Lordship · Northern Italy · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Ezzelino II da Romano

Ezzelino II, about fifty, is the great Trevisan and Vicentine baron of the house of Romano: lord of castles at the foot of the Grappa, of wide estates in the Trevigiano and fewer in the Vicentino, advocate of the patriarch of Aquileia between the Piave and the Livenza, of the bishops of Feltre and Belluno and of several abbeys, and a former consul and podesta of Treviso.

He changes sides readily: he sold Bassano to Padua in 1193-94, fought for Padua against Vicenza in 1198, then made a separate peace with Vicenza in 1199, for which the Paduans destroyed his family's castle of Onara. He now lives at Romano. His feud with the Camposampiero is old; his feud with the Este lies in the future.

Who rules

Name
Ezzelino II da Romano, called the Monk
Title
Lord of Romano (and until 1199 of Onara)
Since
Succeeded his father Ezzelino I (the date of Ezzelino I's death is not pinned in the sources checked)
Born
About 1150
Family
da Romano, also called da Onara; son of Ezzelino I and Auria da Baone
Confidence
high

Treccani DBI, ROMANO, Ezzelino II da; it.wikipedia and en.wikipedia

Overlord

The Empire and the bishops for his fiefs; a citizen of Treviso

What the realm holds

  • Romano and its castle at the foot of the Grappa (the family seat from 1199)
  • Onara near the Brenta, the old family castle, destroyed by the Paduans in 1199
  • San Zenone and the hills between Bassano and Asolo (Mussolente, Loria, Castello di Godego) [fair]
  • The Canale di Brenta above Bassano (Pove, Solagna, San Nazario) [thin]
  • Wide feudal and allodial estates in the Trevigiano, fewer in the Vicentino (DBI)
  • Advocacies of the patriarch of Aquileia between the Piave and the Livenza, of the bishoprics of Feltre and Belluno, of Santa Maria del Pero (Monastier) and of Sesto al Reghena (DBI)
  • Angarano across the Brenta from Bassano [thin]

How it was acquired

Inherited from Ezzelino I; Bassano, held in 1187 and 1191 when he held a court of vassals there, was sold to Padua in 1193-94.

Allies and rivals

Friends: the da Vivaro of Vicenza; the da Prata (his sister Gisla married Guecello di Prata); in Verona the Monticoli (DBI); Treviso, whose citizen he is. Enemies: the Camposampiero (since the Cecilia d'Abano affair; arbitration of 1194 went against him; a peace reported for 1199 was at most a truce); Padua since Onara (1199); the counts' party of Vicenza (the Maltraversi). The Este: kin by his first marriage, allies at Carmignano in 1198, rivals from 1206.

The realm that morning

Ezzelino holds Romano and his Trevisan estates; Onara lies in ruins after the Paduan attack of 1199; Bassano is Padua's by purchase. He holds no city office that is pinned for 1200 (en.wikipedia's claim that he was podesta of Verona in 1200 conflicts with Treccani; see notes). His long lawsuit with the monastery of Sesto al Reghena (1185-98), which had brought him excommunication, was put to the patriarch to settle by Innocent III on 24 April 1198 (en.wikipedia).

Wife: Adelaide (Adeleita) of the Alberti counts of Mangona (a Tuscan comital house), his fourth wife; his earlier wives were Agnese d'Este (daughter of Azzo V), Speronella Dalesmanini (marriage dissolved when she left him for Olderico Fontana of Monselice) and Cecilia d'Abano (put away after Gherardo da Camposampiero raped her). Children born by 1 January 1200: Ezzelino III (born 25 April 1194), Alberico (born 1196), Palma (daughter of Agnese d'Este; married in 1207), Agnese (daughter of Cecilia), and some of Adelaide's daughters (Palma Novella, Imilia, Sofia, Cunizza), whose birth years are not pinned (Cunizza is traditionally put about 1198).

Wealth

Rents and tithes of the Trevisan and Vicentine estates, the Brenta valley timber and the roads to Feltre and the Valsugana, the advocates' dues of the great churches.

Military

His vassals and castles at the foot of the Grappa; his friends in Treviso and among the da Vivaro. He won at Carmignano with Padua in 1198. No figures.

Threats

  • Padua and the Camposampiero
  • The Este as their power grows
  • Church censure over the abbeys whose advocate he is

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. 1204He occupies the Camposampiero castle of Campreto; Bishop Gerardo of Padua mediates against him (DBI Camposampiero).Depends on: The feud with the Camposampiero. Stopped by: A lasting peace.
  2. 1206-07He backs the Monticoli in Verona; Azzo VI is driven out of Verona in June 1207, returns with Mantua's help and takes Ezzelino prisoner (DBI Este).Depends on: Verona's parties coming to blows. Stopped by: A settlement in Verona.

Places of note

  • Onara castle (destroyed 1199): Old family castle
  • Angarano: Across the Brenta from Bassano

Where the sources disagree

  • en.wikipedia: podesta of Treviso 1191-1193 and podesta of Verona in 1200; the Treccani DBI: podesta of Treviso July 1190 to July 1192 and no Verona office (Salinguerra Torelli was podesta of Verona in 1200 and 1201). Followed the DBI.
  • en.wikipedia dates the destruction of Onara by the Paduans to 1199; not confirmed in the DBI, which does not mention it.

Evidence: Treccani DBI and Rolandino-based accounts; the extent of his lands is reconstructed and not listed in a dated document.

On the map: Ezzelino's power lay in scattered estates, vassals and advocacies across the Trevigiano and the Vicentino, which cannot be drawn; only the castle country round Romano is shown.

Primary sources for this realm

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.

Sources and studies

  1. ROMANO, Ezzelino II da, DBI
  2. Ezzelino II da Romano, it.wikipedia
  3. Ezzelino II da Romano, en.wikipedia
  4. CAMPOSAMPIERO, Gherardo da, DBI
  5. PRATA, Guecello di, DBI

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