Aleram, 1st marquis of Montferrat

Aleram (Italian: Aleramo; died 991) was the marquess of Montferrat and Liguria (the marca Aleramica) in Northern Italy until his death. He was son of William I of Montferrat and is mentioned in documents for the first time in 933 when he received a fief near Vercelli by Hugh of Italy. In 955 he was invested of lands in what is now the province of Alessandria.

In 958 he was appointed as marquess by Berengar II of Italy, whose daughter Gerberga he had married. Three years later, however, Aleram sided for emperor Otto I, who gave him further lands in the Langhe and from the Tanaro, the Orba and the Ligurian Sea. The new grants had been favoured by Adelaide of Burgundy, wife of Otto I from 951 and previous wife of Lothair II, and also daughter of Rudolph II of Burgundy.

When Italy came under the direct control of the Holy Roman Empire in 962, Aleramo's titles were confirmed by the Emperor Otto I.

• http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/MONFERRATO,%20SALUZZO,%20SAVONA.htm...

ALERAMO, son of Conte GUGLIELMO & his wife --- (-[967/91]). Conte. "Hugo et Lotharius…Reges" granted property "Forum…supra fluvium Tanari in comitatu Aquensi…et Villa…Roncho" to "fideli nostro Aledramo comiti" by charter dated 6 Feb 938[14]. Marchese, after 938. "Berengarius et Adelbertus filius eius…Reges" confirmed a donation to the abbey of Grazano by "Aledramus Marchio filius Gulielmi Comitis et Gilberga filius D. Berengarii Regis, et Anselmus seu Oddo germani lege viventes Salica", for the soul of "quondam Gulielmi qui fuit filius et filiaster atque germanus noster", by charter dated Aug 951[15]. Emperor Otto I granted land "a flumine Tanari usque ad flumen Urbam et ad litus maris…Dego, Bagnasco, Ballangio, Salocedo, Loceti, Salfole, Miola, Pulchrone, Grualia, Pruneto, Altefino, Curtemilia, Montenesi, Noseto, Maximino, Arche" to "Aleramum Marchionum" by charter dated 23 Mar 967[16]. Benvenuto di San Giorgio states that Aleramo died in 995 and was buried at the abbey of Grazano, but does not cite the corresponding primary source[17].

m firstly ---. The primary source which directly confirms this first marriage has not yet been identified. However, the chronology of Aleramo´s known wife Gilberga suggests that she could not have been the mother of his known children.

m secondly (before Jul 961) GILBERGA di Ivrea, daughter of BERENGARIO II King of Italy [Ivrea] & his wife Willa d'Arles (945-). "Gislam [et]…Girbergam" are named as daughters of Berengar and Willa by Liutprand[18]. "Berengarius et Adelbertus filius eius…Reges" confirmed a donation to the abbey of Grazano by "Aledramus Marchio filius Gulielmi Comitis et Gilberga filius D. Berengarii Regis, et Anselmus seu Oddo germani lege viventes Salica", for the soul of "quondam Gulielmi qui fuit filius et filiaster atque germanus noster", by charter dated Aug 951[19]. The dating of this charter is dubious, assuming that Gilberga´s date of birth is correct as shown above.

Aleramo & his first wife had three children:

Family: Aleramo had three sons from his first wife, one Adelaide:

William II, died before 967, co-ruler with his father

Otto, died 991. His son William III succeeded to Montferrat

Anselm, who succeeded to Liguria

He was buried in Grazzano Badoglio, in the Province of Asti. His tomb, restored in the 16th and 20th centuries, is marked by a mosaic depicting mythological beasts.

Sources[edit]Circolo Culturale I Marchesi del Monferrato (external link to website devoted to dynastic history)

• https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleramo_del_Monferrato
• http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/aleramo_(Dizionario-Biografico)/
• http://www.marchesimonferrato.it/2017/01/31/aleramo/
• https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleramici#Il_personaggio_storico

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Aleramo, a cura di FRANCESCO COGNASSO
Scheda pubblicata in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, vol. II, Roma 1960, pp. 157-158.

