:''This article is not about Niccolò Fortiguerra (1674-1735), bishop and poet, author of Ricciardetto'' Niccolò Fortiguerra (also spelled Forteguerri) (1419 – 21 December 1473) was an Italian papal legate, military commander, and Cardinal. Born at Pistoia, he was related to

Pope Pius II Pope Pius II ( la, Pius PP. II, it, Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini ( la, Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus, links=no; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August ...

and is counted as a

cardinal-nephew A cardinal-nephew ( la, cardinalis nepos; it, cardinale nipote; es, valido de su tío; pt, cardeal-sobrinho; french: prince de fortune)Signorotto and Visceglia, 2002, p. 114. Modern French scholarly literature uses the term "cardinal-neveu'". ...

. He had a

doctorate in utroque iure A doctor of both laws, from the Latin ''doctor utriusque juris'', or ''juris utriusque doctor'', or ''doctor juris utriusque'' ("doctor of both laws") (abbreviations include: JUD, IUD, DUJ, JUDr., DUI, DJU, Dr.iur.utr., Dr.jur.utr., DIU, UJD a ...

from the

University of Siena The University of Siena ( it, Università degli Studi di Siena, abbreviation: UNISI) in Siena, Tuscany, is one of the oldest and first publicly funded universities in Italy. Originally called ''Studium Senese'', the institution was founded in 1240 ...

. He became

bishop of Teano The Diocese of Teano (Latin: ''Dioecesis Theanensis'') was a Roman Catholic diocese in Italy, located in the city of Teano in the province of Caserta in Campania, Italy. In 1818, it was united the Diocese of Calvi Risorta to form the Diocese of C ...

in 1458, and Cardinal in 1460. In 1462 he campaigned 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 ...

against

Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta (19 June 1417 – 7 October 1468) was an Italian condottiero and nobleman, a member of the House of Malatesta and lord of Rimini and Fano from 1432. He was widely considered by his contemporaries as one of the mo ...

, taking

Fano Fano is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy. It is a beach resort southeast of Pesaro, located where the '' Via Flaminia'' reaches the Adriatic Sea. It is the third city in the region by po ...

. Later, in 1465, he defeated Deifobo d'Anguillara in battle. Fortiguerra was unable to participate in the

Papal conclave, 1464 The 1464 papal conclave (August 28–30), convened after the death of Pope Pius II, elected as his successor cardinal Pietro Barbo, who took the name ''Paul II''. List of participants Pope Pius II died on August 14, 1464, in Ancona during prepara ...

, which elected

Pope Paul II Pope Paul II ( la, Paulus II; it, Paolo II; 23 February 1417 – 26 July 1471), born Pietro Barbo, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 August 1464 to his death in July 1471. When his maternal uncle Eugene IV ...

. He did participate in the Papal conclave, 1471 which elected Pope Sixtus IV. He endowed a library, the Biblioteca Forteguerriana, in Pistoia. He died at

Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history ...

in 1473 and was buried at his titular church in Rome, Santa Cecilia in Trastevere. The Cathedral of Pistoia has a cenotaph Monument to Niccolò Fortiguerri, partially sculpted in the 15th century by Verrochio. There is a 19th-century outdoor statue Monument to Fortiguerra in Piazza di Santo Spirito of Pistoia.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fortiguerra, Niccolo 1419 births 1473 deaths People from Pistoia 15th-century Italian cardinals 15th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops Cardinal-nephews University of Siena alumni