duchy · Italy
Duchy of Spoleto
Origins
Lombard warriors under Faroald I took Spoleto in the Umbrian Apennines around 570, cutting the Byzantine route between Rome and Ravenna. The duchy grew into a large territory covering much of Umbria, the Marche and Abruzzo, largely independent of the kings in Pavia.
Rule and society
The dukes of Spoleto acted like rulers in their own right, waging war on the Byzantines and sometimes defying the Lombard kings; Transamund II was deposed by Liutprand. After 774 it passed to Frankish dukes but kept its weight. Guy of Spoleto was crowned King of Italy in 889 and emperor in 891, and his son Lambert also became emperor. The town's Romanesque churches reflect its medieval wealth.
Decline and legacy
In the 10th to 12th centuries the duchy was often held with Camerino or Tuscany by imperial appointees. Frederick Barbarossa sacked Spoleto in 1155. In 1198 Pope Innocent III took the duchy into the Papal States, where it remained until 1860.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (2)
- Duchy of Spoleto was part of Kingdom of the Lombards570 CE – 774 CE
- Duchy of Spoleto was part of Kingdom of Italy (medieval)774 CE – 1198 CE
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Duchy of Spoleto. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-spoleto
- MLA
- “Duchy of Spoleto.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-spoleto. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Duchy of Spoleto.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-spoleto.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Duchy of Spoleto’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-spoleto (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