Pier Maria III de' Rossi (1504 – 15 August 1547) was an Italian general and nobleman, the second marquess and seventh count of San Secondo.

Biography

Born at

San Secondo Parmense San Secondo Parmense ( Sansecondino: or ; Parmigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Parma in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about northwest of Parma Parma (; ) is a city in t ...

, he was a member of the local Rossi noble family, the son of

Troilo I de' Rossi Troilo I de' Rossi (c. 1462 - 3 June 1521) was an Italian condottiero and the first marquess of San Secondo. Life A son of Giovanni Rossi "il Diseredato" and Angela Scotti Douglas, he was born in San Secondo. He took part in Louis XII of France' ...

and

Bianca Riario Bianca Riario (March 1478 – 1524) was an Italian noblewoman and regent, Marchioness of San Secondo by marriage to Troilo I de' Rossi, and regent of the marquisate and county of San Secondo for her son Pier Maria during his minority between 1521 ...

, the first daughter of

Caterina Sforza Caterina Sforza (1463 – 28 May 1509) was an Italian noblewoman, the Countess of Forlì and Lady of Imola, firstly with her husband Girolamo Riario, and after his death as a regent of her son Ottaviano. The descendant of a dynasty of noted co ...

and the half-sister of

Giovanni delle Bande Nere Ludovico de' Medici, also known as Giovanni delle Bande Nere (6 April 1498 – 30 November 1526) was an Italian ''condottiero''. He is known for leading the Black Bands and serving valiantly in military combat under his third cousins, Pope Leo ...

. He was also the brother to bishop Giovangirolamo de' Rossi. He was educated at the

Medici The House of Medici ( , ; ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first consolidated power in the Republic of Florence under Cosimo de' Medici and his grandson Lorenzo "the Magnificent" during the first half of the 15th ...

court together with his uncle Giovanni, who had nearly the same age. At his father's death (1521), he inherited the family lands as count of San Secondo. In 1523 he married Camilla Gonzaga, who brought a dowry of 6,000

ducati Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A () is an Italian motorcycle manufacturing company headquartered in Bologna, Italy. History Barely a month after the official liberation of Italy in 1944, SIATA announced its intention to sell this engine, called ...

, jewels, furniture and other assets. After a first sojourn in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, Pier Maria returned to Italy and here he defended the family fiefs alongside his uncle. During the

siege of Florence (1529–1530) The siege of Florence took place from 24 October 1529 to 10 August 1530, at the end of the War of the League of Cognac. At the Congress of Bologna, the Medici Pope Clement VII and Emperor Charles V agreed to restore the Medici family in Flor ...

, he commanded a corps of the

imperial troops An Imperial Army is an army of any empire. However, only some empires in history and in fiction have actually referred to their armies as "The Imperial Army". Former Imperial Armies In Europe * The Imperial Roman army * The Byzantine army * The O ...

. Under the service of

emperor Charles V Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) fr ...

, he was at

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 1535, in

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 ...

in 1536 and in

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

in 1537: in reward, he obtained an imperial privilege which granted his lands the independence from the nearby

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

. In those years he was portrayed by the local painter

Parmigianino Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola (11 January 150324 August 1540), also known as Francesco Mazzola or, more commonly, as Parmigianino (, , ; "the little one from Parma"), was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker active in Florence, Rome, ...

, who perhaps also depicted his wife. Both paintings are now at the

Museo del Prado The Museo del Prado ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It houses collections of Art of Europe, European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 20th ce ...

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. In 1542 he entered the service of king

Francis I of France Francis I (; ; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once removed and father-in-law Louis&nbs ...

, who named him general and knight of the Order of St. Michael. He also held a correspondence with humanist

Pietro Aretino Pietro Aretino (, ; 19 or 20 April 1492 – 21 October 1556) was an Italian author, playwright, poet, satire, satirist and blackmailer, who wielded influence on contemporary art and politics. He was one of the most influential writers of his ti ...

. He died in France in 1547.

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rossi, Pier Maria 03 1504 births 1547 deaths Counts of San Secondo Generals of former Italian states Military leaders of the Italian Wars Pier Maria 03