Francesco Maria Pico (Concordia sulla Secchia, 30 September 1688 – Madrid, 26 November 1747), also known as Francesco Maria II Pico della Mirandola to distinguish him from his father, was an Italian nobleman, third Duke of Mirandola and fourth Marquis of Concordia. Nicknamed 'il Duchino', because he became sovereign at the age of just over 2 years, he was the last member of the Pico family to reign over 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 ...

, which with him put an end to its independence: in fact, the sovereign was deposed in 1708 following the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

and in 1710 the Duchy was sold to Rinaldo d'Este and annexed to the

Duchy of Modena and Reggio The Duchy of Modena and Reggio ( Emilian: ''Duchêt ed Mòdna e Rèz'', it, Ducato di Modena e Reggio, la, Ducatus Mutinae et Regii) was an Italian state created in 1452 located in Northwestern Italy, in the present day region of Emilia-Romagn ...

. Since both of his marriages turned out to be sterile, the direct line of the Pico della Mirandola rulers became extinct with him.

Life

Born in Concordia, he was the son of Francesco Maria I Pico (who died on 19 April 1689 at just 27 years of age) and Anna Camilla Borghese, Princess of Cellamare and daughter of Giovanni Battista Borghese, Prince of Sulmona. Shortly afterwards, Francesco Maria was also abandoned by his mother, after bitter disagreements with the Pico family. When his grandfather Alessandro II Pico della Mirandola died on 2 February 1691, he received the fiefdom, which he governed under the guardianship of his aunt Brigida Pico (1633–1720). His rule began in 1706 and he sided with

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 ...

in the War of the Spanish Succession: Concordia was set on fire and devastated. During the siege of Mirandola in 1705, he signed a treaty with the

King of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the Kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I () as the first ...

in Modena, at the same time being appointed lieutenant general and Mirandola placed under a French garrison. As a consequence of this, in 1706 in Vienna he was declared forfeit for felony against the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

and expelled from the

Prince Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy–Carignano, (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736) better known as Prince Eugene, was a Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th a ...

. In 1708 all the Pico family's property was confiscated. In 1710, the Duchy of Mirandola was sold to Rinaldo d'Este, Duke of Modena for the sum of 200,000 Spanish doubles (equivalent to a tonn of gold). Francesco Maria found refuge in

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 ...

, with his cousin

Alessandro Alessandro is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Alexander. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Alessandro * Alessandro Allori (1535–1607), Italian portrait painter * Alessandro Baricco ...

(known as Abbot Pico), under the protection of King

Philip V Philip V may refer to: * Philip V of Macedon (221–179 BC) * Philip V of France (1293–1322) * Philip II of Spain, also Philip V, Duke of Burgundy (1526–1598) * Philip V of Spain Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was ...

, who appointed him ''

Caballerizo mayor The Caballerizo mayor (Great Equerry) was the Officer of the Royal Household and Heritage of the Crown of Spain in charge of the trips, the mews and the hunt of the King of Spain. Regime during the 16th to 18th centuries The Office of “Cabal ...

'' in May 1715, and '' Mayordomo mayor del Rey de España'' in 1738. On 14 June 1716, he married Duchess María Teresa Spínola y de la Cerda, daughter of Duke Carlos Felipe Antonio Spinola (fourth Duke of Sextus and Marquis of

Los Balbases Los Balbases is a municipality located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE INE, Ine or ine may refer to: Institutions * Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German nuclear research center * Ins ...

as well as ''Grande de España''), who drowned on 15 September 1723 during a flood that swept through their house in Madrid; Francesco Pio di Savoia also died in the tragedy. In 1744 he married in second marriage Maria Guadalupe Fitz-James Stuart y Colón de Portugal (1725-1750), daughter of

James Fitz-James Stuart, 2nd Duke of Berwick James Francis (Jacobo Francisco) Fitz-James Stuart, 2nd Duke of Berwick, 2nd Duke of Liria and Xérica (Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France, 21 October 1696 – Naples, Italy, 2 June 1738) was a Jacobite and Spanish nobleman. He inherited titles i ...

and Catalina Ventura Colón de Portugal, 8th Duchess of Veragua. He died in Madrid in 1747, without sons.

References

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* * .

Life

References

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See also