Scaramuccia da Forlì (died 1450) 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 ...

active in the first half of the 15th century. In

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

his name means "skirmish". He was a native of

Forlì Forlì ( ; ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is, together with Cesena, the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena.The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the east of the Montone river, ...

Romagna Romagna () is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, in northern Italy. Etymology The name ''Romagna'' originates from the Latin name ''Romania'', which originally ...

. First reference to Scaramuccia was in 1433 as ''connestabile'' (commanding officer) of one of the gates of the city of

Emilia Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 million. Emilia-Romagna is one of ...

. He was a member of the party which was fighting against the

Ordelaffi The Ordelaffi were a noble family that ruled the lower Romagna and Napoli from the 13th century to 1504, with some interregnums. History The Ordelaffi origins are unclear, but themselves claimed a lineage with "Lor de Laffia", a Germanic soldier ...

, and when they regained control of the city he was banished. In 1438, during the

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

between 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 ...

and 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, ...

, he intervened successfully to raise the

siege of Brescia Siege of Brescia can refer to: * Siege of Brescia (1238) * Siege of Brescia (1438–1440) * Sack of Brescia (1512) * Capture of Brescia The capture of Brescia took place on 21 April 1799, during the Second Coalition war: General Field Marsh ...

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 ...

, general to

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 ...

, the Duke of Milan. Subsequently, he defended Brescia with 29 Bergamaschi soldiers. In the following years Scaramuccia remained loyal to the Serenissima, and in the summer of 1446 he fought against the Visconti's army at the head of 400 infantry. His commander was the famous Micheletto Attendolo. He successfully relieved the city of

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 ...

, which was being besieged by

Francesco Piccinino 260px, Latin epitaph of Francesco Piccinino. Francesco Piccinino (c. 1407 – 16 October 1449) was an Italian condottiero. He was the adopted son of the condottiero Niccolò Piccinino, (1386-1444), making him the adopted brother of Jacopo Pi ...

and

Luigi dal Verme Luigi dal Verme (c. 1390 – 1449), also known as Alvise dal Verme, was an Italian condottiero. Dal Verme was the son of the condottiero and Seigneur of Sanguinetto Jacopo dal Verme and a member of the Verona branch of the noble family, initia ...

. Scaramuccia died in 1450.

References

Page at condotttieridiventura.it
1450 deaths 15th-century condottieri People from Forlì Year of birth unknown Republic of Venice military personnel {{Italy-mil-bio-stub