Giulio Cesare da Varano Between Campaigns and Conspiracies

The volatile career of Giulio Cesare da Varano across the Marches and Umbria

Lord of Camerino, Nocera Umbra, Cerreto d’Esi, Esanatoglia, Gagliole, Fiuminata, Serravalle del Chienti, Belforte del Chienti, Serrapetrona, Fiastra, Acquacanina, Bolognola, Montacuto, and Potenza Picena (the latter granted to him in fief by Pope Sixtus IV). Son of Giovanni da Varano, father of Annibale da Varano and Venanzio da Varano, uncle of Carlo Baglioni, son-in-law of Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, and father-in-law of Muzio Colonna.

Born: 1434
Death: 1502, October

Year, Month	State, Comp. ventura	Opponent	Command	Area of Activity	Actions Undertaken and Other Salient Facts
1434				Marche Umbria	As an infant, he is saved from the fury of the inhabitants of Camerino by his aunt Tora (widow of Niccolò Trinci), who hides him in a bundle of grass. He initially finds asylum in Fabriano with his aunt Guglielmina Chiavelli. In 1435, the inhabitants of that city also rebel; the unrest ends with the massacre of the Chiavelli in the church of San Venanzio. His aunt Tora saves him again, keeps him hidden in a convent of nuns for a few days, and finally leads him to Foligno.
1439				Umbria Marche Romagna	With the killing of the Trinci in Foligno, he is taken to safety in Fossombrone by his grandfather Galeazzo Malatesta. Finally, he is brought to Faenza to other relatives.
1443
Nov.				Marche	He returns to Camerino with the troops of his uncle Carlo di Montone. The populace greets him with acclamations; Vincenzo Maligeri, who plotted the conspiracy leading to the massacre of the da Varano family in 1434, is killed.
1444				Marche	He becomes lord of Camerino together with his cousin Rodolfo, two years younger and son of Piergentile. Giovanni dei Conti is assigned to both as tutor and political advisor.
1447				Marche	He is granted the vicariate of Camerino by Pope Nicholas V (Papa Niccolò V). Given his young age, the actual governance is assumed by his aunt Elisabetta Malatesta.
1448				Marche	Together with his cousin Rodolfo, he exercises power in harmony and wins popular favor. Giulio Cesare and Rodolfo da Varano also manage to thwart other intrigues, including a conspiracy against them shortly after they come of age.
1453	Florence	Naples		Tuscany
1454
Nov.	Siena	Pitigliano	500 horse and 200 foot soldiers	Tuscany	He fights the Count of Pitigliano Aldobrandino Orsini. He takes part in the siege of Sorano, where he finds himself on the opposite front from Carlo Gonzaga and Pietro Brunoro.
Dec.				Tuscany	The captain general Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta concludes a truce with the adversaries without authorization from the Sienese. Giulio Cesare da Varano secretly goes to Siena and accuses Malatesta of having been bribed. He confides in a friend, Giovanni Bichi, who in turn informs the city government. At first, he is not believed; soon afterward, one of the commissioners in the field, Cristoforo Gabrielli, confirms the accusation.
1455
Jan.				Tuscany	He meets Pietro Brunoro in Grosseto to plan a joint action against the adversaries.
…	Camerino	Matelica		Marche	He leaves Siena’s pay and returns to Camerino, whose commune is at war with Matelica.
June July	Church	Comp. ventura	100 lances and 50 foot soldiers	Tuscany	He and his cousin Rodolfo enter the service of Pope Callixtus III (Papa Callisto III) to oppose the company of Jacopo Piccinino, which is devastating the territory of Siena. From Spoleto, he moves to Todi with Braccio Baglioni (July). He intervenes in the city due to riots caused by clashes between supporters of the Chiaravalle (the di Canale) and those of the Atti family. Many houses are looted and burned.
1456					He marries Giovanna Malatesta, daughter of Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta and Polissena Sforza. The wedding ceremony is depicted in a ground-floor hall of the ducal palace of Camerino in a cycle of frescoes. The bride’s dowry is valued at 5,000 ducats in money and jewelry. A remainder of 1,557 ducats will be used by his wife in 1492 for the renovation of the castle of Lanciano near Castelraimondo.