La presente scheda è stata inserita grazie alla autorizzazione rilasciata dall'ISTITUTO DELLA ENCICLOPEDIA ITALIANA fondata da Giovanni Treccani [Prot. 495/04/DE del 19 novembre 2004] che si ringrazia per la disponibilità.

Compare nella storia italiana nel luglio del 933, quando i re Ugo e Lotario gli donano, a richiesta del conte Engelberto, la corte detta Auriola (oggi Trino), tra i fiumi (rogge) Lamporo e Stura, nel comitato di Vercelli. A. è detto dai donatori "fidelis noster Alledramus comes". L'attribuzione di detta corte al comitato vercellese e, quindi, l'identificazione , è resa sicura dall'ultimo editore dell'atto, L. Schiaparelli. La lettura delle edizioni precedenti, "comitatus Aquensi", è errata. Del 6 febbr. 935 (ma solo dopo il 940 deve essere stata regolata in cancelleria la datazione) è un altro diploma di Ugo e Lotario per la concessione al "fedele conte Aleramo", a richiesta di Ambrogio vescovo di Lodi e del conte Eldrico, della corte detta Foro, situata sul fiume Tanaro, nel comitato di Acqui, con tutte le pertinenze dal fiume Tanaro al fiume Bormida e dal luogo detto Barcile a Carpano, e inoltre della villa detta Ronco con tutti gli arimanni e su di questi la "districtio" ed ogni pubblica "funzione e querimonia". Il 29 marzo 945 il conte A. ed il conte Lanfranco intervengono presso Ugo e Lotario, che li dicono "diletti nostri fedeli", per una donazione alla contessa Rotruda Rosa, al conte Elisiardo ed alla sua consorte Rotlinda, figlia di re Ugo, di terre nel comitato di Tortona; il 13 aprile seguente A. è a Pavia, presente ad un placito regio. Il 5 luglio 948 re Lotario fa un importante concessione al suo fedele Varimondo, "interventu et petizione Aledrami incliti comitis dilectique fidelis nostri". Tra il 958 e il 961 i re Berengario II e Adalberto, a richiesta di Gerberga, figlia del re e prossima sposa di Aleramo, concedono "inclito marchioni Aledrammo fideli nostro" il diritto di creare e stabilire mercati nei suoi possedimenti, riservando a lui ed agli eredi ogni diritto. Nell'agosto del 961 A. marchese, con la consorte Gerberga e i due figli di prime nozze Anselmo ed Ottone, con il consenso del padre conte Guglielmo, fa una donazione di terre al monastero di Grazzano nel Monferrato, da lui precedentemente fondato. Del marzo 967 è il diploma di Ottone I da Ravenna a favore del marchese A. per la concessione di alcune corti poste in luoghi deserti tra il Tanaro, l'Orba ed il mare e la conferma dei suoi beni posti in altri comitati, e l'atto è fatto a richiesta dell'imperatrice Adelaide. Subito dopo, il 17 apr. 967 il marchese A. è ancora a Ravenna, presente ad un placito regio. Questi pochi documenti ci permettono appena d'intravedere il profilo storico del famoso Aleramo. Dai documenti risulta che era di legge salica, quindi proveniente da famiglia franca o borgognona.

Il padre era un conte Guglielmo. Il Terranno, nel secolo XVIII, e, ai giorni nostri B. Baudi di Vesme, il Gabotto ed altri eruditi, hanno creduto di poter identificare Guglielmo padre di A. con quel Guglielmo capitano di trecento armati venuto nell'899 a combattere in Italia per Guido contro Berengario. In questo modo si riallaccerebbe A. agli Aleramici francesi, conti di Troyes nel secolo IX, e con l'Aleramo che, nell'885, difese Parigi contro i Normanni, e si verrebbe a riaffermare, con lungo giro di ascendenti, l'origine sassone, cara agli Aleramici posteriori. Ma il padre di A. era ancora vivo nel 961, come risulta dall'atto di Grazzano: come poteva combattere per Guido nell'889? Sotto Rodolfo II compare nei documenti un "Guillelmus comes": è il capitano dell'889 o il padre di Aleramo? Non si può, però, escludere che il padre di A. si colleghi in qualche modo con il Guglielmo dell'889.

