Antonio I Ordelaffi (c. 1390 – 4 August 1448) was lord of

Forlì Forlì ( ; ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is, together with Cesena, the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena.The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the east of the Montone river, ...

from 1433 to 1436 and again from 1438 to 1448. He was a member of the noble family of

Ordelaffi The Ordelaffi were a noble family that ruled the lower Romagna and Napoli from the 13th century to 1504, with some interregnums. History The Ordelaffi origins are unclear, but themselves claimed a lineage with "Lor de Laffia", a Germanic soldier ...

. The son of

Francesco III Ordelaffi Francesco III Ordelaffi (c. 1357 – September 8, 1405), also known as Cecco III, was an Italian condottiero and lord of Forlì. A member of the Ordelaffi family, he was brother to Pino I. Together with Pino, he was a protagonist in the reconque ...

(best known as Cecco III or II), at the latter's death (1405) he was first imprisoned and then exiled to

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

by the Papal legate Baldassarre Cossa. In 1411 he returned to Forlì as co-lord with his cousin Giorgio, but he was again imprisoned in

Imola Imola (; or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical region Romagna ...

where he remained until 1424, when he was freed 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 V ...

. Giorgio had died in 1422, but Forlì was returned to the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

. Eleven years later a popular revolt ousted the Papal governor, and Antonio could take possession of Forlì. Allied with the Visconti then in war against

Pope Eugene IV Pope Eugene IV (; ; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 March 1431 to his death, in February 1447. Condulmer was a Republic of Venice, Venetian, and a nephew ...

, he managed to gain

Forlimpopoli Forlimpopoli (; ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Forlì-Cesena, north-eastern Italy. It is located on the '' Via Emilia'' between Cesena and Forlì. History The name of Forlimpopoli derives from the Roman ''Forum Popilii'', most lik ...

and other castles, but the peace between Rome and Milan stripped him off of all of them. In 1436 he was also forced to cede Forlì to

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 L'Aqui ...

, and went to exile in

Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...

. Two years later he regained the seigniory and maintained it despite the attacks of Papal-Visconti condottieri like

Niccolò Piccinino Niccolò Piccinino (1386 – 15 October 1444) was an Italian condottiero. He began his career in the mercenary company of Braccio da Montone, reaching the rank of commander of the company after Braccios death in 1424. He spent most of his career ...

and

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 mos ...

. In 1447 he was recognized papal vicar of

. He married Caterina Rangoni of Spilamberto. After his death during a plague, she held the lordship with her brother Ugo Rangoni (1449–1454).

Sources

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ordelaffi, Antonio 1390s births 1448 deaths

Antonio Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan language, Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top ...

Ordelaffi, Antonio 15th-century Italian nobility Lords of Forlì