1458
Aug.	Rimini	Naples			He is hired by his father-in-law Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta to oppose the Aragonese led by Federico da Montefeltro. He follows the lord of Rimini into Montefeltro and lays waste to numerous castles.
1460
Apr. June	Anjou	Naples		Abruzzi	He fights the Aragonese in the Abruzzi under the command of Jacopo Piccinino. He crosses the Pescara River with 4 cavalry squadrons.
July				Abruzzi	He participates in the battle of San Flaviano/San Fabiano. He fights in the vanguard against the leading squadrons of Marcantonio Torelli and Alessandro Sforza, who initially rout the troops under his command. The clash ends late at night, after seven hours, with heavy casualties on both sides.
Aug.				Lazio	Piccinino moves into Lazio, leaving Giulio Cesare da Varano and Antonio Caldora with 12 squadrons to besiege Chieti.
Oct.				Marche	He threatens Ancona. Papal forces intercept some of his letters concerning the arrangement of a plot within the city in favor of the Angevin cause.
1461
Feb.				Marche	At the end of the month, he returns to the Marche, dissatisfied with the treatment received from Jacopo Piccinino.
June	Church	Rimini		Marche	The papal forces approach him. He accepts the contract. He is absolved of all misdeeds committed in the March of Ancona. He enters the service of the Papal States to oppose Malatesta.
July				Marche	Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta exerts pressure on him to revert to his previous stance. The request yields no result.
Nov.				Abruzzi	He has not received his promised pay for five months. Finally, 1,200 ducats are given to him; he remains owed another 4,800 ducats.
1462
Spring				Lombardy	In March, Sforza envoys approach him to fight in the Kingdom of Naples on behalf of the Aragonese; he also travels to Milan for this purpose. Instead, he re-establishes contacts with the lord of Rimini and conspires with Duke Borso d’Este of Modena and Piccinino. Pope Pius II (Papa Pio II) is so enraged that he proposes to Duke Francesco Sforza of Milan that he be treacherously captured.
Aug.	Church Naples	Anjou			He goes into the pay of the papal and Aragonese forces to fight the Angevins and their supporters in the Kingdom of Naples. The Sforza regime sends him 1,500 ducats.
1463
Jan.	Anjou	Church Naples		Abruzzi	He changes sides and joins Piccinino in his operations.
Dec.					He is approached by the Venetians to command the expeditionary force in the Morea against the Turks.
1464				Marche	The papal authorities accuse him of having poisoned his cousin Rodolfo da Varano, with whom he had shared the rule of Camerino. Camilla d’Este, Rodolfo’s wife, is sent back to Ferrara with their two children.
1465	Church				He serves under Pope Paul II (Papa Paolo II).
1466
July				Lazio	He meets his father-in-law in Rome. He requests that Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta hand over Rimini to the Papal States on behalf of Pope Paul II.
1467	Naples		40 lances		He is in the pay of the Aragonese. He commands 40 lances within the companies of Matteo da Capua.
1468
May				Lazio	He is noted in Rome with the pope. He and his sons are confirmed in their rule over Camerino. The territory includes the upper valleys of the Esino (Esanatoglia), the Potenza (from Fiuminata to Gagliole), the upper Chienti Valley (from Serravalle del Chienti to Belforte del Chienti and Serrapetrona), the castles of Caldarola, Montalto, and Coldipietra (the last two in the municipality of Cessapalombo), Fiastra, Acquacanina, and Bolognola.
1469
July	Church	Rimini		Romagna	He fights Roberto Malatesta. He lays siege to Rimini. He is defeated and captured by Federico da Montefeltro at Mulazzano.
Oct.				Umbria	Released, he goes to Perugia as a guest of Braccio Baglioni.
1471
Apr.				Romagna	He is in Rimini to arrange a marriage connection between the Malatesta and Montefeltro families.
June				Marche	The inhabitants of San Severino Marche offer him 50 ducats so that he will withdraw his troops from their territory.
