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97-478: Castello Ursino was built between 1239 and 1250, as one of the royal castles of Emperor Frederick II , King of Sicily, closing a chapter on the turbulent time in Sicily that followed the death of his predecessor, William II . Local lords had attempted to assert independence, and in 1220 Frederick II had ordered the destruction of all non-royal castles in Sicily. Castello Ursino was built to stress royal power as well as for

194-545: A papal legate that Frederick was her son by Henry. It is probable that these public acts of affirmation on account of her age gave rise to some false rumours. In the spring of 1195, a few months after Henry VI had been crowned king of Sicily and not long after the birth of her son, Constance the empress continued her journey to Palermo . After the unexpected death of Tancred of Lecce (an illegitimate son of Roger, eldest son of Roger II of Sicily) Henry had hurried over to assume power and to have himself crowned king. Frederick

291-412: A General Council. Frederick and his allies, however, dashed Gregory's plan for a General Council when they intercepted a delegation of prelates traveling to Rome in a Genoese fleet at the crushing Battle of Giglio (1241) , capturing almost all of the high dignitaries and taking thousands of prisoners along with most of the fleet. The emperor proclaimed his victory to be divine judgment and a symbol against

388-620: A chronicler of the time, wrote that Frederick: went to the Mediterranean sea, and embarked with a small retinue; but after pretending to make for the Holy Land for three days, he said that he was seized with a sudden illness [...] this conduct of the emperor redounded much to his disgrace, and to the injury of the whole business of the crusade. Frederick eventually sailed again from Brindisi in June 1228. The pope, still Gregory IX, regarded that action as

485-568: A complete capitulation, and the Statutum in favorem principum ("Statute in favor of the princes"), issued at Worms, deprived the emperor of much of his sovereignty in Germany. Frederick summoned Henry to a meeting, which was held at Aquileia in 1232. Henry confirmed his submission, but Frederick was nevertheless compelled to confirm the Statutum at Cividale soon afterwards. The situation for Frederick

582-492: A diplomatic match for his protege Frederick, to enable him successful future alliances. Eventually Constance of Aragon , a widow of the late King of Hungary and double his age was found. Otto of Brunswick had been crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Innocent III in October 1209. In southern Italy, Otto became the champion of those noblemen and barons who feared Frederick's increasingly strong measures to check their power, such as

679-532: A direct successor to the Roman emperors of antiquity, he was Emperor of the Romans from his papal coronation in 1220 until his death; he was also a claimant to the title of King of the Romans from 1212 and unopposed holder of that monarchy from 1215. As such, he was King of Germany , of Italy , and of Burgundy . At the age of three, he was crowned King of Sicily as a co-ruler with his mother, Constance, Queen of Sicily,

776-503: A last unsuccessful attack in October, Frederick was forced to raise the siege. Frederick’s prestige suffered a blow and the “legend of the emperor’s invincibility” had been damaged. Regrouping as the year closed, it was not Frederick’s political nous which failed him but a combination of bad luck and his incorrect assessment of the military resources required to subjugate the last few holdouts against imperial authority in northern Italy. Gregory IX sensed vulnerability and Frederick received

873-513: A major military expedition so readily, refused. He was unwilling to cross into Hungary, and although he went about unifying his magnates and other monarchs to potentially face a Mongol invasion, he specifically took his vow for the defense of the empire on "this side of the Alps". Frederick was aware of the danger the Mongols posed, and grimly assessed the situation, but also tried to use it as leverage over

970-468: A number of 18th century Chinese vases, violins produced by Andrea Amati , Caltagirone ceramics, 17th century bronze statuettes of Venus and Vulcan and an 18th-century bronze statuette of Perseus. This large room houses temporary exhibitions as well as sculptures, bas-reliefs, inscriptions from Certosa di Nuovaluce and an urn by the Gaginian school . A room beside it houses some of the numismatic collection and

1067-555: A papal incited rebellion flared in Apulia. In southern Italy, Frederick attacked and razed the papal enclaves of St Angelo and Benevento . In the meantime the Ghibelline city of Ferrara had fallen, and Frederick swept his way northwards capturing Ravenna and, after another long siege , Faenza . The people of Forlì , which had kept its Ghibelline stance even after the collapse of Hohenstaufen power, offered their loyal support during

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1164-548: A provocation, since, as an excommunicate, Frederick was technically not capable of conducting a crusade, and he excommunicated the emperor a second time. Frederick reached Acre in September. Many of the local nobility, the Templars, and Hospitallers were therefore reluctant to offer overt support. Since the crusading army was already a small force, Frederick negotiated along the lines of a previous agreement he had intended to broker with

