Alfonso d'Avalos d'Aquino, 6th Marquis of

Pescara Pescara (; ; ) is the capital city of the province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo Regions of Italy, region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 118,657 (January 1, 2023) residents (and approximately 350,000 including the surround ...

, 2nd Marquis of

Vasto Vasto ( Abruzzese: '; , ) is a ''comune'' on the Adriatic coast of the Province of Chieti, in southern Abruzzo, Italy. During the Middle Ages it was called ''Guastaymonis'', '' Vasto d'Aimone'' or ''Waste d'Aimone''. Fascist Italy called the city ...

(1502 – 31 March 1546), was an Italian ''

condottiero Condottieri (; singular: ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian military leaders active during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The term originally referred specifically to commanders of mercenary companies, derived from the ...

'' of Aragonese origins, renowned for his service in favour of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain.

Biography

He was born in

Ischia Ischia ( , , ) is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples, about from the city of Naples. It is the largest of the Phlegrean Islands. Although inhabited since the Bronze Age, as a Ancient G ...

, as the son of Inigo d'Avalos (1467–1503) and his wife, Laura Sanseverino (d. 1512). He was a cousin of Francesco Ferdinando I d'Ávalos, whose titles he inherited after 1525. He fought the French and the Venetians by his side. He fought at the

Battle of Pavia The Battle of Pavia, fought on the morning of 24 February 1525, was the decisive engagement of the Italian War of 1521–1526 between the Kingdom of France and the Habsburg Empire of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, Holy Roman Empero ...

(

1525 Year 1525 ( MDXXV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 21 – The Anabaptist Movement is born when Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and about a dozen others ...

). During the period 1526-1528, he fought under Hugo of Moncada, being captured on 28 April

1528 __NOTOC__ Year 1528 ( MDXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar, there is also a Leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 12 – Gustav I of Sweden is ...

by the Genoese captain

Filippino Doria Filippo or Filippino Doria (between 1470 and 1480, in Genoa – between 1548 and 1558) was a Genoese admiral from a cadet branch of the Doria family. Life He was one of two sons of Bartolomeo Doria and Lucrezia Del Carretto, making him a nephew ...

at the Capo d'Orso. In July 1535, he served as Imperial lieutenant during the reconquest of the city of

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

in North Africa. The failure of the third war against France trying to invade

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

, and the death of the first

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 ...

, Antonio de Leyva, prompted him in 1538 to accept the nomination as governor, replacing Marino Caracciolo, the second governor, becoming some sort of protector of literary and musical people . Wars with the French and North Italians ended for a while with the Treaty of Crespy (1544). He also became a Knight in the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...

. He later represented Emperor Charles V as an ambassador, in 1538, on the succession to the new Doge of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

, Pietro Lando. He commanded the Imperial army in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

during the Italian War of 1542 and was defeated by the French at the Battle of Ceresole. However, in the Battle of Serravalle on 2 June 1544, an aftermath of the Italian War of 1542, he managed to defeat a force of freshly raised Italian mercenaries in French service, commanded by Pietro Strozzi and Giovanni Francesco Orsini, count of Pitigliano.

Personal life

On 26 November 1523, he married Maria d'Aragona (1503–1568), daughter of Duke Ferdinando di Montalto and his wife, Catalina Cardona. She was a paternal granddaughter of King Ferdinand I of

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. They had 5 children: *

Innico d'Avalos d'Aragona Innico d'Avalos d'Aragona (1535/36–1600) was an Italian Cardinal (Catholicism), Cardinal, from Naples. He was the son of condottiero Alfonso d'Avalos and Maria d'Aragona, from the family of the , Spanish nobility. In 1563, he constructed the ...

, (1536–1600), an Italian Cardinal * Francesco Ferdinando d'Ávalos (1537–1571), commander in chief of the Spanish army in Lombardy and Piedmont * Donna Antonia d'Avalos (1538–1567) * Cesare d'Avalos (1536–1614) * Beatrice d'Avalos (1533–1558)

References

* * *Gran Enciclopedia de España, 22 volumes, 11,052 pages, (1991), vol 3, page 1,109 1502 births 1546 deaths People from the Metropolitan City of Naples 16th-century condottieri Military leaders of the Italian Wars

Alfonso 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. I ...

Generals of the Holy Roman Empire {{Italy-noble-stub