Micheletto Corella
Michelotto Corella (Michelotto Coreglia or Michele di Corella) was a Spanish condottiero born on an unknown date in Valencia. He was killed in Milan in the January of 1508.
Biography
Known as the Valentino's executioner, he met Cesare Borgia during his studies at the University of Pisa. With time he developed a boundless devotion for him.
The exact number of murders he committed under the Borgia’s command is still unknown. Remarkably, he killed both Vitellozzo Vitelli and Oliverotto da Fermo at the same time, strangling them with a violin string in Senigallia on December 31st 1502.
After his capture in 1503, Corella was imprisoned first in Florence and then in Rome where he was questioned and tortured. However, he refused to reveal the many secrets he knew about the Borgias.
He was released in 1505 and, thanks to Machiavelli’s mediation, was hired by Florence as bargello. He held this position for two years, until 1507.
He was killed in Milan in 1508 by some fellow countrymen although the instigator is still unknown.
Popular culture
Television
- The 1981 BBC series The Borgias, starring actor Maurice O'Connell as Michelotto Corella.
- The 2011 Showtime series The Borgias, starring actor Sean Harris as Michelotto Corella
Literature
- Cantarella, a manga by You Higuri
- The Borgias by Alexandre Dumas, père
- Borgia, by Milo Manara (artist) & Alejandro Jodorowsky (writer), serialized graphic novel depicting the story of the Borgia family.
- Cesare by Fuyumi Soryo (manga)
- O César o nada by Manuel Vázquez Montalbán
Games
- Michelotto Corella is a character in Assassin's Creed Brotherhood.
Sources
- Carlo Dionisotti, Machiavelli, Cesare Borgia e don Micheletto, in Machiavellerie. Storia e fortuna di Machiavelli, Torino, Einaudi 1980, ISBN 88-0650-005-8
- Clemente Fusero, The Borgias, translated by Peter Green, Praeger 1972, ISBN 02-7557-740-6
- Niccolò Machiavelli, Description of the Manner in which Duke Valentino put Vitellozzo Vitelli, Oliverotto da Fermo, Lord Pagola and the Duke of Gravina to Death
- Niccolò Machiavelli, Letters