Bartolomeo Fanfulla's parents, Domenico Alon and Angela Folli, gave him multiple names: Giovanni or

Giovanni Battista Giovanni Battista was a common Italian given name (see Battista for those with the surname) in the 16th-18th centuries. It refers to "John the Baptist" in English, the French equivalent is "Jean-Baptiste". Common nicknames include Giambattista, Gia ...

(in honour of the Evangelical preacher),

Bartolomeo Bartolomeo or Bartolommeo is a masculine Italian given name, the Italian equivalent of Bartholomew. Its diminutive form is Baccio. Notable people with the name include: * Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo (1824–1860), Italian paleobotanist and liche ...

(in honour of

Bartolomeo Colleoni Bartolomeo Colleoni (; 1400 – 2 November 1475) was an Italian condottiero, who became captain-general of the Republic of Venice. Colleoni "gained reputation as the foremost tactician and disciplinarian of the 15th century".''Websters New ...

) and

Tito Tito may refer to: People Mononyms * Josip Broz Tito (1892–1980), commonly known mononymously as Tito, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman * Roberto Arias (1918–1989), aka Tito, Panamanian international lawyer, diplomat, and journ ...

(in honour of the great Roman emperor). Born in the

province of Lodi The province of Lodi ( it, provincia di Lodi; Ludesan: ) is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its provincial capital is the city of Lodi. As of 2017, it has a population of 229,541 inhabitants over an area of c. , giving the province ...

(but for Guicciardini he is allegedly from

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

), Fanfulla almost certainly died 24 February 1525 in the

battle of Pavia The Battle of Pavia, fought on the morning of 24 February 1525, was the decisive engagement of the Italian War of 1521–1526 between the Kingdom of France and the Habsburg empire of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor as well as ruler of Spain, Au ...

. He had at least four children (Marc’Antonio, Ambrosio, Giorgio and Domenico) and nine grandchildren. He was first a soldier of fortune, then knight and finally captain of a flag between 1499 and 1525. They say of him: In his life he fought on the side of

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

(1499),

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

(from 1503) and empire (from 1515) having as enemies

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

(in 1499) and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

(from 1503 onwards). Together with

Ettore Fieramosca Ettore Fieramosca (born Ferramosca) (Capua, 1476 – Valladolid, 20 January 1515) was an Italian condottiero and nobleman during the Italian Wars. His father was Rainaldo, baron of Rocca d'Evandro, and it is thought that his mother was a noble wo ...

he was the main character of the famous battle of Barletta, which on 13 February 1503 saw thirteen Italian warriors fight against the same number of Frenchmen. Having remained horseless (together with Giovanni Bracalone) during the fight, he fought on foot killing the horses of the French jousters. At the end of the battle, he was knighted by the Spanish potestà (chief magistrate) Consalvo di Cordoba. He is one of the main characters of the

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

''Ettore Fieramosca o La disfida di Barletta'' (1833), by the politician and man of letters Massimo d'Azeglio, in which the author's phantasy introduces him as an astute, fun and jolly man. The resulting colourful portrait of heroic soldier of fortune gave Fanfulla his fame. Fanfulla is considered one of the symbols of the town of Lodi and of its territory, so much so that a number of local sports clubs take inspiration from his figure: among the most awarded there is the A.S.Ginnastica e Scherma Fanfulla 1874, l' Atletica Fanfulla and the Associazione Calcio Fanfulla 1874. Moreover, the biscuits Amaretti Fanfullini, a typical product of Lodi, owe their name to him. A famous Italian goliardic song from the 20th century has been also dedicated to Fanfulla: '' Fanfulla da Lodi''. In the city of

Lecce Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=Loupíai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the province ...

, bronze statue of him by the Italian sculptor Antonio Bortone from Ruffano is found in the square Raimondello Orsini.

Battles he took part in

He took part in all the main battles of the 16th century. Always giving proof of his great courage he travelled throughout Italy taking part in: *the siege of Pisa of 1499 (at the side of Paolo Vitelli), *the

battle of Cerignola The Battle of Cerignola was fought on 28 April 1503 between Spanish and French armies outside the town of Cerignola, Apulia, Kingdom of Naples (now in modern-day Italy), approximately west of Bari. The Spanish force under the command of Gonz ...

of 1503 (at the service of the Duke of Termoli), *the

challenge of Barletta The Challenge of Barletta (Italian: ''Disfida di Barletta'') was a duel fought in the countryside of Trani, near Barletta, southern Italy, on 13 February 1503, during the Third Italian War, on the plains between Corato and Andria. Overview ...

of 13 February 1503, *the

battle of Ravenna (1512) The Battle of Ravenna, fought on 11 April 1512, was a major battle of the War of the League of Cambrai. It pitted forces of the Holy League against France and their Ferrarese allies. Although the French and Ferrarese eliminated the Papal-Span ...