1261-584: A self-portrait and a study for Vespers . It also houses works by Natale Attanasio ( Sunt Lacrima Rerum , best known as "Le Pazze"; Women in the Fields ; Tasso and Cardinal d'Este ) and Bernardo Celentano ( Provenzan Salvani in the piazza del Campo ). This houses several 19th century portraits by Rapisarda, Giuseppe Rapisardi , Giuseppe Sciuti , Natale Attanasio , Calcedonio Reina , Francesco Lojacono , Pasquale Liotta , Domenico Morelli , Alessandro Abate , Antonino Gandolfo and Giuseppe Gandolfo , along with

1358-486: A small dog fighting a cockerel, a nymph on a rock and a prehistoric head. Particularly notable is a colossal ram, whilst the most important work in the room is a fragment of a cavalryman, probably from a historiated column, found near porta Carlo V. Named after its previous use as a storehouse for salt, it now houses a mosaic showing a head, thought to be an allegory for Africa, and a bust of an Egyptian woman. This displays around 2000 bronze figurines, of which 1600 are from

1455-522: A small following. He agreed with the pope on a future separation between the Sicilian and Imperial titles, and named his wife Constance as regent. Passing through Lombardy and Engadin , he reached Konstanz in September 1212, preceding Otto by a few hours. Frederick was crowned king on 9 December 1212 in Mainz . Frederick's authority in Germany remained tenuous, and he was recognized only in southern Germany. In

1552-585: Is a former Benedictine monastery, located on Piazza Dante 30 in the city of Catania , region of Sicily, Italy. Together with Mafra , this abbey is the largest Benedictine monastery in Europe. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site (as a part of Val di Noto World Heritage Site), and houses the Department of Humanities of the University of Catania . The monastery was founded in 1558. Dedicated to San Nicola di Bari,

1649-451: Is also possible to use the historical site to celebrate a civil union. Further restoration work was carried out in November 2009. The castle has a rectangular plan, with a large circular tower at each corner and an open-air inner court This houses the museum's ticket office as well as Jewish inscriptions and inscriptions from the medieval senate-house where the decision was taken to expel

1746-661: The Assizes of Capua (1220, issued soon after his coronation in Rome) but came to fruition in his promulgation of the Constitutions of Melfi (1231, also known as Liber Augustalis ), a collection of laws for his realm that was remarkable for its time and was a source of inspiration for a long time after. It made the Kingdom of Sicily an absolutist monarchy ; it also set a precedent for the primacy of written law. With relatively small modifications,

1843-689: The Ayyubid sultan, Al-Kamil . The treaty , signed in February 1229, resulted in the restitution of Jerusalem, Nazareth , Bethlehem , and a small coastal strip to the Kingdom of Jerusalem, though there are disagreements as to the extent of the territory returned. The treaty also stipulated that the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque were to remain under Muslim control and that the city of Jerusalem would remain without fortifications. Virtually all other crusaders, including

1940-615: The Benedettini collection and the rest from the Biscari collection. They date to the Archaic, Siceliot, Greek, Etruscan-Italic and Hellenistic eras. It also houses a 420 BC marble relief of Demeter and Kore found on Montevergine hill in 1930 and several Greek vases such as the red-figure Crater with Perseus and Medusa from excavations in Camarina. These house inscriptions and statues, together forming

2037-541: The Liber Augustalis remained the basis of Sicilian law until 1819. In 1223–1224, Frederick tried Bishop Aldoin of Cefalù for maladministration. The trial was nullified by the pope on procedural grounds. Worried by the independent rule the Muslim population developed since his departure in 1212, he deported the Muslim population of Sicily to Lucera on mainland Italy between 1220-1223. In Lucera he assumed, surveillance

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2134-506: The Nicene Empire , and even a contingent sent by Muslim sultans in the east. From June, he besieged Brescia. After savage fighting in which the emperor himself was nearly captured, Frederick was surprised at the city’s continued defiance in the face of his large army and sent emissaries to negotiate its surrender. The Brescians rejected the emperor’s terms and the siege continued into September when torrential rains prevented any assault. After

2231-701: The Papal States . The emperor ordered Enzo to destroy the Republic of Venice , which had sent some ships against Sicily. In December of that year Frederick entered Tuscany and spent Christmas in Pisa. In January 1240, Frederick triumphantly entered Foligno followed by Viterbo , whence he aimed to finally conquer Rome to restore the ancient splendours of the Empire. Frederick's plan to attack Rome at that time, however, did not come to fruition as he chose to leave for southern Italy where

2328-715: The Schatzkammer of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. In any case, Gerald of Lausanne , the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem , did not attend the ceremony; indeed, the next day the Bishop of Caesarea arrived to place the city under interdict on the patriarch's orders. Frederick's further attempts to rule over the Kingdom of Jerusalem were met by resistance on the part of the barons, led by John of Ibelin, Lord of Beirut . In

