The counts Alberti

Who rules

Name

Alberto IV degli Alberti

Title

Count (styled of Prato until about 1180; 'comes Albertus de Summofonte' in 1187)

Since

by 1164 (Frederick I's privilege to 'Alberto conte')

Born

about 1143 (the Conti Alberti article gives 1143-1203)

Family

Alberti, heirs since 1113 of the Cadolingi castles of Vernio and Mangona

Confidence

high

Conti Alberti (it.wikipedia) and Semifonte (it.wikipedia). He founded Semifonte about 1177, was captured at Mangona by Florence in 1184 and swore terms with his sons Guido and Maghinardo and his wife Tavernaria, witnessed Henry VI's diploma at Bologna on 19 August 1187 as 'comes Albertus de Summofonte', and ceded half of Semifonte to Scorcialupo da Mortennano on 18 July 1189. He dies in 1203.

Overlord

The Empire (Frederick I's privilege of 1164).

What the realm holds

• Mangona and the upper Val di Sieve and Stura (where Florence captured him in 1184)
• Vernio and the upper Val di Bisenzio, with Cantagallo and Vaiano
• Castles toward Bologna in the Val di Setta and Brasimone (Castiglione, later sold to the Pepoli; extent in 1200 not pinned)
• Half of Semifonte (the other half held by Scorcialupo da Mortennano since 18 July 1189)
• Valdelsa castles named among the Alberti's: Lucardo, Marcialla and Castelfiorentino (Pogna was to be destroyed under the 1184 terms); Certaldo and Vico d'Elsa are lost to Florence (1198)
• Capraia on the Arno, seat of a branch (the counts of Capraia) whose relation to Alberto in 1200 is not pinned
• Prato: the old county seat, but the Alberti stop appearing as counts of Prato about 1180 and the town governs itself

How it was acquired

Counts of Prato from the eleventh century; Vernio and Mangona from the Cadolingi inheritance in 1113 (Count Tancredi's marriage to Countess Cecilia); Frederick I's privilege of 1164; Semifonte founded about 1177; defeated by Florence in 1184.

Allies and rivals

Allies: Scorcialupo da Mortennano (co-lord of Semifonte, tied to Siena); Semifonte's townsmen; Ezzelino II da Romano by marriage; Henry VI's court (1187) in the past. Rivals: Florence (enemy of the city in 1197 according to Faini; at war since 1198); Prato, which fought beside Florence against them in 1184; the Guidi as rival Apennine counts. Count Alberto also appears among the later adherents of the Tuscan League (League article): when he joined is not pinned.

The realm that morning

That morning Alberto IV holds Mangona, Vernio and the Val di Bisenzio, his surviving Valdelsa castles and half of Semifonte, which is ringed by Florentine posts at Barberino, Vico d'Elsa and Certaldo. He has no ally strong enough to break the ring, and Faini dates his turn to Florence to 1200 (at Settimo, in the house of Ugolino dei Nerli). Across the borders: Prato and the Guidi's Montemurlo south, the Ubaldini east, Bologna's contado north (eme), Florence round the Valdelsa castles.

Wealth

Tolls on the passes from Prato and the Mugello to Bologna, the Valdelsa stretch of the Via Francigena (half of whose toll went to Florence from 1184), and rents from the Bisenzio valley.

Military

Mountain castles (Mangona, Vernio) and the walls of Semifonte; vassal knights. No figures.

Threats

• Florence's war in the Valdelsa
• Loss of Semifonte, the house's showpiece
• Division among five sons

Consort

Tabernaria (Tavernaria), daughter of Bernardo da Fornoli, his second wife (married by 1184). His first wife was Imilia di Guido (the Conti Alberti article's dates for both marriages are muddled).

Heirs and children

Sons Guido and Maghinardo (both swore the 1184 terms, so adults by then); Rinaldo (first attested 1200, later of Monterotondo); Alberto (V) (attested from 1203, later of Mangona); Ugolino (attested 1209, later 'da Scarlino'). A daughter Adelaide (Adaleita) is the wife of Ezzelino II da Romano and mother of Ezzelino III (born 1194). Birth years not pinned.

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. 12 February 1200Alberto IV sells his half of Semifonte to Florence for 400 Pisan pounds, cedes Certaldo and swears to help the siege.Depends on: no relief from Siena or an imperial legate Stopped by: an offer from Siena or a German king that keeps him in the war
2. 6 March 1200Scorcialupo da Mortennano cedes his half of Semifonte to Countess Tabernaria, who passes it to Florence.Depends on: the February deal Stopped by: Scorcialupo refusing
3. 1200Rinaldo, the count's son, appears in the record for the first time.Depends on: nothing Stopped by: nothing
4. 1203 (beyond 1200)Alberto IV dies; his lands are later divided into branches (Prato, Mangona, Monterotondo, Certaldo, Capraia).Depends on: natural death Stopped by: nothing in play

Places of note

• Mangona: Alberti castle; Count Alberto captured here by Florence in 1184
• Vernio: Alberti castle in the upper Bisenzio
• Semifonte: The Alberti's new town, half the count's

Where the sources disagree

• The Conti Alberti article's genealogy is garbled (marriage dates of 1168-1184 and 1184-1213); Semifonte founding about 1177 (Semifonte article) against 'from 1182' (Conti Alberti article).

Evidence: The Semifonte war and the 1184, 1189 and 1200 acts are well dated; the family tree and the extent of the Apennine and Maremma holdings in 1200 are muddled in the sources reached.

On the map: Semifonte is drawn as a contested town of its own; the Apennine castles toward Bologna and any Maremma holdings are listed, not drawn.