Francesco Maria I della Rovere

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Portrait of Raphael around 1504, probably depicting Francesco Maria della Rovere

Francesco Maria I. della Rovere (born March 25, 1490 in Senigallia , † October 20, 1538 in Pesaro ) ruled from 1508 to 1516 and from 1521 to 1538 as the first Duke of Urbino from the House of Della Rovere .

Life

Childhood and youth

Francesco Maria was born in 1490 as the son of Giovanni della Rovere , captain general of the church (supreme commander of the papal troops) and signor of Senigallia, and the Giovanna da Montefeltro, daughter of the famous general and patron Federico da Montefeltro , count of Montefeltro, count and from 1474 Born first Duke of Urbino until 1482 . He was a nephew of Giuliano della Rovere , later Pope Julius II . In 1502, the rule of Senigallia was lost to Cesare Borgia , and Francesco Maria fled to the court of his uncle Guidobaldo da Montefeltro . Since he was childless himself, the latter named him in 1504 as his successor as Duke of Urbino and thus heir to the Da Montefeltro family .

Duke of Urbino; Acquisition of pesaros

Guidobaldo died in 1508, and Francesco Maria succeeded him to the throne. His uncle Julius II supported him in regaining Senigallia and in 1509 appointed him Capitano generale della Chiesa , commander in chief of all troops in the Papal States. He fought in the Italian Wars of the League of Cambrai and the Holy League. In 1511 he murdered Cardinal Francesco Alidosi in Ravenna .

After the death of Costanzo II Sforza, who was only two years old and who should have inherited the Vicariate of Pesaro , on August 5, 1512, Julius II gave Pesaro to his nephew Francesco Maria instead of paying a large sum of money, which the Holy See gave him for arrears owed. When Julius II saw his death approaching in February 1513, he quickly had the Vicariate of Pesaro confirmed by the College of Cardinals to the Duke of Urbino. With the death of Julius II shortly afterwards, Francesco Maria lost his most important political support.

Titian - Portrait of Francesco Maria della Rovere (1536–38)

War for Urbino

The new Pope Leo X , who was primarily concerned with looking after his family, was soon looking for an excuse to move in the Duchy of Urbino with the Vicariates of Pesaro and Senigallia. As long as his brother Giuliano di Lorenzo de 'Medici , to whom the court at Urbino had shown many obligations in his exile from Florence , was still alive, he protected the duchy against any undertaking by the Pope. But no sooner had Guiliano died on March 17, 1516, than Leo X proceeded to carry out what had long been decided. Francesco Maria della Rovere was again publicly accused of murdering Cardinal Alidosi, even though Leo X himself, at that time still a cardinal, had signed the bull on the duke's absolution . Furthermore, Francesco Maria was charged with behavior against refugees of the Holy League after the Battle of Ravenna . As a result of these accusations, the confiscation of the Duchy of Urbino was pronounced and the execution of the confiscation was entrusted to the Pope's nephew, Lorenzo di Piero de 'Medici , and Lorenzo degli Orsini da Ceri. Duke Francesco Maria fled to Mantua with his wife Eleonora and his son Guidobaldo , while Lorenzo de 'Medici moved into Urbino on May 30th. Three months later, the last place that held the expelled Duke in the areas of Urbino, Pesaro and Senigallia was the fortress of San Leo. On August 18, 1516 Lorenzo de 'Medici was enfeoffed with the drafted duchy, against which the Bishop of Urbino, Cardinal Domenico Grimani , raised an objection.

The expelled and excommunicated Duke Francesco Maria della Rovere was also deprived of his Neapolitan fiefs Acre and Sora by Charles V. But he used to his advantage the peace established between the Republic of Venice and Emperor Maximilian I by the Treaty of Noyon of August 13, 1516, by immediately attracting most of the mercenaries who had become unemployed as a result. At its head he placed Federico Gonzaga da Bozzolo and set out from Mantuan against Urbino in January 1517. Leo X did everything possible to counteract the enterprise successfully, but all the power he had called up did not prevent the expelled Duke of Urbino from arriving at Urbino on February 5th and entering the following day. Many cities in the territory of Urbino again hoisted the flags of their old duke. But since two fixed heights at Pesaro and Urbino remained in Lorenzo's hands and he was constantly receiving reinforcements from the Pope and the Florentine, while Francesco Maria had only a lack of financial resources and little artillery, it did not help him much.

