Military shifts in 16th-century Italian states under Cornelio Bentivoglio
From Ferrara. Count and Marquis of Gualtieri. Lord of Castell’Ottieri, Magliano in Toscana, Covo, Antegnate, and Gualtieri. Son of Annibale Bentivoglio.
Born: 1519
Death: 1585, May
| Year, Month | State, Comp. ventura | Opponent | Command | Area of Activity | Actions Undertaken and Other Salient Facts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1534 | Ferrara Impero | France | Fights on behalf of the Imperial forces against the French. | ||
| 1536 | Impero | France | France | Serves in Provence under the orders of Francesco d’Este. | |
| 1541 | |||||
| (Blank row for the year 1541) | |||||
| May | Challenged to a duel by Gian Giacomo da Trivulzio, grandson of the Marshal of France of the same name, notices that the visor of his helmet (prepared by his opponent) does not allow a clear view. Refuses to fight; his conduct is labeled as cowardice. | ||||
| (Still 1541) | Ferrara Impero | Ottoman Empire | Algeria | Is part of the Este contingent taking part in the Algiers expedition against the Turks. | |
| 1542 | |||||
| Mar. | Emilia and Veneto | Kills his cousin Galeotto Malatesta by night. Forced to flee Ferrara and seek refuge in Venice. In the same year, is arrested with other pro-French figures after the imprisonment of Agostino Abbondio, accused of spying for the Turks. Acquitted but nonetheless banished from Venetian territory along with his companions. | |||
| 1543 | France | Impero | France | Enters the service of King Francis I (Francesco I), who grants him an annual pension of 1200 ducats justified by an honorary role under the Dauphin Henry of Valois (Enrico di Valois). Hopes that Charles V (Carlo V) will readmit him to the lordship of Bologna. Fights against Imperial forces. Takes part in the Luxembourg campaign and in the Battle of Landrecies. | |
| 1544 | |||||
| July | Piedmont | Joins Piero Strozzi in his expedition in Piedmont. Reported at his side in Rivoli. | |||
| Aug. – Sept. | France | England | Piedmont, France | In the absence of Strozzi, conducts—together with Bolleri—the siege operations at the castle of Villanova Mondovì. Some artillery pieces break, and an assault on the walls is repelled by the opponents. After the Peace of Crépy, Cornelio Bentivoglio takes part in the war against the English at Boulogne-sur-Mer. | |
| 1545 | |||||
| Jan. | France | Attends the French court. | |||
| Feb. | France, Scotland | Takes part in a joust. Then noted in Scotland with the expedition sent by Francis I (Francesco I) to support the regent Mary of Guise (Maria di Lorena). | |||
| Oct. – Nov. | Emilia, Tuscany | Leaves the Bolognese territory and stops in Mirandola, where Piero Strozzi publishes a challenge against Piermaria dei Rossi. In November, he is in Tuscany to assist the Marquis of Massa Lorenzo Cybo against his wife Riccarda Malaspina. | |||
| 1546 | France | Henry of Valois (Enrico di Valois) and Cardinal Ippolito d’Este apply significant pressure on Ercole d’Este to revoke the ban issued against him in 1542. The Duke of Ferrara refuses. Bentivoglio returns to France; the Dauphin involves him in his amorous and chivalric ventures. Attracts the anger of King Francis I (Francesco I) with another violent episode. During a gathering of young noblemen, he kills Francesco di Borbone, Count of Enghien (conte d’Enghien)—the recent victor at Ceresole Alba—by causing a heavy piece of furniture to fall on him from a window of La Roche-Guyon. The protection of Henry of Valois (Enrico di Valois) saves him from harsh sanctions threatened by the king. Is forced away from court on suspicion of wanting to eliminate a protector of the Malatesta or seeking to please the Dauphin, who was annoyed by the military accomplishments of Enghien. | |||
| 1547 | |||||
