Alessandro II Pico della Mirandola (Mirandola, 30 March 1631 – Concordia sulla Secchia, 2 February 1691) was an Italian nobleman, soldier and patron of the arts, second Duke of Mirandola and third Marquis of Concordia from 1637 until his death.

Life

Son of Galeotto IV and Maria Cybo-Malaspina (1609-1652), daughter of

Carlo I Cybo-Malaspina Carlo I Cybo-Malaspina (18 November 1581 - 13 February 1662) was an Italian nobleman, who was prince of Massa and marquis of Carrara from 1623 until his death. Born in Ferrara, he was the son of Alderano Cybo-Malaspina and Marfisa d'Este. He wa ...

, prince of Massa e marquis of Carrara. On 2 September 1637, at the age of 6, he inherited by her grandfather Alexander I's will the dominion of the

Duchy of Mirandola The Lordship, then County, Principality and finally Duchy of Mirandola ( it, Ducato della Mirandola) was a state which existed in Northern Italy from 1310 until 1711, centered in Mirandola in what is now the province of Modena, in Emilia-Romagn ...

,. receiving confirmation of the investiture in 1641 from Emperor Ferdinand III.. Due to his young age, the regency was entrusted to his mother and aunt Maria (1613-1682), who relinquished guardianship in 1648. In

1666 This is the first year to be designated as an ''Annus mirabilis'', in John Dryden's 1667 poem so titled, celebrating England's failure to be beaten either by the Dutch or by fire. It is the only year to contain each Roman numeral once in de ...

, at the

Duchy of Milan The Duchy of Milan ( it, Ducato di Milano; lmo, Ducaa de Milan) was a state in northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti family, which had been ruling the city sin ...

, he was in the service of King

Charles II of Spain Charles II of Spain (''Spanish: Carlos II,'' 6 November 1661 – 1 November 1700), known as the Bewitched (''Spanish: El Hechizado''), was the last Habsburg ruler of the Spanish Empire. Best remembered for his physical disabilities and the War o ...

, who knighted him with the

Golden Fleece In Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece ( el, Χρυσόμαλλον δέρας, ''Chrysómallon déras'') is the fleece of the golden-woolled,, ''Khrusómallos''. winged ram, Chrysomallos, that rescued Phrixus and brought him to Colchis, where P ...

. At the request of

Pope Clement IX Pope Clement IX ( la, Clemens IX; it, Clemente IX; 28 January 1600 – 9 December 1669), born Giulio Rospigliosi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 20 June 1667 to his death in December 1669. Biography Ear ...

, he left Mirandola to

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, from where he set sail the following month for the island of

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

with 9 warships and 3,000 soldiers. After a stopover in

Zakynthos Zakynthos (also spelled Zakinthos; el, Ζάκυνθος, Zákynthos ; it, Zacinto ) or Zante (, , ; el, Τζάντε, Tzánte ; from the Venetian form) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands. Za ...

, he landed in Candia on 23 August 1669 and joined the French, papal and Venetian forces in the Cretan War against the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

, who had been besieging the Greek city for over twenty years. Alessandro II Pico was appointed field master of the papal troops. However, on 5 September 1669, the defenders of Candia had to sign the surrender to the Turks and were given the

honours of war The honours of war are a set of privileges that are granted to a defeated army during the surrender ceremony. The honours symbolise the valour of the defeated army, and grew into a custom during the age of early modern warfare. Typically a surren ...

. Alessandro, suffering from

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

, returned to Mirandola where he was triumphantly welcomed. He was a prince who loved the arts and had the church of Gesù e the church of the

Servants of Mary The Servite Order, officially known as the Order of Servants of Mary ( la, Ordo Servorum Beatae Mariae Virginis; abbreviation: OSM), is one of the five original Catholic mendicant orders. It includes several branches of friars (priests and brothe ...

. He had a library and an art gallery set up, modernised the castle of the Pico family, and paved all the streets of Mirandola. Alessandro Pico protected the arts: from painting (worthy of note is the gallery frescoed by

Biagio Falcieri Biagio Falcieri (1628–1703) was an Italian painter of the Baroque era, although his provincial style has been described as a tired mannerism, active between Venice and Verona. Originally from the region of Trento. He studied with Pietro Liberi i ...

for the rich picture gallery that he set up through costly purchases) to music, calling

Giovanni Battista Bassani Giovanni Battista Bassani (c. 1650 – 1 October 1716) was an Italian composer, violinist, and organist. Biography Bassani was born in Padua. It is thought that he studied in Venice under Daniele Castrovillari and in Ferrara under Giovanni L ...

to court. Finally, Alessandro tried to obtain the investiture of Mirandola as a

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

, but to no avail. On 29 April 1656 he married Anna Beatrice d'Este, daughter of Alfonso III , Duke of Modena and

Isabella of Savoy Isabella of Savoy (11 March 1591 – 28 August 1626) was a daughter of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, and Catherine Michelle of Spain. Her maternal grandparents were Philip II of Spain and Elisabeth of Valois, her paternal grandparents were ...

, by whom he had nine children, in addition to two natural children.. Upon his death, he left the reign of the Duchy of Mirandola to his young nephew

Francesco Maria II Francesco Maria II della Rovere (20 February 1549 – 23 April 1631) was the last Duke of Urbino. Biography Born at Pesaro, Francesco Maria was the son of Guidobaldo II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, Count of Montefeltro and Vittoria Farne ...

, entrusting its management to his sister Brigida Pico.

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Life

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See also