Giovanni Antonio Orsini del Balzo

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Giovanni Antonio Orsini del Balzo
The coat of arms of Orsini del Balzo

Giovanni Antonio Orsini del Balzo (also Giannantonio ; born September 9, 1401 in Lecce ; † November 15, 1463 in Altamura ) was Prince of Taranto , Duke of Bari , Count of Lecce, Acerra , Soleto and Conversano , from 1433 Count of Matera and from 1453 Count of Ugento .

Life

He was the son of Raimondo Orsini del Balzo , Prince of Taranto, and Maria von Enghien , heiress of the House of Brienne . When his father died in 1406, he did not immediately succeed in his successor because his mother married Ladislaus , the king of Naples in 1407 , who confiscated the property. His wedding to Marie d'Anjou , daughter of Ludwig II , no longer took place due to political alliances. Prince Giannantonio acted as the chief sergeant in the Kingdom of Naples .

At the end of 1425 or beginning of 1426 he married Anna Colonna , a niece of Pope Martin V , daughter Lorenzo Onofrio Colonna , Prince of Amalfi from the Genazzano line . He transferred the fief of Ceglie del Gualdo ( Ceglie Messapica ) to his wife .

It quickly became clear that Giovanni Antonio would be replaced by his siblings. His niece Isabella of Clermont was a pawn in the plans of her royal masters. She was likely the heir to notable feudal owners in southern Italy, and through royal intervention in 1444 she was married to Ferdinand I of Naples , an illegitimate son of King Alfonso I of Aragon . Alfons had asserted himself in the war of succession between 1435 and 1442 in southern Italy against his opponents René I of Anjou .

At the will of King Alfonso I, Isabella's husband, Ferdinand, was declared king of his conquered territories after the death of his father in 1548, his son legitimized by the Pope (Isabella thus became the king's wife) and thus King of Naples as Ferdinand I.

In 1460 Giovanni Antonio had a Gothic apse with an octagonal dome built behind the high altar in the Basilica of Santa Caterina d'Alessandria in Galatina . In the middle of the apse (on the wall) Giovanni Antonio had his sarcophagus built. He is depicted as a Franciscan on his deathbed.

Giovanni Antonio supported the uprising of the local barons (1459-1462) in some cities of the Capitanata, fueled by the French, and died between 14th and 15th November 1463 under mysterious circumstances. He was strangled by Paolo Tricarico in the castle of Altamura in what is now the province of Bari .

Giovanni Antonio left no legitimate heirs and his lands and treasures were confiscated by the King of Naples, Ferdinand of Aragon , his close relative. He was followed on the throne by his niece Isabella von Claremont, daughter of his sister Caterina Orsini del Balzo and Tristano von Claremont, and wife of King Ferdinand I, who died in 1465. Her heir was her eldest son Alfonso II , who was to be King of Naples from 1494 to 1495. His wife was Hippolyte Maria Sforza from Milan .

This was the end of the Principality of Taranto. It was incorporated into the Kingdom of Naples by King Ferdinand I in 1465 after the death of Isabella von Clermont .

progeny

Prince Giovanni Antonio had six illegitimate children:

  1. Caterina, Countess of Conversano, Signora di Casamassima e Turi; married Giuliantonio Acquaviva d'Aragona, 7th Duke of Atri in 1456 .
  2. Maria Conquesta († after 1487), Countess of Ugento, from 1463 Signora di Nardò e Castro; married in 1463 Angilberto del Balzo, Count of Tricase and 1st Duke of Nardo.
  3. Margherita, married to Antonio Centelles, Count of Catanzaro and Chief Justice of Calabria.
  4. Francesca, married to Jacopo Sanseverino, Count of Saponara.
  5. Son Bertoldo († after 1488), Baron von Salice. Count of Lecce (1463–1464).
  6. an illegitimate daughter (whose name is unknown), married to Giacomo of Sanseverino, Count of Mileto. apparently he had no surviving heirs.

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Giovanni Antonio Orsini del Balzo  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Treccani online (Biographical Dictionary), accessed on November 3, 2016. (Italian)
  2. ↑ Padre Antonio Febbraro: Guida di Santa Caterina . Salentina, Galatina 2016, p. 66 f . (Italian).
  3. ^ Aurora Martino: Giovan Girolamo II Acquaviva d'Aragona (1604 c.-1665) Signore feudale del Mezzogiorno spagnolo . Universidad de Valladolid, Valladolid 2012, p. 68 (Italian).
  4. ^ Brindisi al tempo dei re aragonesi sul trono di Napoli. brindisiweb.it, accessed March 8, 2017 (Italian).
personal data
SURNAME Orsini del Balzo, Giovanni Antonio
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Count of several possessions
DATE OF BIRTH 1386 or 1393
DATE OF DEATH November 15, 1463
Place of death Altamura