Isabella of Balzo (24 June 1465 – 1533) was a

Queen consort of Naples This is a list of consorts of Naples. Many Kings of Naples had more than one wife; they may have divorced their wife or she might have died. Early Byzantine Duchesses of Naples :''See Also'': Dukes of Naples * Drosu, wife of Sergius I * Theo ...

. She was the second consort and only Queen consort of

Frederick of Naples Frederick (April 19, 1452 – November 9, 1504), sometimes called Frederick IV or Frederick of Aragon, was the last King of Naples from the Neapolitan branch of the House of Trastámara, ruling from 1496 to 1501. He was the second son of Ferdinan ...

. Isabella was also

suo jure ''Suo jure'' is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especi ...

Duchess of Andria and

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 Princess of Altamura.

Biography

Isabella was the daughter of Pietro Del Balzo, duke of Andria and Prince of Altamura, and Maria Donata

Orsini Orsini is a surname of Italian origin, originally derived from Latin ''ursinus'' ("bearlike") and originating as an epithet or sobriquet describing the name-bearer's purported strength. Notable people with the surname include the following: *Angel ...

of Venosa. Pietro had served as Grand Constable of the Kingdom of Naples but had been strangled to death in 1487. Isabella was in 1483 engaged to the heir of Naples, Francis, but he died prior to their wedding. Her father was imprisoned for having participated in a plot against the monarch. Isabella was by then engaged to the next heir to the crown of Naples, Frederick. The purpose of the marriage was to annex the territories of her parents in to the Kingdom of Naples. In the marriage contract, she was declared to be the heir of her parents' territories, despite the fact that she was not their eldest child, which meant that her

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...

s were to be inherited by her issue and then further in to the Neapolitan royal house. On 28 November 1487 in Andria, Isabella married Prince Frederick of Naples. He was the second son of Ferdinand I of Naples and his first consort,

Isabella of Clermont Isabella of Clermont ( – 30 March 1465), also known as Isabella of Taranto, was queen of Naples as the first wife of King Ferdinand I of Naples, and a feudatory of the kingdom as the holder and ruling Princess of the Principality of Taranto in ...

. Upon marriage, she was declared Duchess regnant of Andria and Venosa and Princess regnant of Altamura. After the wedding she therefore remained in the Castle of Andria in Apulia, rather than joining the royal court of Naples. In 1495, during the war against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, Isabella was ordered by Frederick to seize control over the Castle of Bari and repair its fortifications, which she did. She managed the administration of the territory and its taxation, and also entered into negotiations with the French. She was however forced to flee to Brindisi, and later joined her consort in

Otranto Otranto (, , ; scn, label=Salentino, Oṭṛàntu; el, label= Griko, Δερεντό, Derentò; grc, Ὑδροῦς, translit=Hudroûs; la, Hydruntum) is a coastal town, port and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce (Apulia, Italy), in a ferti ...

, before settling down in Lecce. On 7 September 1496, Frederick succeeded his childless nephew

Ferdinand II of Naples Ferdinando Trastámara d'Aragona, of the branch of Naples, known to contemporaries especially with the name of Ferrandino (Naples, 26 June 1467 - Naples, 7 October 1496). Acclaimed "the first among all the Kings and Lords of the World" and univer ...

. Isabella became his Queen consort for five years. At the time of his succession, Isabella was in Lecce. She was told of his succession on 12 October, and asked to join him in Naples. She traveled toward Naples by many of the cities in the kingdom, where she received celebrations of herself as queen. She was however forced to stay on her way in

Arienzo Arienzo is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy. It is located across the Appian Way. Main sights On the hill above the town are the ruins of the medieval castle dismantled by Roger II of Sicily in 1135 during ...

after a rebellion had erupted, and reached Naples in October 1497. Not until February 1498 was she able to reunite with Frederick as queen in Naples. A combination of King Louis XII of France and King Ferdinand II of Aragon had continued the claim of Louis' predecessor, King Charles VIII of France, to

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

and

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. In 1501 their alliance deposed Frederick; Naples initially went to Louis. Frederick and Isabella spent the following years in exile. Isabella initially escaped to

Ischia Ischia ( , , ) is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples, about from Naples. It is the largest of the Phlegrean Islands. Roughly trapezoidal in shape, it measures approximately east to west ...

with her children in August 1501, but later followed Frederick to France, where he was given an allowance. In 1503, they moved to the Duchy of Maine. Frederick died in

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metro ...

on 9 November 1504. His death gave Isabella grave financial difficulties. Isabella found a refuge for herself and younger children in the

Duchy of Ferrara The Duchy of Ferrara ( la, Ducatus Ferrariensis; it, Ducato di Ferrara; egl, Ducà ad Frara) was a state in what is now northern Italy. It consisted of about 1,100 km2 south of the lower Po River, stretching to the valley of the lower Reno ...

under the protection of Frederick's nephew Alfonso d'Este, and lived there until her death, never remarrying.George Nugent, "Jacquet's Tributes to the Neapolitan Aragonese," ''The journal of musicology'' VI/2 (spring 1988), pp. 198–226. She spent her later life in poverty and relied on charity from relatives. In 1526, she asked for help from the pope to support her daughters. Isabella was portrayed by

Baldassare Castiglione Baldassare Castiglione, Count of Casatico (; 6 December 1478 – 2 February 1529),Dates of birth and death, and cause of the latter, fro, ''Italica'', Rai International online. was an Italian courtier, diplomat, soldier and a prominent Renaissanc ...

as an ideal example of a woman and a queen to have bravely endured her many strikes by faith.

Issue

Ferdinand of Aragón, Duke of Calabria Ferdinand, Duke of Calabria (Spanish: ''Fernando de Aragón, Duque de Calabria'') (15 December 1488 – 20 October 1550) was a Neapolitan prince who played a significant role in the Mediterranean politics of the Crown of Aragon in the early 16t ...

(15 December 1488 – 1550). Married first

Germaine of Foix Ursula Germaine of Foix (french: Ursule-Germaine de Foix; ca, Úrsula Germana de Foix; ; c. 1488 – 15 October 1536) was an early modern French noblewoman from the House of Foix. By marriage to King Ferdinand II of Aragon, she was Queen of Ar ...

(her third marriage) and secondly Mencia of Mendoza, Marchiones Cenete. * Giulia d'Aragona (1492 – 10 March 1542). Married John George of Montferrat. *

Alfonso d'Aragona Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...

(1499–1515). * Isabella d'Aragona (1500-1550). * Cesare d'Aragona (1501–1501/03).

References

Sources

External links

Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 62 (2004)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Del Balzo, Isabella 1465 births 1533 deaths

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...

Princesses of Taranto Royal consorts of Naples 15th-century Neapolitan people