Gian Giordano Orsini, IV Lord of Bracciano ( 1460–1517) was an Italian nobleman and

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 married

Felice della Rovere Felice della Rovere ( – 27 September 1536), also known as Madonna Felice, was the illegitimate daughter of Pope Julius II. One of the most powerful women of the Italian Renaissance, she was born in Rome around 1483 to Lucrezia Normanni and Ca ...

and was the son-in-law of

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 ...

Biography

Gian Giordano Orsini was born around 1460 in

Bracciano Bracciano is a small town in the Italian region of Lazio, northwest of Rome. The town is famous for its volcanic lake (Lake Bracciano, Lago di Bracciano or "Sabatino", the eighth largest lake in Italy) and for a particularly well-preserved medie ...

. He was the son of

Gentile Virginio Orsini Gentile Virginio Orsini (c. 1434 – 8 January 1497) was an Italian condottiero and vassal of the papal throne and the Kingdom of Naples, mainly remembered as the powerful head of the Orsini family during its feud with Pope Alexander VI (Rodr ...

, III Lord of Bracciano, and of his wife Isabella Orsini. In 1482 he was captain of the papal army of

Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV (or Xystus IV, ; born Francesco della Rovere; (21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 until his death in 1484. His accomplishments as pope included ...

against the Duke of Calabria

Alfonso II of Naples Alfonso II (4 November 1448 – 18 December 1495) was Duke of Calabria and ruled as King of Naples from 25 January 1494 to 23 January 1495. He was a soldier and a patron of Renaissance architecture and the arts. Heir to his father Fe ...

. He participated in the

Battle of Campomorto The Battle of Campomorto was fought near Frosinone, in the Lazio (Italy) on 21 August 1482, during the War of Ferrara. It saw the Papal army, led by the condottiero Roberto Malatesta, face King Ferdinand I of Naples's army, under the command of A ...

alongside the famous

Roberto Malatesta Roberto Malatesta ( – 10 Septembe1482) was an Italian condottiero, or mercenary captain, lord of Rimini, and a member of the House of Malatesta. Early life Born at Fano, Roberto was an illegitimate son of Sigismondo Pandolfo and his lover ...

. In 1495 he was captain of King

Charles VIII of France Charles VIII, called the Affable (; 30 June 1470 – 7 April 1498), was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. He succeeded his father Louis XI at the age of 13. His elder sister Anne acted as regent jointly with her husband Peter II, Du ...

against the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...

of King Ferrante and his son

Alfonso Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic Kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula. I ...

. He was captured and released only after two years. In this period, some possessions of the

Orsini family The House of Orsini is an Nobility of Italy, Italian noble family that was one of the most influential princely families in Middle Ages, medieval Italy and Renaissance Rome. Members of the Orsini family include five popes: Pope Stephen II, Step ...

were assigned to the rival

Colonna family The House of Colonna is an Italian noble family, forming part of the papal nobility. It played a pivotal role in Middle Ages, medieval and Roman Renaissance, Renaissance Rome, supplying one pope (Pope Martin V, Martin V), 23 cardinals and many ot ...

. Once free, he escaped an attack ordered by the Colonnas and took refuge in France, at the court of

Louis XII Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), also known as Louis of Orléans was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples (as Louis III) from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Marie of Cleves, he succeeded his second ...

. In 1511 his father-in-law,

, negotiated a peace with the Colonnas and recalled Gian Giordano to Italy. He died in

Vicovaro Vicovaro (, Romanesco: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome in the Italian region Lazio, located about northeast of Rome. History The area of Vicovaro was inhabited as early as the Neolithic period, as testified by r ...

on 12 October 1517.

Issue

Gian Giordano Orsini married twice. In 1486 he married Maria Cecilia of Naples, an illegitimate daughter of King Ferrante of Naples by Eulalia Ravignani. They had one son and two daughters:Pompeo Litta, ''Orsini di Roma
nowiki>'', in ''Famiglie celebri italiane'', Torino, 1846. *

Napoleone Napoleone is an Italian male given name. St. Napoleone of Alexandria, alternatively rendered as ''Neopulus'', ''Neopolus'', ''Neopolis'' or ''Neópolo'', whose feast day is August 15, was martyred during the early fourth century during the Diocle ...

