1.
Alfonso V of Aragon
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Alfonso the Magnanimous KG was the King of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca, Sardinia and Corsica, Sicily and Count of Barcelona from 1416, and King of Naples from 1442 until his death. He was one of the most prominent figures of the early Renaissance, born at Medina del Campo, he was the son of Ferdinand I of Aragon and Eleanor of Alburquerque. He represented the old line of the counts of Barcelona through the line, and was on his fathers side descended from the House of Trastamara. By hereditary right he was king of Sicily and claimed the island of Sardinia for himself, Alfonso was also in possession of much of Corsica by the 1420s. In 1421 the childless Queen Joanna II of Naples adopted and named him as heir to the Kingdom of Naples, and Alfonso went to Naples. Here he hired the condottiero Braccio da Montone with the task of reducing the resistance of his rival claimant, Louis III of Anjou, with Pope Martin V supporting Sforza, Alfonso switched his religious allegiance to the Aragonese antipope Benedict XIII. After an attempt to arrest the queen herself had failed, Joan called on Sforza who defeated the Aragonese militias near Castel Capuano in Naples, Alfonso fled to Castel Nuovo, but the help of a fleet of 22 galleys led by Giovanni da Cardona improved his situation. Sforza and Joanna ransomed Caracciolo and retreated to the fortress of Aversa, here she repudiated her earlier adoption of Alfonso and, with the backing of Martin V, named Louis III as her heir instead. The Duke of Milan, Filippo Maria Visconti, joined the anti-Aragonese coalition, on his way towards Barcelona, Alfonso destroyed Marseille, a possession of Louis III. In late 1423 the Genoese fleet of Filippo Maria Visconti moved in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea, rapidly conquering Gaeta, Procida, Castellammare and Sorrento. Naples, which was held by Alfonsos brother, Pedro de Aragon, was besieged in 1424 by the Genoese ships and Joannas troops, now led by Francesco Sforza, the city fell in April 1424. Pedro, after a resistance in Castel Nuovo, fled to Sicily in August. Joanna II and Louis III again took possession of the realm, an opportunity for Alfonso to reconquer Naples occurred in 1432, when Caracciolo was killed in a conspiracy. Alfonso tried to regain the favour of the queen, but failed, in her will, she bequeathed her realm to René of Anjou, Louis IIIs younger brother. This solution was opposed by the new pope, Eugene IV, the Neapolitans having called in the French, Alfonso decided to intervene and, with the support of several barons of the kingdom, captured Capua and besieged the important sea fortress of Gaeta. His fleet of 25 galleys was met by the Genoese ships sent by Visconti, in the battle of Ponza that ensued, Alfonso was defeated and taken prisoner. Helped by a Sicilian fleet, Alfonso recaptured Capua and set his base in Gaeta in February 1436, meanwhile, papal troops had invaded the Neapolitan kingdom, but Alfonso bribed their commander, Cardinal Giovanni Vitelleschi, and their successes waned. In the meantime, René had managed to reach Naples on 19 May 1438, Alfonso tried to besiege the city in the following September, but failed
2.
Lazio
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Lazio is one of the 20 administrative regions of Italy, situated in the central peninsular section of the country. With almost 5.9 million residents and a GDP of more than 170 billion euros, Lazio is the second most populated region of Italy and its capital is Rome, capital and largest city of Italy. Lazio comprises an area of 17,236 km2 and it has borders with Tuscany, Umbria, and Marche to the north, Abruzzo and Molise to the east, Campania to the south. The region is flat and hilly, with small mountainous areas in the most eastern and southern districts. The coast of Lazio is mainly composed of beaches, punctuated by the headlands of Circeo. The Pontine Islands, which are part of Lazio, lie opposite the southern coast, behind the coastal strip, to the north, lies the Maremma Laziale, a coastal plain interrupted at Civitavecchia by the Tolfa Mountains. The central section of the region is occupied by the Roman Campagna, the southern districts are characterized by the flatlands of Agro Pontino, a once swampy and malarial area, that was reclaimed over the centuries. To the south of the Tiber, other groups form part of the Preapennines, the Alban Hills, also of volcanic origin. The highest peak is Mount Gorzano on the border with Abruzzo, see also, History of Italy The Italian word Lazio descends from the Latin word Latium. The name of the region also survives in the designation of the ancient population of Latins, Latini in the Latin language spoken by them. Although the demography of ancient Rome was multi-ethnic, including, for example, Etruscans and other Italics besides the Latini, in Roman mythology, the tribe of the Latini took their name from king Latinus. Much of Lazio is in flat or rolling. The lands originally inhabited by the Latini were extended into the territories of the Samnites, the Marsi, the Hernici, the Aequi, the Aurunci and the Volsci, all surrounding Italic tribes. This larger territory was still called Latium, but it was divided into Latium adiectum or Latium Novum, the lands or New Latium, and Latium Vetus, or Old Latium. The northern border of Lazio was the Tiber river, which divided it from Etruria, the emperor Augustus officially united almost all of present-day Italy into a single geo-political entity, Italia, dividing it into eleven regions. However, the wars against the Longobards weakened the region. With the Donation of Sutri in 728, the Bishop of Rome acquired the first territory in the region beyond the Duchy of Rome, the strengthening of the religious and ecclesiastical aristocracy led to continuous power struggles between secular lords and the Pope until the middle of the 16th century. Other popes tried to do the same, during the period when the papacy resided in Avignon, France, the feudal lords power increased due to the absence of the Pope from Rome
3.
Abruzzo
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Abruzzo is a region of Italy in Southern Italy, with an area of 10,763 square km and a population of 1.3 million. Its western border lies 80 km east of Rome, the region is divided into the four provinces of LAquila, Teramo, Pescara, and Chieti. Abruzzo borders the region of Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and south-west, Molise to the south-east, and the Adriatic Sea to the east. Geographically, Abruzzo is divided into an area to the west, which includes the Gran Sasso Ditalia. Abruzzo is considered culturally, linguistically, and historically a region of Southern Italy, the Italian Statistical Authority deems it to be part of Southern Italy, partially because of Abruzzos historic association with the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. These ensure the survival of 75% of Europes living species including species, such as the small wading dotterel, golden eagle, the Abruzzo chamois, Apennine wolf. Abruzzo is also home to Calderone, Europes southernmost glacier, visiting nineteenth-century Italian diplomat and journalist Primo Levi said that forte e gentile best describes the beauty of the region and the character of its people. Forte e gentile has since become the motto of the region, Abruzzo is divided into four administrative provinces, Humans have inhabited Abruzzo since Neolithic times. A skeleton from Lama dei Peligni in the province of Chieti has been dated to 6,540 bp. The name Abruzzo appears to derive from the Latin Aprutium, although in Roman times the region was known at times as Picenum, Sabina et Samnium, Flaminia et Picenum. Until 1963 it was part of the Abruzzi region with Molise, Abruzzo Citeriore is present day Chieti province. Abruzzo Ulteriore I comprised the Teramo and Pescara provinces, Abruzzo Ulteriore II is now the Province of LAquila, in this province is found the city of Corfinio, the chief city of the Paeligni,7 m. N. of Sulmona in the valley of the Aternus. The site of the town is occupied by the village of Pentima. It appears also as a fortress of importance in the Civil War and these people were honored by Caesar as citizens of Rome. It is said that the name Italia came from this region because of ancient coins that have found here that date from about the 1st century BC. These coins have the name Italia on them and are proof of this fact. This theory of the origin of the name Italia is debated by scholars, archaeologists and it is also said by the Italian Government that Calabria was once called Italia by the ancient Greeks in honour of its inhabitants who were known as the Itali. This occurred hundreds of years before the coins of Corfinio were apparently minted, the late archaeologist Massimo Pallottino also claimed that the name was derived from the Italic tribes that settled in modern Calabria
4.
Sora, Lazio
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Sora is a town and comune of Lazio, Italy, in the province of Frosinone. It is built in a plain on the banks of the Liri and this part of the valley is the seat of some important manufactures, especially of paper-mills. The area around Sora is famous for the costumes of its peasants. Sora, an ancient Volscian town, was captured by the Romans, in 345,314 and 305 BCE, before they managed, in 303, by means of a colony 4,000 strong. In 209 it was one of the colonies which refused further contributions to the war against Hannibal, by the lex Julia it became a municipium, but under Augustus it was colonized by soldiers of the legio IV Sorana, which had been mainly enrolled there. It belonged technically to Latium adiectum, located in the Ducatus Romanus under the authority of the pope during the early Dark Ages, it was captured by the Lombards of Gisulf I of Benevento in 705. The castle of Sorella, built on the height above the town, was in the Middle Ages a stronghold of some note. Against Caesar Borgia the city was defended by Giovanni da Montefeltro. It was purchased by Pope Gregory XIII for 11,000 ducats and bestowed under the suzerainty of Gregorys son, the distance from Sora to centre of Rome is 115 km, heading In the opposite direction the downtown area of Naples is 138 km from Sora. The municipality, located next to Abruzzo, borders with Arpino, Balsorano, Broccostella, Campoli Appennino, Castelliri, Isola del Liri, Monte San Giovanni Campano, Pescosolido, the original cathedral, consecrated by Pope Adrian IV in 1155, was destroyed by the earthquake of 1634. There are also remains of medieval fortifications, among the churches in town are, Sanctuary of the Madonna della Figura. Sora city homepage Purcell, N. R. Talbert, T. Elliott, cS1 maint, Multiple names, authors list
5.
Isola del Liri
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Isola del Liri is an Italian town in Lazio, Frosinone. As its name implies, Isola is situated between two arms of the Liri, the many waterfalls of this river and of the Fibreno are used by factories. Of Volscan origin, after the fall of the Western Roman Empire Isola del Liri was ruled by the Byzantines, later it was part of the Duchy of Sora, becoming a ducal seat under the Boncompagni family. In 1796 it was annexed to the Papal States, the city fell in the Middle Ages, alternatively, under the rule of the Byzantine and Lombard, until it became part of the county of Sora in the Principality of Capua. Isola del Liri was the feud of the dellIsola of the century to the fourteenth century. Among the famous personalities of this family, were Roffredo dellIsola, Abbot of Monte Cassino, Count dArce, at the end of the fourteenth century, Isola del Liri was ceded to the Cantelmo family. It was once in the old Terra di Lavoro region of Campania, the towns main sight is the Castello Boncompagni-Viscogliosi, a fortified palace near two waterfalls, Cascata Grande and Cascata del Valcatoio, each about 30 metres high, and a bridge on river. It is mentioned for the first time in 1100, after the acquisition of the Duchy of Sora by the della Rovere family, it became one of their main residences. About 2 kilometres north of the town is the church of San Domenico, erected in the 12th century, Isola del Liri is the seat of the eponymous blues festival since 1988. Liri Blues is a festival has been free ever since its first year. Liri Blues is an event that happens every year during a week in July, concerts are held in the main square, in the streets and jam sessions happen late at night. Here are some of the most important artists who have appeared at Liri Blues, in 1997, for the 10th edition of the festival, the town of Isola del Liri signed a twinning with the city of New Orleans. In 2007, celebrating 10 years from the twinning with New Orleans, Liri Blues produced a CD called Omaggio a New Orleans, New Orleans, United States Some of the information in this article is based on that found in its Italian equivalent. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh. Liri Blues Festival Province of Frosinone Liri
6.
