Marcantonio II Colonna, the excommunicated condottiero who commanded the pope’s fleet at Lepanto
MARCANTONIO II COLONNA of Lanuvio. Duke of Paliano and of Tagliacozzo, marquis of Atessa, count of Albe and Manoppello; baron of Carsoli, grand constable of the kingdom of Naples. Lord of Pescocostanzo, Sonnino, San Lorenzo, Vallecorsa, Nemi, San Vito, Capranica, Pisoniano, Lanuvio, Ardea, Nettuno, Genzano di Roma, Montecompatri, Paliano and Tagliacozzo. Knight of the Golden Fleece. Son of Ascanio and Joanna of Aragon (Giovanna d’Aragona). Father of Fabrizio. Brother-in-law of Gian Giordano Orsini.
| Year, Month | State, Comp. ventura | Opponent | Command | Area of Activity | Actions Undertaken and Other Salient Facts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| … | He is baptized by the bishop of Ischia at Civita Lavinia (Lanuvio). His godparents are Cardinal Grimani and an envoy of the ambassador of Portugal. He spends his early years in Ischia with his mother Joanna of Aragon (Giovanna d’Aragona), who has separated from his father Ascanio. He is the only surviving male child. Impatient with paternal authority, eager to obtain the possessions of his ancestors and urged on by his mother, from a young age he repeatedly attempts to dispossess his father. | ||||
| 1548 | |||||
| Autumn | On the orders of Emperor Charles V (Carlo V) he leaves the kingdom of Naples (regno di Napoli) to join the retinue of Prince Philip (Filippo), the future King of Spain Philip II (Filippo II), who is passing through Italy on his way to Flanders (Fiandre). | ||||
| 1552 | |||||
| … | His marriage to Felice Orsini (dowry, 20,000 scudi), sister of Paolo Giordano, is arranged. Marcantonio Colonna is disappointed both by the meagre dowry of his wife and by the scarcity of money supplied to him by his father. | ||||
| Dec. | Through the mediation of Ignatius of Loyola (Ignazio di Loyola) he returns with his mother to the Roman palace of the Santi Apostoli (Ss. Apostoli), where his father awaits them. He leaves it after less than a day with his mother, who accuses her husband of violent behavior toward her and her son. | ||||
| 1553 | |||||
| Jan. | His father Ascanio does not respond to the request of Charles V (Carlo V) to take up arms against the French in the war of Siena; he also forbids his son to take part in it. Colonna disobeys the order and prepares a contingent of 300 horsemen to face the enemy. As a consequence Marcantonio is excluded from the succession and disinherited. | ||||
| Autumn | He goes to the imperial court to plead his cause and to negotiate the marriage of his sisters Geronima and Agnese. Charles V (Carlo V) regards him with favor. | ||||
| 1554 | |||||
| Aug. Sept. | Empire (Impero) In proprio | France (Francia) Colonna | He takes part in the war of Siena. He is present at the battle of Marciano, where he commands the men-at-arms from Lombardy. Immediately after the victory he leaves Tuscany and heads for the Abruzzi to take possession of his father’s fiefs. He occupies Marino with the help of its inhabitants and the castle of Paliano after a siege of three days. No one opposes his march or tries to stop him. His father takes refuge in Trasacco, near which Marcantonio also arrives. Cardinal Pacheco has the father arrested, on the pretext that the kingdom of Naples must not become the battlefield of a family conflict. Ascanio is imprisoned in Castelnuovo in Naples on a charge of high treason. Pope Julius III (Giulio III) recognizes Marcantonio as the legitimate heir to the Colonna properties in the Papal State (stato della Chiesa); Charles V (Carlo V) also assures him of his future as head of his house. For his part, Marcantonio Colonna will keep an elderly servant of his father, a certain Ambrogio Felici of Nettuno, prisoner in chains for more than a year, in the hope of inducing him to confess his father’s treason. In spite of everything, the emperor is slow to grant recognition of his succession to the enjoyment of the fiefs and family properties located in the kingdom of Naples. | ||
| 1555 | |||||
| Apr. | King of Spain Philip II (Filippo II) entrusts him with the command of the troops previously serving under his father Ascanio. | ||||
| May | Pope Paul IV (Paolo IV) confiscates his properties in favor of a cardinal nephew. | ||||
| July | The King of Spain grants him possession of Tagliacozzo. | ||||
| Aug. Sept. | Empire (Impero) | Church (Chiesa) | Carlo Sforza and his brother Alessandro seize 2 French galleys from the port of Civitavecchia and hand the two ships over to the viceroy of Naples. Paul IV (Paolo IV) reacts to this act by striking the supporters of the imperial party in Rome: Camillo Colonna, Giuliano Cesarini and the cardinal camerlengo Ascanio Sforza are thus arrested. Only Marcantonio Colonna and his father Ascanio manage to escape by a stroke of luck, taking refuge in Venice (Venezia). | ||
