Marquessate of Villanueva de Valdueza
Creation date17 January 1624
Created byPhilip IV
PeeragePeerage of Spain
First holderFadrique Álvarez de Toledo y Mendoza, 1st Marquess of Villanueva de Valdueza
Present holderAlonso Álvarez de Toledo y Urquijo, 12th Marquess of Villanueva de Valdueza[1]
Heir apparentSonsoles Álvarez de Toledo y Argüelles[2]

Marquess of Villanueva de Valdueza (Spanish: Marqués de Villanueva de Valdueza), commonly known as Marquess of Valdueza is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain granted in 1624 by Philip IV to Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo, an important General of the Spanish Navy who prevented the Dutch conquest of Colonial Brazil.[3] He was son of the 5th Marquess of Villafranca, who was in turn a great-grandchild of Pedro Álvarez de Toledo, 1st viceroy of Naples.[4]

The title gave birth to the eponymous award-winning brand "Marqués de Valdueza", a high-end producer of olive oil, red wine, honey and vinegar managed by the current Marquesses of Valdueza and sold all over the world. Their products are elaborated in the 1,000 acre finca "Perales de Valdueza",[5] one of the two family estates in Mérida, the other being "Azagala", of 17,000 acres in Badajoz, serving mainly as a hunting reserve.[6] It has been praised as "one of the greatest olive oils" by the Financial Times, Vogue, Tatler, Fortnum & Mason, The Guardian and several other institutions.[7][8][9][10][11][12]

The Álvarez de Toledo's have been one of the most prominent families in the history of the world, having held more than 80 titles in the peerage of Spain, including the dukedoms of Medina Sidonia, Alba and Infantado. They have produced 2 prime ministers of Spain, colonial governors, distinguished military officers, ecclesiastical figures and even a monarch of Tuscany.

Bottle of "Marqués de Valdueza" olive oil, with ornaments derived from the House of Alba and the motto: tu in ea et ego pro ea (you in her and I for her)

Marquesses of Villanueva de Valdueza (1624)

The heir apparent to the dukedom is Sonsoles Álvarez de Toledo y Argüelles (b. 1965), eldest daughter of the 12th Marquess.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE): 7 June 1988
  2. ↑ TELVA: Un día en la finca familiar de los Marqueses de Valdueza - p.34
  3. ↑ Real Academia de la Historia: Índice de la colección de Don Luis Salazar y Castro - p. 322
  4. ↑ El Mundo: Un marqués apasionado del campo - 7 February 2011
  5. ↑ Expansión: Marqués de Valdueza, nuevos mieleros - 8 February 2018
  6. ↑ Vanity Fair: De La Mancha a Extremadura: estas son las fincas donde monarcas, nobles y empresarios van de caza - 18 November 2017
  7. ↑ Official Index of the World's Best Olive Oils
  8. ↑ FT: Spain's extra modern olive oil - January 29-30 2005
  9. ↑ VOGUE: A través de los olivos - May 2007 - p. 200
  10. ↑ TATLER: 'But I really AM a virgin!' - November 2012
  11. ↑ Fortnum&Mason: Olive Oil Dinner
  12. ↑ The Guardian: Six of the best Luxury olive oils - 1 June 2007
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