History

The Ruffo di Calabria’s origins have long been the subject of hagiographers’ and genealogists’ writings. In the second half of the 13th century, Simone da Lentini, bishop of Syracuse, thus wrote: ‘Rufa nobilissima et vetustissima familia, tempore romanae reipublicae magnopere vixit et usque ad meum tempus potentissime vivit’ (translated from Latin: “The prestigious and ancient family of the Rufos had an important influence during the Roman Republic’s age, and is extremely powerful up to these days”).

In the 17th century, Giovanni Fiore, noted in greater detail: ‘Remote origins are assigned to the Ruffo di Calabria family, as if their name derived from the Latin Rufo. Chroniclers narrate that the Ruffo and Giuliani were the lords of vast territories, so much so that around the year 1000, the emperor of Constantinople, partnering with this family, was able to reclaim Apulia and Calabria”. Others estimate them to be of Norman origin –  indeed, Filippo and Errigo Ruffo, in the service of Guiscardo, occupied Terra d’Otranto and Basilicata.

The first Ruffo known to have settled in Calabria is said to have been Giovanni Fulcone, who lived in the 9th century and was the father of Berenice, Empress of the East. He is mentioned by several ancient authors.

For ‘historical’, documented and uninterrupted records on the Ruffo di Calabria’s family lineage up to the present day, one must go back to 1235, to Pietro I Ruffo di Calabria, general of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor. Pietro’s second-born son, Giordano, is to this day recognised as being among the first authors of equestrian medicine. His ‘de medicina equorum’, in addition to being one of the oldest examples of the Sicilian language writings, is the first veterinary medicine treaty describing the horse’s shoeing.

On the other hand, Peter I’s grandson, Fulcone – also known as Folco – was knighted in 1247 by Frederick II, who also bestowed upon him the feuds of S. Cristina and Placanica. In addition to being a valiant soldier and among the best poets of the illustrious imperial court school, Fulcone is the forefather of all branches of the Ruffo family alive today. He attended the Emperor’s death and signed his will as a witness.

Over the centuries, the Ruffo family had numerous bishops and cardinals: Pietro was the first, beraised to the cardinalate by Pope Gelasius II in 1118.

The house of the Ruffo di Calabria, divided into various lines, were continuously present in Calabria for eight centuries, controlling important administrative, military and court positions and maintaining feudal power.

Among the most notable figures are Pietro II, formerly a grandson and ancestor of Pietro I, who was very powerful at the time of Carlo I and Carlo II d’Angiò. He was the forefather of the Catanzaro Line, which faded out at the end of the 1400s into the Centelles Ventimiglia family.

Guglielmo, head of the Aulic Council of the Austrian Empire, was the first Conte (Earl) of Sinopoli in 1335. His son Carlo moved to Provence in 1347, starting the line of the Ruffo Counts of Bonneval and Marquises of La Farre. Carlo, Count of Sinopoli, supported the Angevin dynasty, and was appointed chief military protector of Queen Joanna II of Naples.

In the early 1500s, the line of the Ruffo Dukes of Bagnara was born, from which four different lines originated: the Princes of Scaletta, the Princes of Castelcicala, the Dukes of Baranello and the Princes of Floresta.

The 1600s marked the beginning of a stronger influence for the family in knightly and ecclesiastical orders. In the course of the 17th century, the Ruffo family had four Cardinals and about fifty professed knights, serving in various knightly orders – mainly the Order of Malta. A famous knight and cardinal was Fabrizio Ruffo, who led the Sanfedist movement to reconquer the Kingdom of Naples from the Bourbons. While this cleric’s figure has been judged controversially throughout the last two centuries, history has freed him from the infamous accusation of having betrayed the surrender pacts that he victoriously granted to the Neapolitan patriots.

The most recent well-known figures are Fulco Ruffo di Calabria, hero of the First World War and Senator of the Italian Kingdom and Queen Paola of the Belgians. Together with Francesco Baracca, Fulco was credited with founding the Italian Air Force. More recently, Queen Paola of the Belgians restored the family’s royal legacy after almost a thousand years. The household is represented today by Fulco Ruffo di Calabria, Fabrizio’s eldest son, with only eight male members of the family bearing the surname to date.