Sicuro è che A. era già conte sotto Ugo nel 933, ma non sappiamo quale comitato avesse egli e quale avesse il padre. La corte Auriola era nel comitato vercellese, a contatto con le proprietà che A. dona al monastero di Grazzano nel comitato di Torre o Torresana, che più tardi si disse di Monferrato. Si può supporre con una certa probabilità che A. avesse questo comitato di Torresana. La corte di Foro e la villa di Ronco ci riportano invece al comitato di Acqui; così le corti date ad A. nel 967 sono nella zona appenninica a nord di Savona in piccola cerchia: Dego, Cortemiglia, Ponzone, Bagnasco, Giusvalla, ecc… A. doveva, quindi, avere il comitato di Savona Vado.

A. fu fedele ad Ugo; il suo primo matrimonio con una ignota principessa deve essere avvenuto ancora durante il regno di Ugo. Si può supporre che egli abbia servito Ugo nella lotta contro i Saraceni e contro il duca di Baviera nella spedizione di questo in Italia del 934.

La marca fu concessa ad A. certamente da Berengario II dopo la sua ascesa al trono nel 950, quando avvenne il riordinamento dello stato e la creazione di varie marche con lo smembramento della grande marca d'Ivrea, che era stata creata da re Guido, compiuto da Berengario II per accontentare i suoi fedeli. Così A. diventò margravio della marca Savona-Monferrato, comprendente, oltre a questi, anche altri comitati, come Loreto ed Acqui, mentre ad oriente si formava la marca di Genoa degli Obertenghi e ad occidente quella degli Arduinidi di Torino. Le tre marche andavano parallelamente dal Po al mare. Del 960-61 deve essere il matrimonio di A. con la figlia di Berengario II.

La caduta di Berengario II non disturbò la situazione di A. che seppe conservare la marca anche sotto gli Ottoni, ed anzi seppe procurarsi la simpatia imperiale. Non abbiamo notizia della data della morte; è, però, anteriore al 4 maggio 991, data di un atto in cui il figlio Anselmo si dice "filius bone memorie Aledrami…".

L'origine relativamente modesta dell'avo A. non garbò alla corte dei marchesi di Monferrato del secolo XIII, specie di Guglielmo VII, che era in relazione con i maggiori monarchi d'Europa. Sfruttando note leggende del ciclo carolingio, un cronista monferrino, fra' Iacopo d'Acqui nel suo Chronicon imaginis mundi narrò cose grandiose di A.: una nobildonna tedesca in pellegrinaggio a Roma si sarebbe arrestata a Sezzé nel Monferrato per partorire; il figlio A. sarebbe rimasto a Sezzé presso i signori del luogo ed ivi allevato; cresciuto, sarebbe andato alla corte di Ottone I all'assedio di Brescia; ivi si sarebbe innamorato di Adelasia figlia dell'imperatore: sedottala, sarebbe con essa fuggito a Pietra Ardena, nei monti del comitato di Alberga. Quivi sarebbe vissuto facendo il carbonaio; poi avrebbe col figlio Ottone, combattuto a favore dell'imperatore ed infine, riconosciuto e perdonato, avrebbe ottenuto il diploma del 967. Ma in tutto questo racconto non vi è nulla che possa essere accettato come possibile: è una fantasia che poggia solo sul fatto che A. aveva sposato la figlia di un re (al vinto Berengario venne sostituito il vincitore) e un suo figlio si chiamava Ottone. Altri scrittori del basso Medioevo fantasticarono della discendenza di A. dall'eroe sassone Vitichindo; attraverso ai conti di Troyes il Gabotto risale anch'egli ad Etelberto re del Kent del secolo VI.

