Giovanni de' Rossi (21 November 1431 – 1502) was an Italian

condottiero Condottieri (; singular: ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian military leaders active during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The term originally referred specifically to commanders of mercenary companies, derived from the ...

and the fifth count of San Secondo. He was nicknamed 'il diseredato' (the disinherited).

Biography

The eldest son of

Pier Maria II de' Rossi file:BERCETO_-_Ruderi_del_castello_04.JPG, 250px, Remains of the Castle of Berceto Pier Maria Rossi or Pier Maria II de' Rossi (25 March 1413 – 1 September 1482) was an Italian condottiere and count of a region around present San Secondo Parmense ...

and Antonia Torelli, he was born in San Secondo and was so different to his father (especially in politics) that he ended up disinheriting him in his 1464 will in favour of his legitimate sons

Guido Guido is a given name. It has been a male first name in Italy, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Argentina, the Low Countries, Scandinavia, Spain, Portugal and Latin America, as well as other places with migration from those. Regarding origins, there ...

and Bernardo and his illegitimate son Ottaviano (

Arluno Arluno ( , locally ''Arlugn'' ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about west of Milan. Arluno borders the following municipalities: Parabiago, Nerviano, Pogliano Milanese, ...

). Giovanni was thus exiled with nothing and entered the service of the king of France, though he continued to claim the inheritance which had been denied him. When Pier Maria II died on 1 September 1482 in the midst of the Rossi War against

Sforza The House of Sforza () was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. Sforza rule began with the family's acquisition of the Duchy of Milan following the extinction of the Visconti of Milan, Visconti family in the mid-15th century and ...

troops under

Ludovico il Moro Ludovico Maria Sforza (; 27 July 1452 – 27 May 1508), also known as Ludovico il Moro (; 'the Moor'), and called the "arbiter of Italy" by historian Francesco Guicciardini,

and Pier Maria II's own son

, the succession became even more tangled. He attempted a last-ditch defence of the castle at San Secondo in 1483 before fleeing to

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, where he died in exile in 1490. Giovanni refused to back either side during the war, as did his brother

Bertrando Bertrando (February 18, 1989 – March 27, 2014) was an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. A tall colt that grew to 16 hands 2 inches, Bertrando was bred by Ed Nahem at River Edge Farm in Buellton, California. He was sired by Skywal ...

. However, thanks to good relations with

Gian Giacomo Trivulzio Gian Giacomo Trivulzio (1440 or 1441 – 5 December 1518) was an Italian aristocrat and ''condottiero'' who held several military commands during the Italian Wars. Biography Trivulzio was born in Milan, where he studied, among others, wi ...

, Trivulzio returned the fiefdom of San Secondo to Giovanni, by then an old man Between 1497 and 1499 Giovanni and Gian Giacomo served under

Louis XII of France Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), also known as Louis of Orléans was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples (as Louis III) from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Marie of Cleves, he succeeded his second ...

and after Ludovico il Moro's fall the French king officially reinstated Giovanni in all his fiefdoms in 1499. He died at San Secondo in 1502 and was succeeded as count by his son Troilo I. The conflict provoked by Pier Maria II's will was finally fully resolved by the Battle of San Secondo in 1522.

Marriage and issue

Giovanni married Angela Scotti Douglas, daughter of Francesco Scotti Douglas, count of Carpaneto and Vigoleno. They had four children: * Troilo I de' Rossi * Ettore de' Rossi * Alessandro de' Rossi * Pentesilea de' Rossi

Notes

References

Sources

* Pellegri Marco, ''Il castello e la terra di San Secondo nella storia dell'arte'', 1979 * Giuseppe Maria Cavalli,'' Cenni storici della Borgata di San Secondo'', 1870 * ''Le signorie dei Rossi di Parma'', am L. Arcangeli and M. Gentile (ed.), Florence 2008

External links

* http://www.cortedeirossi.it/ * http://www.borgodelpozzo.it/ * http://www.paliodellecontrade.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Rossi, Giovanni de 15th-century condottieri Counts of San Secondo category:1431 births category:1502 deaths

Giovanni Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...