Alfonso d'Avalos
Encyclopedia
Pescara
Pescara is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. As of January 1, 2007 it was the most populated city within Abruzzo at 123,059 residents, 400,000 with the surrounding metropolitan area...
e del Vasto
Vasto
Vasto is a town and comune on the Adriatic coast of the Province of Chieti in southern Abruzzo, Italy. The population is now just over 40,000.-History:According to tradition, the town was founded by Diomedes, the Greek hero...
(1502 – March 31, 1546) was a condottiero of Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
-Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
origin.
He was born in Ischia
Ischia
Ischia is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples, about 30 km from the city of Naples. It is the largest of the Phlegrean Islands. Roughly trapezoidal in shape, it measures around 10 km east to west and 7 km north to south and has...
, the nephew of Francesco Ferdinando I d´Ávalos, inheriting his uncle titles after 1525, fighting the French and the Venetians by his side. During the period 1526 - 1528, he fought under Hugo of Moncada
Hugo of Moncada
Hugo de Moncada a.k.a. Ugo de Moncada, , was a Spanish political and military leader of the late 15th and early 16th century. Originally he seems to have been some sort of Abbot of Santa Eufemia in Calabria, Italy,in the quality of Prior of the military Order of Saint John in Messina, Italy...
, being captured in 1528 by the Genoese admiral Andrea Doria
Andrea Doria
Andrea Doria was an Italian condottiere and admiral from Genoa.-Early life:Doria was born at Oneglia from the ancient Genoese family, the Doria di Oneglia branch of the old Doria, de Oria or de Auria family. His parents were related: Ceva Doria, co-lord of Oneglia, and Caracosa Doria, of the...
.
In July 1535 he was part of the naval troops reconquering the city of Tunis
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
in North Africa. The failure on the third war against France trying to invade Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
, and the death of the first Governor of the Duchy of Milan, Antonio de Leyva
Antonio de Leyva
Antonio de Leyva, Duke of Terranova, Prince of Ascoli was a Spanish general during the Italian Wars. During the Italian War of 1521, he commanded Pavia during the siege of the city by Francis I of France, and took part in the Battle of Pavia in 1525...
, 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 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
Order of the Golden Fleece
The Order of the Golden Fleece is an order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip III, Duke of Burgundy in 1430, to celebrate his marriage to the Portuguese princess Infanta Isabella of Portugal, daughter of King John I of Portugal. It evolved as one of the most prestigious orders in Europe...
.
Having fought at the Battle of Pavia
Battle of Pavia
The Battle of Pavia, fought on the morning of 24 February 1525, was the decisive engagement of the Italian War of 1521–26.A Spanish-Imperial army under the nominal command of Charles de Lannoy attacked the French army under the personal command of Francis I of France in the great hunting preserve...
, he later represented Spain as Ambassador, in 1538, on the succession to the new Doge
Doge
Doge is a dialectal Italian word that descends from the Latin dux , meaning "leader", especially in a military context. The wife of a Doge is styled a Dogaressa....
of the Republic of Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
, Pietro Lando
Pietro Lando
Pietro Lando was the Doge of Venice from 1538 to 1545.He had a distinguished career as Captain-General, but was forced to sign a humiliating peace treaty with Suleiman I in 1540, ceding Venice's last possessions in the Peloponnese to the Ottoman Empire....
.
He commanded the Imperial
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
army in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
during the Italian War of 1542
Italian War of 1542
The Italian War of 1542–46 was a conflict late in the Italian Wars, pitting Francis I of France and Suleiman I of the Ottoman Empire against the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Henry VIII of England. The course of the war saw extensive fighting in Italy, France, and the Low Countries, as well as...
and was defeated by the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
at the Battle of Ceresole
Battle of Ceresole
The Battle of Ceresole was an encounter between a French army and the combined forces of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire during the Italian War of 1542–46...
. However, in the Battle of Serravalle
Battle of Serravalle (1544)
The Battle of Serravalle took place on June 2–4, 1544, at Serravalle, in the Apennine Mountains, San Marino, between the Spanish-Imperial army commanded by Don Alfonso d'Avalos, Marquis del Vasto, and a force of freshly raised Italian mercenaries in French service, led by Pietro Strozzi, member of...
, June 2, 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
Pitigliano
Pitigliano is an Italian town and comune of province of Grosseto in the Maremma area of Tuscany. The town stands on an abrupt tuff butte high above the Olpeta, the Fiora and the Lente rivers.-History:...
.
He married in 1523 with Maria d'Aragona and had 5 children including
- Innico d'Avalos d'AragonaInnico d'Avalos d'AragonaInnico d'Avalos d'Aragona , , was an Italian Cardinal, from Naples.He was the son of condottiero Alfonso d'Avalos d´Aquino,...
, (1536–1600), an Italian Cardinal. - Francesco Ferdinando d'ÁvalosFrancesco Ferdinando d'ÁvalosFrancesco Ferdinando d’Ávalos d'Aquino, 5th marquis of Pescara and of Vasto was commander in chief of the Spanish army in Lombardy and Piedmont, governor of the State of Milan and viceroy of Sicily ....
(1537-1571), commander in chief of the Spanish army in Lombardy and Piedmont.