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In English: In Italian history in July of 933, when the kings Ugo and Lotario give, at the request of the count Engelberto, the court said Auriola (now Three), between the rivers (irrigation ditches) Lamporo and Stura, in the committee of Vercelli. A. is told by donors, "fidelis noster Alledramus comes". The attribution of the said court to the committee in vercelli and, therefore, the identification , made secure by the latest editor of the act, by L. Schiaparelli. The reading of previous editions, "comitatus Aquensi", is incorrect. Of 6 feb. 935 (but only after the 940 must have been regulated at the court dating) is a diploma of Ugo and Lothair, to grant the "loyal earl Aleramo", at the request of Ambrose, bishop of Lodi, and of the count Eldrico, the court said Hole, situated on the river Tanaro, in the committee of Acqui, with all the appliances from the river Tanaro, the Bormida river, and from a place called Barcile to Carpano, and also of the villa known as " Ronco with all the arimanni and of these the "districtio" and every " public "function and querimonia". On 29 march 945 the count A. and the count Lanfranco spoke at Ugo and Lotario, who say that they have been "beloved, our faithful, for a donation to the countess Rotruda Pink, to count Elisiardo and his wife Rotlinda, the daughter of king Ugo, of lands in the council of Tortona; and on the 13th of April following A. is in Pavia, at the placito regio. On July 5, 948 king Lothair is an important concession to his faithful Varimondo, "interventu et petition Aledrami incliti comitis dilectique fidelis nostri". Between the 958 and 961 the king Berengar II and Adalbert, at the request of Gerberga, the daughter of the king and next the bride of Aleramo, grant "inclito marchioni Aledrammo fideli our" the right to create and establish markets in his lands, reserving to him and to the heirs all right. In August, 961 A. marquis, with his wife, Gerberga, and two sons of the first marriage of Anselmo and Brass, with the consent of his father, count William, is a donation of land to the monastery of Grazzano Monferrato, he previously founded. March 967 is the diploma of otto I to Ravenna in favour of the marquis of A. for the concession of some courts placed in the wilderness, between the Tanaro, the Orba and the sea, and the confirmation of its goods in other committees, and the act is done at the request of the empress Adelaide. Soon after, on 17 apr. 967 marquis A. is still in Ravenna, at the placito regio. These documents allow us just a glimpse of the historical profile of the famous Aleramo. From the documents it is clear that it was the law salica, and then from the family frank or burgundian..Appears in Italian history in July of 933, when the kings Ugo and Lotario give, at the request of the count Engelberto, the court said Auriola (now Three), between the rivers (irrigation ditches) Lamporo and Stura, in the committee of Vercelli. A. is told by donors, "fidelis noster Alledramus comes". The attribution of the said court to the committee in vercelli and, therefore, the identification , made secure by the latest editor of the act, by L. Schiaparelli. The reading of previous editions, "comitatus Aquensi", is incorrect. Of 6 feb. 935 (but only after the 940 must have been regulated at the court dating) is a diploma of Ugo and Lothair, to grant the "loyal earl Aleramo", at the request of Ambrose, bishop of Lodi, and of the count Eldrico, the court said Hole, situated on the river Tanaro, in the committee of Acqui, with all the appliances from the river Tanaro, the Bormida river, and from a place called Barcile to Carpano, and also of the villa known as " Ronco with all the arimanni and of these the "districtio" and every " public "function and querimonia". On 29 march 945 the count A. and the count Lanfranco spoke at Ugo and Lotario, who say that they have been "beloved, our faithful, for a donation to the countess Rotruda Pink, to count Elisiardo and his wife Rotlinda, the daughter of king Ugo, of lands in the council of Tortona; and on the 13th of April following A. is in Pavia, at the placito regio. On July 5, 948 king Lothair is an important concession to his faithful Varimondo, "interventu et petition Aledrami incliti comitis dilectique fidelis nostri". Between the 958 and 961 the king Berengar II and Adalbert, at the request of Gerberga, the daughter of the king and next the bride of Aleramo, grant "inclito marchioni Aledrammo fideli our" the right to create and establish markets in his lands, reserving to him and to the heirs all right. In August, 961 A. marquis, with his wife, Gerberga, and two sons of the first marriage of Anselmo and Brass, with the consent of his father, count William, is a donation of land to the monastery of Grazzano Monferrato, he previously founded. March 967 is the diploma of otto I to Ravenna in favour of the marquis of A. for the concession of some courts placed in the wilderness, between the Tanaro, the Orba and the sea, and the confirmation of its goods in other committees, and the act is done at the request of the empress Adelaide. Soon after, on 17 apr. 967 marquis A. is still in Ravenna, at the placito regio. These documents allow us just a glimpse of the historical profile of the famous Aleramo. From the documents it is clear that it was the law salica, and then from the family frank or burgundian.

