Francesco I da Carrara (29 September 1325, in

Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label= Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the Province of M ...

– 6 October 1393, in

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of t ...

), called il Vecchio, was Lord of Padua from 1350 to 1388. Giusto de'Menabuoi Petrarca

The son of the assassinated Giacomo II da Carrara, he succeeded him as lord of Padua by popular acclamation. In 1356 he was named imperial vicar by

emperor Charles IV Charles IV ( cs, Karel IV.; german: Karl IV.; la, Carolus IV; 14 May 1316 – 29 November 1378''Karl IV''. In: (1960): ''Geschichte in Gestalten'' (''History in figures''), vol. 2: ''F–K''. 38, Frankfurt 1963, p. 294), also known as Charle ...

. In 1360 he obtained by Louis I of Hungary the cities of

Feltre Feltre ( vec, Fèltre) is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Belluno in Veneto, northern Italy. A hill town in the southern reaches of the province, it is located on the Stizzon River, about from its junction with the Piave, and southwe ...

and

Belluno Belluno (; lld, Belum; vec, Belùn) is a town and province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Located about north of Venice, Belluno is the capital of the province of Belluno and the most important city in the Eastern Dolomites regi ...

with their territories, as well as Valsugana, which controlled the trades to

Trentino Trentino ( lld, Trentin), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento, is an autonomous province of Italy, in the country's far north. The Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, an autonomous regio ...

. In 1372-1373 he fought a fruitless war against his powerful neighbor, the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia ...

. In 1375-1381 he sided with the

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of t ...

in the War of Chioggia, after which he obtained by Leopold III of Austria the city of

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Veneti ...

. In 1385, he allied with the Visconti of Milan against the Scaliger of

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

. In 1387 the Paduan troops, led by

John Hawkwood Sir John Hawkwood ( 1323 – 17 March 1394) was an English soldier who served as a mercenary leader or '' condottiero'' in Italy. As his name was difficult to pronounce for non-English-speaking contemporaries, there are many variations of it i ...

and his son Francesco Novello, defeated the Scaliger troops in the Battle of Castagnaro. The following year, however, Venice and Milan formed a colation against Francesco, who was forced to abdicate in favour of his son and to go into exile in Lombardy. Later

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

transferred him first to

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and to the Alps has m ...

, and then to the Forni jail of

, where he died in 1393. Francesco was a patron of the arts. He favored the

University of Padua The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from ...

, where he called Ubaldo degli Ubaldi. He was also a friend of

Francesco Petrarca Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited ...

, whom he donated an estate in Arquà. He married Fina Buzzaccarini and their daughter Cecilia of Carrara (d. 1435) married Wenceslaus I, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg. His other daughter, Caterina, married the Croatian count Stephen II of Frankopan, lord of Krk: their only surviving daughter Elizabeth married Frederick II, Count of Celje. After the death of Francesco's grandson

Marsilio Marsilio is an Italian name most likely to refer to: *Marsilio Ficino (1433–1499), Italian scholar and Catholic priest It may also refer to: * Marco Marsilio (born 1968), Italian politician * Marsilio da Carrara (1294–1338), Lord of Padua *Ma ...

, the offspring of those two marriages remained Francesco's only surviving legitimate male descendants. None of them is known to have claimed the Carraresi inheritance.

External links

Biography at Rinascimento.it
1325 births 1393 deaths Da Carrara family Lords of Padua People of the War of Chioggia {{italy-mil-bio-stub