294 Milanese
of the signoria in the second half of the thirteenth century, and particularly
of its shift from agricultural to territorial estates, as in the case of the Doria
(Fig. 11.7).
It was the Doria family in particular that developed clear signs of a powerful
seignior in the 1270s, thanks to Brancaleone I, a charismatic character at the
head of the family’s holdings for over half a century. A leading figure in inter-
national politics, capable of negotiating with the pope, the king of Aragon,
and the leading political subjects of his time, he was inspired by his ambition
to obtain royal recognition over Sardinia. Such tension led Brancaleone to
present himself as a candidate for the investiture of the regnum Sardiniae et
Corsicae to Henry VII in opposition to the pontifical candidate James II, who
was legally on absolutely same level as the Aragonese sovereign in the struggle
over the dominion of the island and who had offered him the concrete pos-
sibility of finally crowning the political project that he had pursued with in-
defatigable tenacity for nearly 40 years, an attempt that nevertheless did not
have a happy ending due to reasons of international politics (relations with
Aragon). The role of the seignior in Sardinia did not stop Brancaleone from
Figure 11.7 Map of the Doria family’s castles (thirteenth–fourteenth century).