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Niccolò Fortebraccio (1375–1435), also known as Niccolò della Stella, was an Italian
condottiero ''Condottieri'' (; singular ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian captains in command of mercenary companies during the Middle Ages and of multinational armies during the early modern period. They notably served popes and other Europ ...
. Born in Sant'Angelo in Vado, he was the son of Stella, sister of
Braccio da Montone {{Infobox noble, type , name = Braccio da Montone , title = Prince of Capua , image = Braccio da Montone.jpg , caption = , alt = , CoA = , more = no , succession = Prince of Capua , reign = {{nowrap, July 1421 – 5 June 1424 , predecessor = R ...
. His half-brother Oddo and his cousin Carlo were also
condottieri ''Condottieri'' (; singular ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian captains in command of mercenary companies during the Middle Ages and of multinational armies during the early modern period. They notably served popes and other Europ ...
. In 1426 and 1429, he is mentioned at the service of the Republic of Florence. On the latter occasion he was sent against
Volterra Volterra (; Latin: ''Volaterrae'') is a walled mountaintop town in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its history dates from before the 8th century BC and it has substantial structures from the Etruscan, Roman, and Medieval periods. History Volt ...
and
Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one ...
, but, together with
Guidantonio da Montefeltro Guidantonio da Montefeltro (1377 – February 1443) was count of Urbino in Italy from 1403 until his death. In 1403, at the death of his father Antonio, Guidantonio inherited the family lands in the region of Italy called the Marche. Later he aba ...
, he was defeated by
Niccolò Piccinino Niccolò Piccinino (1386 – 15 October 1444) was an Italian condottiero. Biography He was born in Perugia, the son of a butcher. Piccinino was introduced in the guild of Perugia's butchers. He was later scornfully called "son of a butcher" by ...
in 1430. The following year Pope Eugene IV ordered him to recapture
Città di Castello Città di Castello (); "Castle Town") is a city and '' comune'' in the province of Perugia, in the northern part of Umbria. It is situated on a slope of the Apennines, on the flood plain along the upper part of the river Tiber. The city is north o ...
, but Fortebraccio was pushed back. Despite this setback, Eugene made him gonfaloniere of the Papal Army with the task to halt emperor
Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it '' Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...
's march in Tuscany and to counter the
Prefetti di Vico The Prefetti di Vico were an Italian noble family, of German origin, who established themselves in Rome from the 10th century. They obtained the title of ''praefect urbis'' (prefect of the city) by the Holy Roman Emperor. The rest of the name de ...
in the Latium. However, as Fortebraccio pursued mostly his personal interests, especially regarding the possession of Città di Castello, he was fired. Having received a ''condotta'' by the
Visconti of Milan The Visconti of Milan are a noble Italian family. They rose to power in Milan during the Middle Ages where they ruled from 1277 to 1447, initially as Lords then as Dukes, and several collateral branches still exist. The effective founder of the ...
, in 1434 he moved against Rome. Giovanni Vitelleschi was sent against him, but as he was called to quench a revolt in Romagna, Fortebraccio managed to capture Tivoli. Eugene IV fled from Rome, a Republic, under the
Colonna The House of Colonna, also known as ''Sciarrillo'' or ''Sciarra'', is an Italian noble family, forming part of the papal nobility. It was powerful in medieval and Renaissance Rome, supplying one pope (Martin V) and many other church and pol ...
aegis, being established in the city. Considering too great for him the lordship of Rome, Fortebraccio moved away. Escaped from a plot against him, he conquered
Assisi Assisi (, also , ; from la, Asisium) is a town and ''comune'' of Italy in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio. It is generally regarded as the birthplace of the Latin poet Propertius, born around ...
and married Ludovica da Battifolle. After failing to adhere to the general truce which had momentarily ended the wars in Italy, a league was formed against Fortebraccio, under the ''capitano generale''
Francesco Sforza Francesco I Sforza (; 23 July 1401 – 8 March 1466) was an Italian condottiero who founded the Sforza dynasty in the duchy of Milan, ruling as its (fourth) duke from 1450 until his death. In the 1420s, he participated in the War of ...
. On 15 August 1435 Niccolò defeated and took as prisoner
Leone Sforza Leone Sforza (May 1406 – July 1440) was an Italian condottiero, a member of the House of Sforza. Born at Castelfiorentino, he was the son of Muzio Attendolo, and brother to Alessandro and Francesco Sforza, both successful military leaders and ...
, but on the following 23 August Alessandro Sforza routed him at the siege of Fiordimonte, near
Camerino Camerino is a town in the province of Macerata, Marche, central-eastern Italy. It is located in the Apennines bordering Umbria, between the valleys of the rivers Potenza and Chienti, about from Ancona. Camerino is home to the University of Ca ...
. Wounded, blocked under his horse's corpse, Fortebraccio was abandoned to his agony by Sforza, until he died-killed by Cristoforo da Tolentino.


See also

*
Wars in Lombardy The Wars in Lombardy were a series of conflicts between the Republic of Venice and the Duchy of Milan and their respective allies, fought in four campaigns in a struggle for hegemony in Northern Italy that ravaged the economy of Lombardy and ...


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fortebraccio, Niccolo 1375 births 1435 deaths People from the Province of Pesaro and Urbino 15th-century condottieri Military personnel killed in action 14th-century condottieri