Francesco II da Carrara (19 May 1359 – 16 January 1406), known as Francesco il Novello ('Francesco the Younger'), was Lord of

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 ...

after his father, Francesco I il Vecchio, renounced the lordship on 29 June 1388; he was a member of the family of

Carraresi The House of Carrara or Carraresi (da Carrara) was an important family of northern Italy in the 12th to 15th centuries. The family held the title of Lords of Padua from 1318 to 1405. Under their rule, Padua conquered Verona, Vicenza, Treviso, ...

. He married Taddea, daughter of

Niccolò II d'Este Niccolò II d'Este (1338 – 26 March 1388) was lord of Ferrara, Modena and Parma from 1361 until his death. He was the son of Obizzo III d'Este, Obizzo III, who had ruled in Ferrara from 1317 to 1352 and the noblewoman Lippa degli Ariosti. Aft ...

, Lord of Modena. He fought in the

Battle of Castagnaro The Battle of Castagnaro was fought on 11 March 1387 at Castagnaro (today's Veneto, northern Italy) between Verona and Padua. It is one of the most famous battles of the Italian condottieri age. The army of Verona was led by Giovanni Ordela ...

(1387) for

. He was executed by Venetian officials after his capture during the war between

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

and Padua (see War of Padua).

Burckhardt The Burckhardt family alternatively also (de) Bourcard (in French) is a family of the Basel patriciate, descended from Christoph (Stoffel) Burckhardt (1490–1578), a merchant in cloth and silk originally from Münstertal, Black Forest, who rece ...

writes: "when the last Carrara could no longer defend the walls and gates of the plague-stricken Padua, hemmed in on all sides by the Venetians, the soldiers of the guard heard him cry to the devil 'to come and kill him.'" His sons Francesco and Giacomo who had also been captured were executed the following day. In Francesco's extensive '' familia'', or ducal household, the painter

Cennino Cennini Cennino d'Andrea Cennini (; – before 1427) was an Italian painter influenced by Giotto. He was a student of Agnolo Gaddi in Florence. Gaddi trained under his father, called Taddeo Gaddi, who trained with Giotto. He is remembered mainly f ...

imbibed the humanist culture expressed in his celebrated ''Libro dell'arte''.Martin Kemp, ''Behind the Picture: Art and Evidence in the Italian Renaissance'' (Yale University Press) 1997, pp 86f. Kemp notes the only documented reference to Cennino's career, which listed him in 1398 among ''familiaris magnifici domini paduani''.

Family

Francesco II had several legitimate children: * Francesco III, was strangled a few days after his father. Married Alda Gonzaga, daughter of

Francesco I Gonzaga image:Ritratto di Francesco I Gonzaga.jpg, Portrait of Francesco I Gonzaga Francesco I Gonzaga (1366 – 7 March 1407) was List of rulers of Mantua, ruler of Mantua from 1382 to 1407. He was also a condottiero. Diplomatic policies towards Mil ...

and Agnese Visconti. * Jacopo, taken prisoner after the surrender of Verona, strangled a few days after his father. Married to Costanza da Varano. * Ubertino * Marsilio * Nicolò, died in childhood * Gigliola da Carrara * Valpurga, abbess of Saint Agatha in Padua He also had a number of illegitimate offspring: * Stefano * Gionata * Milone * Agnese, married Ognibene da Mantova

References

Sources

* * 1359 births 1406 deaths Lords of Padua 15th-century condottieri 14th-century condottieri People executed by the Republic of Venice People executed by strangulation Da Carrara family {{italy-noble-stub