Stampa in Armatura del Marchese Carlo Andrea Caracciolo

Carlo Andrea Caracciolo (1583/4 – 5 August 1646) was an Italian nobleman and military commander serving the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

. A member of the

House of Caracciolo The House of Caracciolo () ( Italian: ''Casa Caracciolo'') (Latin: ''Domus Caracciolo'') is a prominent aristocratic noble family that originated in the city of Naples. The Caracciolos are considered one of the most important families in the hi ...

of the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...

, his military career coincided with the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

. He fought in Italy, Germany, Iberia and Brazil against the English, French, Swedes, Catalans and Portuguese. He was the second Marquis of Torrecuso from 1603 and the first Duke of

San Giorgio La Molara San Giorgio La Molara is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Benevento in the Italian region Campania, located about northeast of Naples and about northeast of Benevento. San Giorgio La Molara borders the following municipalities: Bu ...

briefly in 1626.

Early life

Carlo Andrea was born in 1583 or 1584. He was the eldest of seven children of Lelio Caracciolo and Silvia di Traiano Caracciolo. His grandfather was , the famed convert to

Calvinism Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyteri ...

. Lelio fought in the

Battle of Lepanto The Battle of Lepanto was a naval warfare, naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League (1571), Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states arranged by Pope Pius V, inflicted a major defeat on the fleet of t ...

in 1571. His title was changed from Marquis of Libonati to Marquis of Torrecuso shortly before his death in 1603. Carlo inherited Torrecuso and the new title, but soon sold Libonati. In 1611, Caracciolo joined the expedition of the Marquis of Santa Cruz to the

Kerkennah Islands Kerkennah Islands ( '; Ancient Greek: ''Κέρκιννα Cercinna''; Spanish:''Querquenes'') are a group of islands lying off the east coast of Tunisia in the Gulf of Gabès and to the east of Sfax, at . The Islands are low-lying, being no more ...

, where he was wounded in action. In 1614, he married Teresa Vittoria Ravaschieri. Their first son, Carlo Maria, was born in Naples in 1616. Teresa died in 1637.

Military career

Caracciolo returned to military service in 1621, when he raised a ''

tercio A ''tercio'' (), Spanish for " third") was a military unit of the Spanish Army during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain and Habsburg Spain in the early modern period. They were the elite military units of the Spanish monarchy and ...

'' in Naples for service in Spain. A marine unit, it was amalgamated with the '' Tercio napolitano de la Real Armada'' in 1624 under Caracciolo's command. In 1625, he participated in the

recapture of Bahia The recapture of Bahia (; ) was a Spanish–Portuguese military expedition in 1625 to retake the city of Bahia (now Salvador, Bahia, Salvador) in Brazil from the forces of the Dutch West India Company (WIC). In May 1624, Dutch WIC forces under ...

in Brazil and in the defence of Cádiz against the English. For these actions, he was inducted into the

Order of Santiago The Order of Santiago (; ) is a religious and military order founded in the 12th century. It owes its name to the patron saint of Spain, ''Santiago'' ( St. James the Greater). Its initial objective was to protect the pilgrims on the Way of S ...

in October 1625. In 1626, his fief at San Giorgio La Molara was raised to a duchy, which he ceded later that year to Carlo Maria. In 1627, Caracciolo took part in the

siege of La Rochelle The siege of La Rochelle (, or sometimes ) was a result of a war between the French royal forces of Louis XIII of France and the Huguenots of La Rochelle in 1627–1628. The siege marked the height of Huguenot rebellions, the struggle between ...

