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Son of Henry IV of Swabia and grandson of the famous Frederick Barbarossa, Frederick II descended from the noble House of Hohestaufen. However, the Sicilian-Norman blood of his mother, Constance of Hauteville, also coursed through his veins. Born in Jesi, in the Marches region, on December 26, 1194, on a journey that Queen Constance was making to join her husband in Palermo, Frederick was orphaned by his father at the age of three and by his mother at four. He was, therefore, entrusted to the guardianship of Pope Innocent III, who had become regent of the Kingdom of Sicily.
According to ancient accounts, Frederick’s birth took place in a tent assembled in the center of the square in Jesi. This event was public knowledge and rich in mystery, especially considering Constance's advanced age of nearly 40 and the unfounded rumors surrounding her. Some claimed that Frederick was the illegitimate son of the queen and a butcher, while others speculated that Constance had been a nun, a theory espoused by Dante in the Divine Comedy.
