principality · Italy
Principality of Masserano
Origins
Masserano and Crevacuore, small towns in the hills between Biella and the Sesia valley, belonged to the Fieschi family and then to the Ferrero, who took the Fieschi name. In 1598 Pope Clement VIII raised them to a principality held as a fief of the Holy See, giving the family sovereign status.
Rule and society
The Ferrero-Fieschi princes governed a few thousand subjects, minted coins and kept a small court, while often serving foreign rulers as soldiers and diplomats, especially Spain. Surrounded by the Duchy of Savoy, the state survived through papal protection and its rulers' connections abroad. Little else is recorded of its government.
Decline and legacy
The House of Savoy, now kings of the Kingdom of Sardinia, long sought to absorb the enclave. In 1767 the prince ceded his sovereignty to Charles Emmanuel III, ending the principality.
Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (1)
- Principality of Masserano was a vassal of Papal States1598 CE – 1741 CE
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Principality of Masserano. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-masserano
- MLA
- “Principality of Masserano.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-masserano. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Principality of Masserano.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-masserano.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Principality of Masserano’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-masserano (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