| Aug. – Sept. | France | Genoa | Emilia, Liguria | Continues his direct methods against adversaries. In August, Filippo Ghislieri, Apostolic Protonotary, is killed in Bologna by his hired killer Antonio Mastini. Investigations by the papal legate soon identify Bentivoglio as the instigator of the assassination, due to economic disagreements with Ghislieri. The trial is quashed at the request of Cardinal Farnese. In March of the following year, Mastini will be hanged by Piero Strozzi for his misdeeds in the Marquisate of Saluzzo. In September, Bentivoglio assists Pierluigi Fieschi in his attempt to seize Genoa from Andrea Doria. Boards a galley with 200 infantry; the plan fails following the sudden death of Fieschi. | |
| 1548 | |||||
| Autumn | Emilia | With the accession of Henry II (Enrico II), is absolved of all bans. Is readmitted to court and granted a pension of 4000 scudi. Even the Duke of Ferrara eventually lifts his ban. In autumn, fights against Imperial forces in Piedmont under Brissac. | |||
| 1551 | |||||
| (No month specified) | France | Church, Impero | Emilia | Goes to Mirandola to gather troops for Orazio Farnese. When the papal captain Camillo Orsini leaves the Bolognese area, Bentivoglio crosses the Panaro and heads for Parma, joins Strozzi, and breaks into that territory. | |
| June | Emilia | Takes Sant’Agata Bolognese, reaches the outskirts of San Giovanni in Persiceto, and moves around Crevalcore. Also plunders part of the Modenese area, even though it is under Este control. By the end of the month, is at Gazzo; drives off much livestock, taken to Mirandola. Threatened with excommunication by Pope Julius III (Giulio III) for his raids. | |||
| July | Emilia | Leaves Mirandola to assist Colorno. Arriving at Reggio Emilia with Strozzi and Giovanni di Torino, receives word that the stronghold has fallen into enemy hands. Moves on Parma and reaches the city via a 45-mile march along mountain roads, eluding Ferrante Gonzaga. Then supports Supier in an operation near Soragna. Defeated by Gonzaga, barely manages to reach Roccabianca with a few followers. | |||
| Aug. | Emilia | Under Piero Strozzi, attacks a Spanish garrison at Montecchio Emilia: 100–150 enemy infantry are killed. | |||
| Nov. | Emilia | Aids Orazio Farnese in his attack on the papal camp at Torrechiara. | |||
| 1552 | |||||
| Jan. | Emilia | Besieged in a castle in the Parma area; receives help from 200 arquebusiers. | |||
| Feb. | Veneto, France, Tuscany | At the end of the War of Parma, continues opposing the Imperial side. Reported in Chioggia with Ferrante da San Severino, Prince of Salerno, and Termes to explore the possibility of an expedition in the Kingdom of Naples. The project proves unfeasible; travels to France to report to the king. | |||
| Mar. | France | Impero, Florence | Tuscany | Summoned by Termes to defend Siena. Arrives there with numerous infantry and 50 cavalry. Dispatched to Massa. Advises concentrating the town’s defense in the new sector of the city, abandoning the old one, and guarding the fortress in the middle. Operates in the Maremma. German soldiers under the Imperial captain Londron enter Giuncarico, seizing large quantities of grain; from there, 800 infantry raid the areas of Scarlino and Buriano. Bentivoglio, informed by spies of their approach, sets up an ambush with 300 arquebusiers and 60 men-at-arms between Giuncarico and Scarlino. The Imperials fall into the trap: 300 are killed, and 200 captured. The prisoners are taken to Grosseto. The grain is recovered; the Maremma is cleared of adversaries. | |
| 1553 | |||||
| Mar. | France | Impero, Florence | Tuscany | At Grosseto with 400 infantry and 200 light cavalry to guard the entire Maremma. A column of 500 German infantry, with no supporting light cavalry, seizes Giuncarico to transport the grain found in local warehouses to Scarlino. Informed of this, Bentivoglio sets up an ambush with his cavalry and 300 arquebusiers. The opponents leave 300 dead; another 200, including Count Annibale di Lodrone, are captured. The prisoners are brought to Grosseto and Montepescali to be employed in building defensive works, with the promise of returning home once the works are completed—finished in a short time. | |
| June | Tuscany | Still at Grosseto; receives 40,000 ducats from Rome, which he brings to Siena with 50 mounted arquebusiers and 50 helmets. This sum is used to pay the troops. | |||
| (No month specified) | Tuscany | Moves to Siena with 700 infantry, accompanied by Cardinal Ippolito d’Este. When Termes leaves for Corsica at the cardinal’s request, Bentivoglio takes command of the garrison, replacing the Duke of Somma. | |||
| 1554 | |||||
| Jan. | Tuscany | Gian Giacomo de’ Medici approaches Siena. Cardinal Ippolito d’Este continues to issue orders that prevent any effective resistance. Bentivoglio disregards these directives; presses forward, sending out scouts who spot the enemy four miles from the city. The populace rises against the cardinal. Orders watch on the walls. Nearly killed by “friendly fire” from a cannon in the citadel that bursts as it fires, killing some near him and wounding others such as Teofilo Calcagnini. That same day, attacks the enemy at Castellaccia with 300 arquebusiers; kills many, drives them from the convent of Santa Croce and from the Osteria del Sole. Finally, Piero Strozzi arrives; at the end of the month, the two commanders repel Gian Giacomo de’ Medici at Fort Camollia. Bentivoglio is wounded in the leg by an arquebus shot. | |||
| Feb. | Tuscany | Moves with Battistino Moretto and Bartolomeo da Pesaro to surprise 500 Florentines at Ponte della Spina, four miles from Siena, who had left camp to gather fodder for their cavalry. Two hundred of them are killed; many prisoners are dragged to Siena to be displayed to the populace. In the same days, heads to defend Montalcino: leaves it with 100 light cavalry and 300 Italian infantry, putting 700 German infantry to flight. | |||
| Mar. | Tuscany | Waits in ambush at Chiusi and surprises 3,000 infantry and 400 cavalry under Ascanio della Cornia and Rodolfo Baglioni: the first is captured with 1,500 men, and the second is killed in action. | |||
| Apr. | Tuscany | Forced by an operation of Medici to abandon a Benedictine monastery near the village of San Marco di Siena; withdraws into the capital with 800 infantry. | |||
| June | Tuscany | Commands a regiment of infantry under Piero Strozzi in his first sortie from Siena. Pursued by the enemy, moves through the Val di Nievole, passes Ponte a Moriano, and pillages the territory of Montecarlo. Dispatched by Strozzi to Montecatini Alto. Enters with 50 cavalry, halts at Porta Signorelle, and requests provisions for his men. Meanwhile, 60 arquebusiers arrive at Porta Cozzo and are assigned to defend the fortress. Then leaves Montecatini Alto while another 50 cavalry enter the town via Porta di Santa Margherita, again demanding food and fodder. Lacking bread, the soldiers begin looting some houses. | |||
| Aug. | Tuscany | Is defeated by Florentine and Imperial troops at Marciano della Chiana; accompanies Strozzi to Montalcino and returns to Siena with Lansac. Besieged there, at the end of the month attacks three enemy camps stationed in front of Porta Camollia, Monistero, and Santa Chiara (110 dead on both sides). | |||
| Sept. | Tuscany | Works with Blaise de Monluc to defend the city. Commands fourteen companies of Italian, Gascon, German, and Swiss infantry. In one action, reclaims some mills. In Siena, sentences thirteen soldiers to be hanged for discarding their weapons after falling into an ambush. Finally, only two are executed, chosen by lot. | |||
| Oct. | Tuscany | Falls gravely ill, forcing him to leave the field temporarily. | |||
| Dec. | Tuscany | Commands one company of German infantry, two of French, four of Italian, and four of Sienese troops. Along with the Count of Caiazzo, repels an enemy night attack on Porta Camollia and Castellaccia: the Imperial forces lose 500–600 men, dead or wounded, versus about 50 on the French side. According to Monluc, this was the most challenging and lengthy engagement of his career. | |||
| 1555 | |||||
| Jan. | Tuscany | The defenders of Siena face an ever more critical shortage of wine and supplies. Cornelio Bentivoglio is appointed Gentleman of Siena. | |||
| Apr. | Tuscany | After fifteen months of siege, Siena surrenders following negotiations with Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. Bentivoglio leaves the city at the end of the month with the Count of Caiazzo; reaches Montalcino and Strozzi in Val d’Orcia, bringing his men, 435 commoners, and 242 armed gentlemen. | |||
| May | Tuscany | Stations his arquebusiers between Buonconvento and Pienza and ambushes an enemy convoy: 70 loads of provisions are transported to Montalcino. | |||
| June | Tuscany | During the siege of Porto Ercole, strives to force the enemy to abandon operations. Moves between Sarteano and Chiusi, laying waste to the farmlands of Montepulciano, Chianciano, and Foiano della Chiana. | |||
| July | Tuscany | Leaves Montalcino with 300 infantry and two artillery pieces; attacks Buonconvento then withdraws upon the arrival of Imperial troops. Drives out Sigismondo dei Rossi from Pienza; a few days later loses it to Chiappino Vitelli. Seizes Castell’Ottieri and Montorio, whose castles he will later receive as a fief. | |||
| (No month specified) | Tuscany | Continues guerrilla warfare, often successfully, such as when he takes the payroll of the garrison of the Rocchetta of Val di Chiana or captures the tower of Crevole. Oversees Montalcino’s defensive works. Receives the title of Royal Lieutenant and holds overall command of the troops. | |||
| (No month specified) | Tuscany | Travels to Rome to handle personal affairs, then returns to defend Montalcino. | |||
| 1556 | |||||
| Feb. | Tuscany | Continues raids in the surrounding area up to Buonconvento. Leading 800 infantry and 200 cavalry, captures many villages, including Capraia and San Quirico d’Orcia. Threatens the territories of Montepulciano and Pienza. | |||
| (No month specified) | Tuscany | A truce is signed between the warring parties. | |||
| 1557 | |||||
| May | Ferrara | Spain | Emilia | Duke Alfonso d’Este entrusts him with guarding Reggio Emilia; unsuccessfully attacks the fortress of Guastalla. His properties of Covo and Antegnate are confiscated by the Imperial forces. | |
| 1558 | |||||
| (No month specified) | Emilia | In Reggio Emilia, receives the oath of loyalty from the city elders. Leaves the city multiple times and marches against Parma to fight Ottavio Farnese. | |||
| (No month specified) | France | Spain | Serves with Duke François de Lorraine, Duke of Guise (Francesco di Lorena). Commands the artillery. | ||
| (No month specified) | Emilia, Tuscany | At the end of the war, returns to Ferrara; then goes to Florence and attends the wedding of Alfonso d’Este and Lucrezia de’ Medici. | |||
| (No month specified) | France | Accompanies Alfonso d’Este to France. | |||
| 1559 | |||||
| (No month specified) | Lieutenant | Tuscany | Returning to Italy, is appointed Royal Lieutenant to the Republic of Siena at Montalcino. Again works with Monluc. Maintains effective command of the troops. Rejects any peace negotiations attempted by Cosimo de’ Medici. | ||
| July – Aug. | Tuscany | Assists the Duke of Ferrara in pressuring the French to cede Siena to the Este. Ultimately, the Republic of Montalcino is relinquished under the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis. Bentivoglio, owed a substantial sum in back pay, stalls until the Grand Duke of Tuscany grants him Magliano in Toscana, in the Maremma, under an annual tribute of a silver cup delivered on St. John the Baptist’s Day. At the end of July, withdraws from Montalcino as news arrives that King Henry II (Enrico II) has died from injuries in a tournament. In Grosseto, troops mutiny, detaining the governor and threatening not to leave the forts until they receive 21 months of back wages, instead of the single payment offered by the French representatives. Bentivoglio heads there to resolve the dispute; Chiappino Vitelli positions himself at Buonconvento with 2,000 infantry and 150 cavalry to support him. By early August, the issue is settled, and the French troops depart on 13 galleys from Marseilles. | |||
| 1560 | |||||
| (No month specified) | France | Summoned back to France. On the recommendation of Duke of Guise (duca di Guisa), receives the Order of Saint Michael. At the same time, is accused of assisting the Duke in killing Francis of Bourbon, Duke of Enghien (Francesco di Borbone, duca d’Enghien) at La Roche-Guyon. Banished from court but soon restored to honor, appointed Gentleman of the King’s Chamber, and granted a handsome pension. | |||
| May | Ferrara | Emilia | At the death of Duke Ercole d’Este, returns to Ferrara. During the absence of the new Duke Alfonso, then at the French court, is entrusted (along with the Dowager Duchess) with ensuring a peaceful transition of power. In early May, becomes the new Duke’s principal advisor, holding the title of Lieutenant General of the Duchy. | ||
| 1565 | |||||
| (No month specified) | Emilia, France | Pope Pius IV (Pio IV), in line with his anti-Este policy, summons him to Rome for complicity in the death of Apostolic Protonotary Filippo Ghislieri, who died in mid-August 1547 when his palace was demolished by an explosion set by Bentivoglio’s hired assassin, Antonio Mastini (nicknamed Gramigna), later killed by Strozzi before his expedition to Scotland. Bentivoglio refuses to appear and is sentenced to death in absentia with his brother Guido, also losing their Bolognese properties. King Charles IX (Carlo IX) of France grants him asylum, and Grand Duke Cosimo de’ Medici intervenes on his behalf. | |||
| Dec. | Pope Pius IV (Pio IV) dies. The College of Cardinals annuls all sentences against Bentivoglio. | ||||
| 1566 | Impero | Ottoman Empire | Hungary | Accompanies Duke Alfonso d’Este on a campaign against the Turks in Hungary. | |
| 1567 | |||||
| July | Emilia | Receives Gualtieri in fief from the Duke of Ferrara. | |||
| 1570 | |||||
| (No month specified) | Venice | Ottoman Empire | Greece | Once again faces the Turks of Sultan Selim. Goes to Corfu and assists Sforza Pallavicini in a failed attack on the fortress of Margaritino. Escorts back to the port the arquebusiers previously sent to occupy nearby mountain passes. | |
| (No month specified) | Emilia | Returns to the territory of Ferrara with an annual income totaling 12,000 scudi. | |||
| 1575 | |||||
| Jan. | Emilia | At the end of the month, is named Marquis of Gualtieri. Begins draining the marshes formed by the Crostolo and channeling the stream until it flows into the Po. | |||
| 1577 | |||||
| Winter | Emilia | Takes part in a joust, leading one of two teams, while the other is led by the Duke of Ferrara himself. | |||
| (No month specified) | Emilia | Appears in a court performance with Alfonso d’Este and Torquato Tasso. | |||
| 1582 | Emilia | Torquato Tasso’s “Aminta” is staged in his palace in Ferrara. | |||
| 1585 | |||||
| May | Emilia | Dies in Ferrara at the end of the month in his palace. The funeral is large-scale, resembling a military parade. Corresponded with Giorgio Vasari. Marries Leonarda d’Este and Elisabetta Bendidio. |
Sources
-“Si diede.. ad opere di pubblica utilità, trasformando in fertili campagne le paludi formate dal Crostolo e lo incanalò fino allo sbocco del Po, colla collaborazione dell’architetto G.B. Aleot, detto l’Argenta. Era altresì dotto in architettura militare; tanto che gli Estensi adottarono il suo disegno per la costruzione della fortezza di Montalfonso nella Garfagnana.” ARGEGNI
-“Reputato buon soldato…Capitano molto stimato nelle guerre di Francia e Siena, ove fu governatore generale del re cristianissimo.” ALBERI
-“C’estoit un homme sage et advisé et vaillant, auquel me reposois bien fort.” MONTLUC
-“Possedeva grandi ricchezze e viveva con pari splendore, siccome uno de’ più qualificati gentiluomini d’Italia.” LITTA
-“Illustre nelle cose belliche e di singolar prudenza militare ve tempi nostri, e uno della vecchia scuola di quei Capitani famosi che maneggiarono l’armi ne passati anni: con perpetua gloria e con futuro essempio a posteri della loro eccellente peritia..Famoso nella arte della militia, nella quale ha ottenuto da principi del mondo, carichi e gradi di somma importanza nelle guerre passate.” SANSOVINO
-“Giovane di gran cuore.” ROSEO
-“Soldato di molta esperienza.” MONTALVO
-“Attese primieramente al mestiero dell’armi.” FORNI
-“Capitain de très grand renom.” BRANTOME
-“Quest’è de Bentivogli esempio & fede/ Illustre, & di valor chiaro tesoro./ Con questo degno & gentil Signore/ E’ gente d’alto ardir, di gran valore.” L.PIERI
-“Temperamento esuberante, dotato di eccezionali attitudini al maneggio delle armi… Protagonista assoluto tra i più assidui..dei tornei, delle feste, delle vertenze cavalleresche che punteggiavano la vita della fastosa corte estense, il matrimonio del Bentivoglio nel 1539 con Leonarda d’Este, celebrato anche da un sonetto di Torquato Tasso, sembrò (agli inizi della sua vita) la definitiva sanzione del favore presso la corte ducale…Imperturbabile al passare degli anni egli fu ancora a lungo tra i protagonisti della vita cortese: si ricorda una giostra guidata dallo stesso duca; e nello stesso anno era, con Alfonso e con il Tasso, tra gli attori di una recita a corte.” ENCICLOPEDIA TRECCANI
-“Il “Signore delle acque” a cui si deve, con la stretta collaborazione dell’architetto Giovanni Battista Aleotti e dei più stimati ingegneri idraulici, la grandiosa opera di bonificazione, che nella seconda metà del Cinquecento trasformò la valle-palude della bassa pianura in preziosi paesaggi e città nuove, ha l’altisonante nome di Cornelio Bentivoglio..Concepisce e porterà a termine la realizzazione della più grande opera di ingegneria idraulica del tempo, che gli valse la stima incondizionata dell’Aleotti, a cui per altro si attribuisce il progetto: la Grande Botte, un manufatto a torre in muratura che permette al cavo Fiumo di passar sotto l’alveo del Crostolo scaricando le acque sino al fiume Secchia.” ILPAESAGGIODELLABONIFICA.IT
-“Soldato vigilante e indefesso.” G.A. PECCI
-“Si diede..ad opere di pubblica utilità, trasformando in fertili campagne le paludi formate dal Crostolo e lo incanalò fino allo sbocco nel Po, colla collaborazione dell’architetto G.B. Aleotti, detto l’Argenta. Era altresì dotto in architettura militare: tanto che gli Estensi adottarono il suo disegno per le costruzioni della fortezza di Montalfonso nella Garfagnana.” ARGEGNI
-“Iniziò giovanissimo, a poco più di 15 anni, la carriera delle armi nelle file dell’esercito imperiale di Carlo V in procinto di entrare in Provenza. Ma ancora prima si era dato da fare per essere investito del comando di una compagnia veneziana nell’eventualità di un conflitto contro i turchi…La morte colse Cornelio il 26 maggio 1585 e Alfonso II d’Este ne pianse la perdita:..Cornelio lo aveva servito come direttore di quei lavori di rafforzamento delle mura cittadine e dei baluardi..I funerali risultarono imponenti; una sorta di parata militare che rappresenta nella sua enfatica grandiosità e nell’ostentata solennità.. il suggello di un uomo pieno di energie e di fierezza, realizzatore di opere imponenti, guerriero provato da tante battaglie in Italia e fuori, ma così calato nella formale, esteriore, puntigliosa concezione dell'”onore” e così teso, talvolta grossolanamente, al proprio “particulare” da invischiarsi nelle panie dell’odio e della vendetta e da giungere anche al delitto, accompagnato da tutta una sequela di complicità e di menzogne a bella posta architettate per mascherarlo.” ADY
