Naples’ Fearless Defender Against Turkish Invasion
Giulio Antonio Acquaviva (Giulio Antonio Acquaviva d’Aragona). From Atri. Duke of Atri, Count of San Flaviano, Count of Conversano, Duke of Teramo. Lord of Atri, Forcella, Giulianova, Roseto degli Abruzzi, Padula, Conversano, Turi, Castellana Grotte, Casamassima, Bitetto, Gioia del Colle, Tortoreto, Corropoli, Torano, Bellante, Troia, Poggio Morello, Montone, Mosciano Sant’Angelo, Canzano, Castelbasso, Guardia Vomano, Morrice, Notaresco, Montepagano, Controguerra, and Cassano delle Murge, Acquaviva delle Fonti. Knight of the Order of the Ermine. Son of Giosia Acquaviva, father of Andrea Matteo Acquaviva and Belisario Acquaviva.
Born: 1428 ca.
Death: 1481, February
| Year, Month | State, Condottieri Company | Adversary | Command | Area of Activity | Actions Taken and Other Significant Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1447 | |||||
| June | Naples | Florence | 150 cavalry | Lazio | Present at the review of Aragonese troops held in Monterotondo. |
| 1450 | |||||
| April | Spoleto | ||||
| 1456 | Apulia | Marries Caterina Orsini del Balzo, the natural daughter of the Prince of Taranto Giovanni Antonio Orsini del Balzo. His wife brings as dowry the County of Conversano, which includes the towns of Turi, Castellana Grotte, Casamassima, Bitetto, and Gioia del Colle. | |||
| 1458 | |||||
| Nov. | Anjou | Naples | Apulia | Joins his father-in-law against the troops of the King of Naples Ferrante d’Aragona. Confronts the adversaries between Corato, Palo del Colle, and Bisceglie. | |
| 1461 | |||||
| Nov. | Campania | Located near Guardia Lombardi. Confronts the troops of Giovanni Conti and Antonello dal Borgo. | |||
| 1462 | |||||
| May | Apulia | Camps near Giovinazzo. Lays siege to Duke Francesco del Balzo in Andria. | |||
| Aug. | Apulia | Participates in the Battle of Troia; after the defeat, retreats to Ascoli Satriano. In the same month, upon his father’s death, becomes Duke of Atri and Count of San Flaviano. | |||
| Sept. | In mid-September, negotiates peace with King Ferrante d’Aragona on behalf of his father-in-law, Prince Giovanni Antonio Orsini del Balzo of Taranto. | ||||
| 1463 | |||||
| Jan. | Naples | Anjou | 100 men-at-arms | Apulia and Campania | In Trani. Upon his father-in-law’s death, he moves to Terlizzi and defects to the Aragonese camp. Enters Naples with Alessandro Sforza alongside King Ferrante d’Aragona. |
| May | Abruzzi | Recaptures Montepagano. | |||
| Nov. | Apulia | Approaches Bari with 20 cavalry squads, seizes the city after a brief siege, and enters the castle where (it is said) 40,000 ducats are stored. | |||
| 1464 | |||||
| ……………… | Campania | Attacks Cola di Monforte with 10 cavalry squads in the Campobasso county. | |||
| Oct. | Campania | Like all the kingdom’s nobles, the king removes his command of men-at-arms. Initially offers some resistance. He is granted an annual pension of 1,000 ducats and is awarded the Order of the Ermine. All his properties are restored to him, except for the County of San Flaviano and the Duchy of Atri, previously given to Matteo da Capua. | |||
| 1465 | |||||
| Mar. | Naples | Rebels | Calabria | Commands the royal troops (without personal command) to fight Galeotto Baldassino in Calabria and sack his lands. | |
| 1467 | Abruzzi | Reclaims the County of San Flaviano and the Duchy of Atri. | |||
| 1471 | Abruzzi | Begins the construction of Giulianova, near San Flaviano, a town sacked and nearly destroyed by Matteo da Capua in November 1461. | |||
| 1473 | |||||
| June | Tuscany and Emilia | Passes through Siena to escort Eleonora d’Aragona, wife of Duke Ercole d’Este of Ferrara, to Ferrara. | |||
| 1474 | |||||
