Francesco I Pico (c. 1272 - 1321) 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 ...

and politician of the Pico dynasty. He was the first lord and

imperial vicar An imperial vicar () was a prince charged with administering all or part of the Holy Roman Empire on behalf of the emperor. Later, an imperial vicar was invariably one of two princes charged by the Golden Bull with administering the Holy Roman E ...

Mirandola Mirandola (Emilian language#Dialects, Mirandolese: ) is a city and ''comune'' of Emilia-Romagna, Italy, in the Province of Modena, northeast of the Modena, provincial capital by railway. History Mirandola originated as a Renaissance Defensiv ...

(1311-1321), and also

podestà (), also potestate or podesta in English, was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of central and northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a c ...

(1311-12 and 1318-19) and imperial vicar of

Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

(1311-12).

Life

He was the son of Bartolomeo and Aledisia Pallavicino. After serving the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII, Francesco I PIco was appointed as imperial vicar in 1311 and entered the city of Modena to administer it. For about a year he found himself managing relations between the factions of the wealthy

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as The Royal City, it is roughly east of Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Ontario Highway 6, ...

(Papacy) and

Ghibelline The Guelphs and Ghibellines ( , ; ) were factions supporting the Pope (Guelphs) and the Holy Roman Emperor (Ghibellines) in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy during the Middle Ages. During the 12th and 13th centu ...

(Emperor) families, but he was caught in an ambush at the gates of Modena near Baggiovara, where he was alerted to the army of the city 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 ...

encamped to lay siege to the city of Modena. After a clash, he escaped by taking refuge inside the walls of Modena, remaining with only 200 soldiers out of 1500 who had gone out on the expedition with him. From that day on, every day the bells tolled, because Francesco I Pico was taking revenge for the betrayal on all the guilty parties. All the Guelphs and citizens of Modena were now exhausted and all turned to the lord of Mantua for protection, offering the keys of the city in exchange. The lord of

Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...

, Rinaldo Bonacolsi, known as 'il Passerino' due to his diminutive stature, was a man much feared for his ferocity and implacability. He intervened with his troops and laid siege to the city of Modena, but let Francesco I Pico know that if he renounced the city, the lord of Mantua would grant him a pass to leave, saving him and his wife and two children. After a siege of twenty days, Francesco I Pico left the city, left Modena and for about five years served as imperial vicar in

Lucca Città di Lucca ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its Province of Lucca, province has a population of 383,9 ...

and

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

. Returning to his own domains, which were located in the city of Mirandola where there was a ''

castrum ''Castra'' () is a Latin language, Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'Fortification, fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified milita ...

'' or castle dating back to before 1200, he found the castle razed to the ground on the orders of Rinaldo Bonacolsi and so did the various country houses and part of the walls. Someone who was a friend of the lord of Mantua told him that he had seen Francesco I wandering around La Mirandola and so he was captured together with his two sons, taken to the city of Modena stripped naked and tied to the backs of mules and made to pass among the Modenese plebs who whipped them, kicked them, threw stones, used pitchforks, all to avenge the wrongs they had suffered in the past. Francesco I Pico and his two sons Prendiparte and Tommasino were then taken by order of the Bonacolsi (27 November 1321) to the fortress of

Castel d'Ario Castel d'Ario ( Mantovano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Mantua in the Italian region Lombardy, located about east of Milan and about east of Mantua. It was the birthplace of race car driver Tazio Nuvolari. Castel d'Ario ...

(Mantua), where they were locked up alive without water or food and ended up devouring each other. A plaque, placed at the entrance, recalls the event. On that occasion, after a month-long

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

, Mirandola was occupied by the Bonacolsi who, on their fall in 1328, ceded it to the

Gonzaga Gonzaga may refer to: Places *Gonzaga, Lombardy, commune in the province of Mantua, Italy *Gonzaga, Cagayan, municipality in the Philippines *Gonzaga, Minas Gerais, town in Brazil *Forte Gonzaga, fort in Messina, Sicily Surname *House of Gonza ...

References

Bibliography

* Giovanni B. Crollalanza, ''Dizionario storico-blasonico delle famiglie nobili e notabili italiane estinte e fiorenti'', Editore Dir. del Giornale Araldico, 1886. * {{No ISBN.

Life

References

Bibliography

See also