Fief
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The fees were often lands or revenue-producing real property held in feudal land tenure, these are typically known as fiefs or fiefdoms. However, not only land but anything of value could be held in fee, including office, rights of exploitation such as hunting or fishing, monopolies in trade. In ancient Rome a benefice was a gift of land for life as a reward for services rendered, originally, in medieval Latin European documents, a land grant in exchange for service continued to be called a beneficium. Later, the term feudum, or feodum, began to replace beneficium in the documents, the first attested instance of this is from 984, although more primitive forms were seen up to one hundred years earlier. The origin of the feudum and why it replaced beneficium has not been well established, but there are multiple theories, described below. The most widely held theory is put forth by Marc Bloch that it is related to the Frankish term *fehu-ôd, in which means cattle and -ôd means goods. When land replaced currency as the store of value, the Germanic word *fehu-ôd replaced the Latin word beneficium. This Germanic origin theory was also shared by William Stubbs in the nineteenth century, a theory put forward by Archibald R. Lewis that the origin of fief is not feudum, but rather foderum, the earliest attested use being in Astronomuss Vita Hludovici. In that text is a passage about Louis the Pious which says annona militaris quas vulgo foderum vocant, a theory by Alauddin Samarrai suggests an Arabic origin, from fuyū. Samarrais theory is that early forms of fief include feo, feu, feuz, feuum and others, Samarrai, however, also advises medieval and early modern Muslim scribes often used etymologically fanciful roots in order to claim the most outlandish things to be of Arabian or Muslim origin. It lacked a precise meaning until the middle of the 12th century, in English usage, the word fee is first attested around 1250–1300, the word fief from around 1605–15. In French, the fief is found from the middle of the 13th century. In French, one also finds seigneurie, which rise to the expression seigneurial system to describe feudalism. Originally, vassalage did not imply the giving or receiving of landholdings, by the middle of the 10th century, fee had largely become hereditary. The eldest son of a deceased vassal would inherit, but first he had to do homage and fealty to the lord, historically, the fees of the 11th and the 12th century derived from two separate sources. The first was land carved out of the estates of the upper nobility, the second source was allodial land transformed into dependent tenures. The process occurred later in Germany, and was going on in the 13th century. In England, Henry II transformed them into important sources of royal income, the discontent of barons with royal claims to arbitrarily assessed reliefs and other feudal payments under Henrys son King John resulted in Magna Carta of 1215
7.
Kingdom of Naples
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It continued to be officially known as the Kingdom of Sicily, although it no longer included the island of Sicily. For much of its existence, the realm was contested between French and Spanish dynasties, in 1816, it was reunified with the island kingdom of Sicily once again to form the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Following the rebellion in 1282, King Charles I of Sicily was forced to leave the island of Sicily by Peter III of Aragons troops, Charles, however, maintained his possessions on the mainland, customarily known as the Kingdom of Naples, after its capital city. Charles and his Angevin successors maintained a claim to Sicily, warring against the Aragonese until 1373, joans reign was contested by Louis the Great, the Angevin King of Hungary, who captured the kingdom several times. Queen Joan I also played a part in the demise of the first Kingdom of Naples. This led to Joan Is murder at the hands of the Prince of Durazzo in 1382, the two competing Angevin lines contested each other for the possession of the Kingdom of Naples over the following decades. René of Anjou temporarily united the claims of junior and senior Angevin lines, in 1442, however, Alfonso V conquered the Kingdom of Naples and unified Sicily and Naples once again as dependencies of Aragon. At his death in 1458, the kingdom was again separated and Naples was inherited by Ferrante, Alfonsos illegitimate son. Charles VIII expelled Alfonso II of Naples from Naples in 1495, Ferrantino was restored to the throne, but died in 1496, and was succeeded by his uncle, Frederick IV. Charles VIIIs successor, Louis XII reiterated the French claim, in 1501, he occupied Naples and partitioned the kingdom with Ferdinand of Aragon, who abandoned his cousin King Frederick. The deal soon fell through, however, and Aragon and France resumed their war over the kingdom, the Spanish troops occupying Calabria and Apulia, led by Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordova did not respect the new agreement, and expelled all Frenchmen from the area. The peace treaties that continued were never definitive, but they established at least that the title of King of Naples was reserved for Ferdinands grandson, the future Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Ferdinand nevertheless continued in possession of the kingdom, being considered as the heir of his uncle Alfonso I of Naples. The French finally abandoned their claims to Naples by the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559, in the Treaty of London, five cities on coast of Tuscany were designated the Stato dei Presidi, and part of the Kingdom of Naples. After the War of the Spanish Succession in the early 18th century, under the terms of the Treaty of Rastatt in 1714, Naples was given to Charles VI, the Holy Roman Emperor. He also gained control of Sicily in 1720, but Austrian rule did not last long, when Charles inherited the Spanish throne from his older half-brother in 1759, he left Naples and Sicily to his younger son, Ferdinand IV. Despite the two Kingdoms being in a union under the Habsburg and Bourbon dynasts, they remained constitutionally separate. Being a member of the House of Bourbon, Ferdinand IV was an opponent of the French Revolution and Napoleon
8.
Duchy of Alvito
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The Duchy of Alvito was a fiefdom of the Kingdom of Naples, in southern Italy. The Cantelmo family, of French origins, had arrived in Italy in the 13th century around the time the Angevins conquered Naples, rostaino and his successors tried unsuccessfully to extend their control over the whole region in the 14th century. They sided with Queen Joan II of Naples but were defeated by the troops of Charles of Durazzo, in a document of 1384, Giacomo IV is mentioned as lord of the lands of Alvito. During the turmoil caused by the succession of Ladislaus of Naples, rostainuccio was defeated and captured by Jacopo Orsini at Pereto in Abruzzo in 1369, and Alvito was granted by Ladislaus to Andrea Tomacelli, brother of the Count of Sora and of Pope Boniface IX. Alvito was soon returned to the Cantelmo, and Giacomo V and he likely obtained the title as a dowry from his wife, Elisabetta dAquino. After Giacomos death the county was expanded by his son Antonio, who acquired Gallinaro, Fontechiari, Arce, Popoli, otherwise, Antonios rule was troubled by the turmoil and succession crises of the Kingdom of Naples in the early 15th century, and he lost his lands repeatedly. His son Nicolò was able to establish his rule more firmly by backing the successful Alfonso V of Aragon in his conquests of 1443, Alfonso created Nicolò Duke of Sora, and in this capacity he stripped his brother Onofrio of the County of Popoli in Abruzzo. Nicolò also obtained the position of royal counsellor in 1452 and, just before his death, nicolòs son Piergiampaolo inherited Sora and Alvito, while another son, Piergiovanni, inherited Popoli. He also took part in the sieges of Sulmona and LAquila, as a result, he was forced to cede Sora, Arpino, Casalvieri, Isola del Liri, and Fontana Liri to the Papal States in 1463. His duchy was downgraded to a county, the title being assigned to Piergiovanni, at the same time, Alvito and Sora were given the right to mint cavalli. Piergiampaolo organized a plot against Ferdinand, but was again defeated and had to abandon hopes in returning to Alvito. Exiled to France, he returned with the army of Charles VIII of France during the War of 1494–95. With his brother, Sigismondo II of Sora, he re-conquered most of his lands and he was able to resist the Neapolitans after the French retreat, but in 1496 Sora fell to Frederick I of Naples, followed in 1496 by Alvito, captured by general Gonzalo de Córdoba. This put an end to the Cantelmo rule, the Valcomino became a royal demesne. In 1497 Gioffre Borgia, son of Pope Alexander VI, was invested with the title Count of Alvito and he sent the condottiero Fabrizio Colonna to stabilise his lands, to which he finally returned in 1504. After the death of his wife, Sancha of Aragon, he lost the rights to the county, which were given in 1507 to the Spanish general Pietro Navarro. In 1515, after Pietro had embraced the French cause, Alvito was conferred on the viceroy Ramón de Cardona, the county was inherited by Ramóns son Folch, under the regency of his mother, Isabella de Requesens. She was able to exploit the ongoing Franco-Spanish wars to acquire the nearby Duchy of Somma, ferrante was succeeded in 1571 by his sons Loise and Antonio, who let Alvito decline under ruthless local governors
9.
Papal States
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The Papal States, officially the State of the Church, were territories in the Italian Peninsula under the sovereign direct rule of the pope, from the 8th century until 1870. They were among the states of Italy from roughly the 8th century until the Italian Peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. At their zenith, they covered most of the modern Italian regions of Lazio, Marche, Umbria and Romagna and these holdings were considered to be a manifestation of the temporal power of the pope, as opposed to his ecclesiastical primacy. By 1861, much of the Papal States territory had been conquered by the Kingdom of Italy, only Lazio, including Rome, remained under the Popes temporal control. In 1870, the pope lost Lazio and Rome and had no physical territory at all, Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini ended the crisis between unified Italy and the Vatican by signing the Lateran Treaty, granting the Vatican City State sovereignty. The Papal States were also known as the Papal State, the territories were also referred to variously as the State of the Church, the Pontifical States, the Ecclesiastical States, or the Roman States. For its first 300 years the Catholic Church was persecuted and unrecognized and this system began to change during the reign of the emperor Constantine I, who made Christianity legal within the Roman Empire, and restoring to it any properties that had been confiscated. The Lateran Palace was the first significant new donation to the Church, other donations followed, primarily in mainland Italy but also in the provinces of the Roman Empire. But the Church held all of these lands as a private landowner, the seeds of the Papal States as a sovereign political entity were planted in the 6th century. Beginning In 535, the Byzantine Empire, under emperor Justinian I, launched a reconquest of Italy that took decades and devastated Italys political, just as these wars wound down, the Lombards entered the peninsula from the north and conquered much of the countryside. While the popes remained Byzantine subjects, in practice the Duchy of Rome, nevertheless, the pope and the exarch still worked together to control the rising power of the Lombards in Italy. As Byzantine power weakened, though, the took a ever larger role in defending Rome from the Lombards. In practice, the papal efforts served to focus Lombard aggrandizement on the exarch, a climactic moment in the founding of the Papal States was the agreement over boundaries embodied in the Lombard king Liutprands Donation of Sutri to Pope Gregory II. When the Exarchate of Ravenna finally fell to the Lombards in 751, the popes renewed earlier attempts to secure the support of the Franks. In 751, Pope Zachary had Pepin the Younger crowned king in place of the powerless Merovingian figurehead king Childeric III, zacharys successor, Pope Stephen II, later granted Pepin the title Patrician of the Romans. Pepin led a Frankish army into Italy in 754 and 756, Pepin defeated the Lombards – taking control of northern Italy – and made a gift of the properties formerly constituting the Exarchate of Ravenna to the pope. The cooperation between the papacy and the Carolingian dynasty climaxed in 800, when Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Emperor, the precise nature of the relationship between the popes and emperors – and between the Papal States and the Empire – is disputed. Events in the 9th century postponed the conflict, the Holy Roman Empire in its Frankish form collapsed as it was subdivided among Charlemagnes grandchildren
10.
