Traversari

Who he is

Name

Pietro Traversari

Title

Head of the house; repeatedly podestà of Ravenna

Since

1181 (first podestà-ship)

Born

probably about the middle of the twelfth century

Family

Son of Guglielmo Traversari and Berta; second wife Imilia (Emilia), of the Guidi counts; his son Paolo succeeds him later

Confidence

high

Enciclopedia Dantesca: podestà of Ravenna 1181-82, 1188-1190, 1194, 1196, 1202, 1213, 1216 and 1219-1220; styled count (comes) at Rimini in 1181, 1185 and 1186; died not before 1225. He witnessed Henry VI's diploma for Siena at Cesena on 25 November 1186. With Giocolo Giocoli he was guardian of the Ferrarese heiress Marchesella degli Adelardi and promised her to Azzo VI d'Este in 1185. The English and Italian Wikipedia articles mix up several Pietros and are used only for the family's quarrels.

Overlord

The archbishop of Ravenna, whose estates the family manages, and the emperor, whom the family has long served.

What it holds

• Traversara, the family castle on the left bank of the Lamone east of Bagnacavallo
• Houses and towers in Ravenna; leases of the archbishop's and monasteries' estates across the Romagna
• Property and following at Bertinoro (destroyed by the Dusdei's allies in 1218)
• A claim to the inheritance of Giovanni Duca (not pinned in detail)
• Claims in the Dovadola valley disputed with the Guidi in the 1190s

How it was acquired

Inherited standing as the archbishop's noble tenants; offices won in the commune from 1181.

Allies and rivals

Allies: the Este party at Ferrara; the imperial cause. Rivals: the Dusdei (Guido Dusdeo), the Anastagi and the Ubertini in Ravenna; the Guidi; the counts of Cunio and of Bagnacavallo; Faenza; the archbishops when they assert their lordship.

How things stand that morning

Leading man of Ravenna's commune; whether he is podestà on 1 January 1200 is not pinned.

Wealth

Leases and rents of the church estates of the old exarchate; lagoon fisheries; salt.

Military

His household knights and the Ravennate militia when he commands the commune; the castle of Traversara.

Threats

• The Dusdei faction
• The Guidi and the counts of Cunio and Bagnacavallo
• The archbishop's own claims
• The pope's claim to the exarchate

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.

In 1200

1. 1200 (not pinned)A Traversari, probably Pietro, is podestà of Ravenna (English Wikipedia list).Depends on: His hold on the councils. Stopped by: The Dusdei.

Later, on the likely course

1. 1202Pietro is podestà of Ravenna (Enciclopedia Dantesca).Depends on: As above. Stopped by: As above.

Places of note

• Traversara: The family castle (coordinates approximate)

Where the sources disagree

• The English and Italian Wikipedia articles on the Traversari confuse Pietro with his father and grandson and contain impossible marriages for his daughters; the Enciclopedia Dantesca is followed here.

Evidence: Offices well listed in the Enciclopedia Dantesca; lands and wives only in outline.

On the map: Only the castle is drawn; the Traversari's power was in offices and leases, not a block of land.

Primary sources for Ravenna

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.

• 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