Antonio de Leyva, Duke of Terranova, Prince of Ascoli, Count of Monza (1480–1536) was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

general during the

Italian Wars The Italian Wars, also known as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a series of conflicts covering the period 1494 to 1559, fought mostly in the Italian peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and the Mediterranean Sea. The pr ...

. During the Italian War of 1521, he commanded

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the cap ...

during the siege of the city by

Francis I of France Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin on ...

, and took part in the

Battle of Pavia The Battle of Pavia, fought on the morning of 24 February 1525, was the decisive engagement of the Italian War of 1521–1526 between the Kingdom of France and the Habsburg empire of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor as well as ruler of Spain, ...

in 1525. After the death of Fernando d'Ávalos, Marquis of Pescara, he held further commands in Italy during the

War of the League of Cognac The War of the League of Cognac (1526–30) was fought between the Habsburg dominions of Charles V—primarily the Holy Roman Empire and Spain—and the League of Cognac, an alliance including the Kingdom of France, Pope Clement VII, the Repub ...

and finally died shortly after attempting an invasion of

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

Biography

Belonging to a family from Navarre he made his military debut in the

Alpujarras The Alpujarra (, Arabic: ''al-bussarat'') is a natural and historical region in Andalusia, Spain, on the south slopes of the Sierra Nevada and the adjacent valley. The average elevation is above sea level. It extends over two provinces, ...

(1502) during the struggle against the revolting

Mudéjar Mudéjar ( , also , , ca, mudèjar , ; from ar, مدجن, mudajjan, subjugated; tamed; domesticated) refers to the group of Muslims who remained in Iberia in the late medieval period despite the Christian reconquest. It is also a term for ...

es from Granada and later served in Italy under the '' Gran Capitán'' (1503–1504). He had a prominent part in the

and was wounded at the battle of Ravenna (1512). Later on, under the Marquis of Pescara, he fought near Milan and in the unlucky campaign of

in 1524. After this failure he had the post of commander of the garrison of

and here sustained the long siege from the French army led by King Francis I (October 1524 – February 1525) which gave time to the Spanish and Imperial forces to reorganize and to win the famous

battle of Pavia The Battle of Pavia, fought on the morning of 24 February 1525, was the decisive engagement of the Italian War of 1521–1526 between the Kingdom of France and the Habsburg empire of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor as well as ruler of Spain, ...

. In 1525 he succeeded to the Marquis of Pescara as commander-in-chief of the Imperial army in the Duchy of Milan. When the last Sforza Duke of Milan

Francesco II Francesco II may refer to: * Francesco II Ordelaffi (1300–1386) * Francesco II of Lesbos (c. 1365 – 1403/1404) * Francesco II Acciaioli (died 1460), last Duke of Athens * Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua (1466–1519), ruler of the Ita ...

died in 1535, he was appointed Governor of Milan by Emperor Charles V. During a review in honor of de Leyva, Emperor Charles V appeared dressed as a common pikeman and asked to be recorded in the rolls of the Tercio as 'Carlos de Gante, soldier of the gallant Tercio of Antonio de Leyva'. He died of

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intens ...

during the campaign of Provence in 1536 but was buried in Milan in the now destroyed church of San Dionigi. His descendants lived in Milan where they became one of the most prominent families. One of his descendants was the infamous Nun of Monza.

References

*Bleiberg, Germán (editor). ''Diccionario de Historia de España'' vol.2. Madrid, 1986. . *Konstam, Angus. ''Pavia 1525: The Climax of the Italian Wars''. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 1996. . *Lopez, Ignacio. ''The Spanish Tercios''. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2012. .

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leyva, Antonio de 1480 births 1536 deaths Military leaders of the Italian Wars Dukes of Spain Spanish soldiers Spanish generals Military personnel of the Holy Roman Empire