1472	Camerino	Fermo		Marche	He is at odds with Fermo over possession of Castelgsmondo.
1474
May				Umbria	He meets with Braccio Baglioni and Federico da Montefeltro in Foligno to coordinate papal policy in Umbria.
June	Church	Todi Spoleto		Umbria	He accompanies Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere (Cardinal of San Pietro in Vincoli), besieges Todi briefly, and enters Spoleto with Baglioni. The city is sacked for four days. As payment for his service, he is granted custody of Montesanto (today Potenza Picena); he continues to hold Cerreto, obtained from Pope Sixtus IV (Papa Sisto IV) earlier in the year; he also holds Sellano.
July	Church	C. di Castello	Captain General	Umbria	He besieges Niccolò Vitelli in Città di Castello. Leading 300/400 horse and 2,300 infantry, he encamps on the Cecca Hill near the Porta di Santa Maria.
Aug.				Umbria	He moves toward Borgo San Sepolcro (Sansepolcro) with the papal legate. He has a first fort built at the church of Sant’Angelo da Corzano and a second facing the bridge. Both are equipped with numerous artillery pieces, including a serpentine capable of launching ten-pound lead balls. Another fort is set up opposite Porta del Prato, with 2 more bombards. A fourth fort is placed facing the Canonica mill; the artillery for this one comes from Castel Sant’Angelo. The city is bombarded day and night. Fierce clashes follow at Porta Orientale and Porta Occidentale. In a sortie at the end of the month by the defenders against his camp, Giovanni Francesco da Bagno is wounded; during the fighting, 40 cavalry on the papal side are lost (150 casualties among the attackers, 35 among the castellani, according to other sources).
1475
Oct.	Church	Vitelli		Umbria	He drives Niccolò Vitelli from the Tifernate area as Vitelli attempts to re-enter Città di Castello.
…	Camerino	Fermo		Marche	He conducts reprisals against the commune of Fermo. He seizes 6,000 sheep in the Monti Sibillini near Montefortino. He threatens the commune.
1476				Marche	He sends numerous armed men into the mountains of Sarnano to keep up the pressure on the inhabitants of Fermo.
1477				Marche	He dispatches 90 infantry to aid the people of Ancona in their conflict with Fermo. He has the Fermano ambassador, Giovanni Aceti, attacked and wounded by some bandits from Mogliano while on his way to Rome to negotiate a settlement of ongoing disputes. The dispute will be resolved only in 1482. Giulio Cesare da Varano is granted 1,500 ducats, while Castel Gismondo remains under Fermo’s jurisdiction.
1478
July	Church	Florence		Umbria	He is in Perugia commanding 6 cavalry squadrons.
Aug.				Umbria	He defends Città di Castello from the designs of the Vitelli. Attacked by Andrea Corso, he nearly falls captive.
Sept.				Tuscany	He besieges Cacciano with Federico da Montefeltro. Personally leading an assault on the walls, he takes the castle, which is sacked. He then proceeds to lay siege to Monte San Savino.
1479
June				Umbria	Along with Matteo da Capua, he ambushes enemy foragers at Torricella, capturing 60 horses. Defeated again—this time with Matteo da Capua, Giovanni della Rovere, and Giovanni Francesco da Bagno—by Roberto Malatesta at Passignano sul Trasimeno, he is forced to withdraw to Bettona.
July				Umbria	He goes to Perugia to meet the city’s governor, Cardinal Giovambattista Savelli.
Sept. Nov.				Tuscany	He takes part in the battle of Poggio Imperiale (Poggibonsi). He passes through Siena with 10 cavalry squadrons and 700 infantry, lodging at the inn outside Porta Camollia. He moves into the Val d’Elsa with Montefeltro and Duke Alfonso d’Aragona of Calabria; they besiege Colle di Val d’Elsa, which surrenders only in November after a lengthy siege. At the conclusion of those operations and upon the signing of a truce, he returns to Siena with Federico da Montefeltro.
1480	Hungary				He serves under King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary.
1481
July				Umbria	He is a guest of the Baglioni in Perugia.
Oct.				Marche	He travels to Fabriano, where he is received with full honors.
1482