. In 1629, he was in Cádiz to defend the fleet from a possible English attack. In 1631, he surrendered command of the ''Tercio napolitano'' and raised a new ''tercio'' in Italy. In the autumn of 1633, having marched from Milan over the Alps, his forces campaigned against the Swedes in southern Germany, taking part in the relief of

Constance Constance may refer to: Places * Constance, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community * Constance, Minnesota, United States, an unincorporated community * Mount Constance, Washington State, United States * Lake Constance (disambiguat ...

and

Breisach Breisach am Rhein (, ; formerly Alt-Breisach, , in contrast to " New Breisach"; Low Alemannic: ''Alt-Brisach''), commonly known as Breisach, is a town with approximately 16,500 inhabitants, situated along the Rhine in the Rhine Valley, in the di ...

and the capture of Waldshut, Säckingen, Laufenburg and Rheinfelden. In 1634, they fought in the Battle of Nördlingen. They then took the

Spanish Road The Spanish Road was a military road and trade route linking Spanish territories in Flanders with those in Italy. It was in use from approximately 1567 to 1648. The Road was created to support the Spanish war effort in the Eighty Years' War ag ...

to join the

Army of Flanders The Army of Flanders (; ) was a field army of the Spanish Army based in the Spanish Netherlands between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was one of the longest-serving field armies of the early modern era, being founded in 1567 and disbanded in 170 ...

. The ''tercio'' was finally disbanded in Flanders in April 1635. Caracciolo then joined the Army of Alsace as a captain of artillery and took part in the relief of Valenza, receiving a personal commendation from the Count-Duke of Olivares. In 1637, Caracciolo was the commander of the infantry of the

County of Burgundy The Free County of Burgundy (; ) was a medieval and early modern feudal polity ruled by a count from 982 to 1678. It became known as Franche-Comté (the ''Free County''), and was located in the modern region of Franche-Comté. It belonged to th ...

with the rank of governor of arms. Summoned the Spanish court, he was appointed '' maestre de campo general'' of

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

. In 1638, he took part in relieving the French siege of Fuenterrabía. In 1639–1640, he campaigned in Roussillon and was at the recapture of Salses. Recalled to help suppress the Catalan revolt, he was present at the Battle of Montjuïc in 1641, where his eldest son was killed. Following his son's death, Caracciolo received permission to return to Naples. He remained in Catalonia, however, because of the . In 1642, he revictualed besieged Perpignan in a daring raid, for which he was rewarded with the rank of

Grandee of Spain Grandee (; , ) is an official royal and noble ranks, aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the , though in neither country did they ha ...

. Only then did he return to Naples, only to be recalled in 1643 to command the army of

Extremadura Extremadura ( ; ; ; ; Fala language, Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is a landlocked autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, Spain, Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central- ...

against a Portuguese invasion. His subordinate, , fought an indecisive encounter at Montijo. Responding to criticism at court, he crossed the frontier and . After being forced to lift the siege, his resignation was accepted by King Philip IV in February 1645. Caracciolo was recalled from retirement in 1646 to defend the Tuscan '' Presidi'' against the French. He asked that his salary be distributed among the troops. Embarking with reinforcements at Naples on 5 July, he took command of the entire army at

Porto Ercole Porto Ercole () is an Italian town located in the municipality of Monte Argentario, in the Province of Grosseto, Tuscany. It is one of the two major towns that form the township, along with Porto Santo Stefano. Its name means "Port Hercules". It i ...

. In the

Battle of Orbetello The Battle of Orbetello, also known as the Battle of Isola del Giglio, was a major Naval battle, naval engagement of the Franco-Spanish War (1635), Franco-Spanish War of 1635. It was fought on 14 June 1646 off the Spanish-ruled town of Orbetello ...

, he forced the French to raise their siege. By 20 July, he had liberated the ''Presidi''. He was back in Naples on 28 July, but had contracted a fever. He died on 5 August. He was succeeded as Marquis of Torrecuso by his second son, Girolamo Maria, who had already succeeded his brother as Duke of San Giorgio in 1641.

Notes

Bibliography

* * {{refend 1580s births 1646 deaths People from the Kingdom of Naples Spanish military personnel House of Caracciolo Italian people of the Thirty Years' War