| Dec. | Marcantonio‘s mother, Maria of Aragon (Maria d’Aragona), is confined in the Palace of the Santi Apostoli. She manages to escape at night disguised as a peasant woman. The garrison guarding the Porta San Lorenzo is bribed, so that the noblewoman can take refuge in Cave in the Abruzzi. The pope has all the sentries imprisoned, while their commander is hanged. | ||||
| 1556 | |||||
| Jan. | The governor of Rome Cesare Brancaccio, in the name of Pope Pius IV (Pio IV), declares him a rebel for having fortified Paliano. | ||||
| Mar. | Charles V (Carlo V) orders Cardinal Pacheco to recognize Marcantonio Colonna as the legitimate possessor of the family patrimony, while his father Ascanio remains in prison. In this period begins Marcantonio‘s conflict with Don Garcia de Toledo (cousin of the Duke of Alba), because of the dowry promised by his father to the latter for his marriage to Marcantonio‘s sister Vittoria. | ||||
| Apr. May | In mid-month, on the pretext of Marcantonio Colonna‘s contumacy in the face of repeated summonses by the papal treasury, which wishes to put him on trial together with his father Ascanio, Paul IV (Paolo IV) (of the house of Carafa) orders the confiscation of all his properties with the bull “Ad perpetuam memoriam”. He is excommunicated and banished from the Papal State (stato della Chiesa). Colonna leaves Venice (Venezia) and returns to Naples (Napoli); he insists on an armed intervention that would allow him to recover the properties and fiefs confiscated from him in May by the Carafa. | ||||
| Summer | Spain (Spagna) | Church (Chiesa) | He supports the Duke of Alba, Don Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, in his offensive against the papal forces. He commands 300 lances, while the imperial army consists of 12,000 infantry, 2,400 cavalry and 12 pieces of artillery. His father Ascanio is appointed field marshal. Marcantonio Colonna, with his cousin Pompeo, attacks the enemy in southern Lazio (basso Lazio), conquering a number of castles. After the fall of San Germano (Cassino) he turns toward the sea; he takes possession of Priverno and Terracina; the road to Rome opens up along the Appian Way (via Appia). At the head of 500 light cavalry he spreads confusion and terror everywhere. Giulio Orsini opposes a raid he carries out with 800 cavalry under the gates of the capital. Colonna besieges Giulio Orsini, Francesco Colonna, Papirio Capizucchi and Angelo da Spoleto in Valmontone. The defenders surrender under terms after a violent bombardment and leave the place with arms and baggage. Colonna is unable to prevent the sacking of Valmontone by the soldiers and the inhabitants of Artena, and the subsequent burning of many houses set on fire at various points in the town. | ||
| Nov. | He has a bridge of boats built over the Tiber between Fiumicino and Ostia. He occupies the Isola Sacra, while the Duke of Alba and Vespasiano Gonzaga assault Ostia. Piero Strozzi leaves Rome at the head of 3,000 infantry and 300 cavalry to bring aid to the defenders of Ostia. He is confronted by Colonna on the Via Ostiense, at the point where the basilica of San Paolo now stands. The papal forces are forced to retreat. | ||||
| 1557 | |||||
| Mar. | He supports the Duke of Alba, viceroy of Naples (Napoli), against the papal forces. He is granted the title of lieutenant general. He gathers 7 companies of German infantry, 2 of Italians, 150 cavalry and 6 pieces of artillery. He takes possession of Gavignano and captures a tower near Paliano after defeating Leonardo Ruerio, who had come out of that place with 150 infantry and 50 cavalry. He attacks Matteo Stendardo in Valmontone; the town is captured and set on fire; he obtains Palestrina, which is defended by Papirio Capizucchi, Francesco Colonna and Angelo da Spoleto. The city is sacked; the castle will be demolished. | ||||
| July Aug. | With Feltz and 400 Spanish arquebusiers he clashes with the troops of Giulio Orsini. The Swiss fight fiercely with the landsknechts of Kaspar von Feltz; in the end Orsini is defeated and captured while retreating toward Segni. Marcantonio Colonna obtains Paliano (defended by the Carafa militias) and, again with Feltz, prepares to besiege Segni. The town is taken by storm (August) and sacked. Finally, under the orders of the Duke of Alba, he takes part in the battle of Atri. In the vanguard with his men he defeats 3,000 Swiss infantry and 1,500 Italian infantry, massacring them and taking a great number of prisoners. | ||||
| … | Spain (Spagna) | Peace follows between the Duke of Alba (on behalf of Charles V (Carlo V)) and the pontiff. Marcantonio Colonna is not reinstated in the possession of his properties in Lazio; for the Papal State (stato della Chiesa) his situation remains unchanged, as he is guilty of rebellion against papal authority. Paliano is assigned temporarily by Paul IV (Paolo IV) to his nephew Giovanni Carafa. Colonna goes to Brussels (Bruxelles) to solicit the favor of the court in order to regain Paliano. His mission has no result. In the meantime his financial situation worsens. | |||
