Duca de Colonna

Description

The Colonna are descended from the Counts of Tusculum, who held power in the city of Rome in the 10th and 11th centuries and provided eight popes. Their progenitor was Margrave Alberich I of Spoleto (* before 889; † between 917 and 925). A Petrus de Columna (c. 1078-1108) is mentioned in 1101 as the son of Gregory of Tusculum (Gregory II, † before 1064) and as the brother of a Gregory and a Tolomeo; but the exact relationships are not clear. The name Colonna derives from the village of Colonna, located on the Alban Hills, not far from Tusculum. Colonna and Palestrina were confiscated by Pope Paschalis II, but restituted by Honorius II to the said Petrus de Columna. In the High and Late Middle Ages, from the 11th to the 16th century, the Colonna, through their numerous castles and large estates, among which the town of Palestrina is particularly noteworthy, and the large band of their clients, exercised a significant influence on the affairs of the Papal States and on the papal elections.