Matteo Sclafani
1st Conte di Adernò
(1280/81–1354)

Biographical

1st Conte di Adernò 1338–54†
1st Conte di Sclafani 1330–54†
Signore di Adernò <1333–54†
Signore di Centorbi
Signore di Chiusa
Signore di Sclafani
Signore di Ciminna 1310–54†
Miles
Master of the Royal Accounts c. 1326–40

Matteo was a powerful Sicilian nobleman who held one of the largest feudal estates on the island. As the heir of his uncle Matteo Termine, he inherited an immense estate upon his death in 1309, and through his second marriage he acquired Adernò and Centorbi. He commanded a vast estate that stretched across Palermo, Baida, and Misilmeri. His holdings included residences, orchards, and gardens, as well as warehouses, shops, taverns, and rural complexes such as fondaci and masserie. Matteo invested not only in property but also in livestock and agricultural ventures in livestock and agricultural ventures. To finance these acquisitions, he frequently secured advances from prominent banking houses such as the Bardi and Peruzzi of Florence. He took part in the Sicilian Vespers in the defence of Palermo against the Angevins in 1325. For his loyalty to the Aragonese kings, Matteo, along with other nobles, was excommunicated by Pope Benedict XII in 1339. He avoided the anti-Chiaramonte revolt of 1351, choosing to reside in his lands at Ciminna. He also initially avoided the conflict between Matteo Palizzi, leader of the faction of local Sicilian nobles, and Blasco Alagona, representing the Catalans who had arrived with the Aragonese kings. Matteo later shifted his position and married two of his daughters to leaders of the Catalan faction. He is credited with a number of constructions, including Palazzo Sclafani near the Royal Palace of Palermo in 1330 and the church of Santa Maria Maddalena at Ciminna between 1333 and 1350. He also founded and fortified the town of Chiusa between 1333 and 1345. He drew his will in 1333, and again in 1345, 1348, and 1354. Matteo’s parentage is not known with any certainty, but he was said to have claimed Norman ancestry through both parents. An alternative theory to Berardo Actarino/Sclafani being his father is that he was the son of Giovanni Antonio Sclafani and Antonina Termine (erroneously called a daughter of Pietro Luca Pellegrino by other sources), sister of Matteo Termine, signore di Gagliano (†1315). This stems from the historian Fladelfio Mugnos, who provided an extract from the supposed will of Termine which states ‘I leave, and bequeath fifteen Aragonese ounces in total gold for one time only, to the noble Matteo di Sclafani, son of Giovanni Antonio di Sclafani, Count of Adernò, my beloved brother-in-law’.

Place of burial: Church of San Francesco, Palermo

Possible son of Berardo Actarino/Sclafani and Francesca Termini?, Matteo was married firstly to Bartolomea Incisa, with issue:
• Margherita, married to Guglielmo Raimondo Moncada, with issue

Matteo was married secondly to Agata Pellegrino, with no issue. He was married thirdly before 1333 to Beatrice Calvellis, and had issue:
• Luisa (aka Aloisa), her father's universal heir, married to Guglielmo Peralta in 1345, with issue

Matteo also had a natural daughter by Rosa di Patti:
• Francesca, married to Matteo Perollo, with issue

Matteo also had illegitimate issue by unnamed women:
• Matteo Sclafani, possibly legitimised
• Giovannella
• another son possibly named Antonello Sclafani