(1500–17 February 1534), condottiero, killed by his half-brother Girolamo. * Francesca, who married Giovanni Cardona and later, in 1516, Lorenzo dell’Anguillara. * Carlotta, who married Giantommaso Pico della Mirandola on 28 October 1519. They had three sons, Girolamo, Virginio and Giovanni Antonio, and a daughter, Maddalena. In 1506 he married

, illegitimate daughter of Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere (from 1513

) They had three sons and two daughters: * Giulia Orsini (1507–1537). She married

Pietro Antonio Sanseverino Pietro is an Italian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: People * Pietro I Candiano (c. 842–887), briefly the 16th Doge of Venice * Pietro Tribuno (died 912), 17th Doge of Venice, from 887 to his death * Pietro II Can ...

, IV prince of

Bisignano Bisignano ( Calabrian: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cosenza, part of the Calabria region of southern Italy. It is situated on hills in the Crati valley, between the Pollino and Sila National Parks. The town has historically bee ...

, and had two daughters, Eleonora "Dianora", poet and wife of Ferdinando de Alarcón y Mendoza; and Felicia, who married Antonio Orsini, V Duke of Gravina. * Giulio Orsini (August 1508–1508). He lived only few months. * Francesco Orsini (17 May 1512–April 1560). Bishop of

Tricarico Tricarico ( ; ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Matera, Basilicata, southern Italy. It is home to one of the best preserved medieval historical centres in Lucania. Etymology The origin of the name Tricarico is unknown. It might de ...

between 1539 and 1544. * Girolamo Orsini (7 July 1513–3 November 1540), V Lord of

. He married Francesca Sforza di Santa Fiore, daughter of Bosio II Sforza, XI Count of

Santa Fiora Santa Fiora is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Grosseto, in the Italian region of Tuscany, located about southeast of Florence and about east of Grosseto. Santa Fiora borders the following municipalities: Abbadia San Salvatore, ...

, and his wife

Costanza Farnese Costanza Farnese (19 December 1500 – 23 May 1545) was a daughter of Alessandro Farnese and Silvia Ruffini. Born before her father became Pope Paul III, her siblings were Pier Luigi, Paul, Ranuccio and Lucrezia. She married Bosio II Sforza, ...

, natural daughter of Pope Paulus III. They had a daughter, Felicia (1535–1596), who married Marcantonio II Colonna and had with him seven children, and a son,

Paolo Giordano I Orsini Paolo Giordano Orsini (1541 – 13 November 1585) was an Italian nobleman, and the first duke of Bracciano from 1560. He was a member of the Roman family of the Orsini. Biography The son of Girolamo Orsini and Francesca Sforza, he was grandson, ...

, who married first

Isabella de' Medici Isabella Romola de' Medici (31 August 1542 – 16 July 1576) was the daughter of Cosimo I de' Medici, first Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Eleonora di Toledo. She received a humanist education alongside her brother, Francesco de' Medici, who succeed ...

and had with her a daughter, Francesca Eleonora, and a son, Virginio; and later married

Vittoria Accoramboni Vittoria Accoramboni, Duchess of Bracciano (15 February 1557{{snd22 December 1585) was an Italian noblewoman. Her life became the basis for John Webster's play '' The White Devil'', several novels, and a novella by Stendhal. Biography She was bor ...

, without issue. * Clarice Orsini (1514–before 1562). She married Luigi Carafa della Stadera and had a son,

Antonio Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan language, Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top ...

Honours

* Order of the Ermine - ''1487'' *

Order of Saint Michael The Order of Saint Michael () is a French dynastic order of chivalry, founded by King Louis XI of France on 1 August 1469, in response to the Order of the Golden Fleece founded by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, Louis' chief competitor fo ...

References

Sources

* * Pompeo Litta,
Orsini di Roma
', in ''Famiglie celebri italiane'', Torino, 1846. {{Authority control 1517 deaths Nobility from Rome Orsini family Italian Renaissance people 15th-century Italian nobility