June	Church	Naples	50 men-at-arms	Lazio and Umbria	In Palestrina. He leaves Quinto with Girolamo Riario and enters Rome, encamping at San Giovanni in Laterano; after a few days, he heads to Perugia to watch the movements of Vitelli, who has taken Città di Castello with Florentine help under Costanzo Sforza.
Aug.				Lazio	He confronts the Aragonese and the Colonna’s troops. He takes part in the battle of Campomorto.
Sept.				Umbria and Marche	He moves toward Perugia with Giordano Orsini and Giovanni Colonna to defend the city from Costanzo Sforza. Also in September, as lieutenant of the Marche on the pope’s orders, he assists San Ginesio in its disputes with Fermo.
1483
May					The Venetians try to enlist him with the promise of a salary of 35,000 ducats, but he refuses the contract to avoid papal reprisals.
Sept.	Siena		Captain General	Tuscany	He arrives in Siena to assume the position of captain general.
…					He is admitted to the Venetian nobility.
1484
May	Venice		General Governor	Marche	He enters Venetian service with the title of General Governor of Romagna. The term is two years plus one as reserve. Besides the protection of his lands, he is granted an allowance of 50,000 ducats in wartime and 25,000 in peacetime. The contract stipulates 300 lances (1,200 cavalry), 50 mounted crossbowmen, and 500 troops on retainer in the first scenario; half of that in the second. The agreement is concluded on his behalf in Venice by Alvise Tedaldini. Alvise Loredan delivers money to him in Camerino.
Aug.				Marche	After the death of Pope Sixtus IV, he recovers the Rancia Castle at the gates of Tolentino.
1485
Feb.				Veneto	In Venice’s Piazza San Marco, he watches a grand joust arranged by Roberto da San Severino. During these days, he is officially presented with the standard and the baton of command; his sons Cesare and Annibale are knighted. He is accompanied by three hundred people and lodges in the palace of Bartolomeo Vitturi. He receives 40 ducats per day for his expenses.
…	Ascoli Piceno	Fermo		Marche	As lieutenant of the Marche, he tries to halt the ongoing conflict between Ascoli Piceno and Fermo.
1486
Mar.					The Venetians renew for him the reserve year envisaged by his contract with the Serenissima, through his agent Pandolfo Collenuccio.
Apr.	Church	Naples		Marche	He confronts Castruccio Castracani in the Marche.
Sept.	Venice			Veneto	He is in Padua for the review of his companies. He lodges in Venice at the expense of the Serenissima.
Dec.					Pope Innocent VIII (Papa Innocenzo VIII) entrusts him with the task of negotiating an alliance between the Papal States and the Serenissima.
1487
Feb.				Lazio	He is in Rome and is seen beside the pontiff in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Spring	Church	Osimo		Marche	At the papal camp in Osimo, he is tasked with inducing Boccolino Guzzoni to surrender.
Apr. May	Venice	Austria		Veneto	Summoned urgently by the Venetians to oppose the troops of Duke Sigismund of Austria, he reaches Verona at the start of May, where Provveditore Cristoforo Duodo welcomes him. He encamps at Serravalle all’Adige with 1,000 cavalry and 24,000 infantry. The flooded river prevents him from moving toward Rovereto, besieged by the enemy. This delay, along with his brusque demand for funds, worsens his standing with the Venetian commissioners. At the end of the month, the Collegio dei Pregadi decides to dismiss him, but the decision is not ratified.
June				Trentino	He is in the Val Lagarina.
July				Trentino and Veneto	The Venetians once again employ Roberto da San Severino. Varano sets up his camp near the imperial forces together with San Severino. While out scouting with 200 cavalry, he is suddenly attacked by the enemy at Ravazzone together with San Severino. Their sons Annibale da Varano and Antonio Maria da San Severino rush to rescue both leaders but are themselves captured. Varano falls ill and is transported to the Verona bishopric; other sources claim he leaves the camp due to negative results in his command or because he killed a Venetian constable in his own pavilion.