| Oct. | Naples | Holy Roman Empire | Campania | With Jacopo Conti, Francesco Zurlo, Ippolito Acquaviva, and Baron della Torella dell’Anguillara, he accompanies Prince Federico d’Aragona of Taranto to Burgundy to fight the Imperial forces in support of Duke Charles the Bold of Burgundy. Leaves the Kingdom of Naples with a retinue of 600 people, including 300 mounted and 200 on foot. Giulio Antonio Acquaviva commands 53 cavalry and 75 infantry. | |
| 1475 | |||||
| Feb. | Piedmont and France | The retinue crosses the Moncenisio Pass. An ambush set by the Swiss against the Aragonese marching towards Burgundy is avoided. Numerous difficulties are encountered during the subsequent journey. | |||
| 1476 | |||||
| Feb. | Burgundy | Swiss Cantons | France | Participates in the Battle of Grandson. | |
| Apr. | France | Commands one of the five army corps. Leaves the battlefield at Morat the night before the battle to return to the Kingdom of Naples. | |||
| 1477 | |||||
| June | Campania | In Naples for King Ferrante’s wedding. Organizes jousts to celebrate the event. | |||
| 1478 | |||||
| ……………… | Naples | Milan | Liguria | Commands an Aragonese naval squadron. Embarks from Naples with 2 galleys and 3 ships loaded with artillery and ammunition to assist the Genoese. | |
| June | Naples | Florence | Tuscany | Lays siege to Castellina in Chianti. | |
| Sept. | Tuscany | Lays siege to Monte San Savino. | |||
| 1479 | |||||
| Mar. | Tuscany | Moves from Magra with Roberto da San Severino. Enters the Pisan territory, seizes the castle of Filettole, threatens Pisa, and sets fire to the city’s Paradise Gate. | |||
| Apr. | Tuscany | Repels Ercole d’Este on a bridge over the Serchio River: 1,000 horses are captured. In the same month, he is granted the honor of adding “d’Aragona” to his surname and incorporating the colors of the Aragonese royal house into his family crest. | |||
| June | Umbria | Defeated at Passignano sul Trasimeno along with Matteo da Capua by Roberto Malatesta. | |||
| Aug. | Tuscany | Passes through Siena at the head of 8 cavalry squads. | |||
| Sept. | Tuscany | At the Rigomagno camp. Lays siege to Colle di Val d’Elsa. | |||
| Oct. | Tuscany | Wounded in the foot by a crossbow bolt during the siege of Colle di Val d’Elsa. | |||
| Dec. | Tuscany, Romagna, and Marche | Leaves Siena, moves to Romagna, and passes through the territory of Fano. | |||
| 1480 | |||||
| ……………… | Marche and Romagna | Reported in Pesaro and Rimini. | |||
| June | Tuscany | Intervenes in Siena with several constables (Possa da Siena, Bianchino Albanese, and Franceschetto Corso) to quell the conflicts between the city’s factions. | |||
| Sept. | Naples | Ottoman Empire | Captain General | Apulia | Commands 1,500 lances against the Turks in the War of Otranto. Learns of an Ottoman raid of 400 cavalry near the walls of Ostuni. The adversaries return to Otranto after taking the coastal route. Acquaviva sets an ambush at San Cataldo, attacks the Turks, and recovers the spoils. The enemies leave behind 100 horses, either killed or captured. |
| Oct. | Apulia | Disembarks with troops from the fleet to lay siege to Otranto. Bad weather and continuous storms force the army to return to Brindisi. | |||
| Nov. | Apulia | Takes command of operations in place of Duke Federico d’Aragona, who has returned to Naples. Positions himself at Sternatia. | |||
| 1481 | |||||
| Feb. | Apulia | In early February, a Turkish contingent of 1,000 infantry and 400 cavalry conducts a raid beyond Corigliano. Giulio Antonio Acquaviva gathers troops to block all escape routes for the adversaries. From Corigliano, Sternatia, and Soleto, the Aragonese cavalry converge on Melpignano, where he connects with Andrea Capodiferro; the Turks are pursued. They flee, abandoning the spoils after ruthlessly slaughtering the prisoners; they head towards Otranto. Despite Capodiferro’s attempts to dissuade him, Acquaviva decides to continue the pursuit even as night falls. With only 50 cavalry, he