Francesco Caetani, 8th Duke of Sermoneta, (11 March 1594 – 9 October 1683) was an Italian nobleman in the service of the King of Spain.

Biography

He was born in the noble Roman Caetani family as son of Filippo Caetani, VII Duke of Sermoneta and his wife, Camilla Caetani of Aragon of the Dukes of Traetto.
Aged 15, he came to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

with his uncle, cardinal Antonio Caetani (iuniore), where he was a royal page. In 1617 he became a

Grandee of Spain Grandee (; , ) is an official royal and noble ranks, aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the , though in neither country did they ha ...

and returned to his estates in Italy, which were in serious financial problems. In 1626, he became a Gentleman of the chamber of King Philip IV.
After the death of his first wife Anna Acquaviva d'Aragona in 1659, he was engaged and later married Leonor Pimentel Moscoso y Toledo, daughter of Antonio Pimentel Enríquez de Guzmán y Toledo. The support of his future wife and her influential family played a decisive role in Caetani's career. He 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 ...

in 1659,

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 ...

from March 1660 to September 1662, and

Viceroy of Sicily A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

from September 1662 to April 1667.

References

TreccaniReal Academia de la Historia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caetani, Francesco 1594 births 1683 deaths

Francesco Francesco, the Italian language, Italian (and original) version of the personal name "Francis (given name), Francis", is one of the List of most popular given names, most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name inclu ...

Governors of the Duchy of Milan Viceroys of Sicily Dukes in Italy