Ceva Grimaldi family

The Ceva family is a descendant branch of the Aleramici dynasty founded by William of Montferrat in the 10th century named for his son Aleramo.

By the early 12th century, the family had vast landholdings in Piedmont and northern Liguria, including the town of Ceva and its surrounding area.

On the death of Bonifacio del Vasto c. 1125, his son Anselmo received the newly created Marquisate of Ceva.

[2][3] The branch that remained associated with the Marquisate of Ceva and based in Piedmont produced a number of Roman Catholic prelates, including several bishops and a cardinal.

[8][3][2] In 1545, Francesco Ceva Grimaldi's son, Cristofaro, transferred the family's seat to Naples to pursue his business affairs.

Their son and the 5th Marchese di Pietracatella, Francesco Maria (1737–1802), inherited the title Duca delle Pesche from his mother which was passed down to future generations.

His grandson, the third Duca di Telese (also called Giovanni Antonio), built the family's ducal palace in Solopaca between 1672 and 1673.

Solopaca was used as their seat because the town of Telese had been destroyed in 1349 by an earthquake which had also released lingering clouds of sulfur dioxide into the air.

The palace served not only as their residence but also as the administrative headquarters of the duchy and had a court of justice and jail on the ground floor.

During the 17th and early 18th centuries, this branch produced a number of high-ranking officers in the armies of Charles II and Philip V of Spain.