Don Álvaro de Sande (1489 – 20 October 1573) was a Spanish nobleman and military leader. He was born in Cáceres, the son of Don Juan de Sande, second señor de Valhondo. Don Alvaro de Sande participated in numerous campaigns in the Spanish Army, including the

Conquest of Tunis (1535) The conquest of Tunis occurred in 1535 when the Habsburg Emperor Charles V and his allies wrestled the city away from the control of the Ottoman Empire. Background In 1533, Suleiman the Magnificent ordered Hayreddin Barbarossa, whom he had summon ...

, the conquest of

Düren Düren (; Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: Düre) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between Aachen and Cologne, on the river Rur (river), Rur. History Roman era The area of Düren was part of Gallia Belgica, more specifically the ter ...

and

Roermond Roermond (; or ) is a city, municipality, and diocese in the Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg province of the Netherlands. Roermond is a historically important town on the lower Roer on the east bank of the river Meuse. It received City rights i ...

in 1543, and the grand

Battle of Mühlberg The Battle of Mühlberg took place near Mühlberg in the Electorate of Saxony in 1547, during the Schmalkaldic War. The Catholic princes of the Holy Roman Empire led by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V decisively defeated the Lutheran Schmal ...

in 1549, in which Sande distinguished himself. When the German Campaign ended, Sande fought in the

Italian War of 1551–1559 The Italian War of 1551–1559 began when Henry II of France declared war against Holy Roman Emperor Charles V with the intent of recapturing parts of Italy and ensuring French, rather than Habsburg, domination of European affairs. The war e ...

against France in the Tercios of Milan. Despite his advanced age, he participated in 1560 in the

Battle of Djerba The Battle of Djerba () took place in May 1560 near the island of Djerba, Tunisia. The Ottomans under Piyale Pasha's command overwhelmed a large joint Christian alliance fleet, composed chiefly of Spanish, Papal, Genoese, Maltese, and Neapol ...

against the Turks, which ended in disaster. After the sea battle, the surviving soldiers took refuge in the fort they had completed just days earlier. When

Giovanni Andrea Doria Giovanni Andrea Doria (1539 – 1606), also known as Gianandrea Doria, was an Italian admiral from Genoa, the Marquis of Tursi and Prince of Melfi. Biography Doria was born to a noble family of the Republic of Genoa. He was the son of Giann ...

managed to escape in a small vessel, de Sande became commander of the force in the fort, which was soon attacked by the combined forces of Piyale Pasha and Turgut Reis. After a siege of three months, the garrison surrendered and 5,000 prisoners, including Alvaro de Sande, were carried back to Istanbul. After 2 years, de Sande was ransomed for 60,000 escudos and returned to Spain. The

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

's ambassador to Constantinople, Ogier de Busbecq, assisted the Spanish prisoners held by the Turks and was involved in securing de Sande's release. The two men travelled together as far as Vienna in the autumn of 1562.Ogier de Busbecq (2005), ''Turkish Letters'', Eland, London, pp.115 - 158 De Sande fought against the Turks again at the Siege of Malta in 1565. Álvaro de Sande received Valdefuentes from King Philip II and was made first Marqués de la Piovera. He became interim

Governor of the Duchy of Milan The governor of Milan was a political and military office of the Duchy of Milan, the title of the representatives of the foreign sovereigns who held dominion over the Milanese area, substantially from the 16th century until the Unification of It ...

on 21 August 1571, a position that he held until 7 April 1572. He married Antonia de Guzmán and had a son Rodrigo de Sande, 2nd marquês de la Piovera. He died in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

Sources

El Periodico Extremadura (Spanish)

GeneAll.net

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sande, Alvaro De 1489 births 1573 deaths Governors of the Duchy of Milan Marquesses of Spain Spanish generals