Sepulcrum Laderchiorum

As has been seen the Laderchis were interred in the ‘Sepulcrum Laderchiorum” (lat. Sepulcher of the Laderchis) in the church of St. Andrea delle Vigne (St. Andrew of the Vines) in Faenza, now called after St. Domenico. There in 1489, Giacomo 4/I Laderchi bought a chapel from the Dominican Fathers, the altar of which is now named after the Visitation or after St. Joseph. It is the second to left as you enter the chapel. The altar is made of the most beautiful colored marbles and is closed in the front by a beautiful iron railing with golden apples. The canvas is of a good make. At the sides of the altar, at the base of the two marble columns that delimit the portion of the wall, there are two Laderchi Family coats of arms, identical, but in the opposite direction, in an oval shape, framed, and with a count’s crown of the ancient style. The coat of arms is that which the belongs to the Laderchi family today.

“The stone in the floor of the church corresponding to the altar is no longer there; the pavement was redone around 1960 and the underlying alveoli were inspected, but left as they were. These consist of long, vaulted corridors, with an upper hatch corresponding with the stones in the floor with the names of the families that buried their dead there. At the place where these stones were torn up, there is now a number — the Laderchis’ is no. 19; an overview, which at the moment has yet to be retraced, indicates the numerical correspondences of the families who have interred their dead there.

“From 1650, following the prohibition against burying in churches, the Laderchis were buried in Prada [Author’s note: Or at Prati? Beyond the loop of the Lamone at the confluence with Marzeno. It’s something to ascertain], where they had some vast estates and a Villa.”

Faenza, Church of St. Domenico – The two Laderchi coats of arms that flank the Altar of the Visitation or of St. Joseph.

Until about 1600 the Laderchi coat of arms was: red field with with a broken green stripe edged in silver. On September 11, 1598, Emperor Rodolfo II conferred upon Giovan Battista 2°/IV Laderchi, called the Imola, Minister of the Eastern Duchies, to quarter his coat of arms with two single-headed eagles, crowned, over a field of gold. The coat of arms became in time that seen in the photographs of the chapel of the Laderchis in St. Andrea delle Vigne in Faenza.

To Giovan Battista 2°/IV, the Eastern Duchies conferred the title of Count of Montalto and of Albinea and, since he did not have male descendants, the aforementioned title was conferred to Camillo 2°/VII Laderchi by Cesare d’Este on August 26, 1628.

The title of Faentine Patrician was conferred to Marcantonio 1°/III about 1630.

It has been seen that the Laderchis were almost always members of the Council of the Elders and actively participated in the public life of the Commune of Faenza.

There were many who distinguished themselves and many who deserved it, so many that is difficult to select those to include here; on the other hand to narrate all of them would stretch far beyond that which has been proposed, to give only a clear, overall vision of this illustrious family.

While we are holding off various additional stories that can be written under the title News and Curiosities on the laderchis we cannot overall do less than to sketch in what follows the figure of one of their members, that man being Giovan Battista 2°/IV Laderchi, called the Imola.

He lived from 1592 to 1618 and was for many years the Secretary of the Eastern Duchies, that is Minister and Adviser. He was remembered as a celebrated jurist, upright, honest, of high intellect. He was a professor at the University of Ferrara. In 1583 he received the Citizenship of the city of Modena “for the excellent costumes, excellence of doctrine, the excellent qualities with which he was furnished,” and he was also a noble of the city of Reggio. His nickname “The Imola” seems to be attributable to a pseudonym under which Giovan Battista Laderchi loved to hide his name, a pseudonym taken from the territory over which stood the Castle of his ancestors (Castle of Laderchio).

Emperor Rodolfo II authorized him to quarter his coat of arms with two single-headed eagles, crowned, over a field of gold and the Eastern Duchies made him Count of Montalto and of Albinea.

In 1600 he possessed at Ferrara a Palazzo on the main street of the Giovecca. This Palazzo was constructed in 1494 on behalf of the Ghillini family, passing therefrom to Giovan Battista 2°/IV Laderchi, afterwards to the Bonlei family and from them to the Rossis and to the Braghini- Nagliatis.

He was buried in Ferrara; il Guernieri says in The Churches of Ferrara: At the left of the entrance of the main door of the Church of the Jesus, one encounters the monument of Giovan Battista Laderchi, Imolese, called for this reason the Imola, jurisconsulto [tr.: possibly a portmanteau of jurist and consigliere (advisor)] of great fame, from whom most learned council came. It was this favored secretary of Duke Alfonso II and then of Cesare Estense Duke of Modena by whom he was greatly loved and entitled Count of Montalto and others

He had only daughters; the youngest, Sigismonda, married Count Francesco Montecuccoli, from whom came the Montecuccoli-Laderchi family.

He was the only member of the Laderchi family to also use his own coat of arms.

Ballardini published the chirograph of Emperor Rodolfo II, a chirograph that concerning the coat of arms says:

“September 11 1598 – A quartered shield, on which the upper right-hand portion and the lower left-hand portion is a white field, and has above a single-headed black eagle, crowned, with open wings in the act of flying happily and safely. In the upper left-hand and lower right-hand portion, a field of blue, with three hills according to the ancient insignia of nobility, in the middle the tallest on which stands the evergreen olive around which is led a white band edged above and below with red. Above the shield a silver helmet with the royal diadem of gold placed upon it, ornamented with furling and hanging crests and studs, on the left in light silver and black, that on the right being of light silver and red, where appears Pallas armed having in her right hand the spear and in her left the small shield and carrying on her head the crested helmet and dressed in a flowing white tunic.”

N.B.: The various Laderchis are indexed by following their name with a fraction the numerator of which, in arabic numerals, indicates the progressive number of their baptismal name and the denominator of which, in roman numerals, is indicated the number of the column to which they belong.