From the 9th to the 20th century

History

The family's origins are lost between tradition and legend. Historians of the past attributed them to Rome, to Byzantium, to the Normans, to the Lombards or to Angevin France. The documented history begins in 1235.

1. 9th century tradition

   Giovanni Fulcone

   According to tradition he was the first Ruffo to settle in Calabria. Ancient genealogies credit him with a daughter, Berenice, Empress of the East.

2. 11th century

   Between Byzantium and the Normans

   At the beginning of the second millennium the Ruffo are so powerful in Calabria that the Emperor of Constantinople seeks their alliance to free Calabria and Apulia from Muslim rule. Later they fight alongside the first Norman leaders.

3. 1146

   The fiefs in Sicily

   Roger II, the first Norman king of Sicily, invests Gervasio Ruffo with the fiefs of Cambuca and Minzillicar, in the territory of Sciacca.

4. 1235

   Pietro I Ruffo and the court of Frederick II

   From Pietro I Ruffo, general of Frederick II, the documented and unbroken genealogical line runs to the present day. Count of Catanzaro, Grand Marshal of the Kingdom and Viceroy of Sicily and Calabria, he was among the most powerful men of his time.

5. 1257

   The death of Pietro and the three branches

   In the first days of January Pietro I is murdered at Terracina by an assassin sent by Manfred. The family's three main branches arise from his descendants.

6. 1333–1334

   The Counts of Sinopoli

   King Robert of Anjou grants Guglielmo Ruffo the title of Count of Sinopoli. The Princes of Scilla will descend from this branch.

7. 1533

   The castle of Scilla

   Paolo Ruffo, Count of Sinopoli, buys the castle of Scilla, which from then on bears the family's name and becomes its residence.

8. 1799

   The cardinal and the Holy Faith

   Cardinal Fabrizio Ruffo leads the Army of the Holy Faith from Calabria to Naples and restores the Kingdom to the Bourbons after the Neapolitan Republic.

9. 1928

   Prince Ruffo di Calabria

   By decree of 15 March, Fulco Ruffo di Calabria, hero of the Great War, receives the title of Prince Ruffo di Calabria in the Kingdom of Italy.

10. 1959

    A Ruffo on the throne of Belgium

    Donna Paola, Fulco's daughter, marries Prince Albert of Belgium. In 1993, when Albert II comes to the throne, she becomes Queen of the Belgians.

Main sources: Giovanni Ruffo, Undici secoli di storia dei Ruffo di Calabria; M. C. Fiorillo, Il castello Ruffo di Scilla, Gangemi, 2004.