260px, Latin epitaph of Francesco Piccinino. Francesco Piccinino (c. 1407 – 16 October 1449) 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 ...

. He was the adopted son of the condottiero

Niccolò Piccinino Niccolò Piccinino (1386 – 15 October 1444) was an Italian condottiero. He began his career in the mercenary company of Braccio da Montone, reaching the rank of commander of the company after Braccios death in 1424. He spent most of his career ...

, (1386-1444), making him the adopted brother of

Jacopo Piccinino Jacopo Piccinino (1423 – July 1465) was an Italian condottiero and nobleman, the son of military leader Niccolò Piccinino. A native of Perugia, he was the feudal lord of Sulmona, Sterpeto, Assisi, Chieti, Città Sant'Angelo, Francavilla al M ...

(1423-1465). Francesco earned a reputation as a gallant warrior serving 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, ...

under the Visconti and 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 ...

under

Pope Martin V Pope Martin V (; ; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Oddone Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431. His election effectively ended the We ...

(d. 1431). In 1436, he was serving the Aragonese

Kings of Naples The following is a list of rulers of the Kingdom of Naples, from its first separation from the Kingdom of Sicily to its merger with the same into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Kingdom of Naples (1282–1501) House of Anjou In 1382, the Kin ...

, and he took part in the 1437 siege of Cerreto Umbra against

Francesco Sforza Francesco I Sforza (; 23 July 1401 – 8 March 1466) was an Italian condottiero who founded the Sforza dynasty in the duchy of Milan, ruling as its (fourth) duke from 1450 until his death. In the 1420s, he participated in the War of L'Aqui ...

. After some successes, he besieged

Assisi Assisi (, also ; ; from ; Central Italian: ''Ascesi'') is a town and comune of Italy in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio. It is generally regarded as the birthplace of the Latin poet Prope ...

and then

Pergola A pergola is most commonly used as an outdoor garden feature forming a shaded walkway, passageway, or sitting area of vertical posts or pillars that usually support crossbeams and a sturdy open lattice, often upon which woody vines are t ...

. In 1440, he participated in the Battle of Anghiari and was badly defeated. On 19 August 1444 he was again defeated by Sforza's forces at Montolmo (now Corridonia) and taken prisoner, while his brother Jacopo was able to escape. In 1446, Piccinino fought against Micheletto Attendolo near

Cremona Cremona ( , , ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the Po Valley. It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local city a ...

. Niccolo and Luigi dal Verme besieged that city, paid by

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 ...

. Scaramuccia da Forlì, sent by the Venetian government, relieved the siege of Cremona. On 28 September the same year Piccinino suffered a defeat at

Casalmaggiore Casalmaggiore ( Casalasco-Viadanese: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Cremona, Lombardy, Italy, located on the Po River. It was the birthplace of Italian composers Ignazio Donati and Andrea Zani. Recently, its women's volleyball team Volleyb ...

. It was followed by a more serious one at Monte

Brianza Brianza (, ) is a geographical, historical and cultural area of Italy, at the foot of the Alps, in the northwest of Lombardy, between Milan and Lake Como. Geography Brianza extends from the Canzo area, North of Monza (approximately ...

in 1447. Despite these setbacks, he managed to gain a contract under the newly formed and short-lived Ambrosian Republic (1447-1450) together with Jacopo, in order to thwart Sforza's claim to be Duke of Milan. He did not live to see Sforza's victory. He fell ill and died in 1449. His symptoms included

edema Edema (American English), also spelled oedema (British English), and also known as fluid retention, swelling, dropsy and hydropsy, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue (biology), tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. S ...

, which suggests several possible conditions or diseases that might have caused his death. He married Camilla da Montone,A list of Braccio da Montone's progeny is included at the end of the Italian Wikipedia article, which is much more detailed than the English version. daughter of the condottiero Braccio da Montone (1368-1424), in 1443.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Piccinino, Francesco 1400s births 1449 deaths People from Perugia 15th-century condottieri

See also

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