Pope Pius II
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Pope Pius II, born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini was Pope from 19 August 1458 to his death in 1464. He was born at Corsignano in the Sienese territory of a noble and his longest and most enduring work is the story of his life, the Commentaries, which is the only autobiography ever written by a reigning pope. He settled in the city as a teacher, but in 1431 accepted the post of secretary to Domenico Capranica, bishop of Fermo. Capranica was protesting against the new Pope Eugene IVs refusal of a cardinalate for him, arriving at Basel after enduring a stormy voyage to Genoa and then a trip across the Alps, he successively served Capranica, who ran short of money, and then other masters. In 1435 he was sent by Cardinal Albergati, Eugenius IVs legate at the council, on a mission to Scotland. He visited England as well as Scotland, underwent many perils, the journey to Scotland proved so tempestuous that Piccolomini swore that he would walk barefoot to the nearest shrine of Our Lady from their landing port. This proved to be Dunbar, the nearest shrine was 10 miles distant at Whitekirk, the journey through the ice and snow left Aeneas afflicted with pain in his legs for the rest of his life. In Scotland, he fathered a child but it died, upon his return to Basel, Aeneas sided actively with the council in its conflict with the Pope, and, although still a layman, eventually obtained a share in the direction of its affairs. He supported the creation of the Antipope Felix V and participated in his coronation, Aeneas then was sent to Strasbourg where he sired a child with a Breton woman called Elizabeth. The baby died 14 months later and he then withdrew to the court of Holy Roman Emperor Emperor Frederick III in Vienna. He had been crowned imperial poet laureate in 1442, and he obtained the patronage of the emperors chancellor, some identify the love adventure at Siena that Aeneas related in his romance The Tale of the Two Lovers with an escapade of the chancellor. Aeneas character had hitherto been that of an easy and democratic-minded man of the world with no pretense to strictness in morals or consistency in politics. He now began to be regular in the former respect. This he did most effectually by the diplomatic dexterity with which he smoothed away differences between the court of Rome and the German imperial electors. He played a role in concluding a compromise in 1447 by which the dying Pope Eugene accepted the reconciliation tendered by the German princes. As a result, the council and the antipope were left without support and he had already taken orders, and one of the first acts of Pope Eugenes successor, Pope Nicholas V, was to make him Bishop of Trieste. He later served as Bishop of Siena, in 1450 Aeneas was sent as ambassador by the Emperor Frederick III to negotiate his marriage with Princess Eleonore of Portugal. In 1451 he undertook a mission to Bohemia and concluded an arrangement with the Hussite leader George of Poděbrady
11.
Federico III da Montefeltro
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Federico da Montefeltro, also known as Federico III da Montefeltro KG, was one of the most successful condottieri of the Italian Renaissance, and lord of Urbino from 1444 until his death. Federico was born in Castello di Petroia in Gubbio, the son of Guidantonio da Montefeltro, lord of Urbino, Gubbio and Casteldurante. Two years later he was legitimized by Pope Martin V, with the consent of Guidantonios wife, Caterina Colonna, in the aftermath of the Peace of Ferrara in 1433, he lived in Venice and Mantua as a hostage. In 1437 he was knighted by Emperor Sigismund, and in the year he married Gentile Brancaleoni in Gubbio. At sixteen he began a career as condottiero under Niccolò Piccinino, in 1441 he distinguished himself in the conquest of the castle of St. Leo, which Federico was to hold for the rest of his life. After Piccininos resignation, he went to Pesaro to defend it against his enemy in the Marche, Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta. However, the situation of the small dukedom being in disarray. His first condotta was for Francesco I Sforza, with 300 knights, despite Federicos efforts, the Sforza sovereignty in the Marche was dismantled in the following years. When Sforza left for Lombardy, Sigismondo fomented a riot in Fossombrone, after six years in the service of Florence, Federico was hired in 1450 by Sforza, now Duke of Milan. However, he could not perform his duties as he lost his eye during a tournament. He subsequently carried a vast and disfiguring scar for the rest of his life, after the loss of the eye, Federico – no stranger to conspiracies and one of the leaders that inspired Niccolò Machiavelli to write Il Principe – had surgeons remove the bridge of his nose. In 1453 the Neapolitan army was struck by malaria, and Federico himself risked losing his healthy eye, the Peace of Lodi of the following year seemed to deprive him of occasions to exhibit his ability as a military commander. In 1458 the death of both Alfonso and of his illegitimate son, Buonconte, did not help to raise Federicos mood. His fortunes recovered when Pius II, a man of culture like him, became Pope, after some notable exploits in the Kingdom of Naples, he fought in the Marche against Malatesta, soundly defeating him at the Cesano river near Senigallia. The following year he captured Fano and Senigallia, taking Sigismondo Pandolfo prisoner, the Pope made him vicar of the conquered territories. In 1464 the new Pope Paul II called him to back the Anguillara. The following year he captured Cesena and Bertinoro in Romagna, in 1466 Francesco Sforza died, and Federico assisted his young son Galeazzo Sforza in the government of Milan, and also commanded the campaign against Bartolomeo Colleoni. In 1467 he took part in the Battle of Molinella, after defeating the Papal forces in a great battle on 30 August 1469, he ceded it to Sigismondos son, Roberto Malatesta
12.
Arpino
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Arpino is a comune in the province of Frosinone in the region of Lazio in central Italy, about 100 km SE of Rome. The ancient city of Arpinum dates back to at least the 7th century BC, connected with the Pelasgi, the Volscian and Samnite people, it was captured by the Romans and granted civitas sine suffragio in 305 BC. The city gained Roman suffrage in 188 BC and the status of a municipium in 90 BC, both Gaius Marius and Cicero came from Arpinum. There is a tradition that persists to this day that Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa was also a native of Arpinum. Historians have not been able to confirm his origin, in the early Middle Ages, the Roman duchy and the Duchy of Benevento contended for its strategic position. After the 11th century it was ruled by the Normans, the Hohenstaufen and it was destroyed twice, in 1229 by Frederick II and in 1242 by Conrad IV. The castrato sopranist Gioacchino Conti, known as Il Gizziello or heb ceilliau, was born in Arpino in 1714, attractions include the circuit walls in polygonal masonry Purcell, N. R. Talbert, T. Elliott, S. Gillies, J. Becker
13.
Popoli
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Popoli is a comune and town in the province of Pescara in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Though the site has not revealed significant Roman presence it appears in a document as borgo di Pagus Fabianus. Its name in medieval Latin was Castrum Properi, which name was recorded as early as 1016 as the property of Girardo, the castle above the town was built between 1000 and 1015 for Tidolfo, Bishop of Valva. In 1269 the Angevin ruler Charles I of Naples granted Popoli as a fief in the Cantelmo family, the fief passed to Leonardo di Tocco, Prince of Montemiletto, and his heirs, until feudality was abolished in the Regno in 1806. Popoli was bombarded twice during World War II by the British Air Force, on 20 January 1944, the most important bridge in the region, the Julius Caesar bridge connecting Rome with Pescara, was destroyed. On 22 March 1944 at noon the city center and city hall were destroyed by bombing by the British. Unfortunately, it was a day that rations were being distributed to town at the city hall, the day is still remembered with sorrow by the towns inhabitants. The whole population knew how to react, with dignity and courage, to the horrors of war and to face, with the return of peace, the historical parade with people dressed in costume is held in celebration of historical event of the city. The parade is followed by a fair, called Certamen de la Balestra, strength and ability are necessary for the knight to win the Certamen or the grand prize. General Corradino DAscanio This article is based in part on material from the German Wikipedia. de Cantelmo, son frere P. Didot láiné, Paris, OCLC65223502, in French Popoli Abruzzo 2000
14.
Pope Sixtus IV
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Pope Sixtus IV, born Francesco della Rovere, was Pope from 9 August 1471 to his death in 1484. His accomplishments as pope included building the Sistine Chapel and the creation of the Vatican Archives, a patron of the arts, the group of artists that he brought together introduced the Early Renaissance into Rome with the first masterpieces of the citys new artistic age. Sixtus aided the Spanish Inquisition, though he fought to prevent abuses therein and he was famed for his nepotism and was personally involved in the infamous Pazzi conspiracy. Francesco was born to a family of modest means from Liguria, Italy and he was born in Celle Ligure, a town near Savona. He went on to lecture at Padua and many other Italian universities, in 1464, Della Rovere was elected Minister General of the Franciscan order at the age of 50. In 1467, he was appointed Cardinal by Pope Paul II with the church being the Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli. Before his papal election, Cardinal della Rovere was renowned for his unworldliness and had even written learned treatises entitled On the Blood of Christ and On the Power of God. His pious reputation was one of the factors that prompted the College of Cardinals to elect him pope upon the unexpected death of Paul II at the age of fifty-four. Upon being elected pope Della Rovere adopted the name Sixtus – a name that had not been used since the 5th century, one of his first acts was to declare a renewed crusade against the Ottoman Turks in Smyrna. However, after the conquest of Smyrna, the fleet disbanded, some fruitless attempts were made towards unification with the Greek Church. For the remainder of his pontificate, Sixtus turned to temporal issues, Sixtus IV sought to strengthen his position by surrounding himself with relatives and friends. His nephew Pietro Riario also benefited from his nepotism, Pietro became one of the richest men in Rome and was entrusted with Pope Sixtus foreign policy. However, Pietro died prematurely in 1474, and his role passed to Giuliano della Rovere, six of the thirty-four cardinals that he created were his nephews. Francesco Salviati, Archbishop of Pisa and an organizer of the plot, was hanged on the walls of the Florentine Palazzo della Signoria. To this, Sixtus IV replied with an interdict and two years of war with Florence, however, Infessura had partisan allegiances to the Colonna and so is not considered to be always reliable or impartial. However, such accusations are easily dismissed as propaganda, but did nevertheless prompt the noted historian of the Catholic Church, Ludwig von Pastor. Sixtus continued a dispute with King Louis XI of France, who upheld the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges, according to which papal decrees needed royal assent before they could be promulgated in France. This was a cornerstone of the claimed for the Gallican Church
15.
Ferdinand I of Naples
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Ferdinand I of Naples should not be confused with Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, a later king of Naples. Ferdinand I, also called Ferrante, was the King of Naples from 1458 to 1494 and he was the son of Alfonso V of Aragon and his mistress, Giraldona Carlino. She was a granddaughter of Mary of Enghien, who had been queen consort of Naples between 1406 and 1414, Ferdinands wife was the heiress presumptive of remarkable feudal possessions in Southern Italy. He used the title Ferdinand I, King of Naples and Jerusalem, in accordance with his fathers will, Ferdinand succeeded Alfonso on the throne of Naples in 1458, when he was 35 years old. Pope Calixtus III, however, declared the line of Aragon extinct, Calixtus died before he could make good his claim, and the new Pope Pius II within the year publicly recognized Ferdinands titles. In 1459, Ferdinands rule was threatened by a revolt of the barons. Among the leaders of revolt were Giovanni Antonio Orsini, prince of Taranto, the rebels joined to offer the crown to John of Anjou, a son of the former king René. With the help of the Genoese, John brought a fleet and landed, on July 7,1460, Ferdinand was defeated by John in the plain beside the mouth of the Sarno River south of Mount Vesuvius. Ferdinand was nearly captured and escaped with a guard of only twenty men, Isabella appears to have been responsible for dissuading Orsini from supporting John and Genoa removed their assistance. His fleet was finally demolished by the forces of Ferdinand. By 1464, Ferdinand had re-established his authority in the kingdom, in 1478 he allied himself with Pope Sixtus IV against Lorenzo de Medici, but the latter journeyed alone to Naples where he succeeded in negotiating an honorable peace with Ferdinand. Isabella became also the holder of Brienne rights to the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Ferdinands wife Isabellas had died in 1465, and by 1476, Ferdinand had remarried Joanna of Aragon, his first cousin. In 1482, abandoning his position of paladin of the Papal States, he fought alongside Ferrara and Milan against the alliance of Sixtus IV. Coppola and Antonello Petrucci were arrested during a wedding at Castel Nuovo, ultimately this uprising was crushed, many of the nobles, notwithstanding Ferdinands signing of a general amnesty, were afterwards jailed and executed at his command. In December 1491 Ferdinand was visited by a group of pilgrims on their return from the Holy Land and this group was led by William I, Landgrave of Hesse. With almost prophetic instinct he warned the Italian princes of the calamities in store for them, but his negotiations with Pope Alexander VI and Ludovico Sforza failed. He died on 25 January 1494, worn out with anxiety, he was succeeded by his son, Alphonse, Duke of Calabria, the cause of his death was determined, in 2006, to have been colorectal cancer, by examination of his mummy. His remains show levels of carbon 13 and nitrogen 15 consistent with reports of considerable consumption of meat
16.
