Tracing the career of a condottiero who mastered both the battlefield and the training grounds.
Marquis of Pian Castagnaio, Baron of Patentino and Castelvecchio. Son of Bartolomeo del Monte a Santa Maria, brother of Camillo del Monte a Santa Maria and Francesco del Monte a Santa Maria, and nephew of Chiappino Vitelli.
Born: 1540
Death: 1614, October
| Year, Month | State, Comp. ventura | Opponent | Command | Area of Activity | Actions Undertaken and Other Salient Facts |
| 1554 | Florence | France | France and Tuscany | He served in the companies of Chiappino Vitelli. He fights the French in Corsica and in the Sienese territory. | |
| 1555 | Tuscany | He has command of a company of horse. | |||
| 1557 | Florence | France | Emilia | He follows Aurelio Fregoso in the war of Parma; he takes part in the battle of Rivalta where he is the first to attack the French. | |
| 1563 | Empire | Ottoman Empire | Morocco | He takes part in the Oran enterprise. | |
| 1564 | Algeria | He is present at the actions of Mozalquir and Peñón de Vélez. | |||
| 1565 | |||||
| 1565, Aug. | Empire | Ottoman Empire | 1000 infantry | Tuscany and Malta | He embarks in Livorno with 1000 infantry; he transfers to the defense of Malta, besieged by the Turks. |
| 1566 | Papal States | Lazio and Marche | For his merits, he is summoned to Rome by Pope Pius V (Pio V) who appoints him captain of the pontifical guard and governor of Fermo. When the Turkish fleet appears on the Abruzzese coasts, he arms 400 mounted arquebusiers for the defense of the coastline. | ||
| 1567 | Papal States | Huguenots | France | ||
| 1568 | |||||
| 1568, Summer | Spain | France | 200 light horse | Piedmont and France | He leaves France with 200 infantry, places himself under the orders of the Duke of Alba and confronts the French in Piedmont; he distinguishes himself in a fight near Alessandria. He follows the imperials into France with 200 light horse. |
| 1572 | |||||
| 1572, Autumn | Spain | Orange | Maestro di campo | Germany, Belgium and Holland | Under the orders of Curzio da Martinengo, he clashes with the troops of the Duke of Saxony and the Count of Nassau, taking numerous prisoners. Upon the death of Giovanni di Mendoza, he is appointed maestro di campo; he is given command of seven companies of lances, two of light horse (the reiters, from the German Reiter, mounted soldier), and three of arquebusiers. He is sent to Flanders when the territory rebels against the Spanish: he decisively attacks Leuven. When Alonzo di Vargas orders the abandonment of that city, he opposes the directive, has his arquebusiers dismount, and repels the enemy assaults. He defeats the opponents near Talmont and pursues them to the gates of Leuven. He then moves to Maastricht; he attacks the city with 300 mounted arquebusiers, enters it through a tower held by the Spanish, and sacks it; he takes part in the capture of Antwerp. With the signing of the peace, he returns to Italy with the post of commander of the cavalry. |
| 1574 | |||||
| Belgium and Holland | He is recalled to Flanders by John of Austria (Giovanni d’Austria) due to a new rebellion. He goes to Holland at the head of eight companies of horse and 2000 infantry. | ||||
| 1574, Apr. | Holland | He clashes with the opponents near Nijmegen. | |||
| Holland and Belgium | He conquers ‘s-Hertogenbosch (Bolduch) and attacks the fort of Bommene, whose garrison is cut to pieces. He obtains the government of Liège, Diest (Dift), Leuven, and other lands in Brabant. He defeats Mornau and the Count of Oloch who, with 200 horse and 3000 reiters, are about to join the Duke of Alençon: the battle ends with the death of the lieutenant general of the reiters. In the same year, at the head of the vanguard, with Sancio di Avila, he is at Mons (Monch) where he arranges the mounted arquebusiers in the front lines to face the opponents: he intervenes with the cavalry, and the Orangists are thrown into disarray. In the battle, Ludwig and Henry of Nassau are killed along with 4000 infantry and 500 horse; among the Spanish, the dead are 400, including 150 infantry. For the victory, the King of Spain Philip II (Filippo II) grants Giambattista del Monte a Santa Maria an annual pension of 500 scudi. | ||||
