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Castruccio Castracani degli Antelminelli (1281–September 3, 1328) was an Italian
Italian people

The Italian people are a Southern European ethnic group located primarily in Italy and, by virtue of a wide-ranging Italian diaspora, throughout Western Europe, the Americas and Australia....
 condottiero
Condottieri

Condottieri were the mercenary soldier leaders of the professional, military Free company contracted by the Italian city-states and the Papacy, from the late Middle Ages until the mid-sixteenth century....
 and duke of Lucca
Lucca

Lucca is a city in Tuscany, northern central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca....
.

racani was born in Lucca
Lucca

Lucca is a city in Tuscany, northern central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca....
, a member of the noble family of Antelminelli, of the Ghibelline party. In 1300 he was exiled with his parents and others of their faction by the Guelph
Guelphs and Ghibellines

The Guelphs and Ghibellines were Political factions supporting, respectively, the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor in central and northern Italy during the 12th and 13th centuries....
s "Black" party, then in the ascendant. At nineteen he became orphaned, and subsequently served as a condottiero under Philip IV of France
Philip IV of France

Philip IV , called the Fair , son and successor of Philip III of France, reigned as List of French monarchs from 1285 until his death. He was the husband of Joan I of Navarre, by virtue of which he was List of Navarrese royal consorts and Counts of Champagne from 1284 to 1305....
 in Flanders
Flanders

Flanders is a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. Over the course of history, the geographical territory that was called "Flanders" has varied....
, then with the Visconti in Lombardy
Lombardy

Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region....
, and in 1313 under the Ghibelline chief, Uguccione della Faggiuola
Uguccione della Faggiuola

Uguccione della Faggiuola was an Italy condottieri, and chief magistrate of Pisa, Lucca and Forl? ....
, lord of Pisa
Pisa

Pisa is a city in Tuscany, central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the Arno River on the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa....
, in central Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
.

He assisted Uguccione in many enterprises, including the capture of Lucca (1314) and the Battle of Montecatini
Battle of Montecatini

The Battle of Montecatini was fought on August 29, 1315 between the city of Pisa, and the forces of both Naples and Florence. The army of Pisa won the battle....
 (1315), in which he was the main protagonist of the victory over the Guelph League led by the Florentines.






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Castruccio Castracani degli Antelminelli (1281–September 3, 1328) was an Italian
Italian people

The Italian people are a Southern European ethnic group located primarily in Italy and, by virtue of a wide-ranging Italian diaspora, throughout Western Europe, the Americas and Australia....
 condottiero
Condottieri

Condottieri were the mercenary soldier leaders of the professional, military Free company contracted by the Italian city-states and the Papacy, from the late Middle Ages until the mid-sixteenth century....
 and duke of Lucca
Lucca

Lucca is a city in Tuscany, northern central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca....
.

Biography

Castracani was born in Lucca
Lucca

Lucca is a city in Tuscany, northern central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca....
, a member of the noble family of Antelminelli, of the Ghibelline party. In 1300 he was exiled with his parents and others of their faction by the Guelph
Guelphs and Ghibellines

The Guelphs and Ghibellines were Political factions supporting, respectively, the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor in central and northern Italy during the 12th and 13th centuries....
s "Black" party, then in the ascendant. At nineteen he became orphaned, and subsequently served as a condottiero under Philip IV of France
Philip IV of France

Philip IV , called the Fair , son and successor of Philip III of France, reigned as List of French monarchs from 1285 until his death. He was the husband of Joan I of Navarre, by virtue of which he was List of Navarrese royal consorts and Counts of Champagne from 1284 to 1305....
 in Flanders
Flanders

Flanders is a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. Over the course of history, the geographical territory that was called "Flanders" has varied....
, then with the Visconti in Lombardy
Lombardy

Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region....
, and in 1313 under the Ghibelline chief, Uguccione della Faggiuola
Uguccione della Faggiuola

Uguccione della Faggiuola was an Italy condottieri, and chief magistrate of Pisa, Lucca and Forl? ....
, lord of Pisa
Pisa

Pisa is a city in Tuscany, central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the Arno River on the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa....
, in central Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
.

He assisted Uguccione in many enterprises, including the capture of Lucca (1314) and the Battle of Montecatini
Battle of Montecatini

The Battle of Montecatini was fought on August 29, 1315 between the city of Pisa, and the forces of both Naples and Florence. The army of Pisa won the battle....
 (1315), in which he was the main protagonist of the victory over the Guelph League led by the Florentines. However, due to his growing popularity, Uguccione had him jailed and condemned to death. An insurrection of the Lucchesi having led to the expulsion of Uguccione and his party, Castruccio regained his freedom and his position, and the Ghibelline triumph was presently assured.