2425-638: The Second Coming for 1260, at which time Frederick would then confiscate the riches of Rome and distribute them among the poor, the "only true Christians". During Frederick's stay in the Holy Land, his regent, Rainald of Spoleto , had attacked the March of Ancona and the Duchy of Spoleto . Gregory IX recruited an army under John of Brienne and, in 1229, invaded southern Italy. His troops overcame an initial resistance at Montecassino and reached into Campania as far as

2522-527: The Crusade to continually stall in anticipation of his ever-delayed arrival. The crusade ended in failure with the loss of Damietta in 1221. Frederick was blamed by both Pope Honorius III and the general Christian populace for this calamitous defeat. In 1225, after agreeing with Pope Honorius to launch a Crusade before 1228, Frederick summoned an imperial Diet at Cremona , the main pro-imperial city in Lombardy :

2619-550: The Emperor was initially happy with his election. Innocent, however, was to become his fiercest enemy. Negotiations began in the summer of 1243, but the situation changed as Viterbo rebelled, instigated by the intriguing local cardinal Ranieri Capocci . Frederick could not afford to lose his main stronghold near Rome, so he besieged Viterbo . Innocent IV convinced the rebels to sign a peace but, after Frederick withdrew his garrison, Ranieri had them slaughtered on 13 November. Frederick

2716-539: The Great , the first Christian emperor). It was still his name at the time of his election as King of the Romans . He was only given his grandfathers' names, becoming Frederick Roger (or Roger Frederick), at his baptism when he was two years old. This dual name served the same purpose as Constantine: emphasising his dual heritage. Frederick's birth was accompanied by gossip and rumour on account of his mother's advanced age. According to Albert of Stade and Salimbene , he

2813-566: The Holy Roman Empire seemed now the target of the Mongols, Frederick II sent letters to Henry III of England and Louis IX of France in order to organise a crusade against the Mongol Empire. A full-scale invasion never occurred, as the Mongols spent the next year pillaging Hungary before withdrawing. After the Mongols withdrew from Hungary back to Russia, Frederick turned his attention back towards Italian matters. The danger represented by

2910-559: The King of Germany, he did not travel to Egypt with the armies of the Fifth Crusade in 1217. He sent forces to Egypt under the command of Louis I, Duke of Bavaria , but constant expectation of his arrival caused papal legate Pelagius to reject Ayyubid sultan Al-Kamil 's offer to restore the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem to the crusaders in exchange for their withdrawal from Egypt and caused

3007-419: The Kingdom of Sicily or on Crusade until 1235, when he made his last journey to Germany. He returned to Italy in 1237 and stayed there for the remaining thirteen years of his life, represented in Germany by his son Conrad . In the Kingdom of Sicily, he built on the reform of the laws begun at the Assizes of Ariano in 1140 by his grandfather Roger II . His initiative in this direction was visible as early as

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3104-504: The League when in June 1226 Louis VIII of France laid siege to Avignon , an imperial city. The barons of the French army sent a letter to Frederick defending their action as a military necessity, and a few days after the start of the siege Henry (VII) ratified an alliance with France that had been signed in 1223. Problems of stability within the empire delayed Frederick's departure on crusade. It

3201-518: The Lombard cities to block the Alpine passes. In May 1235, Frederick went to Germany, taking with him no anrmy, only a sumptuous entourage as a display of his power and wealth. News of his arrival spread quickly and the rebellion disintegrated. As soon as July, he was able to force his son to renounce the crown and all his lands at Worms, where Henry was tried and imprisoned. Henry remained a prisoner in Apulia for

3298-462: The Mongols preoccupied themselves with the lands east of the Danube, attempting to smash all Hungarian resistance. He subsequently ordered his vassals to strengthen their defenses, adopt a defensive posture, and gather large numbers of crossbowmen. A chronicler reports that Frederick received a demand of submission from Batu Khan at some time, which he ignored. Frederick II apparently kept up to date on

3395-568: The Mongols' activities, as a letter from the emperor dated June 1241 comments that the Mongols were now using looted Hungarian armor. On 20 June in Faenza , the emperor issued the Encyclica contra Tartaros , an encyclical letter announcing the fall of Kiev , the invasion of Hungary and the threat to Germany, and requesting each Christian nation to devote its proper quota of men and arms to the defense of Christendom. According to Matthew of Paris's copy of

3492-529: The Papacy to frame himself as the protector of Christendom. While he called them traitorous pagans, Frederick expressed an admiration for Mongol military prowess after hearing of their deeds, in particular their able commanders and fierce discipline and obedience, judging the latter to be the greatest source of their success. He called a levy throughout Germany while the Mongols were busy raiding Hungary. In mid-1241, Frederick dispersed his army back to their holdfasts as

