Paolo Orsini (1450 – 18 January 1503) was an Italian

condottiero ''Condottieri'' (; singular ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian captains in command of mercenary companies during the Middle Ages and of multinational armies during the early modern period. They notably served popes and other Europe ...

in the service of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

, Ferdinand of Aragon and the

Republic of Florence The Republic of Florence, officially the Florentine Republic ( it, Repubblica Fiorentina, , or ), was a medieval and early modern state that was centered on the Italian city of Florence in Tuscany. The republic originated in 1115, when the Flo ...

. He was marquess of Atripalda and lord of

Mentana Mentana is a town and ''comune'', former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio, central Italy. It is located north-east of Rome and has a population of about 23,000. History Mentana's name in ...

, Palombara Sabina and Selci.

Life

An illegitimate son of cardinal

Latino Orsini Latino Orsini (1411 – 11 August 1477) was an Italian Cardinal. Of the Roman branch of the Orsini family The House of Orsini is an Italian noble family that was one of the most influential princely families in medieval Italy and Renai ...

, who belonged to the

Duchy of Bracciano The Duchy of Bracciano was a fief of the Papal States, centred on lago di Bracciano and the town of Bracciano itself and ruled by a branch of the Orsini family with the title of Lord (from 1417) and Duke (1560–1696). History The Orsini rul ...

branch, his mother's name is unknown. The cardinal legitimised him to safeguard the family inheritance. He commanded the papal guards in 1485 when he and his cousin Virginio tried to take over Rome, but Paolo had all his goods confiscated as a result in 1496. He entered

pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...

's service in 1497 and served alongside

Cesare Borgia Cesare Borgia (; ca-valencia, Cèsar Borja ; es, link=no, César Borja ; 13 September 1475 – 12 March 1507) was an Italian ex- cardinal and '' condottiero'' (mercenary leader) of Aragonese (Spanish) origin, whose fight for power was a major ...

in the latter's attempt to conquer

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

. He supported ''il Valentino'' in aiding the Duchy of Urbino who wished to return to ruling their state despite the Borgias' refusal to allow this. After capturing Senigallia the Borgia used deception to arrest the four noblemen it wished to eliminate for taking part in the Magione conspiracy, with

Vitellozzo Vitelli Vitellozzo Vitelli (c. 1458December 31, 1502) was an Italian condottiero. He was lord of Montone, Città di Castello, Monterchi and Anghiari. Biography Together with his father, Niccolò, who became lord of Città di Castello, and his brothers, ...

and

Oliverotto da Fermo Oliverotto Euffreducci, known as Oliverotto of Fermo (1475, Fermo – 31 December 1502, Senigallia), was an Italian condottiero and lord of Fermo during the pontificate of Alexander VI. His career is described in Niccolò Machiavelli's ''Il Princi ...

killed on 31 December 1502 by the assassin

Michelotto Corella Micheletto Corella (Micheletto Coreglia, Michele de Corella or Miguel de Corella) was a Valencian condottiero born on an unknown date in Valencia. He was killed in Milan in February 1508. Biography Known as '' Valentino's executioner'', he a ...

. Paolo and his cousin

Francesco Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name " Francis", is the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Francesco * Francesco I (disambiguation), sev ...

(fourth duke of Gravina and son of Raimondo Orsini) were both handed over at

Città della Pieve Città della Pieve is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Perugia in the Italian region Umbria, located in Valdichiana a few kilometres from the border between Umbria and Tuscany, and about southwest of Perugia and southeast of Chiusi ...

, where they were strangled on 18 January 1503. Plaque Senigallia Vitellozzo Vitelli et Oliverotto da Fermo

Marriage and issue

Paolo Orsini's first marriage was to Francesca Della Valle. In 1473 he remarried to Giulia Santacroce. He had four children: Pompeo Litta, in ''Famiglie celebri italiane. Orsini di Roma'', tav. 17, Torino, 1846. * Fabio (1476-1504),

, married Geronima

Borgia The House of Borgia ( , ; Spanish and an, Borja ; ca-valencia, Borja ) was an Italian-Aragonese Spanish noble family, which rose to prominence during the Italian Renaissance. They were from Valencia, the surname being a toponymic from the town ...

; *

Camillo Camillo is an Italian masculine given name, descended from Latin Camillus. Its Slavic cognate is Kamil. People with the name include: *Camillo Agrippa, Italian Renaissance fencer, architect, engineer and mathematician *Camillo Almici (1714–17 ...

(1491-1559), condottiero and politician, married Brigida Orsini; * Porzia, married to

; * Roberto (died 1525),

Archbishop of Reggio Calabria The Archdiocese of Reggio Calabria-Bova ( la, Archidioecesis Rheginensis-Bovensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Calabria, southern Italy. It received its current title in 1986, when the independe ...

and apostolic nuncio to

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

References

Bibliography (in Italian)

* Niccolò Machiavelli, ''Descrizione del modo tenuto dal Duca Valentino nello ammazzare Vitellozzo Vitelli, Oliverotto da Fermo, il Signor Pagolo e il duca di Gravina Orsini'', 1503 * Elena Martignoni, Michela Martignoni, ''Vortice d'inganni. Cesare Borgia e la congiura dei condottieri'', Milano, Corbaccio, 2007. * Gustavo Brigante Colonna, ''Gli Orsini'', Milano, Ceschina Editrice, 1955. * Ivan Cloulas, ''I Borgia'', Roma, Salerno Editrice, 1989. * Pompeo Litta, ''Famiglie celebri italiane. Orsini di Roma'', tav. 17, Torino, 1846. * Vincenzo Celletti, ''Gli Orsini di Bracciano'', Roma, Palombi Edizioni, 1963.

External link

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Orsini, Paolo

Paolo Paolo is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Paul. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Paolo Art *Paolo Alboni (1671–1734), Italian painter *Paolo Abbate (1884–1973), Italian-American s ...

1450 births 1503 deaths 15th-century condottieri