Elected lord (as lifelong consul
Consul

Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Roman Empire. The title was also used in other city states, and revived in modern states, notably French Republic before the Napoleon I of Franceic counter-revolution....
) of Lucca
Lucca

Lucca is a city in Tuscany, northern central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca....
 on June 12, 1316, he warred incessantly against the Florentines, and was at first the faithful adviser and staunch supporter of Frederick of Austria
Frederick I of Austria (Habsburg)

Frederick the Handsome or the Fair , from the House of Habsburg, was the Duke of Austria as Frederick I and King of Germany as Frederick III....
, who made him imperial vicar
Vicar

In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, anyone acting "in the person of" or wiktionary:agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant, literally the "place-holder"....
 of Lucca
Lucca

Lucca is a city in Tuscany, northern central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca....
, Lunigiana
Lunigiana

Lunigiana is an historical territory of Italy, which today falls within the provinces of La Spezia and Massa Carrara. Its borders derive from the ancient Roman settlement, later the medieval diocese of Luni, which no longer exists....
 and Val di Nievole in 1320. After the Battle of Mühldorf
Battle of Mühldorf

The Battle of M?hldorf was fought on September 28, 1322 between Bavaria and Austria. The Bavarians were led by Louis the Bavarian, while the Austrians were led by his cousin Frederick I of Austria ....
 he went over to the emperor Louis the Bavarian, whom he served for many years. In 1325 he defeated the Florentines at the battle of Altopascio
Battle of Altopascio

The Battle of Altopascio was a battle fought in 1325 in Tuscany, between the Ghibelline forces of Castruccio Castracani and the Guelph ones of the Republic of Florence....
, and was appointed by the emperor duke of Lucca
Lucca

Lucca is a city in Tuscany, northern central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca....
, Pistoia
Pistoia

Pistoia is a city in the Tuscany region of Italy, the capital of a province of Pistoia, located about 30 km west and north of Florence....
, Volterra
Volterra

file:Volterra san francesco 003.JPGVolterra is a town in the Tuscany region of Italy....
 and Luni
Luni

Luni can refer to:* Luni, Italy, a town in Liguria.* Luni, Pakistan, village in Pakistan* Luni River, in Rajasthan, India.* Luni Coleone, a rapper from California....
; two years later he captured Pisa
Pisa

Pisa is a city in Tuscany, central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the Arno River on the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa....
, of which he was made imperial vicar. But, subsequently, his relations with Louis seem to have grown less friendly and he was afterwards excommunicated by the papal legate in the interests of the Guelphs (1327).

At his death in 1328 the fortunes of his young children were wrecked in the Guelph triumph.

Niccolò Machiavelli
Niccolò Machiavelli

Niccol? di Bernardo dei Machiavelli is the philosopher, writer, and Italian politician considered the founder of modern political science. As a Renaissance Man, he was a Diplomacy, Political philosophy, musician, poet, and playwright, but, foremost, he was a Civil Servant of the Florence....
's Life of Castruccio Castracani is his third important political book and significant for the understanding of Machiavelli's political philosophy. Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley

Mary Shelley was a British novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel literature, best known for her Gothic fiction Frankenstein ....
's novel Valperga; or, The Life and Adventures of Castruccio, Prince of Lucca
Valperga (novel)

Valperga, or the Life and Adventures of Castruccio, Prince of Lucca is an 1823 historical fiction by the Romanticism novelist Mary Shelley....
, published in 1823, is based on the life of Castruccio Castracani, though the dates are slightly changed.

See also

  • Ponte della Maddalena
    Ponte della Maddalena

    Ponte della Maddalena is a bridge which crosses the Serchio river near the town of Borgo a Mozzano in the Italy province of Lucca. It was a vital river crossing on the Via Francigena, an ancient road to Rome for those coming from France and an important medieval pilgrimage route....
    , bridge across the river Serchio
    Serchio

    At 126 kilometres the Serchio is the third longest river in the Italian region of Tuscany, coming after the Arno River and the Ombrone . By mean rate of flow it is the second largest, following the Arno but preceding the Ombrone....
    , and part of the Via Francigena
    Via Francigena

    The Via Francigena is an ancient road between Rome and Canterbury, passing through England, France, Switzerland and Italy. It was an important medieval road and Pilgrimage connecting north-western Europe with Rome....
    , built by Matilda of Tuscany
    Matilda of Tuscany

    Matilda of Canossa , called la Gran Contessa or the Great Countess, was an italy noblewoman, the principal Italian supporter of Pope Gregory VII during the Investiture Controversy....
     and renovated by Castruccio Castracani.


External links




Sources:Deutsch Wikipedia