BLOODLINE

Ruggiero di Lauria married twice. The first, in 1279, with Margherita, sister of Conrado Lancia, another of the Calabrian exiles who traveled in the retinue of Queen Constanza. Considered a marriage of youth, they had four children: Ruggerione, Beatrice, Constance and Jofredina.

The premature death of his first wife forced Ruggiero to marry again. But this time, the choice had political and strategic overtones. The chosen one was Saurina de Entenza, daughter of Bernat Guillem de Entenza, uncle of King James I and hero of Puig in 1237. The marriage, made official in 1291, proved to be a turning point, since it generated one of the most important lordships of the Kingdom of Valencia. From their union were born Carlos, Roberto, Berenguer Roger and Marguerite.

SAURINA OF ENTENZA

Her role was far from the exclusive care of the family saga, a predestined place for women in the Middle Ages. On the contrary, the admiral’s absences, her privileged position at court and her character led her to manage the House of Lauria in the shadows from the time of her husband’s death in 1305.

To her influence we owe the completion of the Pobla de Ifach in the castrum of Calp, the reconstruction of Cocentaina and the erection of its great feudal tower in the early years of the 14th century. She was also the promoter of pious works, such as the Convent of Santa Clara la Real in Xàtiva, where she was the first abbess and where she was buried when she died on 1st September 1325.

MARGARITA DE LAURIA AND ENTENZA

With the arbitration of King James II and the will of Saurina de Entenza in 1325, Margarita inherited the castrum of Calp, among other territories, becoming a feudal lady with full rights. The conditions established by King Alfonso IV obliged her to marry the French knight Nicholas of Joinville, Count of Terranova and Sant’Angelo, resident in Naples.

As dómina, we owe her the construction of the church of Beata Santa María of ifach, a work built with the help of master stonemasons from Cocentaina and Alcoi. She was also the promoter of the hospital and the church of the Royal Monastery of Puig de Santa Maria and the extension of the Portacoeli Charterhouse. She died on 10th March 1343, and was buried in the church of Puig, in a funerary monument designed by Aloi de Montbrai, one of the great European sculptors of the middle ages.

BEATRIZ DE LAURIA AND LANCIA

The figure of Beatriz is closely linked to the town of Cocentaina and its territory. The royal arbitration and the will of Saurina de Entenza bequeathed her the fief of the town of Contestana from 1325 onwards, as well as the castle of Planes. During her rule, the town continued its reconstruction and growth, building a hospital in the town. Her marriage in 1276 with Jaime II, baron of Jérica, Liria, Andilla and Altura and paternal grandson of King Jaime I, generated one of the most important lordships of the Kingdom of Valencia during the 14th century. He died in 1346.