Francesco II da Carrara (19 May 1359 – 16 January 1406), known as Francesco il Novello ('Francesco the Younger'), was Lord of

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

after his father, Francesco I il Vecchio, renounced the lordship on 29 June 1388; he was a member of the family of

Carraresi The House of Carrara or Carraresi (da Carrara) was an important family of northern Italy in the 12th to 15th centuries. The family held the title of Lords of Padua from 1318 to 1405. Under their rule, Padua conquered Verona, Vicenza, Treviso, F ...

. He married Taddea, daughter of

Niccolò II d'Este Niccolò is an Italian male given name, derived from the Greek Nikolaos meaning "Victor of people" or "People's champion". There are several male variations of the name: Nicolò, Niccolò, Nicolas, and Nicola. The female equivalent is Nicole. The f ...

, Lord of Modena. He fought in the

Battle of Castagnaro The Battle of Castagnaro was fought on 11 March 1387 at Castagnaro (today's Veneto, northern Italy) between Verona and Padua. It is one of the most famous battles of the Italian condottieri age. The army of Verona was led by Giovanni Ordelaffi a ...

(1387) for

. He was executed by Venetian officials after his capture during the war between

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

and Padua (see

War of Padua The War of Padua was a conflict in 1404–1405 between the Republic of Venice and the Carrarese lordship of Padua. In the power vacuum produced by the death of the Duke of Milan, Gian Galeazzo Visconti, in 1402, Francesco II da Carrara endeavo ...

Burckhardt Burckhardt, or (de) Bourcard in French, is a family of the Basel patriciate, descended from Christoph (Stoffel) Burckhardt (1490–1578), a merchant in cloth and silk originally from Münstertal, Black Forest, who received Basel citizenship i ...

writes: "when the last Carrara could no longer defend the walls and gates of the plague-stricken Padua, hemmed in on all sides by the Venetians, the soldiers of the guard heard him cry to the devil 'to come and kill him.'" His sons Francesco and Giacomo who had also been captured were executed the following day. In Francesco's extensive '' familia'', or ducal household, the painter

Cennino Cennini Cennino d'Andrea Cennini (c. 1360 – before 1427) was an Italian painter influenced by Giotto. He was a student of Agnolo Gaddi in Florence. Gaddi trained under his father, called Taddeo Gaddi, who trained with Giotto. Cennini was born in ...

imbibed the humanist culture expressed in his celebrated ''Libro dell'arte''.Martin Kemp, ''Behind the Picture: Art and Evidence in the Italian Renaissance'' (Yale University Press) 1997, pp 86f. Kemp notes the only documented reference to Cennino's career, which listed him in 1398 among ''familiaris magnifici domini paduani''.

Family

Francesco II had several legitimate children: * Francesco III, was strangled a few days after his father. * Jacopo, taken prisoner after the surrender of Verona, strangled a few days after his father. * Ubertino * Marsilio * Nicolò, died in childhood *

Gigliola da Carrara Gigliola da Carrara (1379–1416) was the Marchioness of Ferrara, daughter of Francesco Novello da Carrara, lord of Padua, son of Francesco I da Carrara, and Taddea d'Este. The 13 years old Marchioness of Ferrara married the Marquis Niccolò III ...

* Valpurga, abbess of Saint Agatha in Padua He also had a number of illegitimate offspring: * Stefano * Gionata * Milone * Agnese, married Ognibene da Mantova

References

Sources

* 1359 births 1406 deaths Lords of Padua 15th-century condottieri 14th-century condottieri People executed by the Republic of Venice People executed by strangulation Da Carrara family {{italy-noble-stub