Showing posts with label soldier. Show all posts
Showing posts with label soldier. Show all posts

3 August 2021

Francesco Ferruccio - military leader

Florentine soldier celebrated in Italy’s national anthem 

Francesco Ferruccio's statue in the courtyard of the Uffizi in Florence
Francesco Ferruccio's statue in the
courtyard of the Uffizi in Florence
Francesco Ferruccio, the military leader whose heroic attempt to defend Florence against the powerful army of the Holy Roman Empire is recalled in Italy’s national anthem, died on the battlefield on this day in 1530.

A Florentine by birth, Ferruccio had been charged with leading the army of the Republic of Florence as the city came under attack during the War of the League of Cognac, when the Pope Clement VII connived with the emperor Charles V to overthrow the republic and restore power in Florence to his own family, the Medici.

Despite being outnumbered, Ferruccio’s soldiers engaged the Imperial forces at Gavinana, just outside Florence, killed their leader and drove them back, only for the enemy to be reinforced by the arrival of 2,000 German mercenaries under the leadership of the condottiero, Fabrizio Maramaldo.

His army almost annihilated, Ferruccio was taken prisoner and, despite being wounded, was stabbed in the throat by Maramaldo and bled to death, an act considered against the code of chivalrous conduct that honourable soldiers were expected to observe.

It was seen as so cowardly that the word maramaldo entered the Italian language as a noun with the same meaning as villain, while maramaldesco is an adjective used to describe someone as ruthless or villainous.

More than 300 years later, Goffredo Mameli, the poet and patriot, recalled Ferruccio in the lyrics of a song, Il Canto degli Italiani, that would later be adopted as the national anthem of the united Italy.

Also known as Inno di Mameli - Mameli's Hymn - and by its opening line Fratelli d'Italia - Brothers of Italy - the song cites a number of heroic figures and historical events that Mameli considered inspirational, particularly in the Italian fight for independence, Ferruccio’s defence of Florence being one of them. 

Goffredo Mameli's anthem made its debut in 1847
Goffredo Mameli's anthem
made its debut in 1847
The reference to Ferruccio occurs in the penultimate verse of the full version, in the lines

ogn'uom di Ferruccio
ha il core, ha la mano

which is translated as 

Every man hath the heart
and hand of Ferruccio

Scipio Africanus, the Roman general who defeated Hannibal at the final battle of the Second Punic War in 201BC, and Balilla, the nickname of a boy who started a revolt against the Habsburg forces in Genoa in 1746, are also part of Mameli’s narrative, along with the Battle of Legnano in 1176 and the uprising of 1282 known as the Sicilian Vespers.

Francesco Ferruccio began his working life as a merchant’s clerk and then a city official in Florence but was attracted by the idea of being a soldier and trained under Giovanni dalle Bande Nere, the Medici condottiero who would die in battle in 1526, ironically fighting on behalf of Pope Clement VII.

Appointed military commissioner by the Florentine Republic, which had been re-established in 1527, Ferruccio began the defence of Florence against Imperial ambitions by recapturing Volterra, which had been occupied by an Imperial garrison.

After Empoli fell to Imperial forces and Florence came under siege, Ferruccio proposed a march on Rome, threatening to sack the city if Clement VII did not agree to a peaceful settlement that would allow Florence to retain its independence.

But this plan was rejected as the Republican leaders opted for a more conservative approach. Ferruccio grouped his forces in Pisa only to be laid low with a fever for a month, finally engaging with the enemy at Gavinana, about 50km (31 miles) northwest of Florence.

His army was successful initially, driving the Imperial troops back and killing their leader, Philibert de Chalon, Prince of Orange, but was repelled when Maramaldo’s mercenaries arrived.  Nine days after Ferruccio himself was killed by his cowardly rival, Florence surrendered.

Pistoia's octagonal Battistero di San Giovanni in the Tuscan city's medieval centre
Pistoia's octagonal Battistero di San Giovanni
in the Tuscan city's medieval centre
Travel tip:

Gavinina is a village a short distance from Pistoia, a pretty medieval walled city in Tuscany, about 40km (25 miles) northwest of Florence. The city developed a reputation for intrigue in the 13th century and assassinations in the narrow alleyways were common, using a tiny dagger called the pistole, made by the city’s ironworkers, who also specialised in manufacturing surgical instruments. At the centre of the town is the Piazza del Duomo, where the Cathedral of San Zeno, which has a silver altar, adjoins the octagonal Battistero di San Giovanni in Corte baptistery. On the same square is the 11th century Palazzo dei Vescovi.




