Baldeschi- Balleani Family Background

The Baldeschi-Balleani family descends from an old aristocratic Italian family. One of their earliest ancestors is Saint Ubaldo who was canonized in 1192 who is said to have talked Federico II, "il Barbarossa", from sacking the Umbrian city of Gubbio. Through the centuries other members of the family became famous in many other fields as lawyers, writers, art collectors, bishops, etc. And in 1908 when Count Aurelio Balleani died in Jesi a childless widower he left his properties in the Marche region to the second son of his nephew Ludovico Baldeschi and as is the custom preserved the name by adding it to his own becoming Aurelio Baldeschi-Balleani. The properties of the family in the Marche's include farmlands, two ancient palaces and a Villa called Fontedamo near Jesi.

He traveled extensively and fell in love with New York where he met and married his wife in 1934. They spent winters in New York and summers at Villa Fontedamo.

Their first three children were born in New York and were still in New York in 1940 when Italy entered the war on the side of the Axis. The Count was faced with a hard decision, to join the US armed forces and fight against his own relatives or to join the Italian armed forces, whose beliefs he opposed.

Eventually he and his family returned to Italy and waited out the war in Osimo where the family owned a 15 th century palazzo.

The Villa Fontedamo fell into the hands of the Germans and was occupied by them at the end of the war and was looted and sacked. But that is another story and perhaps while visiting there you can hear more about that.

The Marche is 'Italy in one region" because of all it offers and by comparison to other regions is virtually untouched by tourism, and what better way to visit than with the Baldeschi-Balleani' s whose expertise and knowledge of the Marche will leave you with memories forever.

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