Francesco Ferdinando d’Ávalos d'Aquino, 7th Marquis of Pescara, 3rd Marquis of Vasto ( 1530 – 1571 in

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

), was commander in chief of the Spanish army in

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

and

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

, governor of the State of Milan (1560–1563) 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 ...

(1568–1571). Francesco Ferdinando was the son of Alfonso d'Avalos, VI marquis of Pescara and II of Vasto. Still a child, he was named in 1536 ''Gran Camerlengo'' of the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...

. At the head of the Spanish army in

and

since December 1555, he achieved an advantageous truce with France in March 1556, concluding the successful campaign started by the

Duke of Alba Duke of Alba de Tormes (), commonly known as Duke of Alba, is a title of Spanish nobility that is accompanied by the dignity of Grandee of Spain. In 1472, the title of ''Count of Alba de Tormes'', inherited by García Álvarez de Toledo, wa ...

. He was then

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 ...

(1560–1563) and

(1568–1571), where he diminished the power of the local barons and the Deputation. 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 ...

. In 1552 he married Isabella Gonzaga, daughter of Federico II Gonzaga. They had: * Alfonso Felice d'Avalos d'Aquino d'Aragona (1564–1593), prince of Francavilla and his successor. * Tommaso d'Avalos d'Aquino d'Aragona (died 1622), count of Castelluccio,

Latin Patriarch of Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

between 1611 and 1622.

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