Della Rovere family
From an obscure status in Savona (Liguria) the della Rovere acquired fame and wealth when Francesco became pope in 1471 as Sixtus IV. Instantly supplied with a genealogy and a coat of arms (an oak tree - rovere in Italian), the family soon further enhanced its position when Francesco's nephew Giuliano was elected pope, with the title Julius II, in 1503 . Meanwhile, the secular fortunes of the family began when Sixtus invested his nephew Giovanni (1457-1501) with the lord- ship of Senigallia, thus giving him a rank which made possible his marriage to Duke Federico of Urbino's daughter. Giovanni, on his death, entrusted his son Francesco Maria to Federico's successor Guidobaldo (Duke 1482-1508) who, without an heir, devised the duchy on the boy. Thus from 1508 to 1631, when their line expired, Urbino came to be ruled by successive della Rovere dukes.