The historic walled town of Volterra southwest of Florence enjoys an elevated position
The historic walled town of Volterra southwest
of Florence enjoys an elevated position
Travel tip:

The walled hilltop town of Volterra, some 65km (40 miles) southeast of Pisa and 52km (32 miles) southwest of Florence, is an enchanting place to visit which still has traces of its Etruscan history, including the city’s walls and the remains of an Etruscan Acropolis, and is much quieter than nearby San Gimignano, yet is just as appealing for its narrow medieval streets and its beautiful central square, Piazza del Priori. The Palazzo dei Priori, the town hall that stands over the square, contains medieval frescoes, while its bell tower offers expansive views.  The Guarnacci Etruscan Museum has a substantial collection of artifacts.




Also on this day:

1486: The birth of famed Roman courtesan, Imperia Cognati

1546: The death of architect Antonio da Sangallo the Younger

1778: Milan’s opera house, Teatro alla Scala, is inaugurated


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21 February 2020

Raimondo Montecuccoli – military commander

Brilliant tactician who outwitted his opponents


Raimondo Montecuccoli, depicted in this 1650 engraving, was a renowned military strategist
Raimondo Montecuccoli, depicted in this 1650
engraving, was a renowned military strategist
Raimondo, Count of Montecuccoli, a soldier, strategist and military reformer who served the Habsburgs with distinction during the Thirty Years’ War, was born on this day in 1609 in Pavullo nel Frignano, in what was then the Duchy of Modena and Reggio.

As well as being Count of Montecuccoli, Raimondo also became a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire and the Duke of Melfi in the Kingdom of Naples.

He was born in the Castello di Montecuccolo and at the age of 16 began serving as a soldier under the command of his uncle, Count Ernest Montecuccoli, who was a general in the Austrian army.

After four years of active service in Germany and the Low Countries, Raimondo became a captain of infantry.

He was wounded at the storming of New Brandenburg and at the first Battle of Breitenfeld, where he was captured by Swedish soldiers.  After being wounded again at Lutzen in 1632 he was made a major in his uncle’s regiment. He then became a lieutenant–colonel of cavalry.

At the storming of Kaiserslautern in 1635 he led a brilliant charge and was rewarded by being made a colonel.

In 1639 he was taken prisoner by the Swedes during the Battle of Chemnitz and held for two and a half years, but he used the time during his captivity to study military science, geometry, history and architecture.

Montecuccoli returned to Italy in 1642 to fight for Modena in the First War of Castro
Montecuccoli returned to Italy in 1642 to fight
for Modena in the First War of Castro 
After returning to Italy in 1642, Raimondo commanded mercenaries loyal to the Duke of Modena during the First War of Castro.

He served in Hungary, Austria and Bohemia, winning himself the rank of General of Cavalry and his rearguard action at the battle of Zusmarshausen rescued the imperial forces from a disastrous defeat.

In 1657 Raimondo married Countess Margarethe de Dietrichstein. Soon afterwards he was ordered by the Emperor to take part in an expedition against the Swedes and the Cossacks. During this conflict he was promoted to commanding officer of the division.

Between 1661 and 1664 he defended Austria against the Turks and although he had inferior numbers he defeated them so comprehensively they agreed to a 20-year truce. He was hailed as the saviour of Christendom.

As president of the Hofkriegsrat - the supreme imperial war council - in 1668, Raimondo introduced a lighter musket and reduced the numbers of infantry pikemen while increasing the amount of soldiers armed with firearms.

When the Franco-Dutch war broke out he took command of the imperial forces against the armies of Louis XIV and in 1673 he completely outmanoeuvred his rival, the French commander Turenne, before capturing Bonn and joining his army with that of William III, the prince of Orange in what was to have been his last campaign before retiring.

Montecuccoli retired from the battlefield in 1676 and died four years later at the age of 71
Montecuccoli retired from the battlefield in 1676
and died four years later at the age of 71
However, the successes of Turenne in 1674 and 1675 as the conflict continued brought Raimondo out of retirement to fight against him in the Rhine valley. After Turenne was killed, Raimondo invaded Alsace and after winning the siege of Phillipsburg he retired from active service for good.

