Malatesta IV Baglioni (1491 – 24 December 1531) 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 lord of

Perugia Perugia ( , ; ; ) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area. It has 162,467 ...

, count of

Bettona Bettona (Latin: ''Vettona'') is an ancient town and comune of Italy, in the province of Perugia in central Umbria at the northern edge of the Colli Martani range. It is 5 km (3 mi) E of Torgiano and 12 km (7 mi) SW of Assisi. I ...

and

Spello Spello (in Antiquity: Hispellum) is an ancient town and ''comune'' (township) of Italy, in the province of Perugia in eastern-central Umbria, on the lower southern flank of Monte Subasio. It is 6 km (4 mi) NNW of Foligno and 10 k ...

, and other lands in

Umbria Umbria ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Cascata delle Marmore, Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the Tiber. It is the only landlocked region on the Italian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula. The re ...

Biography

He was the son of

Gian Paolo Baglioni Gian Paolo Baglioni (c. 1470 – June 1520) was an Italian condottiero, count of Bettona and Spello and lord of Perugia. Biography He was the son of Rodolfo Baglioni and initially fought mostly in Umbria, especially against the family rivals ...

, ruler of Perugia, and Ippolita Conti. He followed his father in his ventures from a very early age, and at fifteen he was count of Bettona. Later, in the course of the

Italian Wars The Italian Wars were a series of conflicts fought between 1494 and 1559, mostly in the Italian Peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and Mediterranean Sea. The primary belligerents were the House of Valois, Valois kings o ...

, he served the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

, capturing Lodi and

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 ...

. In 1527 he was able to obtain the seignory of Perugia, after eliminating his brother and his uncle. During the

War of the League of Cognac The War of the League of Cognac (1526–1530) was fought between the Habsburg dominions of Charles V—primarily the Holy Roman Empire and Spain—and the League of Cognac, an alliance including the Kingdom of France, Pope Clement VII, the Re ...

, Malatesta left Perugia to Philibert of Orange, chief of the Imperial army in Italy, to assume the defence of the Republic of Florence. A secret agreement with

Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII (; ; born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the most unfortunate o ...

and the Imperials stated that he would receive the city back after his ''condotta'' for Florence ended. His treason was revealed on 3 August 1530, at the Battle of Gavinana, in which the Florentine force under Francesco Ferrucci was destroyed by the Imperial army. Ferrucci's exclamation: "Ahi traditor Malatesta!" has remained famous. Baglioni was thus able to return to Perugia on 20 September. He died in Bettona the following year.

References

Page at condottieridiventura.it
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baglioni, Malatesta 2 16th-century condottieri Military leaders of the Italian Wars Republic of Venice generals Lords of Perugia 1491 births 1531 deaths People of the War of the League of Cognac Bettona