of Otto of St Blasien, Otto of St Blasien (about 1209 to 1210). A Swabian continuation of Otto of Freising written from the Staufen side. Read online
- Chronicle of Reinhardsbrunn; Chronicle of St Peter's, Erfurt (Erfurt chronicle in the 13th century; Reinhardsbrunn compilation about 1340 to 1349 from older annals). The two Thuringian chronicles. Read online
- Chronicle of the Slavs, by Arnold of Lübeck, Arnold of Lübeck (about 1209 to 1210). Arnold continues Helmold and writes from Lübeck, close to Danish, Welf and Baltic affairs. Read online
- Royal Chronicle of Cologne (in stages from about 1175 to about 1250; the section on 1198 to 1220 written soon after the events). The fullest German narrative of the throne war from the Welf and Cologne side. Read online
- Chronicle of Hainaut, Gislebert of Mons (about 1195 to 1196). Ends in 1195, so it has no 1200 entries, but it is the indispensable background for Flanders and Hainaut: the career of Count Baldwin V of Hainaut (VIII of Flanders), his union of the two counties, the settlement with Philip over Artois, the rights, castles, fiefs and vassals of Hainaut listed by a man who ran its chancery, and the youth of Baldwin IX, who held both counties in 1200. Read online
8 more in the sources library for The Rhineland, the Low Countries and the Swiss Lands.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.