He spent his retirement working in military administration in Vienna. In 1679 he was made a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire and he was awarded the Dukedom of Melfi by the King of Spain. Raimondo died in an accident in 1680, at the age of 71.

Raimondo Montecuccoli was considered to be a brilliant military theorist and his, Memorie della guerra, published in 1703, profoundly influenced warfare afterwards.  His most important work, Dell’arte militare has been reprinted many times.

In 1934 the Italian navy launched the Raimondo Montecuccoli, a light cruiser named in his honour, which served throughout World War II.

The Castello di Montecuccolo, where Montecuccoli was born more than 400 years ago, can be found at Pavullo nel Frignano
The Castello di Montecuccolo, where Montecuccoli was born
more than 400 years ago, can be found at Pavullo nel Frignano
Travel tip:

The Castello di Montecuccolo where Raimondo Montecuccoli was born, still stands in Pavullo nel Frignano, 42km (26 miles) south of Modena. It was built in the 11th century as a watchtower to protect the area and in the 12th century a fortified house was added to it. New buildings were added over the centuries and in the 15th century the Church of San Lorenzo was built at a lower level than the castle.


The facade of Modena's Duomo, in the city's central Piazza Grande
The facade of Modena's Duomo, in the
city's central Piazza Grande
Travel tip:

The Duchy of Modena and Reggio was an Italian state from 1452 to 1858. The Ducal Palace in Modena, which was built in the 17th century but not completed until the reign of Francis V in the 19th century, now houses a military museum and library. Modena has become famous for the production of sports cars, including Ferrari and Lamborghini, for its balsamic vinegar and as the birthplace of opera singers Luciano Pavarotti and Mirella Freni.

More reading:

Footballer Luca Toni - Pavullo nel Frignano's other favourite son

The Modena news vendor who founded the Panini football stickers empire

How Luciano Pavarotti became one of opera history's greatest tenors

Also on this day:

1513: The death of the pope who commissioned Michelangelo for the Sistine Chapel 

1817: The birth of chocolatier Domenico Ghirardelli

1868: The death of painter and revolutionary Giuseppe Abbati


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7 October 2019

Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta - condottiero

Brutal tyrant or sensitive patron of the arts?


A portrait of Sigismondo by Piero della Francesca, painted in about 1451
A portrait of Sigismondo by Piero della
Francesca, painted in about 1451
One of the most daring military leaders in 15th century Italy, Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, died on this day in 1468 in Rimini.

He had been Lord of Rimini, Fano and Cesena since 1432 and is remembered as a generous patron of the arts during his rule.

Sigismondo commissioned the architect Leon Battista Alberti to build the most famous monument in Rimini, the Church of San Francesco, which is also known as the Tempio Malatestiano, and he welcomed artists and writers to his court.  But partly as a result of a systematic campaign of defamation by his enemy, Pope Pius II, some historians have ascribed a reputation for brutality to him.

Sigismondo was one of three illegitimate sons of Pandolfo Malatesta, who had ruled over Brescia and Bergamo between 1404 and 1421.

At the age of ten, after the death of his father, Sigismondo went to Rimini with his brothers to the court of his uncle, Carlo Malatesta. His birth was later legitimised by Pope Martin V.

After Carlo’s death, Sigismondo’s older brother inherited the Lordship of Rimini, but after two years he abandoned it to go into a monastery and handed over power to Sigismondo.

Pope Pius II accused Sigismondo of a number of crimes
Pope Pius II accused Sigismondo
of a number of crimes
From the age of 16, Sigismondo sold his military talents as a condottiero (mercenary captain) to all sides during the Italian wars.

In 1434, when he was 17, he married Ginevra, the daughter of Niccolò III d’Este and a few years later he commissioned the building of Castel Sismondo in Rimini.

After the death of Ginevra, he married Polissena, the daughter of Francesco Sforza. When she died eight years later, Sigismondo could finally make his relationship with his lover, Isotta degli Atti, public and they married in 1456.

Sigismondo surrounded himself with artists and intellectuals, including Piero della Francesca, one of the greatest painters of the Renaissance.

After Pope Pius II was elected in 1459 he imposed humiliating conditions on Sigismondo who rebelled against him. He was excommunicated and his reputation was tarnished by the Pope.

