Doria, originally de Auria, from de filiis Auriae, the sons of Auria, and then de Oria or d'Oria, is the name of an old Genoese family whose history is indistiguishable from that of the republic of Genoa from the 12th to the 16th century. Legend has that a noble Genoese lady named Auria or Oria della Volta became enamored of a noble pilgrim that was going to Jerusalem before the time of the First Crusade; his name was Arduino di Narbonne but their children were called after the mother — de Oria, the children of Oria.

Documentary evidence refers to two members of that family, Martino and Genuardo, in 1110; they are styled de filiis Auriae — of the sons of Oria, which gives plausibility to at least part of the family legend. The Doria had fiefs in Sardinia from the 12th century to the 15th century, and also in Dolceacqua , Oneglia and Portofino, in the Riviera to the west of Genoa.

Simone Doria lived in the late 12th century and was an admiral of the Genoese in the crusader's assault against St John of Acre . Percivalle Doria , who died in 1275 fighting for the Ghibelline was a facinorous warlord and a well-known poet in the Provençal language. The brothers Oberto Doria and Lamba Doria were naval commanders and politicians: Oberto was Captain of the People in Genoa and led its naval forces in the victory of La Meloria against Pisa in 1284. Lamba Doria won a major battle against Venetian Doge Andrea Dandolo at Curzola in 1296. Branca Doria is mentioned by Dante Alighieri in the Divina Commedia because of his treacherous murder of Michele Zanche, his father in law, in 1275. The most remarkable member of the family is Admiral Andrea Doria, Prince of Melfi (1466-1560).

The Doria clan helped finance the Portuguese and Spanish navigations in the late 15th and 16th centuries. One Lodisio Doria settled in the island of Madeira in 1480 in order to produce sugar out of sugarcane. Francesco Doria , a banker at Seville, financed Columbus, and his son Aleramo Doria was a banker to King John III of Portugal until 1556. Finally Aleramo's daughter Clemenza Doria is one of the earliest settlers in the 16th century Portuguese colonization of Brazil.

References

Teresa Luzzatto Guerrini, I Doria, Novissima Enciclopedia Monografica Illustrata, Florence (1937).

Clemente Fusero, I Doria, dall'Oglio (1973).

Documentary sources at the Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo, Lisbon (Portugal)

See also

Doria Pamphilj Gallery