| 1559 | |||||
| Jan. | He returns to Brussels (Bruxelles) to find a solution to his economic problems. He obtains from it the promise of an annual provision of 10,000 scudi until the recovery of his own properties in Lazio. | ||||
| Aug. | Spain (Spagna) | Church (Chiesa) | Paul IV (Paolo IV) dies. Free to recover what had previously been confiscated from him, Marcantonio Colonna, at the head of a contingent of armed men, enters the Papal State (stato della Chiesa) with the approval of the new viceroy of Naples (Napoli), the Duke of Alcalá, Pedro Afán de Ribera; he occupies the castle of Paliano. At the end of the month he enters Rome (Roma) and, with his brother-in-law Paolo Giordano Orsini, takes on the task of defending the college of cardinals from the population in revolt. The inhabitants, in fact, on hearing this news have risen up, opened the prisons, and set fire to the palace of the Inquisition and that of the Minerva. Colonna intervenes promptly in Rome and, thanks to his prestige, manages to calm the crowd. Afterward he sends two emissaries to the King of Spain Philip II (Filippo II) (first Pompeo Tuttavilla and, when the latter falls ill, Pietro Moner) to obtain recognition of his rights over Paliano. The viceroy of Naples, in the same days, begs Colonna not to occupy the lands of Sonnino, San Lorenzo and Vallecorsa, usurped more than thirty years earlier by his father Ascanio from Isabella Colonna, widow of Luigi Rodomonte Gonzaga and remarried to the prince of Sulmona Filippo di Lannoy. Colonna reasserts his rights over the three places; the Duke of Alcalá orders the seizure of the three castles with the threat of having all his possessions in the kingdom of Naples confiscated. | ||
| Dec. | With the election of Pius IV (Pio IV) to the papal throne, the machinery of justice is set in motion that leads to the exemplary condemnation of the nephews of Paul IV (Paolo IV). | ||||
| … | He is invested with the order of the Golden Fleece (Toson d’Oro), a collar representing a lamb. The Spanish ambassador in Rome, Francisco de Vargas Mexía, pleads the cause of Marcantonio Colonna in Madrid; Colonna, moreover, sends there his private secretary Cesare Gallo and hires some agents to follow the progress of his petitions and of the memorials sent from time to time to the sovereign. At court he aligns himself more and more with the faction of the prince of Éboli Ruy Gómez de Silva against the one favorable to the Duke of Alba. | ||||
| 1560 | |||||
| Jan. | In 1550 he had sold the castle of Nemi to Giuliano Cesarini with an agreement of return after ten years: he now cedes it definitively to Silverio Piccolomini. | ||||
| 1561 | Empire (Impero) | Ottoman Empire (Impero ottomano) | Conflicts arise with Pius IV (Pio IV) over the non-recognition of the fief of Paliano: the pope would like the castle, before being returned to the Colonna, to be dismantled and left without a garrison; he would also like Federico Borromeo (the cardinal of the Promessi Sposi) to be paid the compensation that, according to the earlier peace between Paul IV (Paolo IV) and the imperial side, was to have gone to Giovanni Carafa. Marcantonio Colonna leaves for Nettuno and seems to threaten Rome (Roma). The Duke of Alcalá intervenes, summoning him to Naples (Napoli) and entrusting him with the command of a contingent of troops (title of lieutenant general of the kingdom) to protect the coasts of the Abruzzi threatened by the Turks. The change in the atmosphere between Colonna and the viceroy of Naples soon bears good fruit at court as well. | ||
| 1562 | |||||
| Summer | His legitimate possession of the fortress of Paliano is officially recognized by the King of Spain. The harmony between the Colonna and Pius IV (Pio IV) is now sealed by a marriage between the future head of the house Fabrizio and Anna Borromeo, niece of the pope and sister of Cardinal Carlo (dowry of the bride 40,000 scudi). To cope with his economic situation he asks for authorization to cede the fief of Pescocostanzo to extinguish a loan of 5,000 ducats contracted earlier with Silverio Silveri Piccolomini; he begs Philip II (Filippo II) to forgo the request for payment of the succession tax between Ascanio and Marcantonio relating to the fiefs held in the kingdom of Naples; he seeks to resolve the dispute concerning the possession of the lands of Sonnino, San Lorenzo and Vallecorsa. | ||||
| 1563 | |||||
| … | His debts amount to 362,325 scudi; current expenses exceed income, which consists of feudal rights, rents from mills, revenues from lands owned in the Roman countryside (agro romano), censuses and income from kilns, ironworks, glassworks, sulfur quarries and vitriol mines. To remedy the economic situation Marcantonio Colonna proceeds to dispose of various properties: the sale of Nemi, transferred to Piccolomini three years earlier, is followed in 1563 by that of San Vito, Capranica and Pisoniano to the Massimo and, in the following year, by those of Lanuvio and Ardea to Giuliano Cesarini, and of Montecompatri to Marco Sittich. His financial situation consequently improves. | ||||
