Paola Colonna

Who was Paola Colonna?

Paola Colonna was the lady of Piombino from 1441 until 1445.

She was born in Rome into one of the most powerful family of Rome. Her brother Giordano was shortly Prince of Salerno and Duke of Venosa, while her brother Oddo would become Pope Martin V. On 18 June 1396 she was married to Gherardo Appiani, lord of Piombino. At his death she held the regency for their son Iacopo. When the latter also died, she left the principate, against the legitimate heir Emanuele Appiani, to her daughter Caterina, married to the condottiero Rinaldo Orsini.

She died in Piombino in 1450.