A kin group of the metal hills between Volterra, Siena and Massa Marittima, whose fortunes rose with the bishopric of Volterra: Bishop Galgano (killed by the Volterrans in 1170) and Bishop Ildebrando (1185 to about 1212), captain of the Tuscan League, were of the family.
The lay branches (later known as the lines of Pietra, Perolla and Travale) hold castles over copper and silver mines and keep a palace in Massa Marittima. The Travale line will become the Pannocchieschi d'Elci, buying Elci from the Alberti counts.
Who he is
- Name
- Not pinned for the lay branches. The family's great man is Bishop Ildebrando of Volterra (1185 to about 1212), son of Ranieri (I) Pannocchia (a Church map record).
- Title
- Lords (kin group of the Volterra and Massa uplands)
- Family
- Pannocchieschi
- Confidence
- low
it.wikipedia, Pannocchieschi; Ildebrando Pannocchieschi.
Overlord
The Empire; tied to the bishop of Volterra; in the thirteenth century some branches are vassals of the Aldobrandeschi.
What it holds
- Travale, north of Montieri
- Pietra (Castel di Pietra) in the Gavorrano district
- Perolla near Massa Marittima
- Montepozzali and Rocchette Pannocchieschi, mining castles near Massa
- A palace in Massa Marittima
How it was acquired
Inherited; strengthened by the bishops of their blood.
Allies and rivals
The bishop of Volterra (kin); the Aldobrandeschi (overlords of some branches later); Siena and Massa.
How things stand that morning
They hold their castles; the bishop's office gives the family weight in the league. Lay heads not pinned.
Wealth
Copper and silver mining; pasture and woods.
Military
Hill and mining castles. No numbers.
Threats
- Siena's push into the metal hills
- The Aldobrandeschi
Places of note
- Travale: Castle of the Travale line [coordinates approximate]
- Castel di Pietra: Castle of the Pietra line, in the Gavorrano district
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Castles named by it.wikipedia without dates; no lay member dated near 1200.
On the map: Only Travale is drawn. Pietra (in the Gavorrano district, Aldobrandeschi ground on the tue sheet), Perolla and the Massa mining castles are listed but left to their surroundings.
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.