| June | Spain (Spagna) | Barbary corsairs (Corsari barbareschi) | He takes part in a first expedition against Vélez de la Gomera. The command of his galleys is held by Giovanni Antonio Pasqua. | ||
| Sept. | He sells his lordship of Genzano di Roma to Fabrizio Massimo for 15,200 scudi in order to be able to repay the debts contracted for the dowries of three sisters, who married, respectively, Don Garcia de Toledo, the duke of Monteleone Camillo Pignatelli and the duke of Sermoneta Onorato Gaetani. | ||||
| 1564 | |||||
| Jan. | He sells the castles of Ardea and Lanuvio to Giuliano Cesarini. | ||||
| … | As a vassal of both the King of Spain and the Papal State (stato pontificio), he promotes without success a mediation between Pius IV (Pio IV) and the ambassador Luis de Requesens y Zúñiga. Faced with the failure of the negotiations he leaves Italy to go to the court of Madrid. He receives from the sovereign 5,000 scudi, formally to provide for the payment of 100 Spanish infantrymen garrisoned at Paliano. Reassured, he joins the Spanish to fight the Barbary corsairs. | ||||
| May | Spain (Spagna) | Barbary corsairs (Corsari barbareschi) | With the purchase of 3 galleys from the Borromeo he finds himself with 7 galleys at his disposal. With these ships he takes part in the enterprise of the Peñón of Vélez de la Gomera (Pennone di Velez de la Gomera) commanded by Don Garcia de Toledo. | ||
| Aug. Sept. | He is in the port of Málaga (Malaga) with 7 galleys. At the gathering of the fleet are also present Don Garcia de Toledo with 12 galleys, the Portuguese Francisco Barreto with 8, Giovanni Andrea Doria with 12, Sancho de Leyva with 3, Federico de Carvajal with 10 galleys of the Sicilian squadron, Alonso de Bazán (brother of Santa Cruz the Elder) with 7, Jacopo d’Appiano with 10 of the grand duchy of Tuscany, Andrea Provana with 3 of the duchy of Savoy, Marco Centurione with 4 of his own. To the 88 galleys must be added a galleon and some Portuguese caravels, 20 brigantines, 15 flute vessels and other smaller craft. At the end of the month 5 galleys of Malta under Pietro di Gioù also arrive. | ||||
| … | Cardinal camerlengo Ascanio Sforza reinstates him in the possession of the properties confiscated from him at the time by Paul IV (Paolo IV). | ||||
| 1565 | |||||
| Spring | He falls ill; Pope Pius IV (Pio IV) asks him to cede Paliano to the Papal State (stato della Chiesa) in exchange for a compensation. | ||||
| … | The viceroy of Naples (Napoli) Don Garcia de Toledo, on the orders of the king, refuses to grant him the 5,000 scudi intended for the payment of the garrison of Paliano. In the same days Marcantonio Colonna, because of his economic constraints, is forced to cede 2 of his galleys to Cosimo de’ Medici (Cosimo dei Medici) and to leave Rome (Roma). Afterward he will return to the capital, where he will strengthen his prestige through a marriage policy that will also involve his two daughters. He will consolidate his friendship with the Jesuits, with Cardinal Carlo Borromeo and with the future saint Philip Neri (Filippo Neri). | ||||
| 1566 | |||||
| Jan. | The governor of Rome Cesare Brancaccio, in the name of Pope Paul IV (Paolo IV), publicly declares him a rebel for having fortified Paliano. | ||||
| 1569 | |||||
| Spring | With his son Fabrizio he sails for Spain, determined to spend a long period in Madrid and to assume a royal office. His relationship improves with the favorite of Philip II (Filippo II), the prince of Éboli Pedro Gómez de Silva. | ||||
| Dec. | He returns to the Papal State (stato della Chiesa). | ||||
| 1570 | |||||
| Apr. | Pius V (Pio V) confers on him the title of prince and duke of Paliano. | ||||
| June | Church (Chiesa) | Ottoman Empire (Impero ottomano) | The pontiff organizes a crusade against the Ottomans. Marcantonio Colonna receives in the chapel of Saint Peter’s (San Pietro), from the hands of Pius V (Pio V), the insignia of command of the papal fleet and the standard of the league of crimson damask on which is painted the image of the crucified Christ with the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul at the sides and, at the center, the inscription “in hoc signo vinces”. The same day he signs the patent by which he appoints 12 Roman nobles as captains of the galleys, among them 2 Colonna, an Orsini, a Massimo and a Frangipane. In view of the coming war with the Turks, Colonna decides to buy in Venice (Venezia) 12 galley hulls and to take them to Ancona so that they can be armed in the most suitable way. The prisons are emptied of 2,000 convicts, who will be used at the oars of his galleys as rowers. With his lieutenant general Pompeo Colonna he goes to various places such as Castelnuovo di Porto, Terni, Serravalle di Chienti, Macerata and Loreto. Sailors and infantry companies to be embarked on each galley are also recruited in the Marche. At Ancona he meets Fabio di Santa Croce, who has already collected 8 hulls in Venice. | ||