Sigismondo was deprived of all his land, apart from the city of Rimini, and was ruined financially. In an attempt to improve his fortunes, Sigismondo went to Morea, the Peloponnese peninsula in Southern Greece, in 1464 to fight on behalf of Venice against the Turks and he did not return to Italy until after the death of Pope Pius II.

He died on 7 October 1468 in Castel Sismondo in Rimini and was buried in the Malatesta Temple, even though it was still not finished. He was succeeded by his son and nominated heir, Sallustio, who ruled Rimini under the regency of his mother, Isotta.

Sigismondo Malatesta with Galeazzo Maria Sforza in a fresco by Benozzo Gozzoli
Sigismondo Malatesta with Galeazzo Maria
Sforza in a fresco by Benozzo Gozzoli
Sigismondo was popular as a ruler and admired as a condottiero but he also gained a reputation for brutality, which was perpetuated by historians, partly because he was repeatedly defamed by one of his most powerful enemies, Pope Pius II, who accused him of murder, rape, adultery and incest. In a unique ceremony, Pius II ‘canonised him to hell’ while he was still alive.

One theory is that the Pope wanted Sigismondo’s land and resorted to invoking supernatural aid and using earthly propaganda against him when he couldn’t beat him in war.

Sigismondo acknowledged he was not without sins and tried to justify them in a series of love sonnets dedicated to Isotta.

In 1906, Edward Hutton published the historical novel, Sigismondo Malatesta, which was mostly sympathetic to its hero.

The American poet Ezra Pound published Malatesta Cantos in 1923, which were about Sigismondo’s career as a soldier, lover and patron of the arts. But more than 500 years after his death, some of the mud the Pope threw at Sigismondo still sticks.

The remains of the Castel Sismondo, designed in part by the great architect Filippo Brunelleschi
The remains of the Castel Sismondo, designed in part by
the great architect Filippo Brunelleschi
Travel tip:

Work began on Castel Sismondo in 1437 but only the central part of the structure remains today in Piazza Malatesta in Rimini.  Sigismondo is said to have designed it himself but the architect Brunelleschi also worked on it, visiting Rimini in 1438. You can see how the castle would have looked originally in one of Piero della Francesca’s paintings in the Tempio Malatestiano. Sigismondo died in the castle in 1468. In 1821 the castle was turned into barracks for the local Carabinieri but it is now used for cultural exhibitions.

The Tempio Malatestiano is the cathedral church of the Italian Adriatic resort town of Rimini
The Tempio Malatestiano is the cathedral church of the
Italian Adriatic resort town of Rimini
Travel tip:

The Tempio Malatestiano is the cathedral church of Rimini, originally dedicated to St Francis. Sigismondo commissioned Leon Battista Alberti to rebuild the original 13th century Gothic church and make it into a mausoleum for himself and his wife, Isotta. The building was never finished because Sigismondo’s fortunes declined after his excommunication. Inside there is a fresco by Piero della Francesca portraying Sigismondo kneeling before St Sigismund, the patron saint of soldiers.

More reading:

How Piero della Francesca explored the use of perspective

Niccolò III d'Este and the rise of Ferrara

Giovanni Sforza - Lord of Pesaro and Gradara

Also on this day:

304: The execution of Saint Giustina of Padua

1675: The birth of Venetian portrait painter Rosalba Carriera

1972: The birth of celebrity cook Gabriele Corcos


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27 August 2019

Alessandro Farnese – Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Castro

Duke was a brilliant strategist and diplomat


Otto van Veen's 16th century portrait of Alessandro Farnese
Otto van Veen's 16th century
portrait of Alessandro Farnese
The outstanding military leader, Alessandro Farnese, was born on this day in 1545 in Rome.

As regent of the Netherlands on behalf of Philip II of Spain between 1578 and 1592, Alessandro restored Spanish rule and ensured the continuation of Roman Catholicism there, a great achievement and testimony to his skill as a strategist and diplomat.

However, his brilliant military career gave him no time to rule Parma, Piacenza and Castro when he succeeded to the Dukedom.

Alessandro was the son of Duke Ottavio Farnese of Parma and Margaret, the illegitimate daughter of the King of Spain and Hapsburg Emperor, Charles V.

Ottavio, was the grandson of Pope Paul III, a Farnese who had set up the papal states of Parma, Piacenza and Castro as a duchy in order to award them to his illegitimate son, Pier Luigi. Ottavio became Duke in 1551 after his father, Pier Luigi,was murdered.

