[1] The ancestors of the Princes of Belmonte include Sinibaldo, Pope Innocent IV, and Ottobuono, Pope Adrian V, as well as several cardinals, a King of Sicily, the Viceroy of Naples under René I of Naples (Jacopo Fieschi), three saints including Saint Catherine of Genoa (1447–1510), and both generals and admirals of Genoa and other states.

Ugone of Lavagna was alleged to have been the first to bear the name "Fiesco" or Fieschi, attributed to his control of the fiscal affairs of the Holy Roman Emperor.

Taking the name Ravaschieri Fieschi, this branch rose to greater prominence as royal bankers in the Kingdom of Naples: Giovanni Battista was appointed Master of the Mint of Naples and Aquila (Maestro di Zecca di Napoli e L'Aquila) in 1552 under His Imperial Majesty Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1516–1554), and his seal of 'IBR' frequently appears on the coinage of that time.

The princely title of Belmonte has descended to its present holder through the following houses: Ravaschieri Fieschi, Squarciafico Pinelli, and Pignatelli y Aymerich.

The heiress of the last of these married the Marquess of Castellabate, uniting her lands and titles with those of the Granito family, patricians of Salerno (Seggio di Campo) since 1380.