François Grimaldi

Francesco Grimaldi (François; ), called il Malizia (from Italian: "the malicious"), was the Genoese leader of the Guelphs who captured the Rock of Monaco on the night of 8 January 1297. He was the son of Guglielmo Grimaldi by his wife Giacobina or Giacoba, a Genoese noble.

Capture of Monaco
The capture of Monaco happened at a time during a long conflict in medieval Italy between the Guelphs and Ghibellines. The Guelph and Ghibelline members were of two opposing factions in German and Italian politics during the Middle Ages which sparked conflict that would last centuries and contributed to chronic strife within the cities of Northern Italy spanning over the course of the 13th and 14th centuries. The house Grimaldi was one of the most influential and powerful families in Genoa having allegiance to the Pope, against Ghibelline support of the Holy Roman Emperor. In 1295 Guelph forces from Liguria were routed by a successful advance from the Ghibbeline army led by Francesco Grimaldi, who were forced to take refuge on the Rock of Monaco. The assault culminated two years later on January 8, 1927, where Grimaldi, dressed as a Franciscan friar, lead a small contingent of followers and was greeted at the gates of Monaco's castle, only then to seize the castle with his cousin Rainier I, Lord of Cagnes. The event is commemorated on the Monegasque coat of arms, on which the supporters are two friars armed with swords. He held the citadel of Monaco for four years before being chased out by the Genoese. The battle over "the rock" was taken over by his kinsmen. Francesco thus failed to establish the Grimaldis' rule over Monaco, but was the first to attempt to do so.

Family
The Grimaldi lineage descended from Grimaldo Canella. Originating from Genoa, Grimaldo was a twelfth-century statesman and served as Consul of Genoa serveral times, whose forename adorned his predecessors; becoming the family's accepted surname.

Francesco was married in 1295 to Aurelia del Carretto, widow of his cousin, Lanfranco Grimaldi. The marriage was childless, thus the modern Grimaldis are therefore not descendants of Francesco. After his death, in 1309, he was succeeded by his cousin (and stepson), Rainier I of Monaco, Lord of Cagnes.

His cousin's descendants, the Grimaldi family, still rule Monaco today. Over one hundred years after the coup, the Grimaldis purchased Monaco from the crown of Aragon in 1419, and became the official and undisputed rulers of "the Rock of Monaco". Rainier Il's three sons-Ambroise, Antoine and Jean purchased Monaco in the name of Grimaldi from its then owner, Queen Yolande of Aragon.