Raimondo della Torre (dec 21, 1273 – feb 23, 1299)

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https://www.dizionariobiograficodeifriulani.it/torre-della-raimondo/

Son of Pagano I della Torre Lord of Milan and Valsassina in Lombardy , brother of Napo della Torre , he belonged to the powerful Lombard family of the Della Torre .

He was archpriest of Monza from 1251 to 1262 ; he competed with Francesco da Settala for the chair of the archbishopric of Milan , vacant since 1257 . Although his opponent had withdrawn his candidacy in 1262 , the long division among the electors led to the intervention of Pope Urban IV , who elected Ottone Visconti as the owner of the Milanese seat [1] . In order not to upset the della Torre family, the pope appointed Raimondo bishop of Como [1] , a chair he held from 1262 to 1274.

In 1269 he was captured by Corrado Venosta von Matsch, feudal lord of the castle of Boffalora in Valchiavenna , and exhibited in a cage to the public mockery in Sondalo in Valtellina . He was then freed by Napo Torriani 's militias who destroyed the castle on 25 September 1273 .

Raimondo, a leading exponent of the Guelph party , on 21 December 1273 was appointed patriarch of Aquileia by Pope Gregory X ; the Della Torre family and the Milanese nobles loyal to them found refuge in Friuli after the defeat in the battle of Desio . Thanks to his position, the presence of the Della Torre family in Friuli began .

Among the patriarchs who governed the homeland of Friuli he was certainly one of the best, even if, like his predecessors and successors, he had against the Trevigiani, the Da Camino lords , the counts of Gorizia and the Venetians.

Raimondo was buried in the Basilica of Aquileia .

Wars

Tomb of Raimondo della Torre in the Basilica of Aquileia .
Raimondo made alliances with Padua and Genoa ; he fought against the people of Gorizia (who were then forced to respect their obligations of loyalty to the Patriarchate) to reconquer the castle of Cormons and against Venice for almost twenty years for the reconquest of some positions in Istria ; first with the war of Koper 1274 - 1279 (which broke out to bring support to Koper , which rebelled against the Venetian domination): in this circumstance, to cope with the powerful Venetian army he was forced to make concessions to the counts of Gorizia (in particular the city of Cormons) in exchange for their support (which will prove to be intermittent); the tension intensified again (the war had not changed the balance of the region) when the patriarch, in response to the renewed Venetian advance in Istria (taking Piran and Rovinj ) hosted a synod ( 1281 ) and excommunicated anyone who had occupied patriarchal territories; Venice in response occupied Trieste , starting the war of Trieste ( 1283 - 1291 ): Raimondo, after unsuccessfully trying to drive the Venetians out of the peninsula with the siege of Moccò(led by the patriarch's nephew, Goffredo della Torre marquis d'Istria), had to make further concessions to the counts of Gorizia ( Venzone ), increased his taxes several times and issued the extraordinary size or a military draft from 18 to 60 years, managing to enlist 45,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry . After two assaults (24 April and 7 June 1289 ) the strong Romagna, the main base of the Venetian army, fell into the hands of the patriarch who sent a retaliatory expedition to Caorle and Malamocco .

The war ended with the victory of the patriarchate, officially ratified by the peace of Treviso (November 1291), mediated by the municipality of Padua; Venice held western Istria in exchange for a tribute and war damage payments; the patriarchate obtained the submission of Trieste , which had to declare itself vassal of the Patriarchate (in 1295 Brissa di Toppo, the last bishop to govern the city was forced to give up the government), the conquest of Muggia , Buie , Pola and Moccò .

From the west, the Trevigiani, the Caminesi , the Da Prata and the Da Polcenigo families attacked the villages beyond the Livenza river ; these actions provoked the intervention of the patriarch who in turn devastated the territory of the Treviso area.

Raimondo repressed various rebellions of his feudal lords with the consent of the bishops of Feltre , Trieste and Capodistria , he was able to regain possession of Sacile and make peace with the Da Camino family.

He also managed to put an end to the rebellion of the counts of Gorizia in 1297 , causing them to flee, even if the effects of the victory lasted just two years, because the same count occupied in ( 1295 ) the cities of Fianona , Labin and Buzet and in 1299 the gastaldia of Tolmin , surrendering them only after the threat of open war with the patriarchate.

Raimondo installed one of his residences at the Suffumbergo castle ( 1298 ).

The civil government
The historical figure of the Patriarch Raymond stands out for his greatness and foresight, during his patriarchate numerous reforms were introduced:

He forbade unlicensed pawns, to avoid and combat usury ;
He changed the patriarchal currency four times;
He restored and re-founded the locality of San Vito al Tagliamento , surrounding it with walls, building two towers to guard the city gates and a patriarchal palace;
He enlarged the patriarchal palace of Aquileia ;
He set up schools of various kinds, where lessons in law , medicine , surgery and various other disciplines were given;
He reduced the servitude of gangs (comparable to slavery for that time) with specific laws and concrete government actions.
He had with the will of the Duke Ulrich of Carinthia, for the Patriarchate of Aquileia, the city of Ljubljana and on the domains in the cities of Carniola ;
He built a new patriarchal palace in Udine ( 1287 ).
In the face of these merits, it is necessary to report some of his most questionable choices:

Raimondo in 1279 , sent selected Friulian troops to Lombardy to support the Lombard militias of his relatives Torriani , who were fighting against the Visconti for the dominion of the Lordship of Milan (with the battle of Vaprio on 25 May 1281 , where his nephew also fell Cassone della Torre, eldest son of his brother Napoleone, Raimondo lost all hope of regaining power in Milan).
He used the practice of nepotism , widespread in those times, to especially secure the frontier places in the hands of trusted people. He repopulated the patriarchate of Aquileia by introducing numerous Lombard families into Friuli, to which he granted fiefs and civil offices: the introduction in a feudal society such as Friuli of personnel from the Lombard municipalities, often endowed with extensive legal, political and economic skills, greatly favored the growth of cities.
During his patriarchy, Friuli then suffered some serious floods and two disastrous earthquakes in 1279 .

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