The father was a count William. The be Held, in the EIGHTEENTH century, and, in our days B. Baudi of Vesme, the Gabotto and other scholars, believed they could identify William's father, A. with that William, a captain in the three hundred-armed came in 899 to fight in Italy for Guido against Berengar. In this way, one can relate A. to the Aleramici family, the French, the counts of Troyes in the NINTH century, and with the Aleramo, who in the year 885, defended Paris against the Normans, and it would reaffirm, with a long round of ascendants, origin saxon, dear to the Aleramici rear. But the father of A. he was still alive in 961, as is clear from the act of Grazzano: how could he fight for Guido in the'889? Under Rudolph II appears in the documents a "Guillelmus comes": this is the captain of the'889, or the father of Aleramo? You cannot, however, exclude the possibility that the father was A. colleagues in any way with the William of the'889

What is certain is that A. was already count under Ugo in 933, but we do not know what the committee had he, and what had the father. The court Auriola was on the committee vercellese, in contact with the properties that A. gives to the monastery of Grazzano in the committee of the Tower or Torresana, who later said of Monferrato. It can be assumed with a certain probability that A. had this committee of Torresana. The court of the Forum and the villa of Ronco will take us back to the committee of Acqui; so the courts dates back to A. in 967 are in the area of the Apennines north of Savona, in the little circle: Dego, Cortemiglia, Ponzone, Bagnasco, Giusvalla, etc. A. he had, therefore, to have the committee of Savona Vado.

A. he was faithful to hugo; his first marriage with an unknown princess must have occurred still during the reign of james. You can assume that he has served Ugo in the fight against the Saracens and against the duke of Bavaria in the shipping of this, in Italy, of 934.

The ‘marca’ name was granted to A. certainly by Berengar II after his accession to the throne in 950, when there was the reorganization of the state and the creation of various brands with the dismemberment of the great brand of Ivrea, which had been created by king Guido, performed by Berengar II to satisfy their faithful. So A. became the margrave of the brand Savona-Monferrato, including-in addition to these, also other committees, such as Loreto and Acqui, while to the east it formed the brand of Genoa, of the Obertenghi family, and to the west that of the Arduinidi of Turin. All three brands were in parallel from the Po to the sea. Of 960-61 must be the marriage of A. with the daughter of Berengar II.

n.b. – ‘marca’ from the germanic marka, sign of the border

The fall of Berengario II did not disturb the situation of a. Who knew how to preserve the brand even under the brass, and indeed was able to obtain the imperial sympathy. We have no news of the date of death; It is, however, before May 4, 991, date of an act in which the son Anselm is said "Filius Bone Memoirs Aledrami... ". (translation of latin - "son of good remembrances of Aledrami...".)

---. The relatively modest origin of the Avo A. did not grace the court of the marquises of Monferrato, of the THIRTEENTH century, especially of William VII, who was in relation with the major monarchs of Europe. Taking advantage of known legends of the cycle carolingio, a reporter monferrino, fra' Jacopo d'acqui in his Chronicon imaginis mundi told him the great things of A.: a noblewoman of German in the pilgrimage to Rome would be arrested at Sezzé in Monferrato to give birth; the son A. he would remain at Sezzé at the gentlemen of the place, and therein raised; grew up, would have gone to the court of otto I at the siege of Brescia; there you would be in love with Adelasia the daughter of the emperor: sedottala, it would be, with it, fled to the Stone Ardena, in the mountains of the committee of the House. There would be lived by making the charcoal-burner; then he would have with his son, Brass, fought in favor of the emperor, and finally, acknowledged and forgiven, he would have obtained the diploma of 967. But in all this tale there is nothing that can be accepted as possible: it is a fantasy that is based only on the fact that A. he had married the daughter of a king (won Berengario was replaced by the winner) and his son was Brass. Other writers of the late middle Ages fantasticarono of the descendants of A. by the hero saxon Vitichindo; through to the counts of Troyes, the Gabotto back and he also, to Etelberto king of Kent in the sixth century.
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FONTI E BIBL.:

• Fr. Iacopo ab Aquis, Chronicon imaginis mundi, a cura di G. Avogadro, in Monumenta historiae patriae, Scriptores, III, Augustae Taurinorum 1848, coll. 1533-1538;
• Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Diplomata regum et imperatorum Germaniae, I, a cura di Th. Nickel, Hannoverae 1879-1884, n. 339 pp. 462-464, n. 340 pp. 464-466;
• E. Durando, Cartario dei monasteri di Grazzano, Vezzolano…, Pinerolo 1908, n. I pp. 1-3;
• I diplomi di Ugo e di Lotario, di Berengario II e di Adalberto, a cura di L. Schiaparelli, Roma 1924, in Fonti per la storia d'Italia, XXXVIII, n. 35 p. 107, n. 53 p. 158, n. 79 p. 230, n. 80 p. 232, n. 10 p. 274, n. 15 p. 334;
• I placiti del "Regnum Italiae", a cura di C. Manaresi, I, Roma 1955, ibid, XCII, n. 144 p. 551;
• II, i, Roma 1957, ibid, XCVI, n. 155 p. 50; G. Corsero di San Quintino, Osservazioni critiche sopra alcuni particolari delle storie del Piemonte e della Liguria nei secoli XI e XII, in Memorie della R. Accademia delle Scienze di Torino, s. 2, XIII (1853), pp. 14 ss.;
• G. Manuel di San Giovanni, Dei Marchesi del Vasto e degli antichi monasteri de' SS. Vittore e Costanzo e di S. Antonio nel marchesato di Saluzzo, Torino 1858, passim;
• C. De Simoni, Sulle marche d'Italia e sulle loro diramazioni in marchesati, in Atti della Società Ligure di Storia Patria, XXVIII (1896), pp. 7 ss.;
• H. Bresslau, Das Haus der Aledramiden, in Jarbucher des Deutschen Reichs unter Konrad II., I, Leipzig 1879, pp. 389-393;
• F. Gabotto, Gli Aleramici fino alla metà del secolo XII, in Riv.di Storia, Arte, Archeologia per la Prov. di Alessandrina, XXVIII (1919), pp. 13-19;
• L. Usseglio, I marchesi di Monferrato in Italia ed in Oriente durante i secoli XII e XIII, Casale Monferrato 1926, I, passim;
• F. Cognasso, Tommaso I ed Amedeo IV di Savoia, Torino 1941, pp. 28 ss.;
• Id., Ricerche sulle origini aleramiche, in Atti d. Accad. delle scienze di Torino, cl. di sc. morali, storiche e filologiche, XCII (1957-58), pp. 33-49.

Il diploma di Ottone I per Aleramo è edito ora criticamente da G. Barelli, Il diploma di Ottone I ad Aleramo V del 23 marzo 967, in Bollett. stor.-bibliogr. subalpino, LV (1957), pp. 103-133;

• l'edizione fototipia è in Arch. Paleografico ital., IX, tav. 44.

Per la leggenda Aleramica:

• G. Carducci, Gli Aleramici (leggenda e storia), in Opere, XXII, Bologna 1939, pp. 315-350;
• F. Gabotto, L'elemento storico nelle "Chanson de geste", in Bollett. stor.-bibliogr. subalpino, XXVI (1924), pp. 1-156.

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Aleram (Italian: Aleramo; died 967) was the marquess of Montferrat and Liguria (the marca Aleramica) in Northern Italy until his death. Originally a subject of the King of Italy, he had also allied himself to the royal family by marrying Gerberga, daughter of Berengar II. When Italy came under the direct control of the Holy Roman Empire in 962, Aleramo's titles were confirmed by the Emperor Otto I.

Aleramo and Gerberga had three sons:

William II, died bef. 967, co-ruler with his father

Otto, died 991. His son William III succeeded to Montferrat

Anselm, who succeeded to Liguria

He was buried in Grazzano Badoglio, in the Province of Asti. His tomb, restored in the sixteenth and twentieth centuries, is marked by a mosaic depicting mythological beasts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleram_of_Montferrat

Aleramo ( Sezzadio , 904 - Grazzano Badoglio , 991 ), son of Guglielmo I del Monferrato , was the first Marquis of Monferrato and the founder of the Aleramici dynasty.