Giovanni della Rovere
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Giovanni della Rovere was an Italian condottiero. He was a nephew of Pope Sixtus IV, and the brother of Giuliano della Rovere, giovanni della Rovere was born at Savona. In 1474, thanks to his uncle, Pope Sixtus IV, he became lord of the fiefs of Senigallia. He was also Prefect of Rome and Duke of Sora and Arce, in 1484, Pope Innocent VIII made him also Captain-General of the Church. He married Giovanna da Montefeltro, daughter of Federico III da Montefeltro and their children included Francesco Maria I della Rovere, the first Duke of Urbino, who married Eleonora Gonzaga. After Charles VIII of France had abandoned the Kingdom of Naples and the Aragonese had been restored there, in 1495 he conquered Ceprano, Montecassino and the Terra Sancti Benedicti. In 1496 he defended the duchy against Prospero Colonna and Frederick IV of Naples, losing some territories, giovanni della Rovere died at Rome in 1501. Duchy of Sora Hollingsworth, Mary, The Borgias
17.
Senigallia
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Senigallia is a comune and port town of the province of Ancona on Italys Adriatic coast, in the Marche region. The small port is formed by the lower reaches of the Misa, the settlement, spread out along the coast at the mouth of the river Misa, was established in the 4th century BC by the Gallic tribe of the Senones. The colony of Sena Gallica was founded there by the Romans after their victory over the Senones, the Latin name is probably a corruption of Senones, the addition Gallica distinguishes it from Saena in Etruria. The place is mentioned in connection with Hasdrubals defeat at the Metaurus in 207 BC. Ravaged by Alaric during the decline of the Roman Empire, Senigallia was fortified by the Byzantines and it was the second easternmost of the five cities of the medieval Adriatic duchy of Pentapolis, east of Fano and west of Ancona. In the 15th century it was the scene of the Guelph and Ghibelline wars, captured and recaptured again and again by the Malatesta, sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta of Rimini erected strong fortifications round the town in 1450-1455. In 1503, Cesare Borgia carried out a coup at Senigallia. Sixtus IV assigned the lordship to the Della Rovere family, from whom it was transferred to Lorenzo II de Medici in 1516 by his uncle Pope Leo X, after 1624 it formed part of the Papal States legation of Urbino. The municipality borders with Belvedere Ostrense, Mondolfo, Monte San Vito, Montemarciano, Morro dAlba, Ostra, despite its ancient origin the city presents a modern appearance, with wide streets. Attractions include, In fondo al corso, the point of Corso 2 Giugno, on the same side of the bridge on Misa river. In cima al corso, the point of Corso 2 Giugno. It must be said that nowadays its still unknown the origin of this particular choice, archeology has found no evidence about this issue, so far. Moreover, In fondo al corso and In cima al corso are not mentioned in any document from the municipality of Senigallia. Nowadays this distinction is still handed down orally from generation to generation, other attractions are, Palazzo Comunale, from the 17th century. Rocca Roveresca - castle of Gothic origin, was restored by Baccio Pontelli in 1492 and it has a square plan with four large round tower. Santa Maria delle Grazie - one of the two churches attributed to Baccio Pontelli. It once housed the painting of Madonna di Senigallia by Piero della Francesca, chiesa della Croce Rotonda a mare. Chester, United Kingdom Lörrach, Germany Sens, France U. S. article name needed, Senigallia In a Nutshell, An Illustrated Guidebook to Senigallia Senigallia official website
18.
Marche
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Marche, or The Marches /ˈmɑːrtʃᵻz/, is one of the twenty regions of Italy. The name of the region derives from the name of marca, originally referring to the medieval March of Ancona and nearby marches of Camerino. Marche is well known for its tradition, with the finest and most luxurious Italian footwear being manufactured in this region. Except for river valleys and the very narrow coastal strip. A railway from Bologna to Brindisi, built in the 19th century, inland, the mountainous nature of the region, even today, allows relatively little travel north and south, except by twisting roads over the passes. Most of the region is mountainous or hilly, the features being the Apennine chain along the internal boundary. With the sole exception of Monte Vettore,2,476 metres high, the hilly area covers two-thirds of the region and is interrupted by wide gullies with numerous – albeit short – rivers and by alluvial plains perpendicular to the principal chain. The parallel mountain chains contain deep river gorges, the best known being those of the Furlo, the Rossa and the Frasassi. The coastal area is 173 kilometres long and is relatively flat, inland, in the mountainous areas, is more continental with cold and often snowy winters, by the sea is more mediterranean. Precipitation varies from 1000-1500 mm. per year inland and 600-800 mm. per year on the Adriatic coast, Marche was known in ancient times as the Picenum territory. The Picens or Picentes were the Italic tribe who lived in Picenum during the Iron Age, in the fourth century BC the northern area was occupied by the Senones, a tribe of Gauls. In Marche was fought the Battle of Sentinum in 295 BC, after it, the Romans founded numerous colonies in the areas, connecting them to Rome by the Via Flaminia, Ascoli was a seat of Italic resistance during the Social War. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the region was invaded by the Goths, after the Gothic War, it was part of the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna. After the fall of the Exarchate it was briefly in the possession of the Lombards, in the ninth to eleventh centuries the marches of Camerino, Fermo and Ancona were created, hence the modern name. Marche was nominally part of the Papal States, but most of the territory was under local lords, in the twelfth century, the commune of Ancona resisted both the imperial authority of Frederick Barbarossa and the Republic of Venice, and was a maritime republic on its own. An attempt to restore Papal suzerainty by Gil de Albornoz in the century was short-lived. During the Renaissance, the region was fought over by rival aristocratic families, such as the Malatesta of Rimini, Pesaro, Fano and the house of Montefeltro of Urbino. The last independent entity, the Duchy of Urbino, was dissolved in 1631, after Napoleons defeat, Marche returned to Papal rule until 4 November 1860, when it was annexed to the unified Kingdom of Italy by a plebiscite
19.
L'Aquila
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LAquila is a city and comune in Southern Italy, both the capital city of the Abruzzo region and of the Province of LAquila. As of 2013, it has a population of 70,967 inhabitants, laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valley of the Aterno river, it is surrounded by the Apennine Mountains, with the Gran Sasso dItalia to the north-east. LAquila sits upon a hillside in the middle of a narrow valley, a maze of narrow streets, lined with Baroque and Renaissance buildings and churches, open onto elegant piazzas. There are several ski resorts in the surrounding province, close to the highest of the Apennine summits, LAquila is positioned at an elevation of 721 metres in the Valley of the Aterno-Pescara, situated between four mountain peaks above 2,000 metres. The mountains block the city off from warm air currents from the Mediterranean, and give rise to a climate that is cool in comparison to most of central Italy. It has been said that the city each year 11 cold months. LAquila is approximately 100 kilometres east-northeast of Rome, with which it is connected by an autostrada through the mountains. The citys construction was begun by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Sicily, out of already existing villages. The name of Aquila means Eagle in Italian, construction was completed in 1254 under Fredericks son, Conrad IV of Germany. The name was switched to Aquila degli Abruzzi in 1861, after the death of Conrad, the city was destroyed by his brother Manfred in 1259, but soon rebuilt by Charles I of Anjou, its successor as king of Sicily. The walls were completed in 1316 and it quickly became the second city of the Kingdom of Naples. It was a city, ruled by a diarchy composed of the City Council. It fell initially under the lordship of Niccolò dellIsola, appointed by the people as the Peoples Knight, later, it fell under Pietro Lalle Camponeschi, Count of Montorio, who became the third side of a new triarchy, with the Council and the Kings Captain. Camponeschi, who was also Great Chancellor of the kingdom of Naples, became too powerful and his descendants fought with the Pretatti family for power for several generations, but never again attained the power of their ancestor. In the end, however, the Aquilans had him deposed and imprisoned by the king of Naples, the Fountain of the 99 Spouts, was given its name to celebrate the ancient origin of the town. The City Council was originally composed of the Mayors of the villages, later, the Camerlengo also took political power, as President of the City Council. Negotiations for the succession of Edmund, son of Henry III of England, the pontificate of Celestine V gave a new impulse to building development, as can be seen from the city statutes. In 1311, moreover, King Robert of Anjou granted privileges which had a influence on the development of trade
20.
Bartolomeo d'Alviano
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Bartolomeo dAlviano was an Italian condottiero and captain who distinguished himself in the defence of the Venetian Republic against the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian. In 1503, hired by Ferdinand II of Spain, he was determinant in the victory at the Battle of Garigliano over the French army, which started the Spanish domination over southern Italy. At the beginning of 1505 he was employed by the Venetians and was granted a cavalry captaincy by the Senate with a pay of 150 gold pounds. In 1507, together with Nicolò Orsini, Bartolomeo was hired by the Republic of Venice, the following year he defeated the Imperial Army of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor in Cadore, at Mauria and Pontebba, conquering Gorizia and Trieste. In the same year Pordenone also fell and the Serenissima assigned its signory to dAlviano himself, in 1509, however, he was crushingly defeated at the Battle of Agnadello, being also wounded in the fray. DAlviano was charged of the result, as he attacked the enemy without the authorisation of Orsini. Captured by the French, he remained a prisoner until 1513, in 1513, after the alliance between France and Venice against the Duchy of Milan, he was freed, and later fought under the French commander Louis de la Trémoille. He was defeated at the Battle of Vicenza by the Spanish Viceroy of Naples Ramón de Cardona, later dAlviano again conquered, and sacked, Pordenone, which in the meantime had fallen again to the House of Habsburg. He was subsequently a protagonist of the French victory at Marignano, later he managed to conquer also Bergamo, but died in the October of the same year during the siege of Brescia. He was buried in the church of Santo Stefano in Venice, a fictional version of Bartolomeo dAlviano appears in the video games Assassins Creed II, Assassins Creed, Project Legacy and Assassins Creed, Brotherhood as a member of the Order of the Assassins. In-game databases claim that Alviano is his place of birth, likely because of his illegitimate surname
21.
Tagliacozzo
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Tagliacozzo is a town and comune in the province of LAquila, Abruzzo, central Italy. Tagliacozzo lies in an area inhabited in historic times by the Aequi. Later it was a possession on the Orsini, who established a mint here and they were succeeded by the Colonna, who held the Duchy of Tagliacozzo until 1806. Near the modern city was fought the Battle of Tagliacozzo between Conradin of Hohenstaufen and Charles I of Anjou, the Palazzo Ducale, built by Roberto Orsini. The Convent of St. Francis, housing the tomb of Tommaso da Celano, museo Orientale, with collections of Egyptian, Ethiopian and Eastern findings. 13th century fountain in Piazza dellObelisco, a national monument, sanctuary of Maria Santissima dellOriente, on a hill 3 kilometres from town. It is cited as early as the 14th century, andrea Argoli Page on Tagliacozzo in the Borghi più belli dItalia website Images of Tagliacozzo
22.