| July | He decides in turn to go to Venice (Venezia) to obtain the remaining 4 hulls and to settle the agreements between the Serenissima and the Papal State (stato della Chiesa). Before leaving he visits the Spanish ambassador Juan de Zúñiga asking him for instructions; he then meets at the Imperiale the duke of Urbino; he continues to Cesenatico, Fornaci and Chioggia. From there he continues his journey by sea and reaches the lagoon city: he is lodged on the Grand Canal (Canal Grande) in Palazzo Pisani. He meets the doge Alvise Mocenigo. His mission is fully successful, also because Colonna agrees to compromise on the economic side, charging the pontiff with all the expenses that the Venetians refuse to take upon themselves. At the end of the month all the galleys are ready at Ancona. For his flagship the Venetians bring out of the arsenal a quinquereme (with 5 men to each bench) already tested and designed in 1529 by the naval engineer Vettor Fausto (Vittore Fausto), which had remained idle for thirty years. The command of this ship is entrusted to Gaspare Bruni. | ||||
| Aug. | The squadron sails from Ancona. It reaches Messina and Otranto with the 12 galleys while waiting for Giovanni Andrea Doria to arrive as well. The latter is late in presenting himself at the appointment, so the junction takes place only at the end of the month. The first conflicts arise between the two admirals: the Genoese slows down the operations connected with departure. Doria suggests remaining in the Adriatic instead of moving to the defense of Cyprus (Kipros) because of the strength of the Ottoman fleet and the advanced season. Colonna, on the contrary, is determined to join Girolamo Zane at Candia (Kriti): he manages to prevail. Doria continues to obstruct the departure from Otranto (because his only concern is to safeguard the safety of the ships under his orders), deliberately avoiding taking advantage of the favorable wind. Colonna finally sails for Candia and arrives at Suda (Souda); in the meantime he is enrolled in the Venetian nobility. | ||||
| Sept. | He joins the Venetian fleet of Girolamo Zane. The latter convenes a council of war and informs the other commanders of the need to bring relief to Nicosia (Levkosia), under hard siege by Lala Mustafa Pasha (Lala Mustafa Pascià). Doria immediately notices that the Venetian admiral is not resolute in his arguments: he opposes this plan with the same reasons expressed at Otranto. Colonna leaves the port of Suda; the fleet is reviewed and Doria notes its weak points, which, from his point of view, do not allow the needs of the war to be met satisfactorily. Girolamo Zane is forced to disarm 5 galleys and to distribute the relevant soldiers and sailors among the other vessels. A papal ship is also disarmed. Moreover the Venetians are still struggling with the plague that has struck their men at Corfu (Kerkira). The council of war is divided between those who support Doria and those who want at all costs to face the Ottomans. Colonna enjoys the support of the marquis of Santa Cruz, captain of the galleys of Naples (Napoli). He heads with the Venetians to the islet of Kastellorizo (Castelrosso, Mergisti) opposite the coasts of Karamania (Caramania, Karaman); here he is informed of the fall of Nicosia into the hands of the enemy. From the Chelidonian Islands (isole Celidonie) the Christian fleet (179 galleys, 11 galleasses, a galleon and 14 transport ships) heads for Rhodes (Rodi, Rodhos) and Karpathos (Scarpanto), where it is caught in a storm (loss of one papal galley and one Venetian). Giovanni Andrea Doria, fearing that his crews will be struck by the plague that has afflicted the crews of the Serenissima, decides to abandon all operations despite the objections of Marcantonio Colonna. The Genoese admiral accuses Colonna of being too pro-Venetian; the latter, for his part, denounces to the pontiff and to the King of Spain his ambiguous behavior. No measure is taken against Doria, who has only carried out the secret orders of his sovereign. | ||||
| Oct. | He moors at Chania (La Canea, Khania), still with the Venetians. On the way to Suda a storm catches the papal and Venetian squadrons. More than 20 galleys are stranded on the sandbanks; 2 papal galleys out of 12 and 13 ships of the Serenissima are wrecked. For this disaster Girolamo Zane will be put on trial and condemned. Colonna sails toward Corfu; on that island he disarms his squadron; he reaches Kotor (Cattaro), heads for Dubrovnik (Ragusa); at anchor the quinquereme on which he is embarked is struck by lightning and blows up. Colonna manages to save his men, including the rowers chained to the benches, the papal standard and the documents: he is the last to abandon the galley, which, in flames and driven by the wind, runs aground on the beach near the city. The survivors head on foot toward Dubrovnik. The inhabitants allow entry only to the exhausted Colonna, not to the Venetians. The latter, as the Turks approach to seize the remains of the galley, set it on fire, managing at the same time to escape capture. | ||||
