Charles I of Anjou - Naples, Italy
N 40° 51.166 E 014° 15.537
33T E 437537 N 4522677
Charles I (early 1226/1227 – 7 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou, was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the second House of Anjou. He was the brother of King Louis IX (Saint Louis).
Waymark Code: WM17VWD
Location: Campania, Italy
Date Posted: 04/10/2023
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The tomb is located above the entrance to the Naples cathedral.
He held the title of King of Sicily (1266–1285) as well as many others (Count of Provence (1246–1285) and Forcalquier (1246–1248, 1256–1285) in the Holy Roman Empire, Count of Anjou and Maine (1246–1285) in France). In 1272, he was proclaimed King of Albania, and in 1277 he purchased a claim to the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
He accompanied Louis during the Seventh Crusade to Egypt.
In 1263, after years of negotiations, he accepted the offer of the Holy See to seize the Kingdom of Sicily from the Hohenstaufens. This kingdom included, in addition to the island of Sicily, southern Italy to well north of Naples and was known as the Regno. Pope Urban IV declared a crusade against the incumbent Manfred of Sicily and assisted Charles in raising funds for the military campaign.
Charles was crowned king in Rome on 5 January 1266. He annihilated Manfred's army and occupied the Regno almost without resistance.
In 1270 he took part in the Eighth Crusade organised by Louis IX, and forced the Hafsid Caliph of Tunis to pay a yearly tribute to him.
In 1281 Pope Martin IV authorised Charles to launch a crusade against the Byzantine Empire. Charles's ships were gathering at Messina, ready to begin the campaign when the Sicilian Vespers rebellion broke out on 30 March 1282 which put an end to Charles's rule on the island of Sicily. He was able to defend the mainland territories (or the Kingdom of Naples) with the support of France and the Holy See. Charles died while making preparations for an invasion of Sicily.
He made his last will on 6 January 1285, appointing Robert II of Artois regent for his grandson, Charles Martel, who was to rule his realms until Charles of Salerno was released. He died in the morning of 7 January. He was buried in a marble sepulchre in Naples, but his heart was placed at the Couvent Saint-Jacques in Paris. His corpse was moved to a chapel of the newly built Naples Cathedral in 1296.
The Anjou dynasty resided in Naples in the Castel Nuovo. The dynasty remained in power in in Naples until 1442.
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