Ceprano
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Ceprano is a town and comune in the province of Frosinone, in Ciociaria traditional area, part of the Lazio region of central Italy. It is 106 kilometres south of Rome and about 127 kilometres north of Naples, Ceprano was part of the Papal States, from roughly the 6th century until 1870. After Italian Unification and the Capture of Rome, the town was part of the Kingdom of Italy, since 1946 Ceprano has been part of the Italian Republic. On 27 January 1862 the Rome-Ceprano Railroad was opened for service, on 28 May 1944 Ceprano was taken by Canadian troops as part of the Allies push against German occupation. Cepranos origins are connected to the Roman colony founded in 328 BC on the bank of the Liri River. Nowadays the ruins of the city can be seen in the territory of the municipality of Arce
23.
Monte Cassino
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Monte Cassino is a rocky hill about 130 kilometres southeast of Rome, Italy,2 kilometres to the west of the town of Cassino and 520 m altitude. Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is best known for its historic abbey, St. Benedict of Nursia established his first monastery, the source of the Benedictine Order, here around 529. The hilltop sanctuary was the site of the Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944, the site has been visited many times by Popes and other senior clergy, including Pope Benedict XVI in May 2009. Since the reforms of the Second Vatican Council the monastery is one of the few remaining territorial abbeys within the Catholic Church, on 23 October 2014, Pope Francis applied the norms of the motu proprio Ecclesia Catholica to the Abbey. This act removed from its jurisdiction all 53 parishes and reduced its territory to the Abbey itself - while retaining its status as a Territorial Abbey. The former territory of the Abbey, except the land on which the Abbey Church and monastery sit, was transferred to the local diocese of Sora-Cassino-Aquino-Pontecorvo. The history of Monte Cassino is linked to the town of Cassino which was first settled in the fifth century B. C. by the Volsci people who held much of central. It was the Volsci who first built a citadel on the summit of Monte Cassino, the Volsci in the area were defeated by the Romans in 312 B. C. The Romans renamed the settlement Casinum and build a temple to Apollo at the citadel, modern excavations have found no remains of the temple, but ruins of an amphitheatre, a theatre, and a mausoleum indicate the lasting presence the Romans had there. Generations after the Roman Empire adopted Christianity the town became the seat of a bishopric in the fifth century A. D, lacking strong defences the area was subject to barbarian attack and became abandoned and neglected with only a few struggling inhabitants holding out. According to Gregory the Greats biography of Benedict, Life of Saint Benedict of Nursia, the monastery was constructed on a pagan site. The biography records that the area was still pagan at the time and Benedicts first act was to smash the sculpture of Apollo. He then reused the temple, dedicating it to Saint Martin, archaeologist Neil Christie notes that it was common in such hagiographies for the protagonist to encounter areas of strong paganism. Once established at Monte Cassino, Benedict never left and he wrote the Benedictine Rule that became the founding principle for Western monasticism, received a visit from Totila, king of the Ostrogoths, and died there. The Rule of St. Benedict mandated the moral obligations to care for the sick, so in Monte Cassino St. Benedict founded a hospital that is considered today to have been the first hospital in Europe of the new era. There Benedictine monks took care of the sick and wounded according to the Benedict’s Rule, the monastic routine called for hard work. The care of the sick was such an important duty that those caring for them were enjoined to act as if they served Christ directly, Benedict founded twelve communities for monks at nearby Subiaco, where hospitals were settled too as adjuncts to the monasteries in order to provide charity. Soon many monasteries were founded throughout Europe, and everywhere there were hospitals like in Monte Cassino, Monte Cassino became a model for future developments
24.
Prospero Colonna
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Prospero Colonna, sometimes referred to as Prosper Colonna, was an Italian condottiero in the service of the Papal States and the Holy Roman Empire during the Italian Wars. A member of the ancient noble family of the Colonna, he was born in Civita Lavinia, near Velletri and he was a cousin of Fabrizio Colonna. His first notable action as a leader was in 1484. After some other battle deeds, Prospero, who had joined Cardinal Giuliano della Roveres party, was imprisoned in Castel SantAngelo by Pope Alexander VI, once freed, he was soon imprisoned again for his allegiance to Charles VIII of France during his invasion of Italy. In the end, the King of France was victorious against the Pope and entered Rome, backed by Prospero and Fabrizio Colonna, during the brief French rule over the Kingdom of Naples, Prospero obtained the duchy of Traetto and the county of Forlì. However, when Charles returned beyond the Alps, Prospero helped King Ferdinand II of Naples to evict the French viceroy from Naples, the situation changed again with the new French invasion of Louis XII. While the Neapolitan king Frederick IV fled to the island of Ischia, Fabrizio and they were defeated and imprisoned in the Castel Nuovo of Naples. They were also excommunicated by Alexander VI, who took their castles in the Lazio, eventually ransomed, both cousins then entered the service of the Spanish general Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, viceroy of Naples. Prospero Colonna had an important role in the Spanish victory at Cerignola, after Alexander VIs death, he was also able to take back his territories in the Lazio. He commanded the cavalry at the Battle of Garigliano. Prospero then added Itri, Sperlonga, Ceccano and Sonnino to his fiefs and he married Covella di Sanseverino, who gave him an heir, Vespasiano. Confident in the constancy of the lady of his affections, Prospero took for his companion a gentleman of low degree, to whom she unfortunately transferred the love he thought was his own. In 1515, he was commander of the forces of Pope Leo X in north-western Italy near Villafranc when the army of Francis I, King of France, crossed the Alps preparatory to the Battle of Marignano. In a surprising and humiliating raid, Colonna and his staff were captured by a French cavalry force led by the Chevalier Bayard, as he was taken, he said of France, It is a country I have always wanted to visit. Continuing in the service of the Pope, Colonna gained a victory against France in northern Italy in 1522. His health was declining, however, and he died in 1523 in lHôtel Clemenceau at Milan
25.
Esperia
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For the concealer moth genus established by Hübner in 1825, see Esperia. The brush-footed butterfly genus Esperia, invalidly established by Nekrutenko in 1987, is a synonym of Kirinia. Esperia is a comune in the Province of Frosinone in the Italian region Lazio, located about 110 kilometres southeast of Rome and it is located within the Monti Aurunci Natural Park. The name Esperia was chosen in 1867 when the current frazioni of Roccaguglielma and San Pietro merged into a single municipality, esperias mayor at the time reported that in his town,700 women out of 2,500 inhabitants were raped and that some had died as a result. The church of Santa Maria Maggiore houses a painting by Taddeo Zuccari, the Baroque church of the Madonna di Loreto has a 16th-century wooden Madonna and several paintings by Luca Giordano. Other churches include San Donato, Santa Maria di Montevetro and the 16th-century Sanctuary of Madonna delle Grazie, of the ancient monastery of San Pietro in Foresta only a tower remains today. Dinosaur footprints were discovered in 2006 in the locality of San Martino
26.
Monte San Giovanni Campano
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It is best known as the place where Thomas Aquinas was imprisoned by his family for two years. St. Thomas cell now houses a 16th-century triptych of the Neapolitan School, Monte San Giovanni is home to an 11th-century fortress, the Castello di Monte San Giovanni Campano. Monte San Giovanni was also a residence of Pope Adrian IV starting in 1155
27.
Pope Alexander VI
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Pope Alexander VI, born Rodrigo de Borja, was Pope from 11 August 1492 until his death. He is one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes, therefore his Italianized Valencian surname, Borgia, became a byword for libertinism and nepotism, which are traditionally considered as characterizing his pontificate. However, two of Alexanders successors, the also controversial pontiffs Sixtus V and Urban VIII, described him as one of the most outstanding popes since St. Peter. Rodrigo de Borja was born on 1 January 1431, in the town of Xativa near Valencia, one of the component realms of the Crown of Aragon and his parents were Jofré Llançol i Escrivà, and his Aragonese wife and distant cousin Isabel de Borja y Cavanilles. His family name is written Llançol in Valencian and Lanzol in Castillian, Rodrigo adopted his mothers family name of Borja in 1455 following the elevation to the papacy of maternal uncle Alonso de Borja as Calixtus III. Alternatively, it has argued that Rodrigos father was Jofré de Borja y Escrivà, making Rodrigo a Borja from his mother. However, his children were known to be of Llançol paternal lineage, some revisionists suggest that the confusion is attributed by attempts to connect Rodrigo as the father of Giovanni, Cesare and Lucrezia, who were surnamed Llançol i Borja. Rodrigo Borgia studied law at Bologna where he graduated, not simply as Doctor of Law, after the election of his uncle as Pope Callixtus III, he was ordained deacon and created Cardinal-Deacon of San Nicola in Carcere at the age of twenty-five in 1456. The following year, he was appointed vice-chancellor of the Holy Roman Church, both nepotistic appointments were characteristic of the age. Each pope during this period inevitably found himself surrounded by the servants, in 1468, he was ordained to the priesthood and, in 1471, he was consecrated bishop and appointed Cardinal-Bishop of Albano. Contemporary accounts suggest that Rodrigo was handsome, with a cheerful countenance. He was gifted with the quality of being a smooth talker, beautiful women were attracted to him and excited by him in quite a remarkable way, more strongly than how iron is drawn to a magnet. Rodrigo Borgia was also an intelligent man with an appreciation for the arts and sciences and he was capable and cautious, considered a political priest by some. He was a speaker and great at conversation. Additionally, he was so familiar with Holy Writ, that his speeches were fairly sparkling with well-chosen texts of the Sacred Books, when his uncle Alonso de Borja was elected Pope Callixtus III, he inherited the post of bishop of Valencia. Sixteen days before the death of Pope Innocent VIII, he proposed Valencia as a metropolitan see and became the first archbishop of Valencia. When Rodrigo de Borgia was elected pope as Alexander VI following the death of Innocent VIII, the third and the fourth archbishops of Valencia were Juan de Borja and Pedro Luis de Borja, grand-nephews of Alexander VI. The connection began in 1470, and she had four children whom he acknowledged as his own, Cesare, Giovanni, afterwards duke of Gandia, Lucrezia
28.
Francesco Maria I della Rovere, Duke of Urbino
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Francesco Maria I della Rovere was an Italian condottiero, who was Duke of Urbino from 1508 to 1516 and 1521 to 1538 when he retook the throne from Lorenzo II de Medici. He was born in Senigallia, the son of the Papal captain and lord of that city, Giovanni della Rovere and he was also the nephew of Giuliano della Rovere, Pope Julius II. His uncle Guidobaldo I of Urbino, who was heirless, called him at his court, when in 1508 Guidobaldo died, Francesco Maria became duke of Urbino, thanks to the support of his uncle the pope he could also recover Senigallia after Borgias death. In 1508 he married Eleonora Gonzaga, daughter of Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua, in 1509 he was appointed as capitano generale of the Papal States, and subsequently fought in the Italian Wars against Ferrara and Venice. In 1511, after he had failed to conquer Bologna, he had the cardinal Francesco Alidosi killed by his troops, in 1513 he was created also lord of Pesaro. However, the death of Julius II deprived him of his political patron. In 1516 he was excommunicated and ousted from Urbino, which he tried unsuccessfully to recover the following year and he could return in his duchy only after Leos death in 1521. As supreme commander of the Holy League, his inaction against the Imperial invasion troops is generally listed as one of the causes of the Sack of Rome and he was a protagonist of the capture of Pavia in the late 1520s, and later fought for the Republic of Venice. Later he arranged the marriage of son Guidobaldo to Giulia da Varano to counter the Papal power in the Marche, Guidobaldo II della Rovere, married Giulia Varano and had issue, married Vittoria Farnese had issue. Ippolita della Rovere, reportedly married Antonio of Aragon, Duke of Montalto, elisabetta della Rovere, married Alberico I Cybo-Malaspina, Marquis of Massa and had issue. Giulia Feltria della Rovere, married Alfonso dEste, Lord of Montecchio and had issue, Giulio Feltrio della Rovere, became a cardinal then later had issue, Ippolito and Giulio
29.