Aug.				Veneto and Trentino	After San Severino dies at Calliano, he leaves Verona and heads to the camp. He enters Rovereto, abandoned by the adversaries.
Nov. Dec.				Trentino and Veneto	Once peace is signed in mid-November, he moves from the Valsugana toward winter quarters. In Montagnana, he is dismissed in December by the Collegio dei Pregadi, partly for failing to maintain discipline among the troops.
1488
…				Marche	He returns to Camerino displeased. Nevertheless, the Papal States appoint him lieutenant of the Marche.
Nov.				Marche	He is in Offida following a raid by the inhabitants of Ascoli Piceno against those of Fermo.
1491
Spring	Church	Ascoli Piceno		Marche	He moves to Montefalcone Appennino with his son Annibale. He withdraws in the face of the larger Ascoli forces.
1492
Aug.				Lazio	At the end of the month, he attends in Rome the ceremonies for the papal election of Alexander VI (Papa Alessandro VI).
…	Naples				He enters the service of the Aragonese. He cannot operate effectively due to illness.
1493					Alexander VI grants his natural son Pirro the priory of Sant’Angelo in Esanatoglia.
1494
June	Church	Fermo		Marche	He summons from Jesi the papal condottiero Gaspare da San Severino to persuade him to attack the inhabitants of Fermo, who are reluctant to accept a truce with Ascoli Piceno. San Severino refuses the order. Varano returns to Macerata. That same year, he hosts Isabella d’Este in Camerino.
1495
June	France	Church		Umbria	He raids the countryside of Norcia with Antonello Savelli.
1496
Jan.				Umbria	Along with Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, he intervenes in Assisi to broker a truce between warring factions; he vouches for the Baglioni. In June, he is forced to return again to Assisi with Guidobaldo da Montefeltro.
…	Fermo	Ascoli Piceno		Marche	Together with Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, he supports Fermo against Ascoli Piceno. He compels Ascoli’s troops to lift the siege of Offida.
1497
May				Marche	He joins his son Annibale, who is besieging the castle of San Pietro Morico, bringing 3,000 infantry.
June				Emilia and Lombardy	He leaves Camerino for Ferrara and Milan.
Sept.				Umbria	He is again involved in peace negotiations between Assisi and the Baglioni. Pope Alexander VI demands that he pay the census.
1498
…				Umbria	Niccolò Piccinino, following a quarrel with his relatives, grants Varano one-third joint ownership of the fortress of Agello, near Magione in the Perugia area. This property is fiercely disputed by Angelo, Niccolò Piccinino’s cousin, who in turn donates the contested estate to Gismondo Baglioni, son of Guido. Seeking revenge, the lord of Camerino prompts Girolamo dalla Penna to kill Angelo Piccinino, igniting Varano’s disputes with the Baglioni. Gismondo Baglioni, a close friend of the slain man, occupies the fortress of Agello with his men and vows not to shave his beard until dalla Penna is killed.
Dec.					He is suspected by Pope Alexander VI of having orchestrated the robbery of a Venetian courier carrying 500 ducats and some encrypted letters.
1500
July					He is deemed the principal instigator of the conspiracy that, one July night in Perugia, leads to the killing of Astorre Baglioni. Shortly afterward, Giampaolo Baglioni re-enters the city and expels the exiles, who, having been driven out also from the Duchy of Urbino, take refuge at his court in Camerino.
1501
Jan.				Marche	The pope sends him a brief ordering him to expel the exiles sheltered in his domains; otherwise, his assets will be confiscated and he will face a 50,000-ducat fine.
May				Marche	He is excommunicated by Alexander VI, accused of having killed his cousin Rodolfo.
July				Marche	Vitellozzo Vitelli and Oliverotto da Fermo pass through the territory of Camerino and sack the castle of Casavecchia. Giulio Cesare da Varano vainly demands from the commune of Fermo and the lieutenant of the Marche the return of the plunder.
1502
Feb.				Marche	Together with Giovanni della Rovere and Giovanni Antonio Acquaviva, he supports the exiles of Fermo against the new lord of the city, Oliverotto da Fermo.
