of Varano
on the borderland
of the Papal States
, controlling a major strategic pass between Umbria
and the Marche
, a link between Rome
and the Adriatic coast
. He inherited from Gentile di Berardo da Varano in 1355, and undertook the improvement of the fortifications that protected the commune and its rocca.
The son of Berardo da Varano and nephew of Gentile di Berardo da Varano, whom he succeeded in 1355, Ridolfo had proved his mettle in a dramatic capture of Smyrna
in 1344, in guise of a "crusade" for the Knights of Rhodes under Jean de Biandra, Prior of Lombardy.
A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him, I may think aloud.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.
A friendship that can be ended didn't ever start.
A friend in need is a friend indeed.
A friend loves at all times, and kinsfolk are born to share adversity.
A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
It is amazing how you can surround yourself with so many people you can call friends, and yet actually only have one or two real ones.
Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.
A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter;he who finds one finds a treasure.A faithful friend is beyond price,no sum can balance his worth.
Friendship is not for merriment but for stern reproach when friends go astray.