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
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