Mar.				Marche	He is declared subject to major excommunication and the anathema of perjury by the pope for suspending census payments to the Apostolic Camera; the vice-chamberlain also issues a warning against him for aiding rebels of the Papal States and (again) for having killed his cousin Rodolfo. He is attacked in his territories by the exiles of Montesanto and certain forces from Spoleto; even his own subjects hate him and repeatedly attempt to rebel against his tyranny.
May June	Camerino	Church		Marche	Threatened by Cesare Borgia (the Duke Valentino), he sends his son Giovanni Maria out of the city with the family treasure to seek military help. He asks Guidobaldo da Montefeltro for support and enlists troops. Camerino is besieged by the forces of Vitellozzo Vitelli, Francesco Orsini, and Oliverotto da Fermo. These three papal captains sell food supplies to the besieged at high prices. In June, Varano is again excommunicated.
July Aug.				Marche	He puts up vigorous resistance to the papal forces. A favorable skirmish renews his hopes, but the subsequent fall of his fortresses, one by one, soon compels him to retreat to a rebellious Camerino.
Sept.				Marche	Besieged again by Francesco Orsini and Oliverotto da Fermo, he surrenders on terms with his sons Venanzio and Annibale into the hands of Giulio Orsini. His son Venanzio, however, flees, leaving Giulio Cesare imprisoned in a stable, crippled by gout. At the moment of capture, a certain Premuccio invites him to kiss the city’s threshold on his way out, as if to wish he might never return. Premuccio will be sentenced to death at the end of the following month when Giovanni Maria da Varano re-enters Camerino. Varano is stripped of everything but is allowed to go to Matelica, to the home of his son-in-law Ranuccio Ottoni, husband of his natural daughter Emilia. Local accounts recall that, during the siege, a young citizen, Giovanni Antonio Ferraccioli, encouraged surrender because of the lack of provisions and called for an end to da Varano rule. When news of the city’s fall reaches Rome, the pope orders the Capitolo bell rung in celebration and holds a grand victory festival with fireworks in St. Peter’s Square.
Oct.				Marche	The Duke Valentino summons Ranuccio Ottoni to Urbino. Ottoni appears with all his relatives, having received specific assurances. Initially, the reception is cordial; later, Ottoni is instructed to bring his family to the fortress of Pergola for their safety. All the da Varano are arrested; Ranuccio Ottoni alone is spared. Giulio Cesare da Varano is strangled with a silk cord by Borgia in the fortress of Pergola. Shortly thereafter, the same fate befalls his sons Annibale, Venanzio, and Pirro. His daughter Camilla Battista, a Poor Clare nun, manages to flee to Atri; she is beatified in 1843 by Pope Gregory XVI and later canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010. Giulio Cesare da Varano’s remains are returned to Camerino at the end of August 1503, upon the city’s new occupation by his son Giovanni Maria da Varano. Giovanni d’Angelo d’Antonio portrays him in prayer in the panel painting “San Giovanni.” In 1512, the votive canvas by Venanzio da Camerino depicts him, again in prayer with the Risen Christ, among the banners of his military commands (serving King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, Pope Sixtus IV, the Republic of Venice, and King Ferrante d’Aragona of Naples). He constructs in Camerino (merging existing institutes) the hospital of Santa Maria della Pietà, the church of the Annunziata, and the convent of Santa Chiara; the Ducal Palace is also enlarged. He undertakes various hydraulic works in the plains of Colfiorito, Montelago, and Rancia. He transforms the castles of Beldiletto (a hamlet of Pievebovigliana), Lanciano (a hamlet of Castelraimondo), and Rocca d’Ajello into fortified residences. His court hosts the literati Macario Muzio and Ludovico Lazzarelli. Cantalicio (Giovanni Battista Valentini) dedicates a section of his “Epigrammata” to him. Mentioned by Luigi Pulci in his letters. Father of Camilla, an illegitimate daughter who is beatified under the name Beatrice.

