Reti Medievali Rivista (Oct 2012)
Angelberga: the monastery of St. Sisto of Piacenza and the course of Po river
Abstract
This study analyzes the dower of Angelberga (ca. 831-891), wife of emperor Louis II. Angelberga played a significant political role during her marriage and after her husband’s death; moreover she accumulated an impressive patrimony. Angelberga gathered a great number of landed properties, partly through donations from her husband and partly thanks to personal acquisitions. In 877 the empress left her wealth to the monastery of St. Sisto, which she had founded in Piacenza. This article offers a detailed analysis of the location of Angelberga’s properties, showing that most of these properties were situated in the proximity of the Po river: this location allowed for the control of the main communication routes of the Italic Kingdom. Moreover, Angelberga’s landholdings lay in areas controlled by the Supponids, the powerful natal family of the empress. The article concludes that the creation of her wealth, and of the monastery that resulted from it, shows a convergence of economic and political interests between royalty and local aristocracy, represented by the powerful familial group of the empress.