leaves the bulk of his troops (700 cavalry) near Melpignano. He is followed by Giovanni da Cremona, Francesco de Montibus, Giacomo Piccinino da Prato, Alvise Gentile, and a few others. He conducts a reconnaissance towards Serrano. The adversaries move slowly; upon his appearance, they flee. Acquaviva pursues them, only to fall into a pre-arranged ambush at Santa Maria della Serra, near Minervino di Lecce. He finds himself surrounded by a group of 200 Janissaries from San Pietro in Galatina and Sipahis hidden among the olive trees. He fights fiercely in a circle with his cavalry. To see better in the dark, he removes his visor and is struck by a blow to the throat. Twelve of his cavalry die trying to defend him. Wounded, he continues towards Minervino di Lecce, hoping to find refuge in the castle, guarded by 400 infantry. At Giuggianello, he collapses from blood loss and falls from his mount. The place where this occurred would be known for centuries as “Conte Giulio.” He is reached by a group of Turks from Uggiano la Chiesa, and his head is severed from his body. Legend has it that his horse, named Baccaro, galloped to Sternatia, thus announcing his death to the Aragonese. Giulio Antonio Acquaviva’s head is placed on a pike; it is paraded through the streets of Otranto before being sent by Ahmed Gedik Pasha to Vlorë. Acquaviva is first buried in Sternatia, then in Conversano, next to his wife Maria Spinelli, in the Church of Santa Maria dell’Isola. The funeral monument is the work of the Apulian sculptor Nuzzo Barba. Celebrated by writers and poets such as Sannazzaro and Pontano. He founded Giulianova on the ruins of San Flaviano. In the main residence of the Acquaviva family, opposite the Church of San Flaviano, were the library, art gallery, and archives: all of which were destroyed by popular fury during the uprisings following the late 18th-century French invasion in Abruzzi. |
Sources
-” Julium Antonium sua tempestate militum imperatorem extitisse praeclarissimum totus acclamat orbis, cujus quidem aviti sanguinis claritas in uno prae coeteris repercussa gladio, sic vivis dabat aquis splendorem..; et mentis, et ensis acie nimio fulgore perstricta.. Antiquis illis ducibus non comparandus modo, sed praeferendus.” DI TARSIA
-“Era uomo di auree doti, per senno, per probità, per talenti veramente distinto e d’animo umanissimo, cosicché appena si trovò in migliore fortuna concedé agli abitanti di Cellino. coll’esercizio di tasse e di servizi, i due feudi disabitati di Monteverde e Balbiano grato al coraggio e alla fedeltà mostrata nell’assedio sostenuto dal padre nel 1462.” LITTA
-“Era un uomo arrischiato e superbo.. Uomo battagliero, manesco, arrischiato, di quella forte razza pugliese insuperabile nel cimento.” PALUMBO
-” Onde una volta, cum suo stuolo adorno,/ el conte Giulio, detto de Aquaviva,/ fé cum lor facto d’arme in chiaro giorno,/ e, havendo rotto i Turchi, ognun fugiva,/ onde esso, incauto a llor malitie et arte,/ cum molto ardore e sdegno gli sequiva,/ li qual, possa che vidono essere sparte/ le squadre cristian, cum cenni e segni/ se reunir, tornando d’ogni parte,/ tal che, guastando al conte suoi disegni,/ fu rotto e morto.” SANTI
-“Degno Cavaliere, che riluce per ogni parte Eccellentissimo..animo d’Eroe, e per virtù.” RECCHO
-“Uno dei più accreditati capitani demaniali.” NUCIFORO
-“Uomo di grande valore.” CONIGLIO (Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani)
-Epitaffio sulla sua tomba “Julius Antonius de Aquaviva Hadriae dux et Conversani comes, summam inter milites gloriam sudore, et sanguine assequutus, totius demum exercitus regni Neapolitani dux contra Turcam christiani nominis hostem, Italiae imperio inhiantem, apud Hydruntum fortiter dimicans occubuit. VI. idus februarii MCCCCXXXI Pro militari coelestem coronam adeptus.”
Featured image: wikimedia