(in which he was made prisoner), *the battle of Villafranca (1515), *probably also the

of 24 February 1525 (where it is presumed he died).

Famous quotations

They have said of him: *"The warrior svelto di corpo e bizzarro d'ingegno, il cavaliere di ventura ricco d'ardimento, con qualche macchia forse, but certainly fearless and with an enormous carica enorme di simpatia, true symbol of the human and Italian saper vivere" (Massimo D'Azeglio). *"Uomo valoroso. Disprezzava ogni pericolo della vita in battaglia".Condottieri di ventura
*"Di animo altero e superbo". *"Despising any danger in the battle" (Paolo Giovio). *"Fanfulla is the unpredictable and unexpected side of a Lodi otherwise known as placid and slow-paced; however, there is vitality, it exists, it manifests itself and it certainly does so in the sports field. That little bit or a lot of Fanfulla, swordsman of good fortune, which still resides in us all citizens of Lodi, must push us to revive sport in Lodi" (Age Bassi, ''Lodi fra storia e cronaca, 1919-1945'') (Lodi between history and chronicle, 1919-1945).

References in popular culture

*He appeared as a comics strip character (drawings by Willy Signoroni and text by Andrea Maietti) in the Italian local daily newspaper '' il Cittadino'' in the years 2000. *The Italian goliardic song ''Fanfulla da Lodi'' has been dedicated to him; ''Il barone Fanfulla da Lodi'' is also a track from the album ''Polenta violenta'' (2007) by the lombard heavy metal musician Ul Mik Longobardeath. *Fanfulla appears on film in ''Fanfulla da Lodi'' (1940), directed by

Carlo Duse Carlo Duse (5 January 1898 – 9 September 1956) Birth name: Carlo Artemio e Vittorio Duse. With mention in margin of his date and place of death. was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1916 and 1956. He was bor ...

and

Giulio Antamoro Giulio Antamoro (1 July 1877 – 8 December 1945) was an Italian film director mainly active during the silent era.Nowell-Smith p.127 Selected filmography * ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1911) * ''Miss Dorothy'' (1920) * ''Don Carlos'' (192 ...

(with

Ennio Cerlesi Ennio Cerlesi (21 January 1901 – 20 September 1951) was an Italian film actor. He played the title role in the 1937 film '' Doctor Antonio''.Goble p.401 Cerlesi was also a leading voice actor, dubbing international films for release in Italy. H ...

Germana Paolieri Germana Paolieri (29 August 1906 – 8 August 1998) was an Italian actress. During the 1930s she became a leading lady of Italian cinema appearing in major films such as the 1938 biopic ''Giuseppe Verdi''. Selected filmography * ''The Opera ...

and

Osvaldo Valenti Osvaldo Valenti (17 February 1906 – 30 April 1945) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1928 and 1945. He was born in Istanbul, Turkey to a Sicilian carpet trader and a wealthy Lebanese woman of Greek descen ...

). Another presence of Fanfulla is in '' Soldier of Fortune'' (1976), directed by

Pasquale Festa Campanile Pasquale Festa Campanile (28 July 1927 – 25 February 1986) was an Italian screenwriter, film director and novelist, best known as a prominent exponent of the commedia all'italiana genre. Life and career Born at Melfi, in the province o ...

, where he is portrayed by

Gino Pernice Gino Pernice (6 May 1927 – 25 April 1997) was an Italian stage, television and film actor. Life and career Born in Milan, Pernice trained at the Accademia dei Filodrammatici graduating in 1952, and made his professional debut with the stage ...

. *Fanfulla da Lodi has represented an excellent subject for theatre works entitled to him, mainly inspired by the plots of the novels by D'Azeglio.

Image gallery

Image:Fanfulla 1.jpg, Fanfulla from Lodi in the square Raimondello Orsini in Lecce Image:Fanfulla 2.jpg, Fanfulla from Lodi in the square Raimondello Orsini in Lecce Image:Placchetta.jpg, Plaque of Fanfulla from Lodi in the square Raimondello Orsini in Lecce

References

Bibliography

In Italian: *Massimo D'Azeglio, '' Ettore Fieramosca o La disfida di Barletta'', 1833

*Napoleone Gotti, ''Fanfulla'', 1875, published in appendix to the satirical periodic publication "Il Fanfulla" founded in Florence in 1870 and active in Rome from 1871 to 1899. *Pia Piccoli Addoli, ''Il romanzo di Fanfulla'' (a richly illustrated synthesis by Gustavino of the two novels by Massimo D'Azeglio), 1940, UTET. *Pietro Novati, ''Fanfulla da Lodi'', 1982, Ed. Lodigraf.

External links

in Italian
Biographical notesFanfulla the warriorRemembrance plaques of 1903 and 1983 at MairagoBirth home of Fanfulla
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fanfulla, Bartolomeo Italian soldiers 1477 births 1525 deaths