House of Gallone · 1st Prince of Tricase · Grant 1651
Stefano II Gallone
- 5th Baron of Tricase (1623–1651)
- 1st Prince of Tricase (1651–1662)
- 7th Baron of Specchia Gallone
Son of Giovanni Angelo II Gallone, 3rd Baron of Tricase, and brother of Alessandro II, 4th Baron.
Central figure of the House of Gallone: in twenty-five years he vastly enlarges the feudal domain and, in 1651, raises Tricase to the rank of Principality, giving rise to the princely line.
From Baron to Prince
On the premature death of his brother Alessandro II (1598–1623), 4th Baron of Tricase, Stefano II succeeds him as 5th Baron of Tricase in 1623. He brings to completion the work of his predecessors — enlargement of the domain, consolidation of power and social ascent of the house — which culminates in the princely status: the title of Prince of Tricase is granted to him in 1651 by Philip IV, King of Spain.
The expansion of the fief
A central figure for the history of the Gallone, Stefano II manages, within twenty-five years, to enlarge considerably the feudal patrimony, acquiring:
- the barony of Tiggiano (1627);
- the important casale of Supersano with the Belvedere Wood (12,000 hectares) (1640);
- the casale of Caprarica del Capo (1644);
- the fief of Salve (1648);
- the rest of the fief of Tutino (1648);
- the fief of Miggiano (1660);
- part of the fief of Nociglia (1662).
He also becomes 7th Baron of Specchia Gallone, a title that came to him through the succession of his brothers Antonio Giovanni († 1628) and Francesco Antonio († 1635).
The ascent to princely rank
The leap from Baron to Prince rests on a solid economic base and on a financial operation conducted with the Viceroy of Naples. Stefano II possessed all the necessary prerequisites: a feudatory faithful to the Spanish Crown, he had in Naples several mercantile agencies and solid capital, deriving both from commercial revenues and from loans granted at interest. It was this combination of fidelity and means that made possible, in 1651, the grant of the Principality.
The Palazzo Gallone
It is to Stefano II that we owe, in 1661, the building of the central body of the Palazzo Gallone, the princely castle that still dominates today the historic square of Tricase. The oldest parts — the Tower and the Keep, of 14th-century structures — are thus integrated into a dwelling that is at once palace and feudal castle.
Family and succession
Around 1636 Stefano II marries Caterina Guarini (1616–1683), of the Dukes of Scorrano. On his death, in 1662, he is succeeded by his son Alessandro III (1638–1675), 2nd Prince of Tricase. The title would then be transmitted along the main Gallone line down to Maria Bianca Gallone (10th Princess, 1895–1982), last of the House.