The one great Norman county of the island's north, in the Madonie mountains between Cefalu and the interior: the castle town of Geraci on its crag, with the two Petralias, and by the mid-thirteenth century a wide block of castles (Collesano, Gratteri, Isnello, Gangi, Castel di Lucio, Ipsigro, later Castelbuono, San Mauro, Montemaggiore, Caronia) that passed to the Ventimiglia in the 1250s.
Cefalu and Termini kept their own administration.
Who he is
- Name
- Guerrera (of Craon), documented as sole holder of Geraci and the Petralie in 1195-1196; who holds the county on 1 January 1200 is not pinned
- Title
- Countess of Geraci
- Since
- Before 1195
- Family
- The Craon line of the counts of Geraci (Roger of Craon, count of Ischia, documented 1159). Her marriage to Aldoino of Candida is plausible but undocumented; Elia of Hauteville (died May 1206) and his son Roger, count of Ischia and Geraci (a rebel in 1209-1211), follow her in the county by some reckonings.
- Confidence
- low
it.wikipedia (Contea di Geraci), with its warning that the succession between 1196 and 1209 is not documented.
Overlord
The king of Sicily.
What it holds
- Geraci castle and town
- Petralia Soprana and Petralia Sottana
- Not pinned for 1200: Collesano, Gratteri, Isnello, Gangi, Castel di Lucio, Ipsigro (Castelbuono), San Mauro, Montemaggiore, Caronia (listed in the later county)
How it was acquired
Norman grant (traditionally to Serlo after Cerami, 1063; documented as a county from 1159).
How things stand that morning
Held by its count or countess under the crown; side in Markward's war not pinned. Far from the fighting in the west.
Wealth
Mountain pasture, timber, grain of the high valleys; the road from Palermo to the interior.
Military
Castles of Geraci and the Petralias on their heights.
Threats
- Being drawn into the regency's war
Places of note
- Geraci castle: Seat of the county
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: One documented holder (1195-1196); the succession around 1200 is undocumented.
On the map: Only the documented core is drawn; the wider later county is listed, not drawn.
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.
- Annals of Montecassino; Annals of Ceccano (Fossanova) (12th and early 13th centuries; Ceccano to 1217). Two sets of annals from either side of the papal and Sicilian frontier. Read online
- Chronicle of Richard of San Germano, Richard of San Germano (first version about 1216, enlarged to 1243). The fullest southern narrative of the Hohenstaufen kingdom, written by a notary on the border of the Terra di Lavoro. Read online
- Annals of Genoa, by Caffaro and his continuators, with Ogerio Pane for 1197 to 1219, Ogerio Pane and the other official annalists of Genoa (year by year under the commune's authority; the 1197 to 1219 section by Ogerio Pane). The official record of the commune. 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 Roger of Howden, Roger of Howden (about 1192 to 1201). The fullest single narrative for the year. Read online
- Chronicle of Sicard, bishop of Cremona, Sicard of Cremona (about 1210 to 1213). A universal chronicle whose last part is a well-placed eyewitness account by a Lombard bishop who served emperors and popes. Read online
- The Deeds of Innocent III, Anonymous (a curial official, perhaps Peter of Benevento) (about 1208 to 1209). The curia's own account of the pontificate's first decade, with letters copied in. Read online
7 more in the sources library for Southern Italy and the Islands.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.