Astorre Manfredi (c. 1345 – November 28, 1405) was an Italian

condottiero Condottieri (; singular: ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian military leaders active during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The term originally referred specifically to commanders of mercenary companies, derived from the ...

. He was the son of Giovanni Manfredi, who had been lord of

Faenza Faenza (, ; ; or ; ) is an Italian city and comune of 59,063 inhabitants in the province of Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, situated southeast of Bologna. Faenza is home to a historical manufacture of majolica-ware glazed earthenware pottery, known ...

(today's

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

) and other castles in the area before the

Papal The pope is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of sta ...

reconquest. Astorre lived for a while in Pistoia after his father had lost his last possession in Romagna; three years after the latter's death, in 1375, he managed to recover Granarolo.

Military career

In 1377, he conquered back Faenza, then occupied by the Este, with the help of his brother Francesco and the Ordelaffis, Lords 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, ...

. To obtain the money to keep his seignory, he formed a ''Compagnia di Ventura'' (mercenary band), called Compagnia della Stella (''Company of the Star''). He was hired by Barnabò Visconti to attack

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, but when that city paid him 13,000 florins, he moved back; when he tried again to assault the city, his troops were ambushed in the Bisagno valley and badly defeated. Astorre himself barely escaped being taken prisoner. In the meantime, his brother Francesco has attempted to attain power in Faenza, and Astorre imprisoned him in the castle of Solarolo. Later, Astorre was at the service of Bologna in the war against

Gian Galeazzo Visconti Gian Galeazzo Visconti (16 October 1351 – 3 September 1402), was the first duke of Duchy of Milan, Milan (1395) and ruled that late-medieval city just before the dawn of the Renaissance. He also ruled Lombardy jointly with his uncle Bernabò V ...

of Milan. His deeds gained him the praise of the Bolognesi, who gave him the palace in the city that still bears his name. In the Battle of Portomaggiore (April 16, 1395), he defeated the Ferrarese rebel Azzo d'Este, which he kept as a prisoner in Faenza in the following year. His excessive pretenses, however, pushed Niccolò III d'Este, lord of Ferrara, to capture his son Gian Galeazzo, who was later exchanged with Azzo. In 1400, the possession of the castle of Solarolo caused a war against Giovanni I Bentivoglio, the Papal vicar of

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, who had hired the famous Alberico da Barbiano. The outnumbered Astorre could only get help from the Pope and, in 1404, Faenza and all his territories were returned to the Papal States. After a period as condottiero under the Papal banners, he was captured when allegedly planning to regain Faenza through a revolt. He was condemned to death and executed in the main square of his city in 1405.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Astorre 01 Manfredi Manfredi, Astorre 1 Manfredi, Astorre 1 Manfredi, Astorre 1 Astorre 1 Manfredi, Astorre 1 People executed by the Papal States by decapitation 15th-century executions 14th-century Italian nobility 15th-century Italian nobility Lords of Faenza 15th-century condottieri