3589-559: The Staufer supporters in Germany, she had her son renounce the title King of the Romans. She probably agreed with Philip that Frederick's prospects in Germany were hopeless. The decision strengthened Frederick's position in Sicily as this satisfied both Philip of Swabia and the Pope, who did not like the idea of a ruler who had authority in both Sicily and the North Alpine realm. Constance of Sicily

3686-637: The Templars and Hospitallers, condemned this deal as a political ploy on the part of Frederick to regain his kingdom while betraying the cause of the Crusaders. Al-Kamil, who was nervous about possible war with his relatives who ruled Syria and Mesopotamia , wished to avoid further trouble from the Christians, at least until his domestic rivals were subdued. The crusade ended in a truce and in Frederick's coronation as King of Jerusalem on 18 March 1229, although this

3783-772: The Volturno–Irpino. Frederick arrived at Brindisi in June 1229. He quickly recovered the lost territories, and tried and condemned the rebel barons, but avoided crossing the borders of the Papal States. The war came to an end with the Treaty of San Germano in July 1230. On 28 August, in a public ceremony in Ceprano , the papal legates Thomas of Capua and Giovanni Colonna absolved Frederick and lifted his excommunication. The emperor personally met Gregory IX at Anagni , making some concessions to

3880-532: The allodial Guelphic possessions to Frederick, who in return enfeoffed Otto with the same lands and additional former imperial possessions as the newly established Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg , ending the unclear status of the German Guelphs, who had been left without title and rank after 1180, and encouraging their cooperation. With peace north of the Alps, Frederick raised an army from the German princes to suppress

3977-509: The arts, he played a major role in promoting literature through the Sicilian School of poetry. His magnificent Sicilian imperial-royal court in Palermo and, more particularly, Foggia , beginning around 1220, saw the first use of a literary form of an Italo-Romance language, Sicilian. The poetry that emanated from the school had a significant influence on literature and on what was to become

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4074-658: The burden of local government in Germany. It was a testament to Frederick’s considerable political strength, his increased prestige during the early 1230s, and sheer overpowering might that he succeeded in securing their support and rebound them to Hohenstaufen power. In Germany the Hohenstaufen and the Guelphs reconciled in 1235. Otto the Child , the grandson of Henry the Lion , had been deposed as Duke of Bavaria and Saxony in 1180, conveying

4171-480: The capture of the rival city: as a sign of gratitude, they were granted an augmentation of the communal coat-of-arms with the Hohenstaufen eagle, together with other privileges. This episode shows how the independent cities used the rivalry between Empire and Pope as a means to obtain maximum advantage for themselves. At this time, Gregory considered yielding. A truce occurred and peace negotiations began. Direct peace negotiations ultimately failed and Gregory called for

4268-409: The castle was first built, it was on a cliff looking out to sea, however as the result of volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes, it is now a kilometre inland. The former moat too in the 17th century was filled with lava from an eruption by Mount Etna . Its present location, surrounded by streets and shops in a typical Catania piazza, may strike some visitors as unusual. The castle was acquired by

4365-526: The church in Sicily. He also issued the Constitutions of Melfi (August 1231) to solve the political and administrative problems of the country, which had dramatically been shown by the recent war. While he may have temporarily made his peace with the pope, Frederick found the German princes another matter. Frederick's son Henry VII (who was born 1211 in Sicily, son of Frederick's first wife Constance of Aragon ) had caused their discontent with an aggressive policy against their privileges. This forced Henry to

4462-514: The city of Catania in 1932, and it was restored. The Museo Civico opened in the restored castle on 20 October 1934. Today, the museum houses artifacts and artwork from the castle as well as the greater geographical area. These items date from the Classical era onward, representing the diverse influences throughout Sicilian history . Frequently, the castle hosts also temporary exhibitions or artistic events (theatrical representations and concerts). It

4559-448: The city of Catania with lava, widening the coast for more than 1 km, and the lands of the monastery too. While the monastery was not destroyed by the lava, the surrounding azquired a level of lava stone 12 meters high. The 1693 Sicily earthquake , also called the Val di Noto earthquake, and the following tsunami ravaged the entire east coast of Sicily and Catania. Like nearly the entire city,

4656-676: The city's Jewish population in 1492, including a copy of the Julia Fiorentina inscription from the Louvre . It also houses a medieval keystone, a 16th-century cannon, parts of an ancient Roman mosaic showing the months, a 16th-century inscription mentioning a castellan from Toledo and a statue of Ignazio Paternò Castello Principe di Biscari, by Antonio Calì , displayed with a copy of his book Viaggio per le Antichità della Sicilia . The room is, however, named after its large collection of weapons. This room and those following it display finds from

