Franceschetto Cybo (baptized Francesco) (c. 1450 – 25 July 1519) was an Italian nobleman, noteworthy for being the illegitimate son of

Pope Innocent VIII Pope Innocent VIII (; ; 1432 – 25 July 1492), born Giovanni Battista Cybo (or Cibo), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1484 to his death, in July 1492. Son of the viceroy of Naples, Cybo spent his ea ...

(Giovanni Battista Cybo). Later naturalized by his father into becoming his legitimate heir, Franceschetto was infamous for his gambling addiction and wanton spending of the Papal treasury for various pleasures and scandals. He is otherwise noteworthy for his political marriage to Maddalena de Medici, and their offspring formed a dynastic lineage that persists in the nobility of Europe until today.

Early life

Franceschetto was born in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

in 1450, to an unknown Neapolitan woman and Giovanni Battista Cybo. His father would later be elected Pope and take the name Innocent VIII. Although born with the name Francesco, he was nicknamed "Franceschetto" due to his small stature."Franceschetto Cybo", Biblio Toscana
/ref> Upon his father's ascension to the Papacy as Pope Innocent VIII, Franceschetto infamously engaged in rampant gambling and womanizing throughout Rome. After failed attempts at marriage with one of the bastard daughters of the King of Naples, Franceschetto was eventually married to

Lorenzo de' Medici Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici (), known as Lorenzo the Magnificent (; 1 January 1449 – 9 April 1492), was an Italian statesman, the ''de facto'' ruler of the Florentine Republic, and the most powerful patron of Renaissance culture in Italy. Lore ...

's daughter, Maddalena de' Medici. This was part of a deal between Pope Innocent VIII and Lorenzo, where the Pope would make Giovanni de Medici, Lorenzo's son, into a cardinal in exchange for this marriage to Maddalena. Through this marriage and deal, therefore, Franceschetto was brother-in-law to

Pope Leo X Pope Leo X (; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political and banking Med ...

(Giovanni de' Medici).

Noble career

Despite his infamy and the numerous scandals surrounding him, Franceschetto received from his father important positions in 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 ...

: governor and Captain General of Rome (1488), the fiefs of

Cerveteri Cerveteri () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, in the Italian region of Lazio. Known by the ancient Romans as Caere, and previously by the Etruscans as Caisra or Cisra, and as Agylla (or ) by the Greeks, ...

and Anguillara (1490) and the title of Count of the

Lateran Palace The Apostolic Palace of the Lateran (; ), informally the Lateran Palace (), is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later the main pope, papal residence in Rome. Located on Saint John's Square in Lateran on the Caelian Hill, the palace is ...

, among others. In September 1490, amidst false rumors of the death of Innocent VIII, Franceschetto attempted to seize the Papal treasury and also kidnapped son of Sultan Mehmed II, Cem, in an attempt to extract ransom money. This failed when the Pope turned out to be alive, but a significant portion of the treasury remained missing even afterwards. Two years later, after Innocent VIII's death, Franceschetto was forced into hiding with the election of Pope Alexander VI, who looked poorly upon Franceschetto's Medici and Orsini allies. Franceschetto was forced to sell many of his father's possessions, including the title of count of Anguillara, while moving between various cities in Italy. He eventually could return to Rome thanks to the election of the more favourable

Pope Julius II Pope Julius II (; ; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death, in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope, the Battle Pope or the Fearsome ...

(1503), who gave him the title of

Duke of Spoleto The Duke of Spoleto was the ruler of Spoleto and most of central Italy outside the Papal States during the Early and High Middle Ages (c. 500 – 1300). The first dukes were appointed by the Lombard king, but they were independent in practice. Th ...

. Franceschetto's lot continued to improve with the election of his brother-in-law Giovanni de Medici to the papacy as Pope Leo X, who also gave him several titles, and eventually made Franceschetto's son Innocenzo into a cardinal.

Death

He died in 1519 after a trip to

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

. He is buried in Innocent VIII's sepulchre in

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initiall ...

Children

Franceschetto and Maddalenna had eight children: * Lucrezia Cybo (1489–1492) * Clarice Cybo (1490–1492), born deformed *

Innocenzo Cybo Innocenzo Cibo (25 August 1491 – 13 April 1550) was an Italian cardinal and archbishop. Family and education From the Genoese family Cibo, in 1488 the Cybo family purchased Florentine citizenship for a considerable sum of money I ...

(1491–1550), Archbishop of Genoa and cardinal *Eleonora Cybo (1499–1557), a Benedictine nun. * Lorenzo Cybo (1500–1549), founder of the Cybo Malaspina line * Caterina Cybo (1501–1557), Duchess of

Camerino Camerino is a town in the province of Macerata, Marche, central-eastern Italy. It is located in the Apennines bordering Umbria, between the valleys of the rivers Potenza and Chienti, about from Ancona. Camerino is home to the University of Ca ...

*Ippolita Cybo (1503–1562), married Roberto di Sanserverino, Count of Caiazzo *Giovanni Battista Cybo (1505–1550), Bishop of Marseille

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cybo, Franceschetto 1450s births 1519 deaths Year of birth uncertain 15th-century Neapolitan people Franceschetto Dukes of Spoleto Counts in Italy Italian Roman Catholics Illegitimate children of popes 17th-century Neapolitan people 16th-century Italian nobility Burials at St. Peter's Basilica Captains General of the Church