Sources

-“Magnanimo signore, di cui è ammirarsi in Camerino splendidi monumenti di grandezza e liberalità.” BORGIA

-“Et l’ornato signore di Camerino/ con molte isquadre et valorosa gente.” Da un cantare riportato dal RAMBALDI

-“Fu anco generale de gli eserciti di Matthia Corvino re di Ungaria e luogotenente di Ferdinando re di Napoli.” SANSOVINO

-“Vecchio e illustre guerriero, e amato dai suoi.” UGOLINI

-“Capitano di grido.” CHIUSOLE

-“Per il suo valore nelle armi, per saggia amministrazione, per il suo favore alle attività artistiche e intellettuali, dette splendore, ricchezza e potenza alla città (di Camerino) e alla sua corte.” MASSARI

-“Divenne uno dei più famosi Capitani del suo secolo.” SAVINI

“Valeva pocho.” SANUDO

-Per la sua morte “Hic veluti Priamus captum videst hostibus urbem/ et miser extintos fata subire satis.” Da un poema di F. Panfili riportato dal COLUCCI

-“Un vieux guerrier de soixante-dix ans, cruel et assoiffé de sang, et qui s’était emparé du trone en assassinant son propre frère.” SABATINI

-“Sarà il promotore e l’autentico artefice della stagione dell’umanesimo camerte…Fu protagonista della stagione più luminosa della dinastia, destinata a cedere di fronte alla straordinaria potenza di Cesare Borgia.” TOZZI

-“..signore di camerino/ con molte squadre & valorose gente.” Da “La guerra dei tedeschi contro i veneziani” in GUERRE IN OTTAVA RIMA

-“A (ha) pasato gran perigli/ el signor de Camerino/ Vecchio antico con soi figli/ Morti sono a crudi artilli.” DE’ SORCI

-“Il lungo dominio del da Varano, celebrato dalla storiografia locale come l’età aurea della signoria, si fondò su una politica di relativa concordia fra le classi sociali. L’attenta visione del condottiero è ben descritta nella “relazione sullo stato di Camerino” che Alessandro VI commissionò all’arciprete Lodovico Clodio subito dopo la presa dello stato (1503). Ottenuto l’appoggio dell’aristocrazia mercantile e dell’oligarchia locale, il signore ebbe anche il consenso dei “plebei, contadini e poveri” (Falaschi) destinando loro una parte delle entrate. L’atteggiamento insieme paternalistico e promozionale di Giulio Cesare, secondo il Clodio, trovava la sua massima espressione nell’abitudine alla “ricreazione” presso il palazzo varanesco, dove tutta la gente di Camerino si radunava. Secondo la testimonianza del Lilii, il da Varano e Federico da Montefeltro “gareggiavano insieme nella magnificenza”, rivaleggiando nella committenza artistica e letteraria.. Prendendo come punto di riferimento il palazzo urbinate dell’antagonista, tra il 1465 ed il 1490 il signore si dedicò all’ampliamento e alla ricostruzione parziale della dimora di famiglia sotto la probabile guida dell’architetto fiorentino Baccio Pontelli.” CHISENA

-“Da Roma, Alessandro (il papa Alessandro VI),..si premura di raccomandare che “siano ottimamente custoditi” (i membri della famiglia da Varano). E non c’è dubbio che la cosa fu eseguita a puntino, dato che nei mesi a seguire poterono tutti essere impeccabilmente strangolati. A Pesaro, il povero Pyrro, giovinetto di 17 anni (uno dei figli di Giulio Cesare), viene una mattina preso e portato in un luogo prossimo alla chiesa di San Francesco: durante il percorso il disgraziato non smette di invocare la Madonna di Loreto. Giunto sul posto viene torcollato da Don Michele (Coreglia) che, finito il servizio, passa il corpo ai frati della chiesa..Pyrro non vuole morire…(I frati) mandarono..a cercare di Micheletto per informarlo dell’inusitato; e questi come una furia piombò e questa volta torcollò più a lungo. Pyrro “fu morto, funeralizzato” e seppellito, e tutto si fece a regola d’arte.” MONELLO

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