da Varano

The da Varano were a Guelph noble house who ruled Camerino and towns in the Marche from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century. The family rose under Gentile da Varano, who rebuilt Camerino after its destruction by Manfred of Sicily and the Ghibelline defeat at Benevento in 1266, and was made Count of the Roman Campagna by Pope Martin IV in 1282.

His nephew Berardo became lord of Camerino in 1316 and Marquis of Ancona, reconquering towns for the Church. Family feuds weakened the house until Rodolfo IV retook Camerino in 1444.

In 1502 Cesare Borgia captured and killed Giulio Cesare da Varano with three of his sons. The surviving Giovanni Maria was created Duke of Camerino in 1515 but died without heirs in 1529, after which the duchy passed to the della Rovere dukes of Urbino.