Duke of Vallombrosa

Duke of Vallombrosa (French: duc de Vallombrosa e duc dell´Asinara, marquis de Morès e de Montemaggiore) was a title created for the House of Manca. The present holder is disputed.

History

Portrait of the Duchess of Vallombrosa (née Claire Galard de Béarn)
Marquis de Morès
The Duke and Duchess of Vallombrosa, among others, at Château Vallombrosa in Cannes, 1866.

The Dukes of Vallombrosa trace their origins back to Jayme Manca (d. 1300), an ally of James II of Aragon; they were made lords of the Morès and the Montemaggiore in the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1450. His descendants continued to distinguish themselves, including against the Moors, and were honored by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Castile.[1]

Marquessates

In 1614, the Marquessate of Morès in the Kingdom of Sardinia was created for Caterina Manca.[a] The Marquis of Morès was an upgrading of the ancient title, Count of Morès.[2][3][4][5][6]

In 1652, the Marquessate of Montemaggiore ("Monte Mayor") in the Kingdom of Sardinia was created for Pedro Ravaneda.[b] The Marquis of Montemaggiore was an upgrading of the ancient title, Lord of Thiesi.[2][3][4][5][6]

Dukedoms

In a span of approximately three decades, Don Antonio Manca, later the 5th Marquis of Morès, consolidated the various feudal possessions and relatively large inheritances from his extended family. In 1759, he inherited the fiefs of the Manca branch of the Barons of Usini (later Counts of San Giorgio) and, in 1774, he purchased Sarroch "Vigna di Orri".[7] In 1775, he was given the fief of the island of Asinara and the title Duke of Asinara, after which the Marquis of Morès title could be used by the Duke's first son and heir apparent.[c] In 1817, the Dukedom of Vallombrosa was conferred on his grandson, Vincenzo.[8]

The 1st Duke of Vallombrosa, was first gentleman of the Court of King Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia.[9] When an anti-feudal revolt took place against the Duke of Asinara, who had refused to conform to the regulations of the Viceroy of Sardinia, Charles Felix (later King of Sardinia) decided to punish both the duke, who was stripped of his property, as well as the revolutionaries, leading the Duke and his family to relocate permanently to Paris.[10][d] At the redemption of the fiefs, and elimination of feudalism, by the Crown (King Charles Albert) between 1838 and 1840, the Marquessates of Morès and Montemaggiore were both held by Vincenzo Manca.[e]

Dukes of Vallombrosa and Asinara

Ducal residences

Château Vallombrosa in Cannes

On 25 April 1861, the 4th Duke purchased the Château des Tours, also known as the Villa Sainte-Ursule, in Cannes for 180,000 francs from the Marquess Conyngham. The Gothic Revival villa, later known as the Château Vallombrosa, was built by Sir Thomas Robinson Woolfield on behalf of Lord Londesborough between 1852 and 1856.[19] The Duke added a chapel, decorated the hall, and enlarged the park. After the Duchesses death on 17 October 1887 at the Château d'Abondant in Eure-et-Loir, the Duke retired to Paris, never to return to Cannes. Château Vallombrosa was leased for a while to Prince of Wagram and his wife, Berthe von Rothschild. On 6 May 1890, in order to pay the debts accumulated by his adventurer son, Antoine, Marquis of Morès, the Château was sold to the wealthy German hotelier Henri-Martin Ellmer for 410,000 francs and another 30,000 francs for the furniture. Ellmer hired Laurent Vianay to expand and transform the villa into the Hôtel du Parc, which opened in 1893.[9]

In 1893, the family had estates in Paris, in Eure-et-Loir (the Château d'Abondant), and in Sassari, Sardinia (the Ducal Palace, built between 1775 and 1806 as the family seat of the Dukes of Asinara).[1] In 1899, the 4th Duke also sold the Ducal Palace to the Municipality of Sassari, which uses the palace as its Town Hall.[8][20]

