Facino Cane. Facino Cane da Casale (1360 – 16 May 1412), born Bonifacio Cane, 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 ...

Biography

Facino Cane was born in

Casale Monferrato Casale Monferrato () is a town in the Piedmont region of Northwest Italy, northwestern Italy, in the province of Alessandria. It is situated about east of Turin on the right bank of the Po River, Po, where the river runs at the foot of the Montfe ...

to a noble family that produced a number of military captains and administrators. His father was Manuele, the son of Enrico Cane. Facino had younger brothers named Filippino and Marcolo. Most of the family abandoned the service of the Marquess of Montferrat for 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 ...

in the early 1360s. Facino trained in the military arts by fighting under Otto of Brunswick against Charles of Durazzo, in 1381. Taken captive, he passed into the service of Charles of Durazzo (now King Charles III of Naples), fighting against his rival, Duke Louis I of Anjou in 1382. When Charles left for Hungary in 1385, Facino returned to Northern Italy. At the age of 26, in 1386, he became condottiero for the Scaliger lord of Verona in a conflict against

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

. Taken captive by the enemy in 1387, Facino was released and entered into the service of the Carraresi lord of Padua. His unscrupulous behaviour caused a scandal, leading to his dismissal by the Carraresi in 1388. Facino now entered the service of Theodore II, Marquess of Montferrat, with 400 knights, in his war against the

House of Savoy The House of Savoy (, ) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) of Franco-Italian origin that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern F ...

. Facino's aim in wars was almost exclusively the enrichment of himself and his soldiers, resulting in continued savage acts of ruthlessness and cruelties against the population. This led Theodore, too, to dismiss Facino in 1397, and the condottiero returned to service with the Carraresi of Padua and then, in 1401, with the Visconti of Milan. By this time, Facino appears to have increased his wealth and following by marrying Beatrice, the daughter of a cousin, , who had been a captain in the service of the Visconti. In 1399 Facino received a small lordship centred on Borgo San Martino from the Marquis of Montferrat, before passing definitively into Visconti service, in which he was rewarded with greater lordship. By 1404 his personal dominions included

Alessandria Alessandria (; ) is a city and commune in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. It is also the largest municipality of the region. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, ...

Novara Novara (; Novarese Lombard, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous ...

and

Tortona Tortona (; , ; ) is a ''comune'' of Piemonte, in the Province of Alessandria, Italy. Tortona is sited on the right bank of the Scrivia between the plain of Spinetta Marengo, Marengo and the foothills of the Ligurian Apennines. Its ''frazione'' of ...

. After the deaths of Duke

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 ...

in 1402 and of his widow Caterina Visconti in 1404, Facino largely assumed the effective control of the

Duchy of Milan The Duchy of Milan (; ) was a state in Northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti of Milan, Visconti family, which had been ruling the city since 1277. At that time, ...

for their young sons

Gian Maria Visconti Gian Maria Visconti (or Giovanni Maria; 7 September 1388 – 16 May 1412) was the second Visconti of Milan, Visconti Duke of Milan, the son of Gian Galeazzo Visconti and Caterina Visconti. He was known to be cruel and was eventually assassinated ...

, the new duke of Milan, and

Filippo Maria Visconti Filippo Maria Visconti (3 September 1392 – 13 August 1447) was the duke of Duchy of Milan, Milan from 1412 to 1447. Reports stated that he was "paranoid", but "shrewd as a ruler." He went to war in the 1420s with Romagna, Republic of Florenc ...

, the ruler of

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

. On 24 January 1406, Facino was invested as Count of Biandrate by Filippo Maria Visconti, in the presence of the Marquess of Montferrat. The new count of Biandrate was subsequently occupied with the Visconti's conflict with the Malatesta. In January 1412, Facino set out on a campaign against Pandolfo III Malatesta of

Fano Fano () is a city 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 pop ...

. Despite initial success, Facino suffered from an acute attack of gout and had to be carried back to Pavia. As Facino lay dying, Duke Gian Maria Visconti was murdered in Milan; one of Facino's last acts is said to have been to urge all to swear loyalty to Filippo Maria as his brother's successors. Facino died at Pavia on 16 May 1412, leaving no children. His widow Beatrice married Duke Filippo Maria Visconti, who therefore inherited the cities, the treasure and the soldiers of Facino. Facino's younger brother Filippino inherited the County of Biandrate.

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