Ettore Fieramosca (born Ferramosca) (

Capua Capua ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, situated north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. History Ancient era The name of Capua comes from the Etrusc ...

, 1476 –

Valladolid Valladolid () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province o ...

, 20 January 1515) was an Italian

condottiero ''Condottieri'' (; singular ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian captains in command of mercenary companies during the Middle Ages and of multinational armies during the early modern period. They notably served popes and other Europe ...

and nobleman during the

Italian Wars The Italian Wars, also known as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a series of conflicts covering the period 1494 to 1559, fought mostly in the Italian peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and the Mediterranean Sea. The pr ...

. His father was Rainaldo, baron of

Rocca d'Evandro Rocca d'Evandro is a ''Comune'' (Municipality) in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about northwest of Naples and about northwest of Caserta. History Ancient Roman archaeological findings have been excavated in the ...

, and it is thought that his mother was a noble woman from the Gaetani family. The family inherited and occupied the Castle of

Mignano Mignano Monte Lungo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about northwest of Naples and about northwest of Caserta. Mignano Monte Lungo borders the following municipalities: Conca dell ...

Biography

Ettore served as a page to

Ferdinand I of Naples Ferdinando Trastámara d'Aragona, of the Naples branch, universally known as Ferrante and also called by his contemporaries Don Ferrando and Don Ferrante (2 June 1424, in Valencia – 25 January 1494, in Kingdom of Naples, Naples), was the only so ...

and later became a ''condottiero'' for Ferdinand II. As such he fought against

Charles VIII of France Charles VIII, called the Affable (french: l'Affable; 30 June 1470 – 7 April 1498), was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. He succeeded his father Louis XI at the age of 13.Paul Murray Kendall, ''Louis XI: The Universal Spider'' (Ne ...

in 1493, during the French invasion of Italy. He continued to serve Frederick IV against the kings of France and Spain, but after Frederick's defeat in 1501, he turned to serve

Prospero Colonna Prospero Colonna (1452–1523), sometimes referred to as Prosper Colonna, was an Italian condottiero in the service of the Papal States, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Kingdom of Spain during the Italian Wars. Biography A member of the ancient ...

against France for Spain in 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 ...

. In 1503 he led thirteen Italian knights to victory over thirteen French in 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 ...

(''Disfida di Barletta''). Later he served

Ferdinand the Catholic Ferdinand II ( an, Ferrando; ca, Ferran; eu, Errando; it, Ferdinando; la, Ferdinandus; es, Fernando; 10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), also called Ferdinand the Catholic (Spanish: ''el Católico''), was King of Aragon and Sardinia from ...

, king of Spain, who made him count of

Miglionico Miglionico ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Matera, in Basilicata, southern Italy Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisti ...

. Because he was stripped of some of his

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...

, he fought once more against Spain and France under the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

and

Fabrizio Colonna Fabrizio Colonna (c. 1450 – 18 March 1520) was an Italian condottiero, a member of the powerful Colonna family. He was the son of Edoardo Colonna and Filippa Conti. Fabrizio was born sometime before 1452. He was married to Agnese da Mont ...

. In 1512 he fought at the Battle of Ravenna. Reconciled with Ferdinand, he died in Spain in 1515.

Legacy

During the ''

Risorgimento The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

'' and the rise of

Fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

, he was presented as a national hero and became the subject of national celebrations. Massimo D'Azeglio wrote an 1833 novel '' Ettore Fieramosca'', in an effort to boost Italian patriotism. In 1909 and again in 1915 he was the main subject of two Italian silent films, both named ''Ettore Fieramosca''. In 1938, during the Fascist era,

Alessandro Blasetti Alessandro Blasetti (3 July 1900 – 1 February 1987) was an Italian film director and screenwriter who influenced Italian neorealism with the film ''Quattro passi fra le nuvole''. Blasetti was one of the leading figures in Italian cinema during ...

directed a sound film '' Ettore Fieramosca''. A more comical depiction of Ettore was performed by

Bud Spencer Carlo Pedersoli (31 October 1929 – 27 June 2016), known professionally as Bud Spencer, was an Italian actor, professional swimmer and water polo player. He was known for action-comedy and Spaghetti Western roles with his long-time film partn ...

in the 1976 film ''Il Soldato di Ventura''. Two warships, the

protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers re ...

and the

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

, were named after him.

Genealogy

Ettore was born with the surname Ferramosca, inherited through his paternal line from his great-grandfather Russo Ferramosca, born before 1405. As the result of his defeat of the French at the

, the people referred to ("renamed") him as Fieramosca (fiera = proud) a term which became associated with him as his surname. His family tree is shown on the right. Between the early 15th century until the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trento, Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italian Peninsula, Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation ...

(1545-1563), Italians added surnames to record baptisms, marriages and deaths and to monitor marriages between blood relatives. Most surnames were adopted from a person's trade, profession, place of birth or that of a famous person. Some decided to take on the name of their hero, as "Ferramosca" or "Fieramosca". These families grew in the provinces of Potenza, Lecce, Pescara and Veneto, with Fieramosca predominant in Sicily.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fieramosca, Ettore 1515 deaths 1476 births 15th-century Neapolitan people 15th-century condottieri 16th-century condottieri