See also

References

Notes
  1. ^ The year 1614 is referred to by D. Scano; F. Floris says once 1614 too and once 1616 (while in the Floris-Serra he had said 1644), Origen says 1654 and Elenco says 1656.
  2. ^ Origen explains that 1652 is the date of the diploma, which does not state (as it had been the case for other titles) that the ancientcy is the actual date of concession (i.e. 1635). Floris refers to 1635 and D. Scano to 1636.
  3. ^ Since the dukedom has peculiar succession rules, who actually holds the title is an unsolved question.
  4. ^ The Stamenti, the parliament of the kingdom, voted to pay a tax of 400,000 lire, Charles Felix as Viceroy of Sardinia (later King of Sardinia) exerted significant pressure to have the poorest classes exempted from the tax and he judged disputes in feudal jurisdiction in favour of vassals rather than feudal lords.[11]
  5. ^ Titles were granted either according to the Italian or the Catalan tradition (Latin respectively iuxta morem Italiae and iuxta morem Cathaluniae), meaning that the succession was only by male primogeniture or also by females if the holder of the title had no sons. Succession by females was abolished in 1926, meaning that if the holder has no sons, the title passes to his younger brother, if any (as the normal succession for British titles today).
  6. ^ Rosa Amat Malliano was a daughter of the Baron of Sorso.[8]
  7. ^ Claire Galard de Béarn (1809–1840), was a daughter of Alexandre Louis René Toussaint de Galard de Béarn and Catherine Victoire Chapelle de Jumilhac.
  8. ^ Geneviève de Pérusse des Cars (1836–1886) was a daughter of Amédée François Régis, 2nd Duke of Cars, and Augustine Joséphine Frédérique du Bouchet de Sourches.
  9. ^ Medora de Vallombrosa, Marquise de Morès (1856–1921), an American heiress, was the granddaughter of John Randolph Grymes, the former U.S. Attorney for Western District of Louisiana under President James Madison.[13] Her aunt, and namesake, Medora,[14] was the second wife of banker and lobbyist Samuel Ward.[15][16]
  10. ^ Adrienne Lannes de Montebello was the daughter of Jean Alban Lannes, 2nd Baron de Montebello and a granddaughter of Gustave Olivier Lannes, Baron de Montebello (the fourth and youngest son of Napoleon's Marshal Jean Lannes, Duke of Montebello, Prince of Siewierz).[17]
Sources
  1. ^ a b c d Almanach de Gotha (in French). Johann Paul Mevius sel. Witwe und Johann Christian Dieterich. 1893. p. 493. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  2. ^ a b Vincenzo Amat, 9th Marquess of San Felipe (editor), Origen del caballerato y de la nobleza de varias familias del Reyno de Cerdeña.
  3. ^ a b Scano, Dionigi (2003) [1942]. "Appendix 2. La nobiltà sarda" [The Sardinian Nobility]. Donna Francesca di Zatrillas (in Italian) (new edition of "Donna Francesca di Zatrillas, marchesa di Laconi e di Siete Fuentes", in Archivio storico sardo, 1942 ed.). Sassari: La biblioteca della Nuova Sardegna. ISBN 84-9789-069-8.
  4. ^ a b Floris, Francesco (1996). Feudi e feudatari in Sardegna [Fiefs and feudal lords in Sardinia] (in Italian). Vol. 1 and 2. foreword by Bruno Anatra. Cagliari: Della Torre. pp. 469–479. ISBN 88-7343-288-3.
  5. ^ a b Vacca Odone, Enrico (1898). "Part 16: Elenco dei comuni e luoghi dell'isola di Sardegna, divisi per giudicati, con indicazione della regione e degli antichi feudi e feudatarj cui appartenevano nell'epoca del riscatto feudale, nel 1838" [List of Sardinian localities divided per Giudicatos with fiefs and feudal lords to whom they belonged at the time of redemption of fiefs]. Itinerario-guida ufficiale dell'isola di Sardegna [Official itinerary and guide of the island of Sardinia] (in Italian). Cagliari: Meloni e Aitelli.
  6. ^ a b Elenco nobiliare sardo.
  7. ^ "Sarroch, Villa d'Orri". www.sardegnacultura.it. Sardegna Cultura - Luoghi della cultura. Archived from the original on 9 June 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  8. ^ a b c "La guida di Palazzo Ducale". www.comune.sassari.it. Sito istituzionale del Comune di Sassari. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  9. ^ a b "The Vallombrosa family and the Château des Tours in Cannes". www.culture.fr. Ministry of Culture. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  10. ^ "Storia di Usini, la Rivolta anti-feudale". Archived from the original on 8 June 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  11. ^ "Carlo Felice di Savoia". Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  12. ^ Dizionario geografico storico-statistico-commerciale degli Stati di S. M. il Re di Sardegna: 18.4 (in Italian). Presso G. Maspero librajo e G. Marzorati tipografo. 1856. p. 197. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  13. ^ Hémard, Ned (2013). "A New York Hill with a New Orleans Pedigree" (PDF). www.neworleansbar.org. New Orleans Bar Association. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  14. ^ "Medora Grymes Ward Death Notice". Memphis Daily Appeal. 25 June 1867. p. 1. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  15. ^ "A FAMOUS LOBBYIST DEAD; SAM WARD DIES IN ITALY IN HIS SEVENTY-FIRST YEAR. A MAN WHO ENJOYED HIMSELF IN MAKING OTHERS HAPPY--PRINCE OF GOOD FELLOWS AND FRIEND OF GREAT MEN". The New York Times. 20 May 1884. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  16. ^ "Sam Ward's Bride | The Daughter of a Famous New Orleans Lawyer and of the Widow of Louisiana's First Governor--Lovely Medora Grymes". The Abingdon Virginian. 30 April 1875. p. 1. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  17. ^ Annuaire de la noblesse de France (in French). Au Bureau de la publication. 1908. p. 101. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  18. ^ "World War One. Wedding of the Duke of Vallombrosa, Captain of artillery, with Miss Therese du Bourg de Bozas. Paris (XVIth arrondissement), Saint-Pierre de Chaillot church, on October 17, 1917". granger.com. Granger. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  19. ^ Base Mérimée: Parc Vallembrosa et ancien hôtel du Parc, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
  20. ^ "THE PALAZZO DUCALE: THE RESIDENCE OF THE DUKE OF ASINARA RENEWED IN TOWNHALL". www.turismosassari.it. Retrieved 3 November 2020.