After Lorenzo de 'Medici was seriously wounded during a battle near Mondolfo , almost all of the Pope's Basque and German mercenaries went over to the former Duke of Urbino, and Cardinal Bibbiena , who was sent to continue the war in place of Lorenzo, finally saw himself at Pesaro thrown back. In other ways too, Francesco Maria della Rovere's troops achieved several successes; but they could not support the duke's rule in the long run, since he found no allies and was too stripped of funds himself. Under these circumstances, the Duke accepted French mediation and in September 1517 concluded a contract with the Pope to the effect that he would pay the mercenaries of Francesco Maria the outstanding wages, promise full amnesty and allow the Duke to take his artillery and the library of Urbino with him led to Mantua. From then on, Pesaro remained in his possession until Lorenzo's death (May 4, 1519). After Lorenzo's death treated Pope Leo X Pesaro and the Duchy of Urbino as the Papal State home fief.

After Leo's death on December 1, 1521, the situation changed quickly. Francesco Maria della Rovere gathered a contingent of troops in Ferrara , entered Urbino at the beginning of December 1521 and occupied the duchy. The Pope Hadrian VI elected soon after . showed himself to be quite benevolent towards the duke, recognized him in possession of the reconquered landscapes and solemnly enfeoffed him with his principality.

Condottiere; Marriage policy; death

Francesco Maria fought as Capitano generale of the Republic of Venice, now allied with Emperor Charles V, during the Italian War from 1523 in Lombardy against the French King Francis I. The election of the Medici Pope Clement VII pushed him increasingly to the edge of the action. In 1527 he was commander in chief of the League of Cognac , and his inaction during the invasion of the imperial troops is considered to be one of the causes of the sacking of Rome by the soldiers of Charles V ( Sacco di Roma ), as he was Rome's prefect for the protection of the Eternal City responsible. From a cultural point of view, the Duke also oriented himself more towards Venice, as shown by the final transfer of his court to Pesaro in 1530. On the occasion of Charles V's coronation in Bologna in February 1530 , the Emperor Francesco Maria offered the office of captain general of his armed forces stationed in Italy, but the duke turned down this offer because of his military obligations for Venice. In 1533 Charles V restituted the Neapolitan fiefs of Sora and Acre, which had been drawn in in 1517.

Also in the 1530s, Francesco Maria fought as a condottiere for the Republic of Venice. He married his son Guidobaldo in 1534 against the opposition of Pope Paul III. with the eleven-year-old Giulia Varano, heir to the Duchy of Camerino . The Pope had other wedding plans with Giulia Varano and after their failure wanted Camerino to move in militarily. The imperial and the Venetian ambassadors in Rome could Paul III. change of mind, however, because Francesco Maria was only available as a general to the Holy League, founded in 1538, on the condition that his family would remain in control of Camerino . But before Francesco Maria could take to the field against the Ottomans , he was poisoned at the age of 48 - allegedly at the instigation of Luigi Gonzaga - and died on October 20, 1538 in Pesaro .

Family and offspring

In 1508 he married Eleonora Gonzaga della Rovere (* Mantua December 31, 1493, + Urbino February 13, 1550), daughter of Marquis Francesco II Gonzaga of Mantua and Isabella d'Este . They had the following children:

literature

Web links

Commons : Francesco Maria I della Rovere  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ^ GF Schreiner: Pesaro. In: Johann Samuelansch , Johann Gottfried Gruber : (Ed.): Allgemeine Encyclopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste , 3rd section, 18th part (1843), pp. 248–256, here: p. 254.
  2. ^ GF Schreiner: Pesaro. In: Johann Samuelersch, Johann Gottfried Gruber: (Ed.): General Encyclopedia of Sciences and Arts. , Section 3, Part 18 (1843), pp. 248-256, here: pp. 254-255.
  3. ^ A b c G. F. Schreiner: Pesaro. In: Johann Samuelersch, Johann Gottfried Gruber: (Ed.): General Encyclopedia of Sciences and Arts. , Section 3, Part 18 (1843), pp. 248–256, here: p. 255.
  4. ↑ a b Sebastian Becker: Dynastic politics and legitimation strategies of della Rovere , de Gruyter, 2015, ISBN 978-3-11-037680-7 , p. 42 f.
predecessor Office successor
Guidobaldo da Montefeltro Duke of Urbino
1508-1516 		Lorenzo di Piero de 'Medici
Lorenzo di Piero de 'Medici Duke of Urbino
1521–1538 		Guidobaldo II della Rovere
personal data
SURNAME Della Rovere, Francesco Maria I.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Duke of Urbino
DATE OF BIRTH March 25, 1490
PLACE OF BIRTH Senigallia
DATE OF DEATH October 20, 1538
Place of death Pesaro