King of France
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The monarchs of the Kingdom of France and its predecessors ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of the Franks in 486 till the fall of the Second French Empire in 1870. Sometimes included as kings of France are the kings of the Franks of the Merovingian dynasty, which ruled from 486 until 751, and of the Carolingians, who ruled until 987. The Capetian dynasty, the descendants of Hugh Capet, included the first rulers to adopt the title of king of France for the first time with Philip II. The Capetians ruled continuously from 987 to 1792 and again from 1814 to 1848, the branches of the dynasty which ruled after 1328, however, are generally given the specific branch names of Valois and Bourbon. During the brief period when the French Constitution of 1791 was in effect and after the July Revolution in 1830 and it was a constitutional innovation known as popular monarchy which linked the monarchs title to the French people rather than to the possession of the territory of France. With the House of Bonaparte Emperors of the French ruled in 19th century France and it was used on coins up to the eighteenth century. During the brief period when the French Constitution of 1791 was in effect and after the July Revolution in 1830 and it was a constitutional innovation known as popular monarchy which linked the monarchs title to the French people rather than to the possession of the territory of France. They used the title Emperor of the French and this article lists all rulers to have held the title King of the Franks, King of France, King of the French or Emperor of the French. For other Frankish monarchs, see List of Frankish kings, in addition to the monarchs listed below, the Kings of England and Great Britain from 1340–60, 1369-1420, and 1422–1801 also claimed the title of King of France. For a short time, this had some basis in fact – under the terms of the 1420 Treaty of Troyes, Charles VI had recognized his son-in-law Henry V of England as regent and heir. Henry V predeceased Charles VI and so Henry Vs son, Henry VI, most of Northern France was under English control until 1435, but by 1453, the English had been expelled from all of France save Calais, and Calais itself fell in 1558. Nevertheless, English and then British monarchs continued to claim the title for themselves until the creation of the United Kingdom in 1801. The Merovingians were a Salian Frankish dynasty that ruled the Franks for nearly 300 years in a known as Francia in Latin. Their territory largely corresponded to ancient Gaul as well as the Roman provinces of Raetia, Germania Superior, the Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. In 751, a Carolingian, Pepin the Younger, dethroned the Merovingians and with the consent of the Papacy, the Robertians were Frankish noblemen owing fealty to the Carolingians, and ancestors of the subsequent Capetian dynasty. Odo, Count of Paris, was chosen by the western Franks to be their king following the removal of emperor Charles the Fat, the Bosonids were a noble family descended from Boso the Elder, their member, Rudolph, was elected King of the Franks in 923. After the death of Louis V, the son of Hugh the Great and grandson of Robert I, the Capetian Dynasty, the male-line descendants of Hugh Capet, ruled France continuously from 987 to 1792 and again from 1814 to 1848. They were direct descendants of the Robertian kings, the cadet branches of the dynasty which ruled after 1328, however, are generally given the specific branch names of Valois and Bourbon
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Louis XII of France
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Louis XII was a monarch of the House of Valois who ruled as King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his cousin Charles VIII, who died without a closer heir in 1498. Before his accession to the throne of France, he was known as Louis of Orléans and was compelled to be married to his disabled and supposedly sterile cousin Joan by his second cousin, king Louis XI. By doing so, Louis XI hoped to extinguish the Orléans cadet branch of the House of Valois, Louis of Orléans was one of the great feudal lords who opposed the French monarchy in the conflict known as the Mad War. At the royal victory in the Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier in 1488, Louis was captured and he subsequently took part in the Italian War of 1494–1498 as one of the French commanders. When Louis XII became king in 1498, he had his marriage with Joan annulled by Pope Alexander VI and instead married Anne of Brittany and this marriage allowed Louis to reinforce the personal Union of Brittany and France. Louis persevered in the Italian Wars, initiating a second Italian campaign for the control of the Kingdom of Naples, Louis conquered the Duchy of Milan in 1500 and pushed forward to the Kingdom of Naples, which fell to him in 1501. Proclaimed King of Naples, Louis faced a new coalition gathered by Ferdinand II of Aragon and was forced to cede Naples to Spain in 1504. A popular king, Louis was proclaimed Father of the People in 1506 by the Estates-General of Tours for his reduction of the tax known as taille, legal reforms, Louis XII died in 1515 without a male heir. He was succeeded by his cousin Francis from the Angoulême cadet branch of the House of Valois, Louis was born on 27 June 1462 in the Château de Blois, Touraine. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Marie of Cleves, however, Louis XI may have been more influenced in this opinion by his opposition to the entire Orleanist faction of the royal family than by the actual facts of this paternity case. Despite any alleged doubts that King Louis XI may have had, King Louis XI died on 30 August 1483. He was succeeded to the throne of France by his thirteen year-old son, nobody knew the direction which the new king would take in leading the kingdom. Accordingly, on 24 October 1483, a call went out for a convocation of the Estates General of the French kingdom, in January 1484, deputies of the Estates General began to arrive in Tours, France. The deputies represented three different estates in society, the First Estate was the Church, in France this meant the Roman Catholic Church. The Second Estate was composed of the nobility and the royalty of France, the Third Estate was generally composed of commoners and the class of traders and merchants in France. Louis, the current Duke of Orleans and future Louis XII, each estate brought their chief complaints to the Estates General in hopes to have some impact on the policies that the new King would pursue. The First Estate wanted a return to the Pragmatic Sanction, the Pragmatic Sanction had been first instituted by King Charles VII, the current King Charles VIIIs grandfather
31.
Cesare Borgia
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Cesare Borgia, Duke of Valentinois, was a Spanish/Italian condottiero, nobleman, politician, and cardinal, whose fight for power was a major inspiration for The Prince by Machiavelli. He was the son of Pope Alexander VI and his long-term mistress Vannozza dei Cattanei. He was the brother of Lucrezia Borgia, Giovanni Borgia, Duke of Gandia and he was half-brother to Don Pedro Luis de Borja and Girolama de Borja, children of unknown mothers. After initially entering the church and becoming a cardinal on his fathers election to the Papacy and his father set him up as a prince with territory carved from the Papal States, but after his fathers death he was unable to retain power for long. According to Machiavelli this was due to his planning for all possibilities, like nearly all aspects of Cesare Borgias life, the date of his birth is a subject of dispute. Cesares father, Pope Alexander VI, was the first pope who openly recognized his children out of wedlock. Stefano Infessura writes that Cardinal Borgia falsely claimed Cesare to be the son of another man—Domenico dArignano. More likely, Pope Sixtus IV granted Cesare a release from the necessity of proving his birth in a bull of 1 October 1480. Cesare was initially groomed for a career in the Church, following school in Perugia and Pisa, Cesare studied law at the Studium Urbis. He was made Bishop of Pamplona at the age of 15, in 1493, he had also been appointed bishop of both Castres and Elne. In 1494, he received the title of abbot of the abbey of Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa. Along with his fathers elevation to Pope, Cesare was made Cardinal at the age of 18, Alexander VI staked the hopes of the Borgia family on Cesares brother Giovanni, who was made captain general of the military forces of the papacy. Giovanni was assassinated in 1497 in mysterious circumstances, Cesares role in the act has never been clear. However, he had no motive, as he was likely to be given a powerful secular position. It is more likely, in fact, that Giovanni was killed as a result of a sexual liaison, on 17 August 1498, Cesare became the first person in history to resign the cardinalate. On the same day, Louis XII of France named Cesare Duke of Valentinois, Cesares career was founded upon his fathers ability to distribute patronage, along with his alliance with France, in the course of the Italian Wars. Louis XII invaded Italy in 1499, after Gian Giacomo Trivulzio had ousted its duke Ludovico Sforza, at this point Alexander decided to profit from the favourable situation and carve out for Cesare a state of his own in northern Italy. To this end, he declared all his vicars in Romagna
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Fernando d'Avalos
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Fernando Francesco dÁvalos, V marquis of Pescara, was an Italian condottiero of Spanish extraction. As a general of the Spanish army, he participated in the Italian Wars, at the Battle of Ravenna in 1512 he was taken prisoner by the French, but was released at the conclusion of the War of the League of Cambrai. He was the commander of the Habsburg armies in Italy during the Habsburg-Valois Wars and defeated the French at Bicocca. Fernando was born at Naples, but his family was of Aragonese origin, having arrived in southern Italy with Alfonso Vs general Iñigo dAvalos, fernandos father was Alfonso dÁvalos dAquino, IV marquis of Pescara. At the age of six the boy was betrothed to Vittoria Colonna, daughter of the general Fabrizio Colonna, and his position as a noble of the Aragonese party in Naples made it incumbent on him to support Ferdinand the Catholic in his Italian wars. In 1512, he commanded a body of cavalry at the battle of Ravenna. Thanks to the intervention of one of the foremost of the French generals, the Italian G. G. Trivulzio and he commanded the Spanish infantry at the Battle of La Motta, or Vicenza, on October 7,1513. It was on occasion that he called his men before the charge to take care to step on him before the enemy did if he fell. After the battle of Bicocca Charles V appointed Colonna commander-in-chief, DÁvalos, who considered himself aggrieved, made a journey to Valladolid in Spain, where the emperor then was, to state his own claims. Charles V, with whom he had long and confidential interviews, but in these meetings he gained the confidence of Charles V. His Spanish descent and sympathies marked him out as a commander of the imperial troops in Italy than an Italian could have been. When Francis I invaded Italy in 1524 DÁvalos was appointed as lieutenant of the emperor to repel the invasion, the difficulties of his position were very great, for there was much discontent in the army, which was very ill-paid. The tenacity, patience and tact of DÁvalos triumphed over all obstacles and his influence over the veteran Spanish troops and the German mercenaries kept them loyal during the long siege of Pavia. On February 24,1525 he defeated and took prisoner Francis I by a brilliant attack, DÁvalos may have listened to the tempter, but in act he was loyal. He reported the offer to Charles V and put Morone into prison and his health, however, had begun to give way under the strain of wounds and exposure, during late November, and he died at Milan on December 3,1525. DÁvalos had no children, his title descended to his cousin Alfonso DÁvalos, Marquis del Vasto, the Italian historiographer Paolo Giovio published a contemporary biography in Latin of Fernando Francesco which was included in his Vitae. It was subsequently translated by Lodovico Domenichi and published in Florence in 1551, giovios biography was also translated into Spanish by Pedro de Vallés in 1553 as Historia del fortissimo y prudentissimo capitan Don Hernando de Avalos. The Art of War in Italy, 1494-1529 and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Pescara, Fernando Francesco Davalos, Marquis of
33.
