Duchy of Bracciano

The Duchy of Bracciano was a fief of the Papal States, centred on lago di Bracciano and the town of Bracciano itself and ruled by a branch of the Orsini family with the title of Lord (from 1417) and Duke (1560–1696). History The Orsini ruled Bracciano from 1417, when Charles, a descendant of Napoleone Orsini (died c. 1267), was made lord of Bracciano by Pope Martin V. On Charles' death in 1445 the lordship was inherited by Napoleone Orsini (also count of Tagliacozzo), Gentile Virginio, Gian Giordano, Girolamo and Paolo Giordano I Orsini. In 1558 Paolo Giordano I married Cosimo I de' Medici's daughter Isabella de' Medici. To gain the Medici's consent to the match, Pope Pius IV promoted Bracciano to a dukedom and added to its territories, giving the Orsini greater financial resources. The Orsini took full advantage of this, building a new aqueduct and using its water to mine sulphur and iron and manufacture tapestries. After church power had been consolidated, the new duke moved against the barons and gradually placed all the fiefdoms under his complete control. The classic feudal rights were conferred on the new duke - imposing tribute, minting coins (a right he did not take up), political asylum, the so-called 'mero et mixto imperio' (i.e. exercising judicial power in civil and penal law). The duchy was made up of seven main lands - Bracciano, Anguillara (linked to the Orsini by personal union; technically an autonomous county, than a marquisate, ruled by the duke's eldest son), Cerveteri, Trevignano, Monterano, Campagnano and Formello, as well as twenty-five other estates, such as Palo and Viano.