Henry II of Ventimiglia

Henry II made his fortune in Sicily, so much so that he lent three hundred lire to his father Filippo I, who in exchange pledged him the castle and the income from the castellany and jurisdiction of Conio, until the loan was covered. Two years later Henry returned home to Albenga, where the ratification of the transfer of Maro and Prelà was recorded by his third cousin Manfredi. In c. 1260, Otto V Ventimiglia "del Bosco", son of Raimondo, cousin of Henry II, married the heiress Giovanna Abate, and settled in Trapani, where he gave birth to another branch of the family – that of the del Bosco – Counts of Alcamo in the 14th century, and then Princes of Cattolica, Dukes of Misilmeri, etc.^[2]

Also in 1263, Henry was able to finance the restoration of the Norman Cefalù Cathedral, where his tomb is located. Henry, in addition to the ceiling of the cathedral, had the upper part of the facade of the building completed, in the Ligurian style. On 18 December 1270, King Charles I of Anjou ordered Giovanni de Mesnil to investigate the tax imposition ordered in the indicative year 1263-64 by Count Henry of Ventimiglia. The document denotes, at that date, the full administrative power of the Ventimiglias in the cCounty of Geraci, where they seem to have carried out, as titular vassals of the county, a function, that of collecting the collection, typical of the provincial justiciar. In a document dated 4 May 1278, Henry II of Ventimiglia, Count of Ischia, is defined by Charles of Anjou - for the first time in known documentation - "comitis Giracii olim tempore".^[2]

Henry's presence in Marche, as Vicar General of the King of Sicily, is attested for the first time on 17 March 1260, when the Count of Ischia summoned several debtors who had to pay the due taxes to the Imperial Curia of the Marche – occupied by Manfred, King of Sicily and recognized leader of the Italian Ghibellines - The policy of the Vicar of the Marche and Duchy of Spoleto, in constant friction with the papal and Guelph powers, had to be aggressive in order to guarantee the security of the borders of the Kingdom of Sicily. Henry's political objectives were aimed above all at consolidating the northern border of the territories of Ghibelline influence - a border that passed approximately from Recanati to Matelica - strengthening the league with the Swabian partisans in the nobility and in the municipalities, as well as guaranteeing the lines of connection with the Tuscan and Lombard allies. Very important, to this end, was maintaining and strengthening the Ghibelline league between the municipalities of San Severino Marche, Monte Milone, Tolentino and Matelica, concluded for the first time in 1259, at the time of his predecessor in the office of vicar; the well-known poet and man-at-arms Percivalle Doria. A series of acts followed which marked Henry's commitment in his functions as vicar general at the head of the local Ghibelline party.^[2]

Henry was married to Countess Isabella of Geraci (1226–1266), the daughter of Aldoino, Count of Ischia and Geraci, and Isabella Cicala. Together, they were the parents of:^[3]

• Aldoino Ventimiglia (d. 1289), who co-reigned with his father as Count of Ischia and Geraci; he married Giacoma Filangeri,^[4] and died at sea in 1289 returning to Sicily from Gaeta.^[5]
• Henry III Ventimiglia (1245–1300), who married Jacona Ventimiglia.
• Pietruccio "Pietro" Ventimiglia (d. c. 1266), who died unmarried.
• Guglielmo Ventimiglia (d. 1341), who became 1st Baron of Buscemi; he married Leonora.^[6]

The Count died in 1308.^[1]

Through his son Aldoino, he was a grandfather of Francesco I Ventimiglia (1285–1338), who succeeded him as Count of Geraci in 1308.^[7][8]

Through his son Guglielmo, he was a grandfather of Henry Ventimiglia, 2nd Baron of Buscemi (c. 1320–1370).^[6]