| Nov. | With what remains of the squadron he is able to reach Ancona and Civitavecchia. | ||||
| 1571 | |||||
| Jan. Feb. | In Rome (Roma). The Spanish (the ambassador to the pope Zúñiga and Cardinal Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle) accuse him of inexperience and move to have him replaced in the command of the papal fleet. Pius V (Pio V), on the contrary, renews his confidence in him. A compromise is found: Marcantonio Colonna will keep his post (with recognition as second in command), while the general command of the fleet of the league will be assumed by a half-brother of Philip II (Filippo II), Don John of Austria (don Giovanni d’Austria). | ||||
| Apr. | He is sent to Venice (Venezia) by the pontiff to revive the alliance between the Church and the Serenissima and to have the latter overcome every sign of distrust toward the Spanish. He meets the doge in the Collegio. | ||||
| May | In Rome (Roma) for the stipulation of the alliance between the papal, Venetian and Spanish forces against the Turks. | ||||
| June | He prepares for the coming conflict with the Turks. Many young men from noble Roman families volunteer. Colonna instructs Cencio Capizucchi (master of the camp general of the papal forces) to enlist the infantry for the papal fleet. In mid-month he leaves Rome, reaches Cerveteri and Civitavecchia, where 12 galleys await him, mostly hired from the grand duke of Tuscany. He reviews them and embarks on the flagship of the Tuscan squadron with 8 companies (1,171 infantry) recruited from Rome, Umbria, the Marche and the Bolognese. Their command is entrusted to Onorato Gaetani. | ||||
| July | In Naples (Napoli), where he meets Ascanio della Corgna; in the city he hires some replacements in place of the sick. In a brawl between the Italian soldiers of the papal galleys and the Spanish soldiers of the “tercio” of Naples, several Spanish infantrymen are killed; the Italians chase their opponents into the palace of the viceroy of Naples, Cardinal Granvelle. Marcantonio Colonna, with his usual diplomacy, manages to convince the prelate to ignore the tumult in order to avoid a general mutiny of his troops. At the end of the month he sails for Messina with 12 galleys; he is accompanied by 3 galleys of Malta and 6 new galleys of the squadron of Naples. On his flagship find places the Maltese corsair Mathurin Romegas and the 2 Italian condottieri Ascanio della Corgna, just appointed master of the camp general, and Gabrio Serbelloni, captain general of the artillery. At Messina. The squadron of Sebastiano Venier also arrives from Corfu. Colonna goes to meet the Venetians and welcomes them with a salvo from the ship’s cannons. In the city he manages to quell a mutiny that had broken out among the crews of the galleys of the Serenissima, caused by the delay in pay. | ||||
| Aug. | Scuffles between the Spanish soldiers of the garrison and the papal soldiers recur at Messina; Colonna now intervenes energetically, having those who provoked the brawl imprisoned, a Spanish captain and his ensign. At the end of the month Don John of Austria (don Giovanni d’Austria) also arrives in the city. The first council of war is held on the galley “Real”: Sebastiano Venier, Agostino Barbarigo and Luis de Requesens also take part in it. In the meantime the Turks proceed northward along the eastern Adriatic coast; they conquer Ulcinj (Dulcigno) and Bar (Antivari); they attack Dubrovnik (Ragusa) and the island of Korčula (Curzola). | ||||
| Sept. | With the arrival at Messina of new Venetian galleys and of Doria, dissensions within the alliance grow. In mid-month the fleet sails from the port; the Calabrian beaches are skirted and Corfu is reached. | ||||
| Oct. | The fleet arrives at Igoumenitsa (Igoumenitza). Continual quarrels arise between the Spanish and the Venetian soldiers. In particular, on a Cretan galley a brawl breaks out between the members of the crew and some Italian soldiers in the service of the Spanish. A clash results with dead and wounded. Sebastiano Venier has Captain Muzio Alticozzi of Cortona hanged with 3 of his infantrymen. Don John of Austria (don Giovanni d’Austria) is outraged by the incident; only the intervention of Colonna and Agostino Barbarigo manages to calm tempers. Once the tension has subsided, the fleet resumes navigation southward. At Cape Bianco (Capo Bianco) the dress rehearsal of the battle formation is ordered; the squadrons take position on a front of five miles. At Cephalonia (Cefalonia, Kefallinia) the allies are informed of the fall of Famagusta (Famagosta): the old rivalries