Francesco Maria I

della Rovere The House of Della Rovere (; literally "of the oak tree") was a powerful Italian noble family. It had humble origins in Savona, in Liguria, and acquired power and influence through nepotism and ambitious marriages arranged by two Della Rovere p ...

(25 March 1490 – 20 October 1538) 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 ...

, who was

Duke of Urbino The Duchy of Urbino () was an independent duchy in early modern central Italy, corresponding to the northern half of the modern region of Marche. It was directly annexed by the Papal States in 1631. It was bordered by the Adriatic Sea in the ea ...

from 1508 to 1516 and, after retaking the throne from

Lorenzo II de' Medici Lorenzo may refer to: People * Lorenzo (name) Places Peru * San Lorenzo Island (Peru), sometimes referred to as the island of Lorenzo United States * Lorenzo, Illinois * Lorenzo, Texas * San Lorenzo, California, formerly Lorenzo * Lorenzo State ...

, from 1521 to 1538.

Biography

Francesco was born in

Senigallia Senigallia (or Sinigaglia in Old Italian; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and port town on Italy's Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coast. It is situated in the province of Ancona, in the Italian region of Marche, and lies approximately 30 kilometres nor ...

, the son of the Papal captain and lord of that city, Giovanni della Rovere, and Giovanna da Montefeltro, daughter of

Federico III da Montefeltro Federico da Montefeltro, also known as Federico III da Montefeltro KG (7 June 1422 – 10 September 1482), was one of the most successful mercenary captains (''condottieri'') of the Italian Renaissance, and lord of Urbino from 1444 (as Duke f ...

. He was also the nephew of

Giuliano della Rovere Pope Julius II (; ; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death, in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope, the Battle Pope or the Fearsome ...

, Pope Julius II. His uncle Guidobaldo I of Urbino, who was without an heir, summoned him to his court and made him heir of that dukedom in 1504, through the intercession of Julius II. In 1502 the della Rovere had lost the seigniory of Senigallia, occupied by

Cesare Borgia Cesare Borgia (13 September 1475 – 12 March 1507) was a Cardinal (Catholic Church)#Cardinal_deacons, cardinal deacon and later an Italians, Italian ''condottieri, condottiero''. He was the illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI of the Aragonese ...

, then the most powerful figure in the

Marche Marche ( ; ), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches ( ) from the Italian name of the region (Le Marche), is one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the Central Italy, central area of the country, ...

: Francesco Maria and his mother were saved from the slaughter perpetrated by Borgia's troops by the then-land soldier

Andrea Doria Andrea Doria, Prince of Melfi (; ; 30 November 146625 November 1560) was an Italian statesman, ', and admiral, who played a key role in the Republic of Genoa during his lifetime. From 1528 until his death, Doria exercised a predominant influe ...

. When in 1508 Guidobaldo died, Francesco Maria became

duke of Urbino The Duchy of Urbino () was an independent duchy in early modern central Italy, corresponding to the northern half of the modern region of Marche. It was directly annexed by the Papal States in 1631. It was bordered by the Adriatic Sea in the ea ...

; thanks to the support of his uncle the pope he could also recover Senigallia after Borgia's death. In 1508 he married Eleonora Gonzaga (1493–1570), daughter of

Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua Francesco II Gonzaga (10 August 1466 – ) was the ruler of the Italian city of Mantua from 1484 until his death. Biography Francesco was born in Mantua, the son of Marquis Federico I Gonzaga. Francesco had a career as a condottiero acting as V ...

and

Isabella d'Este Isabella d'Este (19 May 1474 – 13 February 1539) was the Marchioness of Mantua and one of the leading women of the Italian Renaissance as a major cultural and political figure. She was a patron of the arts as well as a leader of fashion ...

In 1509 he was appointed as (commander-in-chief) of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

, and subsequently fought in the

Italian Wars The Italian Wars were a series of conflicts fought between 1494 and 1559, mostly in the Italian Peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and Mediterranean Sea. The primary belligerents were the House of Valois, Valois kings o ...

against

Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...

and

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

. In 1511, after he had failed to conquer

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, he had the cardinal Francesco Alidosi killed by his troops, a cruel action for which he was compared to Borgia himself. In 1513 he was created also lord of

Pesaro Pesaro (; ) is a (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, capital of the province of Pesaro and Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the ...

. However, the death of Julius II deprived him of his main political patron, and under the new pope,

Leo X Pope Leo X (; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political and banking Me ...

, Pesaro was given to the latter's nephew,

. In 1516 he was excommunicated and ousted from Urbino, which he tried unsuccessfully to recover the following year. He could return in his duchy only after Leo's death in 1521. Della Rovere fought as captain general 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 ...

