Fabrizio del Carretto (1455 – 10 January 1521) was an Italian nobleman and the 43rd Grand Master of the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...

from 1513 to 1521. Carretto was born in

Finale Ligure Finale Ligure ( lij, O Finâ, locally ; la, Finarium) is a ''comune'' on the Gulf of Genoa in the Province of Savona in Liguria, Italy. It is considered part of the Italian Riviera. Geography Known for its white sand beaches and its views, Final ...

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

in 1455, the fourth child of Giovanni del Carretto, Marquis of Finale, and of his wife, Valentina Adorno, daughter of Barnaba Adorno,

Doge of Genoa The Doge of Genoa ( lij, Dûxe, ; la, Januensium dux et populi defensor, "Commander of the Genoese and Defender of the People") was the ruler of the Republic of Genoa, a city-state and soon afterwards a maritime republic, from 1339 until the s ...

. His older brother was Cardinal

Carlo Domenico del Carretto Carlo Domenico del Carretto (1454– 15 August 1514) was an Italian papal legate and Cardinal. He was called ''the Cardinal of Finale''. Biography He was born to a noble family of Finale Ligure, the son of Giovanni I Lazzarino, marquis of Fina ...

. Having entered the Knights Hospitaller at a young age, Carretto spent some years in

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...

but in 1491 he returned to Italy, where he obtained from

Pope Innocent VIII Pope Innocent VIII ( la, Innocentius VIII; it, Innocenzo VIII; 1432 – 25 July 1492), born Giovanni Battista Cybo (or Cibo), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1484 to his death in July 1492. Son of th ...

the

commandry In the Middle Ages, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and G ...

of Santa Maria of the Temple of the Holy Cross in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. An able organizer, Carretto was repeatedly instructed by the Order to set up galleys and ships in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

to be used in the defence of Rhodes, and in 1500 he was appointed captain of the galleys. However, in 1502 he settled in Rome because the Grand Master made him Procurator General of the Order to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

. In 1505 he became bailiff of St. Euphemia. In 1509 he became Admiral of the Order and, consequently, head of the Italian Langue. He was entrusted with important tasks by

Pope Julius II Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or th ...

, whom he accompanied to the

Fifth Council of the Lateran The Fifth Council of the Lateran, held between 1512 and 1517, was the eighteenth ecumenical council of the Catholic Church and was the last council before the Protestant Reformation and the Council of Trent. It was convoked by Pope Julius II to ...

in 1512. He then returned to Rhodes, where he conducted two ships in the service of the Order. On November 24, 1513, Grand Master Guy de Blanchefort died near the island of

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 ...

, but the news did not reach Rhodes until December 13. Two days later on December 15 Carretto was elected Grand Master.Villeneuve-Bargemont, t. 1, p. 243. In the seven years of his government he strengthened the defenses of the city of Rhodes and the other islands of the

Dodecanese The Dodecanese (, ; el, Δωδεκάνησα, ''Dodekánisa'' , ) are a group of 15 larger plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Turkey's Anatolia, of which 26 are inhabited. ...

, providing the fortresses with abundant food supplies and artillery. Carretto died in Rhodes, after a short illness, on January 10, 1521. He was the last Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller to die in Rhodes. During the reign of his successor

Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam Fra' Philippe de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam (1464 – 21 August 1534) was a prominent member of the Knights Hospitaller at Rhodes and later Malta. Having risen to the position of Prior of the ''Langue of Auvergne'', he was elected 44th Grand ...

, the Order lost Rhodes to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

and later moved to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

in 1530.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carretto, Fabrizio del Italian knights Grand Masters of the Knights Hospitaller 1455 births 1521 deaths Rhodes under the Knights Hospitaller