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
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Charles V was ruler of both the Spanish Empire from 1516 and the Holy Roman Empire from 1519, as well as of the Habsburg Netherlands from 1506. He voluntarily stepped down from these and other positions by a series of abdications between 1554 and 1556, through inheritance, he brought together under his rule extensive territories in western, central, and southern Europe, and the Spanish colonies in the Americas and Asia. As a result, his domains spanned nearly four square kilometers and were the first to be described as the empire on which the sun never sets. Charles was the heir of three of Europes leading dynasties, the Houses of Valois-Burgundy, Habsburg, and Trastámara and he inherited the Burgundian Netherlands and the Franche-Comté as heir of the House of Valois-Burgundy. From his own dynasty, the Habsburgs, he inherited Austria and he was also elected to succeed his Habsburg grandfather, Maximilian I, as Holy Roman Emperor, a title held by the Habsburgs since 1440. Charles was the first king to rule Castile and Aragon simultaneously in his own right, the personal union, under Charles, of the Holy Roman Empire with the Spanish Empire resulted in the closest Europe would come to a universal monarchy since the death of Louis the Pious. France recovered and the wars continued for the remainder of Charless reign, enormously expensive, they led to the development of the first modern professional army in Europe, the Tercios. The struggle with the Ottoman Empire was fought in Hungary and the Mediterranean, after seizing most of eastern and central Hungary in 1526, the Ottomans’ advance was halted at their failed Siege of Vienna in 1529. A lengthy war of attrition, conducted on his behalf by his younger brother Ferdinand, in the Mediterranean, although there were some successes, Charles was unable to prevent the Ottomans’ increasing naval dominance and the piratical activity of the Barbary Corsairs. Charles opposed the Reformation and in Germany he was in conflict with the Protestant Princes of the Schmalkaldic League who were motivated by religious and political opposition to him. Once the rebellions were quelled the essential Castilian and Burgundian territories remained mostly loyal to Charles throughout his rule, Charles’s Spanish dominions were the chief source of his power and wealth, and they became increasingly important as his reign progressed. In the Americas, Charles sanctioned the conquest by Castillian conquistadors of the Aztec, Castillian control was extended across much of South and Central America. The resulting vast expansion of territory and the flows of South American silver to Castile had profound long term effects on Spain. Charles was only 56 when he abdicated, but after 34 years of rule he was physically exhausted and sought the peace of a monastery. Upon Charles’s abdications, the Holy Roman Empire was inherited by his younger brother Ferdinand, the Spanish Empire, including the possessions in the Netherlands and Italy, was inherited by Charles’s son Philip II. The two empires would remain allies until the 18th century, Charles was born in 1500 as the eldest son of Philip the Handsome and Joanna of Castile in the Flemish city of Ghent, which was part of the Habsburg Netherlands. The culture and courtly life of the Burgundian Low Countries were an important influence in his early life and he was tutored by William de Croÿ, and also by Adrian of Utrecht. He also gained a decent command of German, though he never spoke it as well as French, a witticism sometimes attributed to Charles is, I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men and German to my horse
34.
Odet of Foix, Viscount of Lautrec
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Odet de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec was a French military leader. He gained the reputation of a gallant and able soldier, but this seems to be justified by the facts. The branch of the Viscounts of Lautrec originated with Pierre, the son of John III of Foix, in 1515 Lautrec took part in the campaign of Marignano. In 1516 Lautrec received the government of the Milanese duchy, in 1521 he succeeded in defending the duchy against the Spanish army, but in 1522 he was completely defeated at the Battle of Bicocca, and was forced to evacuate the Milanese. The mutiny of his Swiss troops had compelled him, against his wish and he was created a marshal of France, and in 1527 he again received the command of the army of Italy. He occupied the Milanese, and was sent to undertake the conquest of the kingdom of Naples. The defection of Andrea Doria and an outbreak of the plague in the French camp brought on a fresh disaster, Lautrec himself caught the infection, and died in the August 1528. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh. There is abundant manuscript correspondence in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris See the Works of Brantôme Memoirs of Martin du Bellay
35.
Francesco Maria II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino
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Francesco Maria II della Rovere was the last Duke of Urbino. Born at Pesaro, Francesco Maria was the son of Guidobaldo II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, Count of Montefeltro and Vittoria Farnese and he was raised between 1565 and 1568 at the Royal court of Philip II of Spain. While there he met a Spanish girl and informed his father of his intention to marry her, but his father would not allow it and demanded he return to Urbino. In 1570 Francesco Maria married Lucrezia dEste, a daughter of Ercole II dEste and his father died only a few years later, in 1574, and Francesco Maria succeeded his father as Duke of Urbino. By 1580 the family estate was in crisis and Francesco Maria was forced to sell his familys titles - the Duchy of Sora, Francesco Marias marriage, though, remained childless and Francesco Maria needed a male heir. Without one, his familys remaining titles would lapse on his death and his estate would be acquired, by default. So in 1599, after the death of first wife Lucrezia, on 16 May 1605 their long-expected and only child Federico Ubaldo was born. Federico Ubaldo married Claudia de Medici in 1621 and was made Duke by his father, the aging Francesco Maria took up the title of Duke again, but as there was no more hope for a male heir, he gave his Duchy to Pope Urban VIII in 1625. The Popes nephew Taddeo Barberini took control of the duchy which was annexed to the Papal States after Francescos death at Urbania in 1631, the last member of the della Rovere family, Vittoria, inherited the Dukes art collection and had it transferred to Florence to the Uffizi Gallery. Lucrezia dEste on 19 January 1570, daughter of Ercole II dEste, Duke of Ferrara, Livia della Rovere on 29 April 1599, daughter of Ippolito della Rovere and Isabella Vitelli dei Signori dellAmatrice. Federico Ubaldo della Rovere son of Livia della Rovere, was Duke of Urbino and the father of Vittoria della Rovere
36.
Pope Gregory XIII
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Pope Gregory XIII, born Ugo Boncompagni, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 13 May 1572 to his death in 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake for the Gregorian calendar, during his pontificate, Gregory fostered cultural patronages associated with his papacy. He strengthened many ecclesiastical and diplomatic envoys to Asia, namely the islands of Japan and he was also the first Pope to bestow the Immaculate Conception as Patroness to the Philippine Islands on 9 February 1579 through the Papal Bull Ilius Fulti Præsido. Ugo Boncompagni was born the son of Cristoforo Boncompagni and of his wife Angela Marescalchi in Bologna and he later taught jurisprudence for some years, and his students included notable figures such as Cardinals Alexander Farnese, Reginald Pole and Charles Borromeo. He had a son after an affair with Maddalena Fulchini, Giacomo Boncompagni. At the age of thirty-six he was summoned to Rome by Pope Paul III, under whom he held appointments as first judge of the capital, abbreviator. Pope Paul IV attached him as datarius to the suite of Cardinal Carlo Carafa, Pope Pius IV made him Cardinal-Priest of San Sisto Vecchio and he also served as a legate to Philip II of Spain, being sent by the Pope to investigate the Cardinal of Toledo. It was there that he formed a lasting and close relationship with the Spanish King, upon the death of Pope Pius V, the conclave chose Cardinal Boncompagni, who assumed the name of Gregory XIII in homage to the great reforming Pope, Gregory I, surnamed the Great. It was a very brief conclave, lasting less than 24 hours, many historians have attributed this to the influence and backing of the Spanish King. Gregory XIIIs character seemed to be perfect for the needs of the church at the time, unlike some of his predecessors, he was to lead a faultless personal life, becoming a model for his simplicity of life. Additionally, his brilliance and management abilities meant that he was able to respond and deal with major problems quickly and decisively. Once in the chair of Saint Peter, Gregory XIIIs rather worldly concerns became secondary and he committed himself to putting into practice the recommendations of the Council of Trent. He allowed no exceptions for cardinals to the rule that bishops must take up residence in their sees and he was the patron of a new and greatly improved edition of the Corpus juris canonici. In a time of considerable centralisation of power, Gregory XIII abolished the Cardinals Consistories, replacing them with Colleges and he was renowned for having a fierce independence, some confidants noted that he neither welcomed interventions nor sought advice. The power of the papacy increased under him, whereas the influence, a central part of the strategy of Gregory XIIIs reform was to apply the recommendations of Trent. He was a patron of the recently formed Society of Jesus throughout Europe. The Roman College of the Jesuits grew substantially under his patronage and it is now named the Pontifical Gregorian University. Pope Gregory XIII also founded numerous seminaries for training priests, beginning with the German College at Rome, in 1575 he gave official status to the Congregation of the Oratory, a community of priests without vows, dedicated to prayer and preaching
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Italian scudo
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The scudo was the name for a number of coins used in Italy until the 19th century. The name, like that of the French écu and the Spanish, from the 16th century, the name was used in Italy for large silver coins. Sizes varied depending on the issuing country, first scudo dargento was issued in 1551 by Charles V in Milan. Under Maria Theresa and Joseph II the scudo dargento had a weight of 23.10 g, in the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, the Lombardy-Venetia scudo was equivalent to the Conventionsthaler and was subdivided into six lire. Before the Napoleonic Wars, the lira was subdivided into 20 soldi, later, the lira was made up of 100 centesimi. When Austria-Hungary decimalized in 1857, the scudo was replaced by the florin at a rate of 2 florin =1 scudo, coins of ½ and 1 soldo were issued, equal to ½ and 1 kreuzer, for use in Lombardy and Venetia. In the Papal States, the Papal States scudo was the currency until 1866 and it was divided into 100 baiocchi, each of 5 quattrini. It was replaced by the lira, equal to the Italian lira, the Duchy of Modena and Reggio also issued scudi, worth four lire or one third of a tallero. In Malta under the Order of St John, the Maltese scudo circulated from the 16th century until the Order was expelled in 1798, the currency remained the official currency of Malta until 1825 and the last coins were removed from circulation in 1886. The Sovereign Military Order of Malta has issued coins denominated in scudi since 1961, manuale del collezionista di monete italiane
38.
Giacomo Boncompagni
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Giacomo Boncompagni was an Italian feudal lord of the 16th century, the illegitimate son of Pope Gregory XIII. He was also Duke of Sora, Aquino, Arce and Arpino, a member of the Boncompagni family, he was a patron of arts and culture. Pierluigi da Palestrina dedicated to him the first book of Madrigals and he was also a friend of another composer, Vincenzo Ruffo. He was also a lover of the theatre and of chess, Giacomo Boncompagni was born in Bologna, the son of Ugo Boncompagni and his mistress from Carpi, Maddalena Fulchini. His father was in city to participate in the Council of Trent during the period in which had been moved there. He was legitimated on 5 July 1548 and entrusted to the Jesuits for education, when his father was elected pope in March 1572, Giacomo moved to Rome where, two months later, was appointed castellan of Castel SantAngelo. Later his father named him also Gonfalonier of the Church, and he moved first to Ancona and then Ferrara, the following year Philip II of Spain named him Capitano Generale delle genti in armi of the Spanish-controlled Duchy of Milan. In 1576 Gregory XIII named him governor of Fermo, in the same year Giacomo married Costanza Sforza of Santa Fiora, who gave him 14 children. In 1581, together with Latino Orsini, he received the task to counter the movement in the Papal States. Despite all the political and military charges he had able to assign to his son. After a failed attempt of acquisition of the Marquisate of Saluzzo in 1577, two years later it was the turn of the larger Duchy of Sora and Arce, for which the pope and Giacomo paid 100,000 golden scudi to Francesco Maria II of Urbino. In 1583, in reward of other 243,000 golden scudi, Giacomo acquired also the large Duchy of Aquino and Arpino in the Kingdom of Naples, however, at the election of Sixtus V he was stripped of all his charges in the Papal States. Philip II forced Boncompagni also to remain in Milan, while his family moved to Isola di Sora, near Sora, where his wife administered the Duchy. He was able to leave Milan only in 1612, but he was already ill and his son Gregorio succeeded him in Sora
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Aquino, Italy
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Aquino is a town and comune in the province of Frosinone, in the Lazio region of Italy,12 kilometres northwest of Cassino. The town was founded in the 4th century BC by the Volsci, ancient Aquinum was a municipium in the time of Cicero, and made a colony by the Triumviri. It was crossed by the Via Latina, Aquinum is thought to be the birthplace of the poet Juvenal, and Emperor Pescennius Niger was also born there. The earliest, recorded Catholic Bishop of Aquino was Bishop Giovino in 593 AD, the patron saint of Aquino is St. Constantius of Aquino. One of the gates through which the Via Latina passed, now called Porta San Lorenzo, is well preserved. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh. Aquino, Sora, and Pontecorvo - Catholic Encyclopedia article Demographic data on Aquino
40.
