Ambrogio Spinola Doria, 1st Marquess of Los Balbases and 1st Duke of Sesto was an Italian condottiero and nobleman of the Republic of Genoa, who served as a Spanish general and won a number of important battles. He is often called "Ambrosio" by Spanish-speaking people and is considered one of the greatest military commanders of his time and in the history of the Spanish army. His military achievements earned him the title of Marquess of Los Balbases in the Spanish peerage, as well as the Order of the Golden Fleece and Order of Santiago.
Portrait by Peter Paul Rubens (1627)
Portrait of Ambrogio Spinola by Anthony van Dyck
The Siege of Breda.
Engraving of Ambrogio Spinola
Condottieri were Italian captains in command of mercenary companies during the Middle Ages and of multinational armies during the early modern period. They notably served popes and other European monarchs during the Italian Wars of the Renaissance and the European Wars of Religion. Notable condottieri include Prospero Colonna, Giovanni dalle Bande Nere, Cesare Borgia, the Marquis of Pescara, Andrea Doria, and the Duke of Parma.
The equestrian statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni in Venice, Italy
Luchino Visconti defeated the Company of Saint George of Werner von Urslingen at the Battle of Parabiago in Lombardy in 1339.
Alberico da Barbiano, a mercenary alongside John Hawkwood, founded his own (all Italian) condotta, the Company of St. George, and reached acclaim by defeating the Breton company of anti-pope Clement VII at Marino [fr] in 1379 as well as fostering notable other condottiere such as Facino Cane and Braccio da Montone.
Detail of the frescoes, with soldiers