| 1576 | Germany | At the head of his company of Burgundian horse, he is defeated at Visenach. | |||
| 1577 | Belgium | With the withdrawal of John of Austria (Giovanni d’Austria) from Namur, he commands the city’s garrison of 5600 men, between infantry and horse. | |||
| 1578/1581 | Lieutenant General of the cavalry | Belgium and France | He takes part in the defense of Liège with four companies of Spaniards, two of Italians, three of Germans, eight of Walloons, four companies of lances, one of mounted arquebusiers. Commanding the vanguard, he confronts the opponents at Mechelen (Malines) in a skirmish that lasts four hours and ends with heavy losses on both sides. He returns to his post as governor; on the news that five companies of Germans are at Mol, he leaves the city with 200 horse and 200 arquebusiers mounted on the cruppers of the same horses, attacks the opponents, defeats them, and captures five of their flags. In 1580, he is reported around Herentals; he supports the Prince of Parma Alessandro Farnese in the attack against Antwerp commanding 2000 infantry and 400 horse; he takes part in the siege of Maastricht with 6000 infantry and 1000 horse. He is called by the King of Spain to be part of the war council and is appointed Lieutenant General of the cavalry (6000 horse). He participates in the battle of Cambrai where he captures the insignia of Colonel di Scannoia. He is reported at Buscen, where he is wounded by a cannon shot that kills three Walloon infantry colonels at his side. | ||
| 1582 | Belgium | He is forced to renounce his position as Lieutenant General of the cavalry because the Spanish do not want to submit to his orders. | |||
| 1584 | Spain, Lombardy, Tuscany | He goes to Spain; in addition to the annual pension of 500 scudi, he is granted another of 1000 scudi charged to the kingdom of Naples. Philip II (Filippo II) calls him to be part of the secret council of the state of Milan, a position that entails a further prebend of 200 scudi per month. He goes to Milan and immediately after returns to his estates; he is soon recalled to the Milanese city. | |||
| 1585 | |||||
| Spain | Swiss Cantons | Captain General | The Duke of Terranuova entrusts him with the general command of the troops to fight Geneva (8000 infantry, 2000 Spanish, and 800 horse): the expedition does not take place. | ||
| Spain | He returns to Spain; he is granted command of the Spanish cavalry in Lombardy. He asks the sovereign for a new assignment; in the meantime, he is contacted by the Venetians. During the negotiations, he receives no response from Philip II (Filippo II). | ||||
| 1586 | |||||
| 1586, Dec. | Venice | He is granted an annual provision of 4000 ducats (12000 scudi) which are added to the 1500 granted to him by the Spanish. | |||
| 1587 | |||||
| 1587, Dec. | Captain General of the infantry | He has the task of inspecting all the fortresses in the Levant and in the mainland territories, in particular on the project for the restructuring of the castle of Brescia presented by the engineer Giambattista Bonhomo and rejected by Giulio Savorgnano. | |||
| 1588 | |||||
| 1588, Apr.-July | Lombardy | A commission is established in Brescia to choose the best proposal for the castle of Brescia. It includes, besides Del Monte a Santa Maria, the governor of the castle Onofrio Scotti, the city’s rectors Alvise Grimani and Zaccaria Contarini, the governor of Bergamo Raffaele Rasponi, Savorgnano, and the engineers Bonhomo, Paolo Ferrari, and Bonaiuto Lorini. The opinions are conflicting. The final acceptance goes to the plan presented by Savorgnano. | |||
