Della Gherardesca family

The House of Gherardesca was an ancient Italian noble family of the Republic of Pisa, of Longobard origin.

In 1254, the citizenry rebelled and imposed twelve Anziani del Popolo ("Elders of the People") as their political representatives.

In 1230, Ubaldo of Gallura, a Visconti, invaded the Giudicato of Cagliari, but the Gherardeschi repulsed him in the name of Benedetta and the young William II.

Their third was the south-western third; in the 1272 circa the count Ugolino della Gherardesca founded in the Cixerri the important mining town of Villa di Chiesa, today Iglesias.

After Ugolino della Gherardesca's betrayal in the battle of Meloria, the House of Orlandi also began rivalries with the Gherardeschi.