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 ...

during the Italian Wars of 1521 (1523–1525), but with the new Medici Pope,

Clement VII Pope Clement VII (; ; born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the most unfortunate of ...

, the della Rovere were increasingly marginalized. As supreme commander of the Holy League, his inaction against the Imperial invasion troops is generally listed as one of the causes of the Sack of Rome (1527). He was a protagonist of the capture of

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

in the late 1520s, and later fought for the

. Later he arranged the marriage of son Guidobaldo to Giulia

da Varano The Da Varano was an Italian noble family who had an important role in the medieval and Renaissance history of central Italy, as rulers of Camerino and other lands in the Marche and Umbria. Overview The family is first mentioned in the 13th ...

(belonging to another former seigniory family of the region) to counter the Papal power in the

. He died in Pesaro, poisoned. Some scholars suggest that '' The Murder of Gonzago'', an unknown play referenced in

William Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

'' Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', which is itself later reworked by Hamlet into ''The Mousetrap'' (the play within the play), may have been a popular theatrical reenactment of Della Rovere's death and may have been portrayed in England's early theaters during the

Elizabethan Era The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female ...

Issue

Francesco and Eleanora had: *Federico della Rovere (1511 – died aged two months). * Guidobaldo II della Rovere (2 April 1514 – 28 September 1574), married Giulia Varano and had issue; married Vittoria Farnese (daughter of

Pier Luigi Farnese, Duke of Parma Pier Luigi Farnese (19 November 1503 – 10 September 1547) was the first Duke of Castro from 1537 to 1545 and the first Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1545 to 1547. He was the illegitimate son of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (who later became ...

) had issue (ancestors of Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina). * Ippolita della Rovere (1515–1561), married Antonio of Aragon, Duke of Montalto. *Giovanna della Rovere (1515–1518). *Giovanni della Rovere (1516–1518). *Caterina della Rovere (1518–1520). *Beatrice della Rovere (1521–1522). *Francesco Maria della Rovere (1523–1525). *Maria della Rovere (1527–1528). *

Elisabetta della Rovere Elisabetta is an Italian feminine given name related to Elizabeth. * Elisabetta Artuso (born 1974), Italian former middle distance runner * Elisabetta Barbato (1921–2014), Italian operatic soprano * Elisabetta Casellati (born 1946), Italian po ...

(1529 – 6 June 1561), married Alberico I Cybo-Malaspina, Marquis of Massa and had issue (ancestors of

Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina (29 June 1725 29 December 1790) was sovereign Duchess of Massa and Princess of Carrara from 1731 until her death in 1790. From 1780, she also formally held the title of Duchess consort of Modena and Reggio as the wi ...

). * Giulia Feltria della Rovere (1531 – 4 April 1563), married

Alfonso d'Este, Lord of Montecchio Alfonso d'Este, Marquis of Montecchio (10 March 1527 – 1 November 1587) was an Italian nobleman from the House of Este. Biography Born at Ferrara, he was the illegitimate son of Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara by his lover Laura Dianti. In 1 ...

and had issue (were parents of

Cesare d'Este, Duke of Modena Cesare d'Este (8 October 1562 – 11 December 1628) was Duke of Modena and Reggio from 1597 until his death. Biography Born in Ferrara, Cesare was the son of Alfonso d'Este, Marquis of Montecchio, fourth son of Alfonso I d'Este and the ...

). *

Giulio Feltrio della Rovere Giulio della Rovere, also known as Giulio Feltrio della Rovere (5 April 1533 – 3 September 1578) was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church and a member of the della Rovere family. Della Rovere was the second son of Francesco Maria I de ...

(1533–1578), became a cardinal then later had issue (illegitimate):IppolitoLater legitimised and named Marchese di San Lorenzo. Ippolito's daughter Lucrezia married Marcantonio Lante and their son assumed the new extended surname as

Ippolito Lante Montefeltro della Rovere Ippolito Lante Montefeltro della Rovere (15 June 1618 – 29 June 1688) was an Italian nobleman and Duke of Bomarzo. Biography Lante was the son of Marcantonio Lante (1566–1643) and his wife Lucrezia della Rovere. He was nephew to his f ...

and Giulio. *Violante della Rovere (1535–1538).

References

Sources

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Della Rovere, Francesco Maria 1 1490 births 1538 deaths People from Senigallia Francesco Maria 1 People excommunicated by the Catholic Church Francesco Maria 1 Francesco Maria 1 16th-century condottieri Military leaders of the Italian Wars Republic of Venice generals Assassinated Italian people 16th-century Italian nobility Captains General of the Church 16th-century murdered monarchs