4753-428: The city's Roman theatre, including a huge headless statue, a torso of Hermes and a plinth found by Biscari in 1770 showing a trophy crowned by two Victories and two barbarian prisoners on its sides. This houses fragments of Roman mosaic, statue of Hercules and a plaster copy of Costanza d'Aragona's sarcophagus. The main works exhibited here include: This houses displays of clay statues of subjects such as Aphrodite,

4850-399: The city, he was convinced that only complete military subjection could finally ensure imperial dominance. Frederick’s demand of total surrender spurred further resistance from Milan, Brescia , Bologna , and Piacenza . In the spring of 1238 Frederick summoned a vast international army to aid in his campaign against the remaining insurgent cities, gathering troops from England, France, Hungary,

4947-515: The civilian population. Mongol probing attacks materialised on the Holy Roman Empire's border states: a force was repulsed in a skirmish near Kłodzko, 300–700 Mongol troops were killed in a battle near Vienna to 100 Austrian losses (according to the Duke of Austria), and a Mongol raiding party was destroyed by Austrian knights in the district of Theben after being backed to the border of the River March. As

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5044-425: The commune of Rome) and an elephant. Now at the zenith of his power, Frederick’s political preeminence across all Europe was seemingly unassailable. Frederick rejected any suit for conditional peace from his Lombard enemies, even from Milan , his most implacable foe among the cities, which had sent a great sum of money. Perhaps from sober political calculation in light of years of Milanese opposition or simply hatred of

5141-535: The daughter of Roger II of Sicily . His other royal title was King of Jerusalem by virtue of marriage and his connection with the Sixth Crusade . Frequently at war with the papacy, which was hemmed in between Frederick's lands in northern Italy and his Kingdom of Sicily (the Regno ) to the south, he was " excommunicated four times between 1227 and his own death in 1250", and was often vilified in pro-papal chronicles of

5238-623: The death of his father Henry VI in 1197, Frederick was in Italy, traveling towards Germany, when the bad news reached his guardian, Conrad of Spoleto . Frederick was hastily brought back to his mother Constance in Palermo, Sicily, where he was crowned King of Sicily on 17 May 1198, at just three years of age. Originally his title had been Romanorum et Sicilie rex (King of the Romans and Sicily), but in 1198, after Constance (who kept using title of Empress) found out that Philip of Swabia had been recognized by

5335-627: The defence of the capital, and was considered impregnable at the time. In 1295, during the Sicilian Vespers , the Parliament which declared deposed James II of Aragon as King of Sicily, replacing him with Frederick III , was held here. The following year it was captured by Robert of Anjou but was later again in Aragonese hands. King Frederick III resided in the castle, as well as his successors Peter II , Louis , Frederick IV and Maria . Here

5432-439: The dismissal of the pro-noble Walter of Palearia. The new emperor invaded Italy, where he reached Calabria without meeting much resistance. In response, Innocent sided against Otto, and in September 1211 at the Diet of Nuremberg Frederick was elected in absentia as German King by a rebellious faction backed by the pope. Innocent also excommunicated Otto, who was forced to return to Germany. Frederick sailed to Gaeta with

5529-407: The election of a new pope. In 1241–1242, the forces of the Mongol Empire decisively defeated the armies of Hungary and Poland and devastated their countryside and all their unfortified settlements. King Béla IV of Hungary appealed to Frederick for aid, but Frederick, being in dispute with the Hungarian king for some time (as Bela had sided with the Papacy against him) and not wanting to commit to

5626-453: The encyclical, Frederick indicated he had accepted Hungarian submission as emperor. Another letter written by Frederick, found in the Regesta Imperii, dated to 20 June 1241, and intended for all his vassals in Swabia, Austria, and Bohemia, included a number of specific military instructions. His forces were to avoid engaging the Mongols in field battles, hoard all food stocks in every fortress and stronghold, and arm all possible levies as well as

5723-414: The encyclical, it was addressed to the Catholic nations— France , Spain , Wales , Ireland , England , Swabia , Denmark , Italy , Burgundy , Apulia , Crete , Cyprus , Sicily , Scotland and Norway —each addressed according to its own national stereotype. Richard of San Germano states that copies were sent to all the princes of the West and quotes the start of the letter to the French king. In

5820-504: The general populace. Thomas of Split comments that there was a frenzy of fortifying castles and cities throughout the Holy Roman Empire, including Italy. Either following the Emperor's instructions or on their own initiative, Frederick II, Duke of Austria paid to have his border castles strengthened at his own expense. King Wenceslaus I of Bohemia had every castle strengthened and provisioned, as well as providing soldiers and armaments to monasteries in order to turn them into refuges for

