Counts · Diepold of Acerra and the German captains · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Fondi

Count Richard holds the old county of Fondi, astride the coast road from the papal Campagna at Terracina into the kingdom, and the inland towns of Sessa and Teano, which Henry VI sold him in 1191 as a reward.

Tancred's men took his county that year: Fondi was given to the brother of Aligerno Cottone, and Itri and Maranola passed to the commune of Gaeta in July 1191. He was back in Fondi by October 1194. After Empress Constance's death he went over to Diepold, though Innocent III wrote to him on 15 December 1198 to praise his loyalty and urge him to respect her will.

In 1199 he married his daughter to Diepold's brother Siegfried 'to protect his land' (Richard of San Germano). On 1 January 1200 he stands with Diepold's party and holds the western gate of the kingdom.

Who he is

Name
Richard of Aquila (Riccardo dell'Aquila)
Title
Count of Fondi ('secundus fundanus comes'); lord of Sessa and Teano by purchase
Since
Appears alone as count from 1186; his father, also Richard, was count in 1167-1168 and still in 1176-1177
Born
Not known
Family
The dell'Aquila, a Norman family related to the royal Hauteville house (DBI). Children: Roger (Ruggero), who held Sessa, Teano and Traetto in 1211; a daughter married in 1199 to Siegfried, Diepold's brother. His wife is not named.
Confidence
high

DBI life of Riccardo dell'Aquila; Richard of San Germano.

Overlord

The king; some of his lands are fiefs of the abbey of Montecassino (DBI).

What it holds

  • Fondi: the town, its castle and its lake, seat of a bishop, on the Via Appia
  • Traetto (Minturno), at the mouth of the Garigliano
  • Itri: his family's castle in 1167-1168, granted to the commune of Gaeta in July 1191; whether he had it back by 1200 is not pinned
  • Pico, Campodimele, Vallecorsa (Vallecrosa) and the castles the DBI names Ambrusia and Aquaviva: listed with Fondi when he named the Roman Church his heir in 1212; held in 1200 [medium]
  • Sessa and Teano, bought from Henry VI in 1191, where the family already had rights
  • Allodial land and fiefs of the crown and of Montecassino in the Molise, the Terra di Lavoro and the Irpinia [not listed in detail]

How it was acquired

Fondi by inheritance; Sessa and Teano by purchase from Henry VI (1191); recovered his county by October 1194.

Allies and rivals

Allies: Diepold and his brother Siegfried (his son-in-law); Count Robert of Caserta. Rivals: the commune of Gaeta (Itri and Maranola); the regency; the papal Campagna and the Frangipani of Terracina across the border; Montecassino, whose land touches his at Traetto and Pico.

How things stand that morning

Held by the count, who sides with Diepold. Markward's attack on Teano in the autumn of 1199 failed (Richard of San Germano); who defended it is not recorded. Across the border to the west lies Terracina, held by the Frangipani in the papal Marittima (rom's record; the DBI mentions a 1206 accord with the Frangipani to bring Terracina to papal obedience); north of the Ausoni lie the papal Campagna castles (rom's); south-east, Gaeta's commune holds Itri and Maranola.

Wealth

The Via Appia and the coast road into the kingdom; the lake and fisheries of Fondi; the wine and grain of the Sessa and Teano country; the crossing of the Garigliano at Traetto.

Military

Castles at Fondi, Itri, Traetto, Sessa and Teano and the hill castles of the Ausoni mountains; his vassals' knights. No numbers in the sources.

Threats

  • A papal army coming down the Via Appia from Terracina
  • Gaeta's claims
  • the regency's barons and Peter of Celano
  • Walter of Brienne (1201)

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

  1. 1201 (not 1200)After Walter of Brienne's victory at Capua (10 June 1201) the count loses Sessa; his son-in-law Siegfried is taken at Canne (October 1201), after which Diepold wins back some strongholds and the count returns to Sessa (DBI).Depends on: Walter's campaign. Stopped by: A settlement in 1200.
  2. October 1200Markward gets into the king's household council (familiares) at Palermo (DBI on Richard of Aquila; see the sicily record), strengthening the German side.Depends on: Markward surviving the papal army's campaign. Stopped by: Markward's defeat being decisive.

Places of note

  • Castle of Fondi: Seat of the county
  • Traetto: Castle at the Garigliano mouth

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The DBI life is detailed on his lands and his alliance with Diepold; the date of Siegfried's marriage comes from Richard of San Germano's entry for 1199.

On the map: The county is drawn as its core castles. Itri is drawn with Gaeta (granted to the commune in 1191). Teano and Sessa are drawn as his because his son still held them in 1211.

Primary sources for Diepold's Germans

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.

Sources and studies

  1. Riccardo dell'Aquila (Treccani, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani)
  2. Richard of San Germano, Chronicle, trans. G.A. Loud (University of Leeds, PDF; covers to 1199)
  3. Dipoldo di Schweinspeunt (Treccani, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani)

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