250px, Francesco Maria Carafa. Francesco Maria Carafa (died 1642) was an Italian nobleman, 5th Duke of Nochera, a Knight of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...

and was

viceroy of Aragon This is a list of viceroys (or lieutenants) of the Kingdom of Aragon. *Alonso de Aragón, bishop of Zaragoza 1517-1520 *Juan de Lanuza y Torrellas 1520-1535 *Beltrán de la Cueva, 3rd Duke of Alburquerque 1535-1539 *Pedro Manrique de Luna y de Ur ...

and

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

and a military commander who commanded troops loyal to King

Philip IV of Spain Philip IV ( es, Felipe, pt, Filipe; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered f ...

Biography

Carafa married Anna Pignatelli, Marquess of Belmonte and later Giovanna Ruffo. In 1610, he rearranged his land holdings, selling the

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

Tiriolo Tiriolo is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region of southern Italy. It was the birthplace of Renaissance painter Marco Cardisco. "The houses in the historic center, perched like in a nativity scene, make up t ...

to the Duke of Messina. In 1625 he took part in the Siege of Breda and then transferred into the ranks of the

Neapolitan Neapolitan means of or pertaining to Naples, a city in Italy; or to: Geography and history * Province of Naples, a province in the Campania region of southern Italy that includes the city * Duchy of Naples, in existence during the Early and Hig ...

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

, where five years later he was appointed ''Master of the Field'' in the region near

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

and

Monferrato Montferrat (, ; it, Monferrato ; pms, Monfrà , locally ; la, Mons Ferratus) is part of the region of Piedmont in northern Italy. It comprises roughly (and its extent has varied over time) the modern provinces of Province of Alessandria, ...

. In 1633 his commanded troops during the Battle of Nördlingen against the

Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries ( sv, Stormaktstiden, "the Era of Great Power"). The beginning of the empire is usually ta ...

and secured a decisive victory for Spain. He then went to

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

in support of

Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand (also known as Don Fernando de Austria, Cardenal-Infante Fernando de España and as Ferdinand von Österreich; May 1609 or 1610 – 9 November 1641) was Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, Cardinal of the Holy Catholic ...

until he was recalled by Philip IV and appointed ''Commander General'' in

Guipúzcoa Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French depa ...

to take part in the (failed) plan to invade France. In 1639, Carafa was named

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

and ''Captain General'' of

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

and was named a Knight of the

. The following year he was named viceroy and ''Captain General'' of adjoining

. During 1641, Carafa questioned the domestic policies of

Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares Gaspar de Guzmán y Pimentel, 1st Duke of Sanlúcar, 3rd Count of Olivares, GE, known as the Count-Duke of Olivares (taken by joining both his countship and subsequent dukedom) (6 January 1587 – 22 July 1645), was a Spanish royal favourit ...

, especially in relation to the Catalan Revolt, and was imprisoned. He died in prison the following year. He was eventually exonerated by a posthumous trial.

Legacy

Each year in May, the citizens of Nocera gather in costume to watch actors playing Carafa and his bride come together in ceremonial marriage.Valle del Sarno:
Il patrimonio storico-culturale

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carafa, Francesco Maria 1642 deaths 17th-century Italian nobility Knights of the Golden Fleece Year of birth unknown