ORIGIN

Ruggiero’s probable birth took place in the year 1245 in the country of Lucania, a possession of the kingdom of Sicily located in the district of Val Sinni, close to Calabria, south of the Italian peninsula. Its possessions included Basilicata, Cosenza, Scalea and a large number of castles, such as Rivello, Lagonegro, Laino, Papasidero. Maratea and Lauria, linking his name with the land that constituted his fief.

He was the son of a family belonging to the Norman oligarchy of Viking origin who had dominated Sicily and Calabria since the 11th century and were now under the sphere of the Holy Roman Empire of Frederick II Hohenstaufen (r. 1220-1250).

EXILE

Ruggiero di Lauria had to go into exile in 1262 with his mother, Isabella d’Amicis, due to the conquest of the island of Sicily and southern Italy by the Anjou house and the Papacy in Rome. Both were part of the retinue that accompanied Constance of Hohenstaufen, daughter of the late King of Sicily, Manfred I (r. 1258-1266), to Barcelona on her marriage to the infant Peter, son of James I (r. 1213-1276).

He spent his adolescence in the royal court, being named knight at the age of 14 and inseparable companion of the prince, with whom he forged a solid and eternal friendship until his death. Such was his loyalty that he is buried in the royal pantheon of the Monastery of Holy Crosses, next to the tomb of King Peter III (r. 1276-1285) at the express wish of the admiral “at the feet of my lord”.

ADMIRAL

After occupying some positions of some importance in the Kingdom of Valencia, Ruggiero is appointed admiral of the Crown of Aragon in 1283, with the main objective of rearming the Aragonese naval fleet and leading the recovery of Sicily and the lands of southern Italy, lost to the House of Anjou when he was a child.

Ruggiero returns home becoming a primus inter pares, winning victory after victory over the enemies of the Crown of Aragon, being unbeatable at sea. Nicotera, Castellammare di Stabia, Ponza, Capo di Orlando, Les Formigues, Malta and the decisive victory at the Coll de Panissars in 1285, where his king and friend, Peter III, died, are good proof of his ability as a military and strategist.

“Sire, not only do I not think that any galley or other vessel will attempt to sail the sea without the safe conduct of the King of Aragon, nor galley or log, but I do not think that any fish will attempt to rise above the sea if it does not carry a shield with the ensign of the King of Aragon on its tail to show the safe conduct of the King of Aragon”.

DIPLOMATIC

His military influence shifted during the last years of his life to the diplomatic arena, participating in the peace talks that the Crown of Aragon held with the House of Anjou and the Papacy to end the war for control of Sicily and southern Italy.

His main success as a diplomat was obtained with the Peace of Anagni in 1295, which closed the war of the Sicilian Vespers between the Crown of Aragon and the new kingdom of Naples, formed by the split of the kingdom of Sicily, and with the Peace of Caltabellota in 1302, by which Charles II of Anjou renounced his sovereignty over the island of Sicily.