cease at once and everyone shares the Venetians’ desire for revenge. They set out toward the gulf of Lepanto (Navpaktos), where the Ottomans are, who, informed of the movements of the Christian fleet, have withdrawn there to complete their food supplies and to replace the wounded men with new fighters. The ships begin to advance by oar; the prows point toward the Curzolari Islands (isole Curzolari) at the mouth of the gulf of Patras (Patrasso, Patrai). The galleys proceed side by side in a single line divided into 3 squadrons, in which the Venetian ships are mixed with the Spanish ones. Immediately some ships remain bottled up in a small inlet, 4 of which belong to the squadron of Doria. The vessels carrying about 5,000 German infantry, late even before reaching Corfu, are also not available at the moment of the battle. At the first light of dawn the leading division of the Christian fleet, commanded by Doria, draws near to the northernmost of the Curzolari islands (the island of Koutsilaris, now silted up). The Christian fleet is divided into 3 squadrons, each marked by a different color. In the middle is the blue squadron, with pennants of the same color, under the orders of Don John of Austria, Colonna and Venier (64 galleys); on the right the green one with Doria (57 galleys) and on the left the yellow one, commanded by Agostino Barbarigo (56 galleys); the rearguard (white flag) is, finally, entrusted to the marquis of Santa Cruz. There are in all 105 Venetian galleys, 12 papal, 81 Spanish, 3 Genoese and 3 Maltese: in total, 207 galleys, 6 galleasses, 28 vessels and 32 smaller craft among frigates and brigantines. On board have taken their places 3,000 adventurers (venturieri), almost all Italian, 20,000 infantry and 8,000 Spaniards; also embarked are 12,000 sailors and 40,000 rowers (80,000 persons in all). The sailing ships must stay on the wings so that the Christian line is not outflanked, using the wind to carry out maneuvers together with the galleys. Alternatively they would have had to use the boats to convey fresh soldiers to the critical points. The galleasses have the task of disrupting the enemy formation with the fire of their artillery before the two armies come into contact. The vanguard of 8 galleys, led by Giovanni di Cardona, must divide into 2 sections, one assigned to Barbarigo and the other to Doria; the second, however, will never reach its position and will take its place on the right of the central part of the formation. Doria is thus deprived of 4 galleys, at least 2 of which are armored bastard galleys, with a great deal of artillery and powerful fighting equipment. Because of the contrary wind the galleasses take a long time to take their place, a mile ahead of the line. They have to be towed and about three hours are needed to complete their formation (4 on the center and one each on the right wing and the left wing). The Turkish fleet, arranged in a crescent, is also divided into 3 parts: at the center is the supreme commander Ali Pasha (Ali Ahmed Pascià) with 91 galleys and 5 galliots; on the right wing the corsair Scirocco, governor of Alexandria (Al Iskandariyah), with 55 galleys and one galliot, and on the left the corsair Occhiali with 67 galleys and 27 galliots. In the rear is placed another corsair, Amurat Dragut, with 8 galleys, 5 galliots and 18 fustas and another 60 small vessels, among frigates and brigantines. In total there are 221 galleys, 33 galliots, 18 fustas and some sixty other craft. The Ottoman fleet is numerically stronger; inferior, on the contrary, in number of artillery pieces (750 against 1,815, according to the calculations of Guglielmotti). The Christian galleys deploy in a fan along a circular line that embraces the entire inlet. The galleys at the center of the formation and those of the left wing advance toward the enemy, while those of the right wing (commanded by Doria) spread out on their side so as to leave a wide expanse of sea free for the enemy ships in flight. On each ship of the league the bull is read by which Pius V (Pio V) guarantees plenary indulgence to all those fallen in combat. Trumpets sound and on the mainmast of the Spanish flagship, the “Real”, the great standard of the league is hoisted, bearing the crucified Christ beside the coats of arms of Spain, of the pope and of the republic of Venice. At the signal the entire Ottoman fleet begins its advance: from the mainmast of the flagship of Ali Pasha, the “Sultana”, flies the battle standard with the name of Allah embroidered twenty-nine thousand eight hundred times. The Muslims advance without haste, taking advantage of the favorable wind. Suddenly the wind shifts, makes the triangular sails of the Turkish ships go slack and fills the lateen sails of the allied fleet: the change is seen as an intervention of God in favor of the Christian people. The galleasses open fire and their effect proves devastating. The flagship of Ali Pasha is also hit, its