Sante I Bentivoglio (1426–June 24, 1462) was an Italian nobleman who ruled as

tyrant A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to re ...

or de facto prince of

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, 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 1 ...

from 1445 to 1462. Sante Bentivoglio

Officially the son of a poor blacksmith, he worked as a youth in the wool industry in Florence under another name, until he was alleged to be a natural son of Ercole Bentivoglio. He was educated at

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

in the court of

Cosimo de' Medici the Elder Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici (27 September 1389 – 1 August 1464) was an Italian banker and politician who established the Medici family as effective rulers of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance. His power derived from his wealth ...

and possessed a vast culture. Through his putative noble father, Sante can pretend to be a cousin of Annibale I Bentivoglio, at the time ruler of Bologna (also of dubious paternity). When Annibale was killed in an ambuscade by a rival family, the people of Bologna gave him the government of their city with the title of '' Gonfaloniere di Giustizia''. He was also named as sole tutor of Annibale's son,

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 ...

. The event transformed Sante from a Florentine popolano into the virtual prince of Bologna. It was with Sante Bentivoglio's seizure of power, encouraged by the Duke of Milan, that the

Signoria A signoria () was the governing authority in many of the Italian city states during the Medieval and Renaissance periods. The word signoria comes from ''signore'' , or "lord"; an abstract noun meaning (roughly) "government; governing authority; ...

was ultimately established in Bologna. In 1454 he married

Ginevra Sforza Ginevra Sforza (144016 May 1507) was the wife and counselor of Giovanni II Bentivoglio, lord of Bologna. Birth and first marriage Ginevra Sforza was born in Ancona in 1440, the illegitimate daughter of Alessandro Sforza, Lord of Pesaro. She mar ...

, then fourteen years old, the daughter of Alessandro Sforza, lord of Pesaro, establishing his family's close relationship with the

Sforza The House of Sforza () was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. They acquired the Duchy of Milan following the extinction of the Visconti family in the mid-15th century, Sforza rule ending in Milan with the death of the last me ...

dynasty. The two had two daughters: Costanza (1458–1491), who married Antonmaria Pico della Mirandola, and Ercola (1459–1505). He also had a son Ercole (1459-1507), who became a condottiero and fought for Florence in several successive wars. In 1457 the Pope and Sante Bentivoglio created a mixed constitutional state in Bologna. In 1460 Sante started building the impressive Palazzo Bentivoglio, which was destroyed in 1507 after the Bentivoglio were ousted from Bologna. He obtained from the pope's autonomy of government over the city and established a communal senate including local nobles and Papal representants. He worked in cooperation with the representatives of the pope:

Pius II Pope Pius II ( la, Pius PP. II, it, Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini ( la, Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus, links=no; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August ...

even visited Bologna two times in 1458 and 1459. It did not trust them however and said on one occasion: "The blood of my own kin has taught me a bitter lesson as to the little faith that can be placed in priests."Prescot, O., ''Princes of the Renaissance'', New York: Ransom House, 1969, p. 326. Politically, he allied with the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

, the House of Sforza and the

house of Medici The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the ...

, playing on the Venetian fear of both Milan and Florence. He died in Bologna in 1462 due to illness, being succeeded by Giovanni II Bentivoglio, Annibale's son, who later remarried his widow Ginevra. The great Bolognese historian Cherubino Ghirardacci wrote that 'Sante Bentivoglio had achieved the highest reputation, not just among the citizens of Bologna, but also among the lords of Italy, which was a marvellous thing'

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bentivoglio, Giovanni 2 1426 births 1462 deaths Sante 1