City · Kingdom of Sicily under the regency · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Venosa

Venosa, the Roman Venusia and Horace's birthplace, stands on the plateau east of the Vulture.

It fell to the Normans after their victory on the Olivento in 1041 and went to Drogo of Hauteville; Roger II sacked and burned it in 1133. Its glory is the Benedictine abbey of the Holy Trinity, burial church of the first Hauteville lords and of Alberada, Robert Guiscard's first wife, with a great new church begun on Roman stones and never finished. The town has its own bishop under Acerenza.

Its lord in 1200 is not pinned; it lies on regency ground.

Who holds it

Name
Not pinned (a royal or baronial town; its holder in 1200 is not named in the sources checked)
Title
Lord of the town
Since
Not pinned
Confidence
low

it.wikipedia (Venosa): Norman conquest after the Olivento (1041), Drogo, sack by Roger II (1133), the Holy Trinity with the Hauteville tombs and the unfinished church, nuns at San Benedetto about 1177. The castle there is Frederick II's (later). Holder in 1200 not found.

Lord in 1200

Not pinned (a royal or baronial town; its holder in 1200 is not named in the sources checked)

Overlord

The king, the boy Frederick, under the pope's wardship and the regency council at Palermo

How things stand that morning

Regency ground (realm sicily): no German captain, siege or raid is recorded here in the winter of 1199-1200 in the sources checked.

Wealth

Grain and pasture of the plateau; the abbey's estates (Church map record).

Military

No figures.

Threats

  • Not pinned

Charter

No town charter is known; the town lives by the king's law and the customs confirmed by the Norman kings.

Council

No commune: the king's or lord's officers (bailiff, judges) govern with the leading men; no council is recorded for 1200.

Communities

Latin townsmen; the abbey's monks; an old Jewish community (the late antique Jewish catacombs), its state in 1200 not pinned; nuns at San Benedetto (about 1177).

Militia

Townsmen owe guard and service to the lord and the crown; no figures.

Walls and castle

Town walls; the later castle is Frederick II's work, not yet built. The abbey of the Holy Trinity with its unfinished new church stands at the edge of the town.

Trade and crafts

Grain of the plateau, wool, wine.

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. 1200No dated event for this lordship was found for 1200.Depends on: Nothing in play. Stopped by: Nothing in play.

Places of note

  • Abbey of the Holy Trinity: Benedictine abbey, Hauteville burial church (Church map record)

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Norman history fair; the town's lord and the abbey's state in 1200 not pinned.

On the map: Near land only.

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.

7 more in the sources library for Southern Italy and the Islands.

Sources and studies

  1. Venosa (it.wikipedia)

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