Ranuccio Farnese (c. 1390 – 2 July 1450) was an Italian nobleman, feudal lord and

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 Euro ...

. Born in Ischia di Castro, he is considered the founder of the fortunes of the Farnese family. In 1416 Ranuccio succeeded his father as commander-in-chief of the

Republic of Siena The Republic of Siena ( it, Repubblica di Siena, la, Respublica Senensis) was a historic state consisting of the city of Siena and its surrounding territory in Tuscany, central Italy. It existed for over 400 years, from 1125 to 1555. During its e ...

's troops, and defeated the Orsini of

Pitigliano Pitigliano is a town in the province of Grosseto, located about south-east of the city of Grosseto, Tuscany, Italy. The quaint old town is known as ''the little Jerusalem'', for the historical presence of a Jewish community that has always bee ...

. In 1419

Pope Martin V Pope Martin V ( la, Martinus V; it, Martino V; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Otto (or Oddone) Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431. Hi ...

appointed him as Senator of Rome, and three years later he received the fiefs of Tessennano and

Piansano Piansano is a (municipality) in the Province of Viterbo in the Italian region of Latium, located about northwest of Rome and about northwest of Viterbo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,232 and an area of .All demographics and ot ...

in the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

. Also serving as

Captain General of the Church The captain general of the Church ( it, Capitano generale della Chiesa) was the ''de facto'' commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the Papal States during the Middle Ages. The post was usually conferred on an Italian or other noble with a p ...

under

Eugene IV Pope Eugene IV ( la, Eugenius IV; it, Eugenio IV; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 3 March 1431 to his death in February 1447. Condulmer was a Venetian, and ...

, Ranuccio obtained new lands in rewards of the creadits accumulated towards the Apostolic Chamber. These included Montalto di Castro,

Canino Canino is a town and '' comune'' of Italy, in the province of Viterbo (northern Lazio) in the internal part of Maremma Laziale. It is west of Valentano and northwest of Viterbo. It is also near the ancient Etruscan town of Vulci, and the d ...

and numerous others in the northern

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Farnese, Ranuccio, Il Vecchio 1390s births 1450 deaths Farnese, Ranuccio Ranuccio Vecchio Farnese, Ranuccio Vecchio Captains General of the Church