The biographical information on Aleramo are very scarce. He was the son of William I of Monferrato and is mentioned for the first time in documents when he received in 933 a fiefdom near Vercelli from Ugo I , king of Italy . In 955 it was invested with some lands in the current province of Alessandria .

In 958 he was appointed Marquis of Berengario II , King of Italy and Marquis of Ivrea , whose daughter Gerberga had become the second wife of Aleramo. Three years later, however, Aleramo sided with Otto I , Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire , who gave him further land in the Langheand the Tanaro , the ' Orba and the Ligurian Sea . After Italy entered the direct control of the Holy Roman Empire in 962 , the titles of Aleramo were confirmed on 21st March 967 by Ottone I, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, king of Italy and king of Germany .

Death and burial: Tomb of the Marquis Aleramo in the Abbey of Grazzano ( Grazzano Badoglio ).The Marquis Aleramo died around 991 , having succeeded briefly by his son Otto I , who was in turn succeeded by his son William III .

Tradition has it that at the death of Aleramo, he was buried in the Abbey of Grazzano , which he founded earlier, in the current municipality of Grazzano Badoglio (formerly Grazzano Monferrato ).

The legend, reported by the Dominican Iacopo d'Acqui , born in 1334 , and made immortal by the version of the Italian poetand writer Giosuè Carducci contained in the volume Cavalleria and Humanism , narrates that the Marquis Aleramo was born in Acqui Terme , more precisely in the Abbey of Santa Giustina in Sezzadio , during the pilgrimage of the noble German parents. Left an orphan of his parents, the handsome Aleramo was hired in the imperial army and entered the court of Emperor Otto I , where he met Alasia, daughter of the Emperor, and between them a tender feeling was born. Unable to report the thing to his majesty fearing a refusal to marriage, the two lovers fled to the homeland of Aleramo. In the escape they used a white horse and he a red one (hence the white and red coat of arms of the Aleramici : silver, at the head of red ).Aleramo could not live without fighting to defend peace. When Emperor Otto I became aware of the thing, he wanted to meet the brave young man and forgave the two lovers. Aleramo then granted, in a fit of generosity, as many lands as he had managed to walk on it relentlessly. The territory that he traveled is the Monferrato : this name derives from mun ( brick ) and from frà ( ferrare ), or from the bricks used to iron the three horses that Aleramo rode.

However, there are different variations of the legend, such as the one that wants Aleramo to get the territory that he managed to ride in three days and three nights, and that the name Monferrato derives from having used a brick ( mòn ) as a hammer to iron the horse that had lost an iron ( fér ) during the race.

Others date the name Monferrato to the numerous fortified brick castles that are present in that geographical region. In this case the gift of the territory is traced back not to his love with the daughter of Otto I, but to the value shown in the liberation of western Liguria and lower Piedmont from the so-called Saracens .

Descent:

From the marriage with the first wife, whose name is unknown, three children were born:

William II of the Aleramici (... - 961 ), first-born son, died before his father and therefore never reigned over the Marquisate of Monferrato ;

Ottone I of the Aleramici (... - 991 ), from 969 he was joined to his father in the Marquisate government and effectively became a marquis ruler only after the death of the latter, but he could not hold them for a sudden death;

Anselmo degli Aleramici (... - ...), from him the Aleramici of Savona , including the Del Vasto .

From the marriage with the second wife Gerberga , daughter of Berengario II , king of Italy and marquis of Ivrea , there was no descent.

Bibliography

Rinaldo Merlone, aleramic Prosopography , BSBS, year LXXXI 1983, second semester.

GB Moriondo, Monumenta Aquensia , I, Turin 1789, coll. 289-294

Raoul Molinari (edited by), La Marca Aleramica. History of a missed region , Umberto Soletti Editore, Baldissero d'Alba, 2008.

Giancarlo Patrucco, In the footsteps of Aleramo. From Burgundy to Monferrato , "I Marchesi del Monferrato"

Cultural Circle, Alessandria 2013, ISBN 978-88-97103-05-9