Correggio Family

Correggio Family, Italian feudal family who were lords of Correggio, near Reggio Emilia, from the 11th to the 17th century. During the 13th century, as leaders of the Guelfs, they came to dominate the politics of Parma; and in 1303 Ghiberto da Correggio was acclaimed lord of the city, which he ruled until 1316. In 1341 his son Azzo, a friend of Petrarch, who dedicated to him the De remediis utriusque fortunae, recovered control of Parma, only to sell it again three years later to the Este family of Ferrara. Correggio itself, however, remained independent, being raised to the rank of countship in 1452 and to that of principality in 1616. Shortly afterward, in 1630, Siro da Correggio was condemned by the Holy Roman emperor Ferdinand II to pay a heavy fine for minting bad coin; unable to raise the sum he was forced to cede Correggio to the Este of Modena in 1634. The family came to an end with the death of Camillo in 1711.