Duke of Amalfi

The medieval Republic of Amalfi was ruled, in the tenth and eleventh centuries, by a series of dukes (Latin: duces), sometimes called dogi (singular doge) in analogy to the Republic of Venice, a maritime rival of the time. Before the dukedom was officially created in 957, there was a series of patricians. The Amalfitan duchy was one of the earliest maritime republics renowned throughout the Mediterranean, a trading city rivaling the cities of the north.

Early rulers

Prefects (839–914)

The time of the prefecture is not well known. The first elected ruler of the city was a prefect (839).

• 839–860 Marinus
• 860 Sergius (I)
• 860 Maurus
• 866–c. 870 Marinus, again
• 866–879 Pulcharius
• 879–898 Stephen
• 898–914 Manso (I)

Patricians (914–957)

The time of the patricians (or judges) is not well known. The numbering of the rulers of Amalfi usually begins again with the judgeship. Mastalus was elected judge upon his succession in 914.

• 914–953 Mastalus I
  • 920–931 Leo
  • 939–947 John (I)
• 953–957 Mastalus II

Dukes

Independent dukes (957–1073)

Mastalus was elected duke on his coming of age, but died the next year. A new dynasty was then inaugurated. It reigned uninterrupted for the next 115 years, except during the period 1039–1052, when the duke of Salerno conquered the duchy.

• 957–958 Mastalus II
• 958–966 Sergius I (II)
• 966–1004 Manso I (II), also Prince of Salerno (981–983)
  • 984–986 Adelfer, in opposition to Manso
• 1004–1007 John I (II), also Prince of Salerno (981–983)
• 1007–1028 Sergius II (III)
• 1028–1029 Manso II (III) with
  • 1028–1029 Maria, his mother
• 1029–1034 John II (III)
• 1034–1038 Manso II (III), again (with Maria)
• 1038–1039 John II (III), again (with Maria)
• 1039–1052 Guaimar I, also Prince of Salerno (1027–1052)
  • 1043–1052 Manso II (III), again
  • 1047–1052 Guaimar II, son, co-ruled with his father
• 1052–1069 John II (III), again
• 1069–1073 Sergius III (IV)
• 1073 John III (IV)

Norman domination

Amalfi was conquered by Robert Guiscard, duke of Apulia. At some point, his son Guy was made duke. Nevertheless, Amalfi rebelled twice, once electing the former prince of Salerno, Gisulf, and once electing a Neapolitan of that ducal family.

• 1088–1089 Gisulf, also Prince of Salerno (1052–1078)
• 1096–1100 Marinus Sebastus

A certain Manso was ruling in Amalfi—and minting his own coins there—with the title of vicedux (viceduke) sometime between 1077 and 1096, most probably during the reign of Robert's son Roger Borsa. Manso recognised Norman overlordship and was probably a Norman appointee.

Neapolitan dukes (1388–1673)

The title "Duke of Amalfi" (Duca di Amalfi in Italian) was revived in the Kingdom of Naples in the late 14th century. It passed to the Piccolomini in 1461.

• 1398–1405 Venceslao Sanseverino, also count of Tricario and Chiaromonte, and Duke of Venosa
• 1405–1438 Giordano Colonna
• 1438–1459 Raimondo II del Balzo Orsini, also Prince of Salerno (died 1459)
• 1461–1493 Antonio Todeschini Piccolomini
• 1493–1498 Alfonso I Piccolomini, whose wife Giovanna is the title character in The Duchess of Malfi
• 1499–1559 Alfonso II Piccolomini
• 1559–1575 Cesare I Gonzaga
• 1584–1632 Ferrante II Gonzaga
• 1632–1656 Ottavio Piccolomini
• 1656–1673 Enea Silvio Piccolomini

Spanish duke

In the 20th century the title Duque de Amalfi was revived by Alfonso XIII of Spain:

• 1902-1912 Fulgencio Fuster y Fontes
• 1912-1945 Antonio de Zayas y Beaumont
• 1945-1959 Luis Moreno y Zayas
• 1959-1996 María del Carmen Cotoner y Cotoner
• 1996-2004 Íñigo Seoane y Cotoner
• 2004-present Íñigo Seoane García

Sources

• Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani. Rome, 1960–Present.
• Skinner, Patricia. Family Power in Southern Italy: The Duchy of Gaeta and its Neighbours, 850-1139. Cambridge University Press: 1995.
• Chalandon, Ferdinand. Histoire de la domination normande en Italie et en Sicilie. Paris, 1907.
• Gay, Jules. L'Italie méridionale et l'empire Byzantin: Livre II. Burt Franklin: New York, 1904.
• Stasser, Thierry. "Où sont les femmes?" Prosopon: The Journal of Prosopography. 2006.
• Medieval Lands Project: Southern Italy — Amalfi.