5917-550: The illegality of his persecution by Gregory. Frederick then directed his army toward Rome and the Pope, burning and destroying Umbria as he advanced. Then just as the Emperor's forces were ready to attack Rome, Gregory died on 22 August 1241. Frederick then attempted to show that the war was not directed against the Church of Rome but against the Pope by withdrawing his troops and freeing from prison in Capua two cardinals he had captured at Giglio, Otto of Tonengo and James of Pecorara . Frederick then traveled to Sicily to wait for

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6014-413: The latter was kidnapped by Guglielmo Raimondo III Moncada to avoid her marriage with Gian Galeazzo Visconti (1392). King Martin I held also his court in the castle. After the move of the capital away from Catania and the appearance of powder weapons, the castle lost its military role and was used as a prison. It is one of the few buildings in Catania to have survived the earthquake of 1693 . When

6111-424: The main arguments for holding the Diet would be to continue the struggle against heresy, to organize the crusade and, above all, to restore the imperial power in northern Italy, which had long been usurped by the numerous communes located there. Those assembled responded with the reformation of the Lombard League , which had already defeated his grandfather Frederick Barbarossa in the 12th century, and again Milan

6208-442: The mid-1230s, Frederick's viceroy was forced to leave Acre, and in 1244, following a siege , Jerusalem itself was lost again to a new Muslim offensive. Whilst Frederick's seeming bloodless recovery of Jerusalem for the cross brought him great prestige in some European circles, his decision to complete the crusade while excommunicated provoked Church hostility. Although in 1230 the Pope lifted Frederick's excommunication, this decision

6305-552: The modern Italian language . He was also the first monarch to formally outlaw trial by ordeal , which had come to be viewed as superstitious. Though still in a strong position at his death, his line did not long survive, and the House of Hohenstaufen came to an end. Furthermore, the Holy Roman Empire entered a long period of decline during the Great Interregnum . His complex political and cultural legacy has attracted fierce debates and fascination until this day. Born in Jesi , near Ancona , Italy, on 26 December 1194, Frederick

6402-408: The monastery was nearly razed and only the basement floors survived. In 1702 the rebuilding started and lasted until 1866 (when the new Reign of Italy confiscated the monastery). The present monastery was rebuilt atop the original structure, with an added new cloister (the eastern cloister) and a new area (the large part designed by Giovanni Battista Vaccarini ) on the top of the lava bench. In 1977

6499-421: The news of his excommunication by the pope in the first months of 1239 while his court was in Padua . The emperor responded by expelling the Franciscans and the Dominicans from Lombardy, taking hostages from important northern Italian families, and electing his son Enzo as Legate General and Imperial vicar of Lombardy. Enzo soon annexed the Romagna , Marche , and the Duchy of Spoleto , nominally part of

6596-684: The permanent "Voci di Pietra" display: This houses: This mainly houses 17th and 18th century works, including masterpieces by Matthias Stomer from the collection donated to the city by Giovan Battista Finocchiaro in 1826 such as Death of Cato , Crucifixion of St Peter , Suicide of Seneca and Christ Mocked . It also displays works by Pietro Novelli such as St Christopher , St John the Baptist , Madonna and Child with St Louis of France and The Good Samaritan . Also notable are: This room houses 18th century works: As its name suggests this room mainly displays paintings by Michele Rapisardi , including his The Sicilian Vespers , Head of Ofelia Pazza ,

6693-421: The pope and the imperial diplomats, Frederick invaded Lombardy from Verona . In November 1237 he won the decisive battle in Cortenuova over the Lombard League, displaying his capability as a battlefield leader, able to maneuver and prevail in difficult situations. Frederick celebrated the victory with a triumph in Cremona in the manner of an ancient Roman emperor , with the captured carroccio (later sent to

6790-425: The presence of the Mongols in Europe was debated again at the First Council of Lyon in 1245, but Frederick II was excommunicated by that very diet in the context of his struggle with the Papacy and ultimately abandoned the possibility of a crusade against the Mongol Empire. A new pope, Innocent IV , was elected on 25 June 1243. He was a member of a noble Imperial family and had some relatives in Frederick's camp, so

6887-400: The rebel cities in Lombardy. Gregory tried to stop the invasion with diplomatic moves, but in vain. During his descent to Italy, Frederick had to divert his troops to quell a rebellion of Frederick II, Duke of Austria . At Vienna , in February 1237, he obtained the title of King of the Romans for his 9-year-old son Conrad . After the failure of the negotiations between the Lombard cities,

6984-472: The red silk mantle that had been crafted during the reign of Roger II. It bore an Arabic inscription indicating that the robe dated from the year 528 in the Muslim calendar, and incorporated a generic benediction, wishing its wearer "vast prosperity, great generosity and high splendor, fame and magnificent endowments, and the fulfillment of his wishes and hopes. May his days and nights go in pleasure without end or change." This coronation robe can be found today in

