The House of Tocco ( Tocchi, Τόκκοι, Tokkoi) was an Italian noble family from Benevento that came to prominence in the late 14th and 15th centuries, when they ruled various territories in western Greece as Counts Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos and Despots of Epirus. During their brief period of rule in Greece, they were one of the most ambitious and able Latin dynasties in the region, and were one of the few to leave descendants lasting nearly until modern times, in which they claimed to represent the senior matrilineal heirs of the Palaiologos dynasty.
The earliest known members of the family are recorded in the 12th century, in Benevento, though Tocco family genealogies claimed that they originated much earlier, with forged connections to ancient Gothic kings Theodoric the Great and Totila, as well as to the ancient Epirote king Pyrrhus. Members of the family held various prominent offices during the rule of the Hohenstaufen and Angevin dynasties in the Kingdom of Sicily. As a result of the family's loyalty to the Angevin princes in Greece, such as the titular Latin emperors Philip I of Taranto and Robert of Taranto, Leonardo I Tocco was rewarded 1357 with the grant of the County Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos, islands off the western coast of Greece.
Leonardo I's son and successor, Carlo I Tocco, became Despot of Epirus in 1411, granted by the Eastern Roman Emperor, as the favored successor of the previous despot, Esau de' Buondelmonti. Through a series of military campaigns, Carlo I reunified Epirus, which had been politically fragmented due to invasion by the Serbian Empire and Albanian tribes in the previous century, and subsequent infighting by local Albanian princes. Most of Carlo I's conquests were lost during the reign of his successor, Carlo II Tocco, due to invasions by the Ottoman Empire. The Tocco lost the despotate and their other holdings in Greece in 1479, during the reign of Carlo II's successor Leonardo III Tocco. Leonardo III was one of the last independent Latin rulers in Greece, and the last to hold lands on the Greek mainland.
Leonardo III escaped into exile in the Kingdom of Naples, where he brought the foot of St. Anne, mother of the Virgin Mary, and placed it in his private chapel. It was so highly regarded that his residence became known as the Palazzo del Santo Piede. He also unsuccessfully attempted to gain support for a military expedition to recover his lands in Greece.
Over the following centuries, the Tocco once more became part of the Italian nobility, gaining various titles through marriages and purchases. Leonardo III's descendants continued to claim the title of Despot of Epirus and comital until the first half of the 17th century, when both were exchanged for a new grant within the Neapolitan nobility by the King of Spain.
This occurred when Antonio Tocco requested to be granted the title of Prince of Achaea in 1642, in exchange for his patrimonial titles as Despot of Epirus and Count Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos; although the title granted was not the same princely title held by rulers of the Principality of Achaea, but a new grant within the Neapolitan nobility title with the same territorial designation.
Nonetheless, from the 17th century onwards, the title most commonly used by the heads of the family was that of Prince of Montemiletto. The family went extinct with the death of its last member, Carlo III di Tocco Cantelmo Stuart, in 1884, and their Capece Galeota heirs became extinct as well by the first half of the 20th century.
History
Origins
The Tocchi originated in Benevento in the Kingdom of Sicily. Some historical genealogies from the Renaissance derived their surname from the Tauci, a Gothic tribe attested in the time of the Ostrogothic king Totila (541–552). This connection was made through observing the similarity of the names Tocci (the Latin form of Tocchi), Tauci and Totila. Some early modern genealogies went as far as claim descent from one of Totila's predecessors, the greatest of the Ostrogothic kings, Theodoric the Great (475/493–526). In the early modern age, Tocco genealogies typically stressed the family's connection with Greek royalty rather than Germanic warlords. The family's legitimate relations to the Palaiologos and Komnenos dynasties of the Byzantine Empire, formed while the family ruled in Epirus in the 15th century, were emphasized and some ancient connections, such as supposed descent from Pyrrhus, ancient king of Epirus (306–302 BC, 297–272 BC), were invented.
The connections to ancient Greek royalty were likely forged in the 17th century to further the claims to authority by the family's Greek branch, whereas the connections to Germanic kings might have been forged either during the family's early history (when Italy was under the control of the German Hohenstaufen dynasty) or during the service of many members of the family to the Habsburg emperors in the 16th century. Both connections may also simply have been made, as many genealogical connections to Antiquity were in the Renaissance, to link the noble family to the heroes of the ancient world.
