Facino Cane. Facino Cane da Casale (1360 – May 1412), born Bonifacio Cane, was an Italian condottiero.

Biography

Cane was born in Casale Monferrato to a noble family. He trained in the military arts by fighting under Otto of Brunswick against Charles of Durazzo, in 1382. At 26 he became condottiero for the

Scaliger The Della Scala family, whose members were known as Scaligeri () or Scaligers (; from the Latinized ''de Scalis''), was the ruling family of Verona and mainland Veneto (except for Venice) from 1262 to 1387, for a total of 125 years. History Wh ...

and, later,

Carraresi The House of Carrara or Carraresi (da Carrara) was an important family of northern Italy in the 12th to 15th centuries. The family held the title of Lords of Padua from 1318 to 1405. Under their rule, Padua conquered Verona, Vicenza, Treviso, F ...

families. In 1387 he was hired by Theodore II,

Marquess of Montferrat The Marquises and Dukes of Montferrat were the rulers of a territory in Piedmont south of the Po and east of Turin called Montferrat. The March of Montferrat was created by Berengar II of Italy in 950 during a redistribution of power in the no ...

, with 400 knights, in the war against the

House of Savoy The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...

. Facino's aim in wars was almost exclusively the enrichment of himself and his soldiers, resulting in savage acts of ruthlessness and cruelties against the population. This led Theodore to dismiss Facino in 1397, and the condottiero moved first back to the da Carrara and, in 1401, to the

Visconti Visconti is a surname which may refer to: Italian noble families * Visconti of Milan, ruled Milan from 1277 to 1447 ** Visconti di Modrone, collateral branch of the Visconti of Milan * Visconti of Pisa and Sardinia, ruled Gallura in Sardinia from ...

. In 1400 he had also created the small seigniory for himself in

Borgo San Martino Borgo San Martino is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about east of Turin and about northwest of Alessandria. Borgo San Martino borders the following municipalities: Casale Monf ...

. In 1404 his personal dominions included also Alessandria,

Novara Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It i ...

and

Tortona Tortona (; pms, Torton-a , ; lat, Dhertona) is a ''comune'' of Piemonte, in the Province of Alessandria, Italy. Tortona is sited on the right bank of the Scrivia between the plain of Marengo and the foothills of the Ligurian Apennines. History ...

. In 1402, at the death of Duke

Gian Galeazzo Visconti Gian Galeazzo Visconti (16 October 1351 – 3 September 1402), was the first duke of Milan (1395) and ruled the late-medieval city just before the dawn of the Renaissance. He also ruled Lombardy jointly with his uncle Bernabò. He was the foundi ...

, he assumed the effective control of the

Duchy of Milan The Duchy of Milan ( it, Ducato di Milano; lmo, Ducaa de Milan) was a state in northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti family, which had been ruling the city sin ...

. Facino died in

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the capit ...

in 1412: his widow

Beatrice Lascaris di Tenda Beatrice Lascaris di Tenda or Beatrice de Tende or Beatrix (c. 1372 – 1418), was an Italian noblewoman who was the wife of Facino Cane, Count of Biandrate and a condottiero, and then wife to Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan, who had h ...

married the new duke

Filippo Maria Visconti Filippo Maria Visconti (3 September 1392 – 13 August 1447)

, who therefore inherited the cities, the treasure and the soldiers of Facino.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cane, Facino 1360 births 1412 deaths People from Casale Monferrato 14th-century condottieri 15th-century condottieri Duchy of Milan people