Paolo Orsini (1450 – 18 January 1503) 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 ...

in the service of 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 ...

, Ferdinand of Aragon and the

Republic of Florence The Republic of Florence (; Old Italian: ), known officially as the Florentine Republic, was a medieval and early modern state that was centered on the Italian city of Florence in Tuscany, Italy. The republic originated in 1115, when the Flor ...

. He was marquess of Atripalda and lord of

Mentana Mentana is a town and ''comune'', former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio, central Italy. It is located north-east of Rome and has a population of about 23,000. History Mentana is a town ...

, Palombara Sabina and Selci.

Life

An illegitimate son of cardinal

Latino Orsini Latino Orsini (1411 – 11 August 1477) was an Italian Cardinal. Life Of the Roman branch of the Orsini family, he was the fourth child of Carlo and Paola Gironima Orsini. He entered the ranks of the Roman clergy as a youth, became subdeacon ...

, who belonged to the

Duchy of Bracciano The Duchy of Bracciano was a fief of the Papal States, centred on lago di Bracciano and the town of Bracciano itself and ruled by a branch of the Orsini family with the title of Lord (from 1417) and Duke (1560–1696). History The Orsini ruled ...

branch, his mother's name is unknown. The cardinal legitimised him to safeguard the family inheritance. He commanded the papal guards in 1485 when he and his cousin Virginio tried to take over Rome, but Paolo had all his goods confiscated as a result in 1496. He entered

pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI (, , ; born Roderic Llançol i de Borja; epithet: ''Valentinus'' ("The Valencian"); – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death in 1503. Born into t ...

's service in 1497 and served alongside

Cesare Borgia Cesare Borgia (13 September 1475 – 12 March 1507) was a Cardinal (Catholic Church)#Cardinal_deacons, cardinal deacon and later an Italians, Italian ''condottieri, condottiero''. He was the illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI of the Aragonese ...

in the latter's attempt to conquer

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 ...

. He supported ''il Valentino'' in aiding the

Duchy of Urbino The Duchy of Urbino () was an independent duchy in Early modern period, early modern central Italy, corresponding to the northern half of the modern region of Marche. It was directly annexed by the Papal States in 1631. It was bordered by the A ...

who wished to return to ruling their state despite the Borgias' refusal to allow this. After capturing Senigallia the Borgia used deception to arrest the four noblemen it wished to eliminate for taking part in the Magione conspiracy, with

Vitellozzo Vitelli Vitellozzo Vitelli (c. 145831 December 1502) was an Italian condottiero. He was lord of Montone, Città di Castello, Monterchi and Anghiari. Biography Together with his father, Niccolò, who became lord of Città di Castello, and his brothers, ...

and

Oliverotto da Fermo Oliverotto Euffreducci, known as Oliverotto of Fermo (1475, in Fermo – 31 December 1502, in Senigallia), was an Italian condottiero and lord of Fermo during the pontificate of Pope Alexander VI, Alexander VI. His career is described in Niccolò ...

killed on 31 December 1502 by the assassin

Michelotto Corella Micheletto Corella (Micheletto Coreglia, Michele de Corella or Miguel de Corella) was a Valencian condottiero born on an unknown date in Valencia. He was killed in Milan in February 1508. Biography Known as ''Valentino's executioner'', he an ...

. Paolo and his cousin

Francesco Francesco, the Italian language, Italian (and original) version of the personal name "Francis (given name), Francis", is one of the List of most popular given names, most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name inclu ...

(fourth duke of Gravina and son of Raimondo Orsini) were both handed over at

Città della Pieve Città della Pieve is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Perugia in the Italian region Umbria, located in Valdichiana a few kilometres from the border between Umbria and Tuscany, and about southwest of Perugia and southeast of Chiusi ...

, where they were strangled on 18 January 1503. Plaque Senigallia Vitellozzo Vitelli et Oliverotto da Fermo

Marriage and issue

Paolo Orsini's first marriage was to Francesca Della Valle. In 1473 he remarried to Giulia Santacroce. He had four children: Pompeo Litta, in ''Famiglie celebri italiane. Orsini di Roma'', tav. 17, Torino, 1846. *

Fabio Fabio is a given name descended from Latin ''Fabius'' and very popular in Italy and Latin America (due to Italian migration). The name is written without an accent in Italian and Spanish, but is usually accented in Portuguese as ''Fábio'' (with t ...

(1476-1504),

, married Geronima

Borgia The House of Borgia ( ; ; Spanish and ; ) was a Spanish noble family, which rose to prominence during the Italian Renaissance. They were from Xàtiva, Kingdom of Valencia, the surname being a toponymic from the town of Borja, then in the Cro ...

; * Camillo (1491-1559), condottiero and politician, married Brigida

Orsini Orsini is a surname of Italian origin, originally derived from Latin ''ursinus'' ("bearlike") and originating as an epithet or sobriquet describing the name-bearer's purported strength. Notable people with the surname include the following: * Aaro ...

; * Porzia, married to

; * Roberto (died 1525), Archbishop of Reggio Calabria and

apostolic nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

References

Bibliography (in Italian)

* Niccolò Machiavelli, ''Descrizione del modo tenuto dal Duca Valentino nello ammazzare Vitellozzo Vitelli, Oliverotto da Fermo, il Signor Pagolo e il duca di Gravina Orsini'', 1503 * Elena Martignoni, Michela Martignoni, ''Vortice d'inganni. Cesare Borgia e la congiura dei condottieri'', Milano, Corbaccio, 2007. * Gustavo Brigante Colonna, ''Gli Orsini'', Milano, Ceschina Editrice, 1955. * Ivan Cloulas, ''I Borgia'', Roma, Salerno Editrice, 1989. * Pompeo Litta, ''Famiglie celebri italiane. Orsini di Roma'', tav. 17, Torino, 1846. * Vincenzo Celletti, ''Gli Orsini di Bracciano'', Roma, Palombi Edizioni, 1963.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Orsini, Paolo

Paolo Paolo is a masculine given name, the Italian language, Italian form of the name Paul (name), Paul. It may refer to: People Art * Paolo Abbate (1884–1973), Italian-American sculptor * Paolo Alboni (1671–1734), Italian painter * Paolo Anton ...

1450 births 1503 deaths 15th-century condottieri