7081-514: The region of northern Germany, the center of Guelph power, Otto continued to hold the reins of royal and imperial power despite his excommunication. Otto's decisive military defeat at the Bouvines forced him to withdraw to the Guelph hereditary lands where, virtually without supporters, he died in 1218. The German princes, supported by Innocent III, again elected Frederick king of Germany in 1215, and he

7178-470: The rest of his life until he reportedly committed suicide. Frederick II skillfully turned the complex challenge of Henry’s rebellion into a chance to introduce “thorough and groundbreaking” reform of Germany and the way the empire was ruled. The Mainz Landfriede or Constitutio Pacis , decreed at the Imperial Diet of 1235, became one of the basic laws of the empire and provided that the princes should share

7275-402: The royal palace of Palermo until 1206. Frederick was subsequently under tutor Walter of Palearia , until, in 1208, he was declared of age. At that time he spoke five languages, Greek, Arabic, Latin, Provençal and Sicilian . His first task was to reassert his power over Sicily and southern Italy, where local barons and adventurers had usurped most of the authority. Pope Innocent was in search of

7372-427: The suffix of Arena (sand) derived from the volcanic sand present in the area. The monastery complex is located in the historical centre of the city of Catania , alongside the church of San Nicolò l'Arena . The structure integrates architectural styles from various centuries. Although founded in the 16th century, two natural disasters in the 17th century required major reconstruction. The 1669 Etna eruption surrounded

7469-698: The support of the church. He left behind a kingdom in the Levant torn between his agents and the local nobility, a civil war known as the War of the Lombards . The itinerant Joachimite preachers and many radical Franciscans , the Spirituals , supported Frederick. Against the interdict pronounced on his lands, the preachers condemned the Pope and continued to minister the sacraments and grant absolutions. Brother Arnold in Swabia proclaimed

7566-509: The time and after. Pope Gregory IX went so far as to declare him preambulus Antichristi (predecessor of the Antichrist ). For his many-sided activities and dynamic personality Frederick II has been called the greatest of all the medieval German emperors. In the Kingdom of Sicily and much of Italy, Frederick built upon the work of his Norman predecessors and forged an early absolutist state bound together by an efficient secular bureaucracy. He

7663-495: The whole Fondo Sebastiano Ittar , including engravings by Ittar showing studies of monuments and works of art in Catania. Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II ( Italian : Federico ; German : Friedrich ; Latin : Fridericus ; 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 and King of Jerusalem from 1225. He

7760-469: Was Cencio , who would become Pope Honorius III. Markward of Annweiler , with the support of Henry's brother, Philip of Swabia , reclaimed the regency for himself and soon after invaded the Kingdom of Sicily. In 1200, with the help of Genoese ships , he landed in Sicily and one year later seized the young Frederick. He thus ruled Sicily until 1202, when he was succeeded by another German captain, William of Capparone , who kept Frederick under his control in

7857-492: Was also problematic in Lombardy, after all the emperor's attempts to restore the imperial authority in Lombardy with the help of Gregory IX (at the time, ousted from Rome by a revolt) turned to nothing in 1233. In the meantime Henry in Germany had returned to an anti-princes policy, against his father's will: Frederick thus obtained his excommunication from Gregory IX (July 1234). Henry tried to muster an opposition in Germany and asked

7954-518: Was better in order to control them and the Muslims acknowledged that they were left with their religious freedom. He also enlisted some in the army and six hundred as his personal bodyguards because, as Muslim soldiers, they had the advantage of immunity from papal excommunication. At the time he was elected King of the Romans, Frederick promised to go on crusade. He continually delayed, however, and, in spite of his renewal of this vow at his coronation as

8051-524: Was chosen as the league's leader. The Diet was cancelled, however, and the situation was stabilized only through a compromise reached by Honorius between Frederick and the league. During his sojourn in northern Italy, Frederick also invested the Teutonic Order with the territories in what would become East Prussia , starting what was later called the Northern Crusade . Frederick was distracted with

8148-711: Was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Rome by Honorius III, on 22 November 1220. At the same time, Frederick's oldest son Henry took the title of King of the Romans. Unlike most Holy Roman emperors, Frederick spent few years in Germany. In 1218, he helped King Philip II of France and Odo III, Duke of Burgundy , to bring an end to the War of Succession in Champagne (France) by invading Lorraine , capturing and burning Nancy , capturing Theobald I, Duke of Lorraine and forcing him to withdraw his support from Erard of Brienne-Ramerupt . After his coronation in 1220, Frederick remained either in

8245-455: Was crowned king in Aachen in mid-July 1215 by one of the three German archbishops. Frederick then astonished the crowd by taking the cross and calling upon the nobles present to do the same. It was not until another five years had passed, and only after further negotiations between Frederick, Innocent III, and Honorius III – who succeeded to the papacy after Innocent's death in 1216 – that Frederick

