Prince of Belmonte (; ) is a noble title created in 1619 by the Spanish crown for the Barons of Badolato and Belmonte. The name of the title is taken from the fortress town of Belmonte in Calabria, historically important for the defence of the Italian coast from Saracen invasion. Belmonte has been known since the Risorgimento as Belmonte Calabro. In addition to the princely title, the princes were made Grandees of Spain (First Class) in 1712, and in 1726 were granted the rank of Prince of the Holy Roman Empire () with the style of Serene Highness (). The princes hold a number of subsidiary titles, including Duke of Acerenza (1593), Marquess of Galatone (1562) and Count of Copertino (1562). The seat of the princes is Palazzo Belmonte, on the Bay of Salerno and south of Amalfi. The princes are descendants of the Fieschi family of Genoa, who were ennobled as Counts Palatine in the year 1010 by Henry the Holy, King of Italy and later Holy Roman Emperor. The Emperor created the title of Count of Lavagna and appointed the Fieschi as Imperial Vice-Regents of all Tuscany and of the coast of Genoa. Ancestry The Princes of Belmonte descended from the Fieschi, Counts Palatine of Lavagna. The Fieschi were one of the main families of Genoa, along with the Grimaldi, Spinola and Doria families. In the 13th century, the Fieschi were allied to the House of Grimaldi, modern day Princes of Monaco, in the struggle between the Guelphs and Ghibellines. The current prince is 35th in line from Frisco, 1st Count of Lavagna. The ancestors of the Princes of Belmonte include Sinibaldo, Pope Innocent IV, and Ottobuono, Pope Adrian V, as well as several cardinals, a King of Sicily, the Viceroy of Naples under René I of Naples (Jacopo Fieschi), three saints including Saint Catherine of Genoa (1447–1510), and both generals and admirals of Genoa and other states. Through their later marriage to a line of the Pignatelli, the Princes of Belmonte share blood with a third pope, Pope Innocent XII, and the Jesuit Saint Joseph Pignatelli. Ugone of Lavagna was alleged to have been the first to bear the name "Fiesco" or Fieschi, attributed to his control of the fiscal affairs of the Holy Roman Emperor. His descendant, Rubaldo Fieschi, was confirmed as Count of Lavagna in the 11th Century. Around 1156, Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor