The Italian Condottiero Who Betrayed the Papacy and Died a Spanish Hero
Giovanni Francesco da Bagno (Giovanni Francesco Guidi), Count of Modigliana. Lord of Montebello Azzurrina, Ginestreto, Sogliano al Rubicone, Montetiffi, and Montepetra. He was the father of Guido Guerra da Bagno and Niccolò Guerra da Bagno, the brother of Guido da Bagno, the son-in-law of Cocco Malatesta, and the father-in-law of Sigismondo Brandolini.
Death: 1493
| Year, Month | State / Company | Opponent | Command | Area of Activity | Actions Undertaken and Other Salient Facts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1448 | |||||
| ………….. | Venice | Milan | Lombardy | Enlisted in the companies of the Marquis of Mantua, Ludovico Gonzaga. | |
| Sept. | Lombardy | Attempts to relieve Caravaggio from the siege laid by Francesco Sforza; beneath the city walls, accepts a challenge from an enemy soldier and is severely wounded in the shoulder by a lance thrust. | |||
| 1453 | Venice | Milan | Lombardy | Captured by enemy forces in an engagement near Ghedi. | |
| 1454 | Papal States | 200 infantry | In the pay of Pope Nicholas V (Niccolò V). | ||
| 1458 | |||||
| Aug. | Papal States | Viterbo exiles | 200 infantry | Lazio | In the pay of Pope Callixtus III (Callisto III). Enters Viterbo through the Porta di Santa Lucia; the Gatti seize San Francesco, where the Rector of the Patrimony is lodged. He offers to escort the Rector out of the city with his cavalry and infantry. |
| 1459 | |||||
| Jan. | Umbria | In Perugia, alongside the newly elected Pope Pius II (Pio II). | |||
| Aug. | Papal States | Viterbo exiles | Lazio | He is sent by the papal rector Galeotto Oddi to relieve the fortress of Viterbo, where the Gatti are besieged by the opposing party of the Maganzese and by the troops of Everso Dell’Anguillara (dell’Anguillara), who have taken control of the city. | |
| Oct. | Lazio | Returns to Viterbo on the orders of the new governor, the Archbishop of Ravenna Bartolomeo Roverella. He accompanies Federico da Montefeltro in Sabina. | |||
| 1461 | |||||
| July | Papal States | Rimini; Cesena | Marche | He is defeated and taken prisoner by the Lord of Rimini, Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, in the Battle of Nidastore. | |
| 1462 | |||||
| Feb.–Mar. | Naples | Anjou | Abruzzi | Moves to the Abruzzi with Ludovico Malvezzi with 60 men-at-arms and 100 infantry to support the Aragonese militias of Matteo da Capua against Giosia Acquaviva. | |
| Nov. | Romagna | Secures Savignano sul Rubicone through negotiation. | |||
| 1463 | |||||
| June | Marche | Besieges Roberto Malatesta in Fano. | |||
| July | Romagna | Together with Antonello da Forlì and Cristoforo Torelli, attempts to assault Rimini by land and sea; is vigorously repelled and his galleys are scattered by the defenders. | |||
| Aug.–Sept. | Marche | Returns to besiege Fano. The defenders surrender in September. | |||
| 1464 | |||||
| Apr. | Romagna | At the end of the conflict, he and his brother Guido of Montebello (Guido di Montebello) are invested with the lordship of Sogliano al Rubicone and Ginestreto in exchange for the census of a bowl. | |||
| May | Romagna | Has some disputes over dowry estates with Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta. The papal rector of Romagna, the Bishop of Sessa Angelo Geraldini, rules in his favor. | |||
| 1469 | |||||
| June | Papal States | Rimini | Romagna | Opposes Roberto Malatesta. Together with Alessandro Sforza and Antonello da Forlì, seizes the borough of San Giuliano within the city. | |
| Aug. | Romagna | Present at the Battle of Mulazzano. | |||
| ………….. | Papal States | 70 lances; 400 infantry | Romagna | In the pay of Pope Sixtus IV (Sisto IV). | |
| 1470 | Accused by the Lord of Rimini Roberto Malatesta of having taken part in a plot against him, which concluded with the murder of Malatesta’s brother. | ||||
| 1472 | Contacted by the Sforza to enter the service of the Duke of Milan. | ||||
| 1472/1473 | Contacted by the Sforza to enter the service of the Duke of Milan, Galeazzo Maria Sforza. At the end of February of the following year, he thanks the Sforza for the offer of the condotta. | ||||
| 1474 | |||||
| June | Papal States | Città di Castello | Umbria | Together with Giorgio da Massa, Giovanni Francesco Gonzaga, Antonello da Forlì, and Malatesta Malaspina, supports Pino Ordelaffi in besieging Città di Castello against Niccolò Vitelli. | |
| July | Umbria | Barely repels a sortie by the inhabitants within the walls. He is wounded in the clash during which among the papal troops 40 horses are killed and another 130 are injured. | |||
| Aug. | Umbria | Positions himself with a squad of men-at-arms and 600 infantry toward the gate leading to Borgo San Sepolcro (Sansepolcro). | |||
| 1476 | |||||
| Summer | Umbria | He is granted in Città di Castello the house and assets of Salimbene Tarlatini, confiscated for his support of the Vitelli cause. | |||
| 1477 | |||||
| June | Papal States | Comp. ventura | Umbria | In the Perugia region with Giovanni Francesco Gonzaga and Antonello da Forlì (430 cavalry and 100 infantry) to defend the territory against the company of Carlo di Montone. The opposing condottiero takes refuge in the Sienese territory. | |
| ………….. | Marche | With Gian Francesco da Tolentino, supports the cause of Rocca Contrada (Arcevia) against the claims of the Bishop of Fossombrone Girolamo Santucci over possession of the castle of Nidastore. | |||
| Nov. | Papal States | Manfredi | Romagna | Enters Faenza with Battista da Montesecco to aid Carlo Manfredi in his conflict with his brother Galeotto Manfredi. | |
| 1478 | |||||
| ………….. | Papal States | Florence | Umbria | With Matteo da Capua, Giulio Cesare da Varano, and Giovanni della Rovere, faces Roberto Malatesta with little success. | |
| 1479 | |||||
| June–July | Umbria | Leaves Ponte San Giovanni with Pino Ordelaffi; proceeds with seven cavalry squadrons and numerous infantry to Passignano sul Trasimeno, where the Florentines are stationed. Defeated, in July he retreats to Bettona and Magione with the other two condottieri. | |||
| Sept. | Tuscany | Participates in the siege of Colle di Val d’Elsa; with the Spaniard Salazar and Carlo da Pian di Meleto, has the task of guarding a bridge over the Elsa. | |||
| 1482 | Venice | Ferrara | |||
| 1483 | |||||
| Nov. | Papal States | Venice | 40 lances | Romagna | Pope Sixtus IV (Sisto IV) confirms him in the fiefs of Montebello and Ginestreto. He is sent to Ferrara in support of Duke Ercole d’Este. |
| 1484 | |||||
| ………….. | Lazio | In Rome at the coronation of Pope Innocent VIII (Innocenzo VIII), whose banner he bears during the procession to the Lateran. The Pope reinvests him with the fiefs of Montebello Azzurrina, Ginestreto, Montetiffi, and Montepetra. | |||
| 1485 | |||||
| Oct. | Papal States | Naples | Captain General | Abruzzi | Departs with other condottieri for L’Aquila to serve under the orders of the papal legate, the Bishop of Bagnoregio (Bagnoregio). |
| 1488 | Papal States | Forlì | Romagna | At the guard of Cesena when Girolamo Riario is killed in Forlì; enters the city and besieges Caterina Sforza, widow of Riario, in the Rocca di Ravaldino. Reinforcements arrive from Milan, and the populace refuses to submit to papal rule. He is thus surrounded and forced to surrender: released through the intervention of Giovanni Bentivoglio, Lord of Bologna. | |
| 1491 | |||||
| Oct. | Papal States | Zampeschi | Romagna | Following the killing of Ettore da Forlì, together with Matteo della Crovara he is sent by the Governor of Cesena, Giulio Cesare Cantelmi, to San Mauro Pascoli to seize that castle and remove it from the brothers Meleagro and Brunoro da Forlì. | |
| 1493 | Dies. |
Sources
-“Al quale era stato uno degnissimo armigero, e quase per tuta la sova vita lui si era stato conditero dela santa madre Ghiesia; et haveva habitade al molte tenpo in dita cità de Cesena, et avevavie uno bele palaze e multe altre soi bene.” BERNARDI
-“Domi nobilis ac manu promptus.” PLATINA
-“(Rimise la famiglia) in pié di nuovo et sollevarsela dal fango in cui era caduta.” AMMIRATO
-“Valoroso capitano.” P. BONOLI
-“Contribuì personalmente a dare lustro alla propria famiglia. che per molteplici circostanze, era caduta un po’ in basso.” ARGEGNI
Featured image: wikipedia
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