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FIORBELLINA SPINOLA

Born in Rome where I lived for 30 years, I decided to leave my job in the town (I worked in the Company that organises the SBK World Championship), to run the family Estate and to start the activity of Agriturismo. I left the City to live in Umbria, where I discovered an amazing and wonderful Region and a different, healthtier quality of life.

SPINOLA FAMILY and HISTORY

Guido alias Guidone was the founder of the family and a valiant fighter in the First Crusade, from which he came back taking the surname of SPINOLA because, standing to the legend, he brought back with him from the Holy Lands a thorn ("spinula") of Christ's Crown. This is why in the family Arm there is a thorn, that during the centuries has often been confused by a "thorn" to take out the wine from the barrels. (A family "joke" says that this confusion has been made because we always enjoyed very much good wine and gambling, this is why the second object on our family arm is a chess).

More than the Clerks (we count 13 Cardinals), were the Ambassador and Leader ancestors who gave prestige to the Spinola family. One of them was the famous Oberto, Emperor Federico I's Ambassador in the years 1158, 1161 and 1166. There is another Oberto who was Venice Ambassador in 1212; Guglielmo, Sir of Savignone, that in 1242 leaded the Ghibellini Party of Genoa; the famous Oberto, who brought his family on the top of the glory changing the Government of the State: in 1265 he obliged the Podestà and all the Guelfi Party of the Government to dismiss and he named Guido Spinola and Niccolò Doria as Captains of the People. The alliance between the Spinola and Doria Families for the Governement of Genoa will last for many and many years, but it will be too long to tell all the facts that occurred during that stormy years.

The most important Leader and Knight of the Spinola family was the Marquis Ambrogio Spinola (Knight of Order of the Golden Fleece, Great of Spain, Prince of Serravalle, Duke of Sesto and of Sanseverino, Marquis of Venafro and I° Marquis of Los Balbases). This historic man started his military carreer thanks to his brother Federico, Great Admiral of S.M. Catholic the King of Spain. In 1602, Ambrogio, who had fighted yet several times near his brother, recruited 9000 soldiers and brought them in the Pais Bas where he rescued the Archduke Alberto. The next year, his brother dead, was encharged as Great Admiral by the King Filippo III, but he refused, and he was engaged as General Leader of the Pais Bas Army. He was considered the most skilled and important Army General of his time: gentlemen, good in politic and army strategy, fair leader, there are many portraits left. The most famous is maybe the one made by Van Dyck, followed by Rubens and the Velasquez's "Resa di Breda", where the Marquis Ambrogio Spinola, Great General of S.M. Catholic Filippo IV, receive the keys of the city of Breda from the hands of Prince Giustino of Nassau. History tells that during a dinner it was asked to Prince Maurizio di Nassau who he considered the most important Army Leader of the century and he answered:"Spinola is the second".