Francesco Maria del Monte
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Francesco Maria del Monte, full name Francesco Maria Bourbon del Monte Santa Maria, was an Italian Cardinal, diplomat and connoisseur of the arts. His fame today rests on his patronage of the important Baroque master Caravaggio. Born in Venice of the aristocratic del Monte family of Tuscan origin, he was the son of Marquis Ranieri Bourbon del Monte, first count of Monte Baroccio and he began his ecclesiastical career as Abbot commendatario of Santa Croce a Monte Fabali. He then went to Rome when he was quite young. He was created cardinal deacon in the consistory of 14 December 1588 under Pope Sixtus V and he took part in the two conclaves of 1590, the conclave of 1591 and the conclave of 1592. He subsequently took the titles of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, Santa Maria in Trastevere and he served as Prefect of the Tridentine Council and as Bishop of Palestrina from 1615 to 1621. He participated in the Papal Conclave of 1621 and had ambitions of being elected Pope, van Ameyden mischievously painted a portrait of a man that seemed to display more than a paternal care for the boys in his charge. But Graham-Dixon argues that such accusations seem deliberately to have been cast by the pro-Spanish Ameyden against the pro-French Del Monte in order to discredit him, besides which there is better evidence that Del Monte had courted women in his youth. He died in his Rome palace, the and was buried in the church of SantUrbano, the epitaph on De Montes tomb describes him as an excellent patron of the good arts. At his death his art collection contained more than six hundred paintings, together with his brother, he helped Galileo win a lectureship in mathematics in Pisa in 1589 and in Padua in 1592. In the wake of Galileo’s discovery of the Medicean Planets, he gave the Cardinal a copy of his Sidereus Nuncius and a telescope as gifts. When Galileo went to Rome in 1611, Grand Duke Cosimo II recommended him to the Cardinal’s council so that he could be helped during his sojourn at the Vatican, Del Monte was a patron of German painter Adam Elsheimer and Andrea Sacchi
41.
House of Farnese
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For the town in Italy with the same name, see Farnese, Lazio. The Farnese family is a family in Renaissance Italy. The titles of Duke of Parma and Piacenza and Duke of Castro were held by members of the family. A number of important architectural works and antiquities are associated with the Farnese family, buildings include the Palazzo Farnese in Rome and the Villa Farnese at Caprarola, and ancient artifacts include the Farnese Marbles. The family could trace its origins back to around AD984, there has been some debate as to the origins of the name Farnesi/Farnese. In the 12th century, they are recorded as minor feudataries in the areas of Tuscania and Orvieto, one Pietro defeated the Tuscan Ghibellines in 1110 and, most likely, fought against the Italo-Normans in 1134. His son Prudenzio was consul in Orvieto and defeated the Orvieto Ghibellines backed by Siena, in 1254, one Ranuccio defeated Todis troops and fought for Pope Urban IV against Manfred of Sicily. His son Niccolò was in the Guelph army in the Battle of Benevento, the Farnese returned to Tuscia in 1319, when they acquired Farnese, Ischia di Castro, and the castles of Sala and San Savino. In 1354, Cardinal Albornoz, in return for the help in the war against the Papal riotous barons. In this period they fought against the fierce Papal rivals, the Prefetti di Vico, in 1362, Pietro Farnese was commander-in-chief of the Florentine army against Pisa in the war for Volterra. Six years later Niccolò Farnese saved Pope Urban V from the attack of Giovanni di Vico, first in the castle of Viterbo and then in that of Montefiascone. The family substantially increased its power in the course of the 15th century, as their territories reached the shore of the Lake Bolsena and Montalto. He was commander-in-chief of the forces of neighbouring Siena against the Orsini of Pitigliano and, after his victory and his son, Gabriele Francesco, also took up a military career, a line of employment which disappeared after three generations. Ranuccios son, Pier Luigi, married a member of the ancient baronial family of the Caetani, thus giving the Farnese further importance in Rome. His daughter, Giulia, who was a mistress of Pope Alexander VI, under Alexanders successor, Pope Julius II, he became governor of the Marca Anconetana and, in 1534, he was elected as pope and took the name of Paul III. Notable features of his included the establishment of the Council of Trent. For example, two months after becoming pope in 1534, he made his 14-year-old grandson Alessandro a cardinal deacon. Paul III died in 1549 and his role in the Curia passed to his grandson Alessandro
42.
Liri
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The Liri is one of the principal rivers of central Italy, flowing into the Tyrrhenian Sea a little below Minturno under the name Garigliano. The Liris source is in the Monte Camiciola, elevation 1,701 metres and it flows at first in a southeasterly direction through a long trough-like valley, parallel to the general direction of the Apennines, until it reaches the city of Sora. In the upper part of Isola del Liri it receives the waters of Fibreno, one branch makes a 28-metre high waterfall situated in the centre, a unique case in Europe. A dam is built on the river after the conjunction with the Sacco River at Ceprano, the last important Liris tributary is the Melfa, with which it joins near Aquino. After Cassino it receives the waters of the Gari, and afterwards it is known as Garigliano, the Liri-Garigliano system has a total water drainage basin of 5,020 square kilometres. The surrounding area was devastated by Hannibal during his invasion in response to the locals having burnt the bridges over the river, in 238 BC, the adjacent city of Fregella was the site of a crushed rebellion against Roman rule. Her grove and temple were not only objects of veneration to the people of the neighboring town of Minturnae. Immediately adjoining its mouth was a marsh, formed probably by the stagnation of the river itself. About 70 miles upstream from its mouth, the river passes what used to be Lake Fucino, the Roman emperor Claudius had a tunnel dug through the ridge in an attempt to drain the lake, which had no natural outlet, to the Liri. The later emperor Hadrian tried to improve the tunnel but, after the fall of the empire, tunnel maintenance was not maintained and it was blocked by silt and debris, allowing the lake to refill. A new tunnel was completed in the 1860s, and the basin of the lake still drains to the Liri via that tunnel. During the Italian Campaign of the Second World War, the German defenses of the Gustav Line followed the Liri valley. Manco, Alberto, The Italian hydronym, lagno, Università di Napoli LOrientale, p. Attribution This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Bunbury. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography
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Brigand
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Brigandage refers to the life and practice of brigands, highway robbery and plunder. A brigand is a person who lives in a gang and lives by pillage. The brigand is supposed to derive his name from the Old French brigand, which is a form of the Italian brigante, there can be no doubt as to the origin of the word bandit, which has the same meaning. Towards the end of wars, irreconcilables may refuse to accept the loss of their cause, in certain conditions the brigand has not been a mere malefactor. It is you who are the thieves, was the defence of the Calabrian who was tried as a brigand by a French court-martial during the reign of Joachim Murat in Naples. Brigandage may be, and not infrequently has been, the last resource of a subject to invasion. In the Balkan peninsula, under Ottoman rule, the brigands had some claim to believe themselves the representatives of their people against oppressors. The only approach to an attempt to order was the permission given to part of the population to carry arms in order to repress the klephts. In fact the armatole tended to act more as allies than enemies of the klephts, the conditions which favour the development of brigandage may be summed up as bad administration and to a lesser degree, terrain that permits easy escape from the incumbents. The Scottish Marches supplied a theatre for the gentlemen reivers, after the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, policing the Scottish moss-troopers tied up many English soldiers of the occupying New Model Army. Their contemporaries in Ireland became known as tories, rapparees, Irish guerrillas of a later generation, fought for King James II after the Revolution of 1688 and on his defeat degenerated into brigands. The forests of England gave cover to the outlaws, who were portrayed in the ballads of Robin Hood. The dense Maquis shrubland and hills of Corsica gave the Corsican brigand many advantages, the Apennines, the mountains of Calabria, the Sierras of Spain, were the homes of the Italian banditos, and the Spanish bandoleros and salteadores. The great haunts of brigands in Europe have been central and southern Italy, the Gubbings infested Devonshire for a generation from their headquarters near Brent Tor, on the edge of Dartmoor. In France there were there Écorcheurs, or Skinners, in the 15th century, the first were large bands of discharged mercenary soldiers who pillaged the country. The second were ruffians who forced their victims to pay ransom by holding their feet in fires, the salt monopoly and the excessive preservation of the game were so oppressive that the peasantry were provoked to violent resistance and to brigandage. The offenders enjoyed a measure of public sympathy, and were warned or concealed by the population. The brigand is always a hero to at least one faction of Corsicans
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Masaniello
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Masaniello was an Italian fisherman, who became leader of the revolt against the rule of Habsburg Spain in Naples in 1647. Until recently it was believed that Masaniello was a native of Amalfi, the source of this misunderstanding is that Amalfi was simply part of his name, but has been traditionally interpreted as a reference to his place of origin. The celebration took place on the day of birth, and in the church where in 1641 Tommaso Aniello would later marry the sixteen-year-old Bernardina Pisa. The historian Giuseppe Galasso suggested that the misunderstanding was fostered and encouraged by an attitude of power. The faithful city was not to be and could not admit the presence of an infidel, on 7 July 1997, at the 350th anniversary of the popular uprising, the City of Naples placed an inscription in honor of Masaniello in Vico Rotto al Mercato. Masaniellos family was humble but not poor and his father, Francesco dAmalfi was a fisherman and shopkeeper. His mother, Antonia Gargano was a housekeeper who became pregnant with Masaniello before her marriage and he had two younger brothers and one sister, John, who was another leader of the rebellion, Francesco, who died in infancy, and Grace. The house where he lived was in the Pendino quarter, where the tax on fish was collected, at the time, Naples had about 250,000 inhabitants, and was one of the most populous metropolises in Europe. Market Square, where Masaniello spent his life, was the nerve center. It housed stalls selling all manner of goods, it was where acrobats performed for the people and. During the 1640s, Habsburg Spain was faced with a series of disastrous conflicts, the revolt of the Netherlands, the Thirty Years War, the Revolt of Catalonia. To support the war effort, the Iberian Crown imposed a tax burden on the Viceroy of Naples in order to restore the coffers of its vast empire. Often, to escape taxation, he brought the fish directly to the homes of nobles and his main activity was, however, smuggling, so much so that in 1646 his reputation as a skilled smuggler was already well established in the Market. He worked mainly for the nobility, including the marchesa di Brienza and don Diomede Carafa, Duke of Maddaloni. His wife Bernardina, arrested for bringing to town a sock full of flour, to obtain her freedom, Masaniello was forced to pay a ransom of one hundred crowns, which brought him into debt. According to tradition, it was this episode that provoked in him a desire to avenge the people from their oppressors, Masaniello also became a pupil of the writer Don Giulio Genoino, an octogenarian priest with a past as a defender of the people. In 1620, however, he had been dismissed by the Consiglio Collaterale, misgovernment and fiscal oppression during the Thirty Years War aroused much discontent throughout the Kingdom of Naples. A revolt broke out at Palermo in May 1647, and the people of Naples followed the example of the Sicilians