The earliest known historical member of the Tocco family is Ugolino Tocco, who served as the Grand Seneschal of Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor (1191–1197). Ugolino is typically considered to be the family's founder. Instead of descending from heroic figures of bygone times, the Tocchi likely rose to prominence by being rewarded with lands and nobility on account of their service and loyalty in the 11th or 12th century. Their supposed ancestral seat, the Castellum di Tocco, in ruins in the present day, was located on the slopes of Monte Taburno in the Taburno Camposauro massif in southern Italy. The family grew in power and influence throughout the 12th and 13th centuries, recorded as having controlled lands throughout the valley surrounding Benevento from their seat at Castellum di Tocco. Tocchi of this time were buried in privileged positions within the near Benevento, suggesting increasing social standing. Notable Tocchi recorded from the period of Hohenstaufen rule over southern Italy include Guillelmo di Tocco, who served as iudex (judge) in the local Hohenstaufen administration, and Landulfo di Tocco, who is recorded as having been granted the towns of Limata and Cerreto in May 1250 due to the loyalty he demonstrated to the Hohenstaufen rulers. The family fragmented in the early 13th century, divided into smaller branches of close relatives that did not necessarily share any coherent ancestral memory. Some of these branches of Tocchi are recorded outside of Benevento, serving as traders or medical practitioners at various locations in southern Italy.
Under the Angevin kings The Hohenstaufen dynasty's rule over southern Italy was ended with their defeat by the Guelphs and the installation of Charles I of Anjou as the King of Sicily in 1266. As they had been integrated in the Hohenstaufen administration, the Tocchi suffered some setbacks during the initial period of Angevin rule. For instance, the Castellum di Tocco is in the 1280s recorded as having been subjected to the authority of Robert of Lavena, a French knight from Charles I's entourage. Not all Tocchi appear to have been affected by these setbacks, and the family produced prominent members during this period as well. Johannes de Tocco, doctor of medical science, served Charles I and his heir Charles II (1285–1309) as their personal physician. A Dominican prior by the name Guillelmus de Tocco is recorded as a close confident of Charles II (serving as his confessor) and served as inquisitor-general of Sicily.
Previously only attended by Angevin and French elites, Charles II opened the court in Naples to the local nobility around 1300, allowing local nobles to hold various positions in the court itself and serve the king and his close relatives through military service. Alongside other nobles, some Tocchi are recorded as having entered Charles II's court at this time. Through serving as milites (knighted soldiers), nobles were allowed to live in the prestigious Neapolitan quarter of the Porta Capuana gate. Nobles who lived there in the early 14th century claimed their own special noble rank and direct descent from the ancient Roman residents of the city. To the Tocchi, living in this quarter of the city allowed them, despite having become a noble family relatively recently, to take on the mantle of "olden" aristocracy, increasing their prestige.
Among the Tocchi living in the Capuana quarter was Guglielmo Tocco, whom modern historians consider the founder of the branch of the family that would later rule territories in Greece. Guglielmo was well connected to the Neapolitan royal family, especially to Philip of Anjou, Charles II's younger son. Philip of Anjou was the Prince of Taranto from 1294 to 1331 and also held several titles in Greece, ruling as Prince of Achaea in 1307–1313 and also being the titular Latin Emperor of Constantinople from 1313–1331. Guglielmo served as one of Philip's knights and councillors and was awarded with lands in Italy for his loyalty several times. Though some later genealogists alleged that Guglielmo became connected to the royal dynasty through marrying one of Philip's illegitimate daughters, there is no contemporary evidence to support this. Similar assertions that his wife came from the Orsini family, perhaps that she was a daughter of John II Orsini, Despot of Epirus in 1323–1335, are also not substantiated from contemporary sources.
The Angevins ruled several possessions in Greece at the time, holdovers from the Fourth Crusade, out of which one of the most important was the island of Corfu. In 1327, Guglielmo Tocco served on the island as an inquisitor, investigating a juridical case. In 1330–1331, he was governor, or Captain-General, of Corfu, assigned to supervise the expenses, production income and customs of the island.
Tocchi in Greece
Rulers in the Ionian Islands
Guglielmo had several children, but his most prominent son was Leonardo I Tocco. Though he was one of Guglielmo's younger sons, Leonardo stood higher than all his brothers by the end of his life. Around 1357, Leonardo I was granted the title of Count Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos, two islands off the western coast of Greece, by either Robert of Taranto (Philip of Anjou's son and heir) or Queen Joanna I of Naples. Sources on Leonardo I are scarce and how exactly he came to gain his high position in Greece is unclear. It is possible that he was brought into touch with Robert of Taranto by his older brother, Pietro Tocco, and he is known to have been one of his close confidants, being recorded as a witness of Robert's marriage contract and is recorded as having labored intensely to free Robert when he at one point was imprisoned in the Kingdom of Hungary. One factor that might have contributed to Leonardo I's rise to power was his marriage to Maddalena de' Buondelmonti, the niece of Niccolò Acciaioli, Grand Seneschal of the Kingdom of Naples.