Marcantonio II Colonna (sometimes spelled Marc'Antonio; 1535 – August 1, 1584), Duke of Tagliacozzo and Duke and Prince of Paliano, was a Roman aristocrat who served as a

Viceroy of Sicily This is a list of viceroys of Sicily: Aragonese direct rule 1409–1516 * John of Aragon, Duke of Peñafiel, later king John II of Aragon, 1458–1479, acted 1409–1416. * Domingo Ram y Lanaja, Bishop of Lleida 1416–1419 * Antonio de Cardona ...

in the service of the

Spanish Crown , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

general, and

Captain General of the Church The captain general of the Church ( it, Capitano generale della Chiesa) was the ''de facto'' commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the Papal States during the Middle Ages. The post was usually conferred on an Italian or other noble with a p ...

. He is best remembered for his part as the admiral of the Papal fleet in the

Battle of Lepanto The Battle of Lepanto was a naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states (comprising Spain and its Italian territories, several independent Italian states, and the Soverei ...

Biography

Marcantonio Colonna, born in 1535 at Civita Lavinia, was a member of the noble

Colonna family 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 politi ...

of the

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

, then one of the most powerful feudal dynasties 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 ...

and the

Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily ( la, Regnum Siciliae; it, Regno di Sicilia; scn, Regnu di Sicilia) was a state that existed in the south of the Italian Peninsula and for a time the region of Ifriqiya from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 un ...

, which was under Spanish rule. His parents were Ascanio Colonna, Duke of Tagliacozzo, and

Giovanna d'Aragona Giovanna d'Aragona (1502–1575) was a patron of the arts, printers and religious reform in Naples during the Renaissance. Family She was the oldest daughter of Duke Ferdinando of Malteno and Castellana de Cardona. Her father was a younger son ...

. Due to acts of rebellion, he was disinherited by his father; but in 1562 Colonna was able to regain the family fiefs for himself, largely thanks to the support of

Pope Pius IV Pope Pius IV ( it, Pio IV; 31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1559 to his death in December 1565. Born in Milan, his family considered ...

. However, he had to forfeit several possessions, such as

Nemi Nemi is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome (central Italy), in the Alban Hills overlooking Lake Nemi, a volcanic crater lake. It is northwest of Velletri and about southeast of Rome. The town's name derives from the Lat ...

, Ardea, and Civita Lavinia, due his father, Ascanio, having left little money. In 1553–1554, during the war against

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...

, Colonna was made commander of the Spanish cavalry. At the

(7 October 1571), he commanded the papal ''Capitana'' (flagship) as part of the Centre division, where he rescued the flagship of commander Don John of Austria, the ''

Real Real may refer to: Currencies * Brazilian real (R$) * Central American Republic real * Mexican real * Portuguese real * Spanish real * Spanish colonial real Music Albums * ''Real'' (L'Arc-en-Ciel album) (2000) * ''Real'' (Bright album) (2010) ...

''. When the ''Real'' was almost taken by the Ottoman janissaries, Colonna came alongside, with the bow of his galley and mounted a counter-attack. With the help of Colonna, the Turks were pushed off the ''Real'' and the Ottoman flagship of Ali Pasha was boarded and swept. The entire crew of Ali Pasha's flagship was killed, including the commander himself. The banner of the Holy League was hoisted on the captured ship, breaking the morale of the Turkish galleys nearby.William Oliver Stevens and Allan F. Westcott, ''A History of Sea Power'', 1920, p. 105–106. Entry of Marcantonio Colonna to Rome, 1571

Entry of Marcantonio Colonna to Rome, 1571

On Colonna's return to Rome,

Pope Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII ( la, Gregorius XIII; it, Gregorio XIII; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585), born Ugo Boncompagni, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for ...

confirmed him as

. In 1577 King Philip II named Colonna as

. He was also Lord of Marino, then a village a few miles south of Rome, where the inhabitants honoured him with a great annual feast which still takes place today, under the name of "Sagra dell'uva". Colonna often stayed at

Avezzano Avezzano ( or ; nap, Avezzàne, label= Marsicano ) is a city and ''comune'' with a population of 40,819 inhabitants, situated in the Abruzzo region, province of L'Aquila, Italy. It is the second most populous municipality in the province and the ...

, where he had a fountain built and added a new floor in the castle, as well as a creating a

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...

by the

Fucine Lake The Fucine Lake ( it, Lago Fucino or ) was a large endorheic lake in western Abruzzo, central Italy, stretching from Avezzano in the northwest to Ortucchio in the southeast, and touching Trasacco in the southwest. Once the third largest lake in I ...

. Later in his life he moved to

L'Aquila L'Aquila ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy. It is the capital city of both the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila. , it has a population of 70,967 inhabitants. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valle ...

, where he lived in the house now called the Palazzo Porcinari. He had seven children, including cardinal

Ascanio Colonna Ascanio Colonna (1560–1608) was an Italian Cardinal who in his lifetime enjoyed a reputation for eloquence and learning.Franca Petrucci,Colonna, Ascanio, in ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'', vol. 27 (1982) Life Colonna was born in Mar ...

, Fabrizio Colonna (the father of Marcantonio III Colonna and Filippo I Colonna) and countess Vittoria Colonna de Cabrera.

References

External links

Biography (italian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colonna, Marcantonio People from Lanuvio Marcantonio II 1535 births 1584 deaths 16th-century Italian nobility Viceroys of Sicily 16th-century condottieri Spanish generals Captains General of the Church Military leaders of the Italian Wars People of the Ottoman–Venetian Wars Battle of Lepanto