| The Della Scala Family in
Northen Italy |
| In
the late 12th century, one Jacopino della Scala
(d.1215) appears in the historical record as an
Italian wool trader. By astute networking, he
became Imperial Vicar in Ostiglia and Podestà
(high ranking official) of Cerea, both places
near Verona in Northern Italy. It seems that he
can be traced back to his great-grandfather
Balduino della Scala (d.aft.1169) and that he is
a distant ancestor of King George I of England
and Winston Churchill. |
| We
have mentioned earlier that the French original
of the name Harwin de Scalers was Hardouin
d’Escaliers, or something similar. In
Latin documents this was rendered Scalariis
or Scalis. Coming over to England with
the Normans, the name is thought to be
Scandinavian in origin (the original Norse scala
or skali). Escalier is
coincidentally the French for staircase
and Scalae the Latin for staircase
or ladder. The Latin form of the della
Scala family name was also rendered de
Scalis. Scala means staircase
or ladder in Italian too. A common
origin of both names is a strong possibility. |
| Scandinavian Origins |
| It
appears that the della Scala family were of
German origin and, more precisely, derived from
Lombard stock. A related German form of the name,
common today, is Schaller. The Lombards
originated in southern Scandinavia and occupied
parts of northern Germany in the early Christian
era. By the 6th century, they occupied much of
northern Italy. Hence the della Scala
name, like the Scales name, can
potentially be traced back to the same
Scandinavian origins. |
| The Lords of Verona |
| It
wouldn't have been quite so interesting to pursue
the della Scala connection were it not for the
fact that the family, beginning with Jacopino's
son Mastino I (1260-1277) are of considerable
historical significance. Mastino was elected
Podestà of Verona, an office tranformed into a
permanent lordship by his predecessor. Mastino in
turn made the position a family inheritance in
1263 and thus were born the Lords of Verona.
The family name became Scaliger or the Scaligeri.
|
| Mastino
II (1329-1351), great-great-great-grandson of
Mastino I, was the richest and most powerful
prince of his generation in Italy. At the peak of
his power in 1336, he held a vast swathe of
northern Italy, including the cities of Belluno,
Treviso, Vicenza, Padova, Verona, Brescia, Parma
and Lucca. By 1340, he had lost it all, apart
from Verona and Vicenza, in a war against a
league of his powerful neighbours to the south. |
| The
Scaliger line descended through six more Lords of
Verona to Antonio I (1362-1388). In times that
were generally pretty bloody anyway, these latter
lords outdid themselves in tyrannical behaviour
and a series of fratricides. One of the
murderers, Cansignorio (1340-1375), did at least
beautify Verona with palaces, bridges and
aqueducts. Antonio's behaviour proved his
downfall when Gian Galeazzo Visconti (1351-1402),
1st Duke of Milan, made war on Verona and the
Veronese people deserted him, putting an end to
the Scaliger domination in 1387. |
| The
church of Santa Maria Antica in Verona is
adjacent to the elaborate gothic tombs of some of
the Scaligeri, principally those of Cangrande I,
Mastino II and Cansignorio. Mastino is the
Italian for mastiff, and the family seem
to have had a thing about dogs. Cangrande
continued the obsession. Can comes from
the eastern Khan (showing Marco Polo's
influence) and so Cangrande means great ruler
but also, punningly, top dog. His tomb
is supported by two dogs bearing the Scaliger
ladder insignia. |
| |
 |
 |
| Statue
and Tomb of Cangrande I in Verona |
 |
 |
| Tombs
of Cansignorio (left) and Mastino II (right) in
Verona |
| |
| La Scala in Milan |
| In
case you were going to ask, the famous La
Scala opera house in Milan is not directly
connected with the della Scala family. The
theatre gets its name from the former church of
Santa Maria della Scala, on whose site it was
built. That church
got its name from one in Rome that still stands.
The latter was built to honour a miraculous icon
of the Madonna. Tradition holds that the icon had
cured a deformed child when its mother prayed
before it on the landing of a staircase in a
neighbouring house. The icon can be found in the
north transept of the church. |
| The Hispanic Connection: De La
Escalera |
| I was
alerted to a Hispanic connection for the family
name by Petr Solar of the Czech Republic. His
ancestors (presumably Lombardic in origin) were
called Schaller and emigrated to Bohemia
from Bavaria. Using DNA matching, he has located
a relative in Spain with the name de la
Escalera. Now Escalera is Spanish for
stairs and escala for ladder.
The connection with the Norman French d’Escaliers
and the Italian della Scala is striking. It would seem most
likely that the name arrived in Spain from the
Lombards in Italy. Petr's relative would be
extremely remote if the name were Norman French
in origin and genetic diversity would make a DNA
match much less likely. |
| I discovered
a nice little addendum to the Santa Maria
della Scala story while looking into the
Hispanic connection: the Virgen de la Escalera. It seems that there is a
mysterious chapel underneath a staircase inside
the old fort of San Juan de Ulua at the port of
Veracruz in Mexico. The chapel was apparently
dedicated to Our Lady of the Stairway,
who was thought to offer protection to sailors. I
refer you to the website for further information. |
|
 |
| Sirmione
Castle |
| Mastino
I was probably the founder of the beautiful
castle at Sirmione on the southern shore of Lake
Garda. There are three other major Scaliger
castles on the lakeside. Inverted V-shaped
turrets feature on many of the buildings of the
Scaliger family and symbolise inverted pope's
mitres. The German origins and sympathies of the
Scaliger family lead to their being on the side
of the Holy Roman Emperor and antagonistic
towards the Pope. |
 |
| Ladder
Insignia of the Scaliger Family at Sirmione
Castle |
 |
| The
Mediaeval Port at Sirmione |
| This
is a rare surviving example of mediaeval port
fortifications, provided for the Scaliger fleet
on Lake Garda. |
 |
| The
Castelvecchio and the Ponte Scaligero in Verona |
| The
Castelvecchio and its fortified bridge were
constructed by Cangrande II della Scala in
1354-76. The castle is imposing and very austere.
The bridge (1354-56) contained the world's
largest span at the time of its construction. Its
was designed to provide a safe exit northwards in
the event of any trouble. It was destroyed by
retreating German troops in 1945 and
reconstructed in 1949-51. |
 |
| Malcesine
and the Scaliger Castle on Lake Garda |
 |
| Ladder
Insignia of the Scaliger Family at Malcesine
Castle |
|
