Giovanni Caracciolo, often called Sergianni (c. 1372 – 19 August 1432), was an Italian nobleman of the Kingdom of Naples, prime minister and

favorite A favourite (British English) or favorite (American English) was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In post-classical and early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated si ...

of queen

Joan II of Naples Joanna II (25 June 1371 – 2 February 1435) was reigning Queen of Naples from 1414 to her death, upon which the Capetian House of Anjou became extinct. As a mere formality, she used the title of Queen of Jerusalem, Sicily, and Hungary. Earl ...

. Due to his relationship with queen Joan (starting around 1416), Caracciolo was able to attain for himself a considerable amount of power in the Neapolitan court and a great amount of wealth. Around 1425 he was '' siniscalco'' (

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

) of Naples, count of Avellino, lord of

Capua Capua ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, situated north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. History Ancient era The name of Capua comes from the Etrus ...

Melfi Melfi ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Vulture area of the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. Geographically, it is midway between Naples and Bari. In 2015 it had a population of 17,768. Geography On ...

Venosa Venosa ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata, in the Vulture area. It is bounded by the comuni of Barile, Ginestra, Lavello, Maschito, Montemilone, Palazzo San Gervas ...

and numerous other fiefs in

Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...

and Apulia. Sergianni managed to obtain an increased power in the realm, until he controlled its politics and finances almost entirely. He was behind the decision to abandon the pope's support, which eventually led to the invasion of

Louis III of Anjou Louis III (25 September 1403 – 12 November 1434) was a claimant to the Kingdom of Naples from 1417 to 1426, as well as count of Provence, Forcalquier, Piedmont, and Maine and duke of Anjou from 1417 to 1434. As the heir designate to the throne of ...

and to Joan's decision to adopt Alfonso V of Aragon as her heir. Alfonso had Sergianni arrested in May 1423. However, as the Aragonese soldiers had failed to capture Joan in the siege of

Castel Capuano Castel Capuano is a castle in Naples, southern Italy. It takes its name from the fact that it was at that point in the city walls where the road led out to the city of Capua. The castle is at the southwest end of via dei Tribunali, and until re ...

, Sergianni was freed and fled to Aversa with the queen. The situation cleared when Alfonso was called back to Spain, and the queen returned to Naples together with Louis, to whom she was then betrothed. As the latter was a feeble figure who immediately retired to his fiefs in Calabria, the power of Sergianni further increased. Sergianni's exceeding ambition may have pushed Joan to plot his assassination in 1432. On 19 August 1432, Sergianni Caracciolo was stabbed by four knights in the service of the queen in his room in

. His elaborate sculpted tomb is located in the church of San Giovanni a Carbonara in Naples.Napoli nobilissima: rivista di topografia ed arte napoletana
Volumes 7-9, by NF Faraglia, page 20-23.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caracciolo, Giovanni 1372 births 1432 deaths Assassinated Italian politicians Italian nobility Male lovers of royalty

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 ...

Deaths by stabbing in Italy