Astorre II. Manfredi

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Astorre II. Manfredi (* December 8, 1412 in Faenza ; † March 12, 1468 ibid), Lord of Imola from 1439 and of Faenza from 1443.

Bust of Astorre II Manfredi by Mino da Fiesole around 1455, National Gallery of Art , Washington DC
Coat of arms of the Manfredi family

Life

Astorre was born on December 8, 1412 as the son of Gian Galeazzo I. Manfredi and Gentile Malatesta , Galeotto's biological daughter, in Faenza and received the name of his grandfather, Astorre I. After the death of his father, he was next to the lords of Faenza and Imola, together with his brother Gian Galeazzo II, papal vicar in Fusignano and other areas of Romagna.

Romagna was formally under papal rule at that time, but was specifically ruled by small rulers and served as a corridor for the great powers connecting the Po Valley with the south. In this politically confused situation, Manfredi fought as a military leader for many local rulers. At the age of 18 he fought together with his brother with Florence against Lucca. The Florentine army was defeated and Astorre was captured. After his release in 1431, he went to pay the Duke of Milan, Filippo Maria Visconti . In 1432 he supported Milan in the failed attempt to drive the papal government out of Forli. In 1434 he changed sides and entered the league against Visconti, which united Venice, Florence and the papacy. The League's troops were defeated, Astorre captured and taken to Milan, from where he did not return to Faenza until March 19, 1436. After taking part in the Lombard campaigns of 1437 on the side of Venice, he returned to Faenza and in 1438 rejoined the Visconti. On June 29, 1440, he took part in the Battle of Anghiari , was captured and handed over to the Florentines, where he remained until 1441.

When Alfonso of Aragon became king of Naples in 1442, he allied himself with the Visconti to fight against Francesco Sforza . Astorre joined the Visconti party with his brother Guido Antonio. However, between 1446 and 1447 he left the front and moved to Florence. Alfonso of Aragon never forgave him for this betrayal. The death of Filippo Maria Visconti changed the political situation and Astorre took part in the conquest of Piacenza under Francesco Sforza and then returned to Faenza.

After the death of his brother Guido Antonio, he left the rule of Imola to his nephew Taddeo, the son of Guido Antonio, and kept the vicariate of Faenza and the county of Val di Lamone for himself and his brother Gian Galeazzo. Astorre was discontinued by the city council of Bologna on the occasion of new unrest and was at the head of the Neapolitan armies in a fight with an uncertain outcome against Ludovico Gonzaga and Carlo da Campobasso . After his return to Faenza, the first border problems between Imola and Faenza arose in 1450. Astorre even pulled against Imola and attacked his nephew. Taddeo requested an armistice and both submitted to the arbitration tribunal of Francesco Sforza and Cosimo de 'Medici.

Between 1451 and 1462 the marriage of his daughters Elisabetta and Barbara to Cecco and Pino di Antonio Ordelaffi, Lords of Forlì, was celebrated. In December 1451 the wedding between Gian Galeazzo and Parisina di Niccolò della Mirandola was celebrated in Faenza. With his sons Carlo and Galeotto he went to Bologna in January 1452 to meet Friedrich III. on his way to the imperial coronation and was knighted by him, together with his sons.

In the meantime, the political situation deteriorated and two main camps were formed. On the one hand the Milan-Florence axis and on the other hand the alliance between Venice and Alfonso d'Aragona. In this context, Astorre went to battle against Ferdinand, Duke of Calabria in November 1451. At the end of the conflict between Milan and Venice there was a general peace between 1452 and 1454 with the establishment of the Lega italica , from which Manfredi was excluded because of the resistance of Alfonso of Aragon.

In 1460 the conflict with his nephew broke out again. Since Pope Pius II needed Astorre as a captain against Sigismondo Malatesta , he sent Angelo Geraldini , Bishop of Sessa , to Faenza as arbiter in the autumn of 1462 . After the provisional settlement of the conflict, Astorre took action against Domenico Malatesta and besieged Meldola in autumn 1462 and April 1463 .

In June 1462 Astorre returned his rights and property in Imola, but by November 1464 both were in Milan to reclaim their rights to the disputed castles.

With the death of Cosimo de'Medici and Francesco Sforza in 1466, the existing political equilibrium was broken. Astorre fought with the Florentines from 1467, but left them secretly after a few months to fight the Florentine and Milanese armies under the command of the Serenissima. On July 25, 1467, the troops under the command of Bartolomeo Colleoni clashed against the anti-Venetian league under the command of Federico da Montefeltro at Molinella . The unsuccessful battle became famous as the Battle of Riccardina .

Manfredi died on March 12, 1468.

ancestry

In 1431 he married Giovanna da Barbiano, daughter of the famous Condottiero Alberico da Barbiano and they had 6 children.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Giovanni Ghinassi: Epistola Amatoria di Astorre Manfredi . In: Atti e memorie della Regia Deputazione di Storia Patria per le Provincie di Romagna . Bologna 1868, p. 177arbitro (Italian).

literature

  • Isabella Lazzarini:  MANFREDI, Astorgio. In: Mario Caravale (ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 68:  Malatacca-Mangelli. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 2007.
  • Pompeo Litta: Manfredi di Faenza . Milan 1861.
  • Manfredi - Astorre I Manfredi, Taddeo Manfredi, Astorre II Manfredi, Guidantonio Manfredi, Galeotto Manfredi, Giovanni Manfredi . Books Llc, 2010, ISBN 978-1-157-33101-8 , pp. 30 (English).

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Manfredi, Astorre II.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian condottiere
DATE OF BIRTH December 8, 1412
PLACE OF BIRTH Faenza
DATE OF DEATH March 12, 1468
Place of death Faenza