Alessandro had a twin brother, Charles, who died after one month. He was sent to live in the court of Philip II as a young child as a guarantee of Ottavio’s loyalty to the Habsburgs. He lived with Philip II first in the Netherlands and then in Madrid.

Girolamo Mazzola Bedoli's 1556 painting entitled Parma embraces Alessandro Farnese
Girolamo Mazzola Bedoli's 1556 painting
entitled Parma embraces Alessandro Farnese
In 1565 he returned to the Netherlands, where his mother, Margaret had been regent for six years. In 1565, at the age of 20, he was married to Infanta Maria of Portugal.

Alessandro was sent to help his cousin, Don John, who was trying to deal with the revolt against Spanish rule in the Netherlands, in 1577.

Because of Alessandro’s decisive strategy they won the Battle of Gembloux in 1578. After Don John’s death, Philip II appointed Alessandro to take his place as Captain General of the Army and Governor General of the Netherlands.

By exploiting the divisions between Protestants and Catholics, Alessandro regained the allegiance of part of the Netherlands to the King of Spain. The towns in the north pledged to fight on but Alessandro laid siege to them one by one, offering generous terms for surrender rather than carrying out massacres and looting, and gradually brought them back to the Catholic Church.

He won back Antwerp with an act of military genius by constructing a bridge of boats to cut off all access to the seaport. He gave Protestants four years to leave the city and defeated the English troops sent over to fight against him by Elizabeth I.

In 1586 when his father died, Alessandro became Duke of Parma but he named his son, Ranuccio, as his regent to rule on his behalf. Philip II could not even spare him to visit his Duchy.

Ranuccio - pictured here by Titian as a 12-year-old boy - was sent to rule Parma on his father's behalf
Ranuccio - pictured here by Titian as a 12-year-old
boy - was sent to rule Parma on his father's behalf
Alessandro wanted to use his army to invade England and stir up a Catholic insurrection against Elizabeth but Philip would not sanction this and made plans to send over the Spanish Armada instead.

The plan was for Alessandro’s troops to cross the channel in barges protected by the Armada, but the English attack on the Armada in 1588 made this impossible.

In 1589 Henry III of France was assassinated and Alessandro was ordered into France to support Catholic opposition to the Protestant Henry IV. He was wounded in the hand during the siege of Caudebec and had to withdraw to Flanders.

With his health declining, Alessandro sent for his son Ranuccio to take over command of his troops. He died in Arras in 1592, aged 47.

Prosciutto di Parma is one of a number of food items for which the city in Emilia-Romagna is famous
Prosciutto di Parma is one of a number of food items for
which the city in Emilia-Romagna is famous
Travel tip:

Parma is an historic city in the Emilia-Romagna region, famous for its ham (Prosciutto di Parma) and cheese (Parmigiano-Reggiano), the true ‘parmesan’. The city was given as a duchy to Pier Luigi Farnese, the illegitimate son of Pope Paul III, and his descendants ruled Parma till 1731. The composer, Verdi, was born near Parma at Bussetto and the city has a prestigious opera house, the Teatro Regio.

Francesco Mochi's bronze statute of  Alessandro Farnese in Piacenza
Francesco Mochi's bronze statute of
Alessandro Farnese in Piacenza
Travel tip:

Piacenza is about 75 km (46 miles) to the north east of Parma in Emilia-Romagna.  The main square in Piacenza is named Piazza Cavalli because of its two bronze equestrian monuments featuring Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma and his son Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma, who succeeded him. The statues are masterpieces by the sculptor Francesco Mochi. Castro is a fortified city on a cliff, near the border between Tuscany and Lazio and was also given to Pier Luigi Farnese by Pope Paul III. The Duchy stretched from the Tyrrhenian Sea to Lago di Bolsena. Ranuccio II Farnese, the last Duke of Castro, was forced to cede the land back to Pope Innocent X. The present day comune, Ischia di Castro, in the province of Viterbo, takes its name from the ancient city of Castro destroyed by papal forces. Ischia di Castro still has a Ducal Palace, where members of the Farnese family used to live.

More reading:

How Ranuccio II's feuding with the Popes led to the downfall of a city

The Royal jeweller descended from the Farnese dynasty

The musician encouraged by a Farnese duke

Also on this day:

410: Rome is sacked by the Visigoths

1576: The death of Renaissance master Titian

1707: The birth of Zanetta Farussi, the actress and mother of Casanova


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