Francesco Fernando d'Avalos d'Aquino d'Aragona

Francesco Fernando d'Avalos d'Aquino d'Aragona (also: Ferrante Francesco d'Avalos d'Aquino d'Aragona ) (* August 1530 in Ischia ; † July 31, 1571 in Palermo ) was a member of the Italian, originally Spanish family de Avalos , Governor of the Duchy of Milan and Viceroy of Sicily .

origin

Francesco Fernando was a son of Alfonso d'Avalos (III.) D'Aquino d'Aragona, Principe di Francavilla, Principe di Montesarchio, 3rd Marchese del Vasto, 3rd Marchese di Pescara, Conte di Monteodorisio, Grandee of Spain († 1568) and his wife Maria d'Aragona († 1568), daughter of Ferdinando d'Aragona, Duca di Montalto.

Functions

Francesco Fernando was Principe di Francavilla, Principe di Montesarchio, 4th Marchese del Vasto, 4th Marchese di Pescara, Conte di Monteodorisio, Grandee of Spain, Royal Neapolitan Chamberlain and Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece .

He was a confidante of Philip II , King of Spain , who appointed him his representative at the Council of Trent . From 1560 to 1563 he was the successor to Gonzalo Fernandez de Córdoba, Duca di Sessa, governor in the Duchy of Milan , a function that - depending on the King of Spain - corresponded to that of a head of state, as it had not only representative and administrative but also legislative tasks and that Grace included. His father had already performed the same function from 1536 to 1546. On April 11, 1568, he was appointed as the successor to Carlo de Aragon, Duke of Terranuova as the Spanish Viceroy of Sicily and held this position until his death in 1571.

Marriage and offspring

Francesco Fernando married Isabella Gonzaga (* after 1531; † Vasto near Naples in October 1579), a daughter of Federico II Gonzaga , 1st Duke of Mantua and Montferrat , († 1540) and his wife, Margherita Palaiologa (* August 11, 1510 - December 28, 1566) heiress of the Margraviate of Montferrat . Her family comes from the last Byzantine imperial dynasty, the palaeologists .

He had two children with Isabella:

• Alfonso Felice d'Avalos d´Aquino d´Aragona, Principe di Francavilla etc. (* 1564, † 1593), ∞ Lavinia della Rovere ,
• Tommaso d´Avalos d´Aquino d´Aragona, Conte di Castelluccio (in the province of Potenza in the region of Basilicata ), Latin titular Patriarch of Antioch (1611–1622), first documented mention 1571 to 1632

literature

• Charles Oman: A History of the Art of War in the Sixteenth Century. Methuen & Co, London 1937.
• Gran Enciclopedia de España. (1991), Volume 3, pp. 1,109 f. ISBN 84-87544-01-0 .
• Genealogical handbook of the princely houses. Volume XV. P. 538 f.
• European Family Tables , New Series Volume II T. 185; A. Stargardt 1984 (Palaiologos - Montferrat)