{{Infobox noble, type , name = Jacopo Caldora , title = Duke of Bari , image = Il Condottiere.jpg , caption = , alt = , CoA = Coa fam ITA caldora

, more = no , succession = Duke of Bari , reign = {{nowrap, 11 October 1432 – 15 November 1439 , predecessor = Raimondo Orsini del Balzo , successor = Antonio Caldora , spouse = Medea d'Evoli
Jacovella da Celano , issue = Antonio Caldora
Berlingiero Caldora
Maria Caldora , noble family = Caldora , father = Giovanni Antonio Caldora , mother = Rita Cantelmo , birth_date = , birth_place =

Castel del Giudice Castel del Giudice is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Isernia in the Italian region of Molise, located about northwest of Campobasso and about north of Isernia. Castel del Giudice borders the following municipalities: Ateleta, Ca ...

, death_date = {{Death date and age, 1439, 11, 15, 1369, df=y , death_place =

Colle Sannita Colle Sannita (Campanian: ) is a (municipality) in the Province of Benevento in the Italian region Campania, located about northeast of Naples and about north of Benevento. Colle Sannita borders the following municipalities: Baselice, Castel ...

, burial_place = Badia Morronese,

Sulmona Sulmona ( nap, label= Abruzzese, Sulmóne; la, Sulmo; grc, Σουλμῶν, Soulmôn) is a city and ''comune'' of the province of L'Aquila in Abruzzo, Italy. It is located in the Valle Peligna, a plain once occupied by a lake that disappeared in ...

, religion =

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, occupation = , memorials = , website = , module = Jacopo Caldora or Giacomo Caldora (1369 – November 15, 1439) was an Italian condottiero.

Biography

Jacopo Caldora was born in

(

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...

in present-day

Molise it, Molisano (man) it, Molisana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 ...

, then part of the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

), into a feudatory family. He began his military career under

Braccio da Montone {{Infobox noble, type , name = Braccio da Montone , title = Prince of Capua , image = Braccio da Montone.jpg , caption = , alt = , CoA = , more = no , succession = Prince of Capua , reign = {{nowrap, July 1421 – 5 June 1424 , predecessor = R ...

, and, returned to his lands, expanded them by hiring mercenaries from the surrounding mountains. Called to the Neapolitan court by Queen Joan II of Anjou, he became a favourite of the powerful minister

Sergianni Caracciolo Giovanni Caracciolo, often called Sergianni (c. 1372 – 19 August 1432), was an Italian nobleman of the Kingdom of Naples, prime minister and favorite of queen Joan II of Naples. Due to his relationship with queen Joan (starting around 1416), ...

. He was the Feudal Lord of Anversa, Arce,

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...

Campo di Giove Campo di Giove is a town and ''comune'' in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. Its territory is included in the Majella National Park Maiella National Park ( it, Parco Nazionale della Maiella) is a national park loc ...

, Monteodorisio,

Pacentro Pacentro is a ''comune'' of 1,279 inhabitants of the province of L'Aquila in Abruzzo, Italy. It is a well-preserved historic medieval village located in central Italy, several kilometers from the City of Sulmona about east of Rome. Pacentro has ...

, Palena,

Trivento Trivento is a ''comune'' (municipality) and Catholic episcopal see in the Province of Campobasso in the southern Italian region Molise, located about northwest of Campobasso. Trivento borders the following municipalities: Castelguidone, Castelmau ...

, Valva and

Vasto Vasto ( Abruzzese: '; grc, Ἱστόνιον, Histonion}, la, Histonium) is a ''comune'' on the Adriatic coast of the Province of Chieti, in southern Abruzzo, Italy. During the Middle Ages it was called d''Guastaymonis'', '' Vasto d'Aimone'' or ...

. Jacopo was the son of Giovanni Antonio Caldora, and Rita Cantelmo, a noblewoman of the powerful Cantelmo Family of French origin. He had two brothers, Restaino and Raimondo. Castello Caldoresco di Vasto - anteriore

Castello Caldoresco di Vasto - anteriore

In the political turmoil of the period, Caldora later became a general of Alfonso V of Aragon in his conquest of the Kingdom. When the Aragonese troops were left under siege in Naples, he changed sides again, winning the title of ''gran connestabile'' from Queen Joan, and serving as assistant to the Kingdom's commander-in-chief Muzio Attendolo Sforza. When the latter drowned before the Battle of L'Aquila in 1424, Caldora led the Angevine army to victory. He subsequently continued to defend the Anjou cause after Alfonso's return. In 1431 he was sent to fight against the excommunicated

Colonna The House of Colonna, also known as ''Sciarrillo'' or ''Sciarra'', is an Italian noble family, forming part of the papal nobility. It was powerful in medieval and Renaissance Rome, supplying one pope (Martin V) and many other church and politic ...

in southern

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, but he was bribed by them and remained inactive. When his protector Sergianni Caracciolo died, and the marriage of his daughter Maria to

Francesco Sforza Francesco I Sforza (; 23 July 1401 – 8 March 1466) was an Italian condottiero who founded the Sforza dynasty in the duchy of Milan, ruling as its (fourth) duke from 1450 until his death. In the 1420s, he participated in the War of L'A ...

was annulled by Pope Martin V, he returned to his lands. He died during a siege at

, near

Benevento Benevento (, , ; la, Beneventum) is a city and ''comune'' of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the ...

. He was buried by his family in a chapel of the Abbey of the Holy Spirit (also known as Badia Morronese), near

. This chapel and an elaborate sarcophagus was built by his mother for the family in 1412. His son Antonio Caldora was also a successful condottiero who later sided with the Anjou faction against Ferdinand of Aragon. This led to his defeat and the end of the Caldora dynasty at the Siege of

in 1464.

Sources

* {{cite book, last=Rendina, first=Claudio, title=I capitani di ventura, publisher=Newton Compton, location=Rome, year=1994 {{DEFAULTSORT:Caldora, Jacopo 1369 births 1439 deaths 14th-century condottieri Lords of Italy People from the Province of Isernia 14th-century Italian nobility 15th-century Italian nobility 15th-century condottieri