| 1593 | |||||
| 1593, Sept. | Friuli | He presides over the project for the construction of the fortress of Palmanova. His collaborators are Captain Pompeo Floriani of Macerata, Marquess Giacomo Malatesta da Sogliano, Count Marcantonio da Martinengo di Villachiara, Marquess Erasmo Malvicini Fontana, and Mario Savorgnano the younger. One of the 9 bastions of this fortress is named “bastion of the Mount” (baluardo del Monte). He will hold the position of Captain General of the Serenissima until his death. During the year, a treatise of his regarding the reorganization of the permanent territorial militia is published. | |||
| 1601 | Tuscany | He acquires Piancastagnaio in the Sienese territory, given to him in fief with the title of Marquess. He also buys the nearby Patentino and Castelvecchio with the title of Baron. | |||
| 1603 | The Venetians raise his annual provision to 7000 ducats. | ||||
| 1608 | |||||
| 1608, Feb. | Veneto | He founds the Accademia Delia in Padua, a true school of cavalry, with Count Antonio da Collalto and Giovan Francesco Mussato. | |||
| 1614 | |||||
| 1614, Oct. | Veneto | He dies in Padua. His body, by the will of his brother Francesco, is solemnly transported to Monte Santa Maria Tiberina and buried in the chapel he himself had built the previous year. The lead coffin in which the body was enclosed was tampered with by his descendants in 1792 to make bullets for the defense of the marquisate, which was invaded by the troops of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. A solemn mass is also celebrated in Padua in his honor in the presence of the members of the Accademia Delia. |
Sources
-“Giovane invitto e di vigor d’animo bellicoso.” SANSOVINO
-“Capitano di molto valore.” BOSI
-“Incominciò da giovanetto ad applicarsi all’armi con animo così invitto e con spirito così generosi, che per il suo gran valore e lunga esperienza di guerra divenne così famoso e chiaro nell’arte militare, che meritatamente fu ne’ suoi tempi tenuto e stimato uno de’ principali capitani non solo d’Italia, ma di tutta l’Europa; di modo che con il suo gran nome e fatti eroici illustrò mirabilmente il suo notabilissimo germe; ed ingrandì la sua casa con segnalati onori e ricchezze opulenti, via più d’ogni altro personaggio del suo sangue.” GAMURRINI
-“Ebbe dalla natura e dall’educazione un animo così generoso e tanta perizia militare che ai suoi tempi fu riputato meritatamente come uno de’ primi Capitani non tanto d’Italia, quant’anche d’Europa.” ANGELUCCI
-“Sotto la disciplina di Chiappino Vitelli suo zio, divenuto Capitano di valore.” CRISPOLTI
-Sua proposta di organizzazione della milizia territoriale permanente “Tutti i membri della milizia dovevano avere spade, nessuno poteva possedere la pistola o il pugnale che erano stati messi fuori legge e che erano considerati come “armi non da soldato”. Su consiglio di del Monte su cento uomini 50 dovevano essere archibugieri, 40 picchieri e 10 moschettieri; gli ultimi due gruppi dovevano indossare corazza oltre che all’elmetto, e il primo doveva avere un giustacuore di cuoio rinforzato. Nel 1594 la proporzione fu cambiata in 40 archibugieri, 40 picchieri e 20 moschettieri.” HALE
-“Le immense ricchezze accumulate in una lunga vita di felice servizio, specialmente presso la repubblica veneta, gli diedero modo di fare al Monte grandi opere, che ancora ne tramandano il nome. Basta entrare nel Palazzo marchionale per trovare subito il suo nome inciso sugli archi dello scalone: “Jo. B. Borbonius de M. Peditatus Ser. Venetor. Reipub. Cap. Generalis” con la data MDXCVII.. Un altro suo monumento è la Cappella Gentilizia voluta nella Pieve del Monte. Sotto l’alttare di marmo fatto portare da Verona, sono leggibili identiche espressioni.” ASCANI