8342-554: Was enraged but signed a peace treaty, which was soon broken. The new pope was opposed to Frederick. Together with many of the Cardinals, most of whom were newly appointed by himself, Innocent fled via Genoese galleys to Liguria , arriving on 7 July. His aim was to reach Lyon , where a new church council was being held since 24 June 1245. Monastery of San Nicol%C3%B2 l%27Arena The Monastery of San Nicolò l'Arena in Catania , Sicily

8439-661: Was entrusted to the care of the duchess of Spoleto, the wife of the Swabian noble Conrad I of Urslingen, who was named duke of Spoleto by Frederick Barbarossa. Frederick II stayed in Foligno, a place located in papal territory and so under papal jurisdiction, until the death of his father, on September 28 in 1197. In 1196 at Frankfurt am Main the infant Frederick was elected King of the Romans and thus heir to his father's imperial crown. His rights in Germany were to end up disputed by Henry's brother Philip of Swabia and Otto of Brunswick . At

8536-539: Was forced to return when he was struck down by an epidemic that had broken out. Even the master of the Teutonic Knights , Hermann of Salza , recommended that he return to the mainland to recuperate. On 29 September 1227, Frederick was excommunicated by Pope Gregory IX for failing to honor his crusading pledge. Many contemporary chroniclers doubted the sincerity of Frederick's illness, and their attitude may be explained by their pro-papal leanings. Roger of Wendover ,

8633-553: Was in her own right queen of Sicily, and she established herself as regent . Constance sided with the Pope who preferred that Sicily and the Germans were under separate governments. She renounced the authority over the Sicilian state church to the papal side, but only as Sicilian queen and not as empress, seemingly with the intention of keeping options open for Frederick. Upon Constance's death in 1198, Pope Innocent III succeeded as Frederick's guardian. Frederick's tutor during this period

8730-411: Was known by the appellation stupor mundi or the “wonder of the world” and enjoys a reputation as a brilliant Renaissance man avant la lettre and polymath : a visionary statesman, scientist, scholar, mathematician, architect, poet and composer. Frederick also reportedly spoke six languages: Latin, Sicilian , Middle High German , Old French , Greek, and Arabic. As an avid patron of science and

8827-417: Was not the son of Henry and Constance but was presented to Henry as his own after a faked pregnancy. His real father was variously described as a butcher of Jesi, a physician, a miller or a falconer. Frederick's birth was also associated with a prophecy of Merlin . According to Andrea Dandolo , writing at some distance but probably recording contemporary gossip, Henry doubted reports of his wife's pregnancy and

8924-449: Was not until 1225, when, by proxy, Frederick had married Isabella II of Jerusalem , heiress to the Kingdom of Jerusalem , that his departure seemed assured. Frederick immediately saw to it that his new father-in-law John of Brienne , the current king of Jerusalem, was dispossessed and his rights transferred to the emperor. In August 1227, Frederick set out for the Holy Land from Brindisi but

9021-457: Was only convinced by consulting Joachim of Fiore , who confirmed that Frederick was his son by interpretation of Merlin's prophecy and the Erythraean Sibyl . A later legend claims that Constance gave birth in the public square of Jesi to silence doubters. Constance took unusual measures to prove her pregnancy and its legitimacy and Roger of Howden reports that she swore on the gospels before

9118-477: Was taken for a variety of reasons related to the political situation in Europe. Of Frederick's crusade, Philip of Novara , a chronicler of the period, said: "The emperor left Acre [after the conclusion of the truce]; hated, cursed, and vilified." Overall this crusade, arguably the first successful one since the First Crusade , was adversely affected by the manner in which Frederick carried out negotiations without

9215-403: Was technically improper. Frederick's wife Isabella, the heiress, had died, leaving their infant son Conrad as rightful king. There is also disagreement as to whether the "coronation" was a coronation at all, as a letter written by Frederick to Henry III of England suggests that the crown he placed on his own head was in fact the imperial crown of the Romans. At his coronation, he may have worn

9312-478: Was the son of Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor . He was known as the puer Apuliae (son of Apulia ). His mother was Constance of Sicily . Frederick was baptised in Assisi , in the church of San Rufino . At birth, Frederick was named Constantine by his mother. This name, a masculine form of his mother's name, served to identify him closely with both his Norman heritage and his imperial heritage (through Constantine

9409-663: Was the son of Emperor Henry VI of the Hohenstaufen dynasty (the second son of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa ) and Queen Constance I of Sicily of the Hauteville dynasty . He was one of the most powerful figures of the Middle Ages and ruled a vast area, beginning with Sicily and stretching through Italy all the way north to Germany. As the Crusades progressed, he acquired control of Jerusalem and styled himself its king. Viewing himself as

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