lantern swept away by an artillery shot. The Ottoman captain general gives the order to increase the stroke rate in order to escape as quickly as possible from the fire of the pieces and the arquebusiers of the Venetian galleasses. His formation soon loses its alignment; freed from the fire of the galleasses, it comes under that of the bow guns of the galleys. At this point already a third of the Turkish ships are sunk or damaged. The allied galleys can now begin a slow advance toward the disarticulated enemy line. The main Ottoman division strikes the enemy center shortly after noon. The “Sultana” heads straight for the “Real”. The fleets collide. The “Sultana” rams the “Real” at the bow. The two ships are hit by each other’s artillery fire. The janissaries attempt boarding; it is hand-to-hand fighting. Colonna, embarked on the galley of Porto Recanati (70 dead at the end of the combat), strikes the Turkish flagship at the third bench just as another Ottoman galley crashes into the stern of the papal galley. Venier and the reserve squadron of Santa Cruz also intervene against the “Sultana”. Colonna forces Pertev Pasha (Pertev Pascià) (Piali Pasha, Piali Pascià) to fall back, inflicting considerable losses on the latter’s galleys. Following a bitter fight the allied soldiers pour on board the “Sultana”. The surviving janissaries improvise a barricade with satin mattresses and shoot arrows at the Christian soldiers. Filippo Venier loads with grapeshot one of the swivel guns (petrieri) of the flagship of his relative Sebastiano and fires at the enemy. The barricade dissolves. Ali Pasha fights to the last, shooting one arrow after another until he is killed. According to some sources he is struck in the head by an arquebus ball; according to others he is wounded and beheaded by a Spanish soldier. It is told that the latter handed the head to Don John of Austria (don Giovanni d’Austria) as a trophy and received in exchange an icy reproach; according to other accounts Ali Pasha instead committed suicide by cutting his throat after throwing all his valuables into the sea. The raising of the head of the commander of the Ottoman fleet on a pike and that of the standard of the cross on the mainmast of the Turkish flagship are the first signs marking the beginning of the definitive defeat of the Muslims. At the end of the battle 107 Turkish ships are burned or sunk and 130 are captured; 40,000 men, soldiers and sailors, are killed, 8,000 prisoners are taken, and between 12,000 and 15,000 Christians taken prisoner during the raids of the previous summer are freed from their chains. In the melee Barbarigo, struck in the eye by an arrow, and Scirocco also die. After the victory Colonna is charged with inventorying the booty and proceeding to its division. After the tenth part due to the supreme commander has been taken, the remainder is divided respecting the shares established beforehand, namely three sixths to the Spanish, two sixths to the Venetians and the rest to the Papal State (stato della Chiesa) and the minor allies. As booty the papal forces are therefore credited with 19 cannons, 3 petrieri (mortars), 42 sagri, 1,200 prisoners and 21 galleys large and small (of these, 8 will be donated by the pope to the grand duke of Tuscany for his contribution). Allied losses are also considerable, officially 7,650 dead and 7,800 wounded (of which 4,846 fallen and 4,604 wounded, among them many rowers, for the Venetians alone). Overall, between dead and wounded the estimate is close to 20,000 men, while the galleys destroyed amount to between 12 and 16 units: among them the “Fiorenza”, set on fire during the celebrations held at Lefkada (Leucade). Don John of Austria (don Giovanni d’Austria) has all the rowers who took up arms under his orders freed; all the Christian slaves on the Turkish galleys are restored to liberty; conversely the Venetians treat as slaves all the Ottomans captured, even the non-Muslim ones. The gates of the 4 doors of the Holy House of Loreto (Santa Casa di Loreto) were made by melting down the chains donated by the Christian slaves freed from the oar on that occasion, who came as pilgrims to the sanctuary to fulfill a vow. For his part, in memory of the victory, Marcantonio Colonna commissions some celebratory frescoes for his castle of Paliano. | ||||
| Nov. | At Messina, Civitavecchia and Rome (Roma), where Marcantonio Colonna makes his entrance at the head of a long procession. After the parade of the victorious soldiers, there follows the procession of 500 Turks, tied four by four, with a rope around the neck. Colonna climbs the Capitoline Hill (Campidoglio) and offers a silver crown at the altar of the Madonna. The senate will later erect for him, on the same Capitoline Hill, a marble statue. In memory of the victory the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary (Madonna del Rosario) is instituted throughout the Christian world. | ||||
| Dec. | He is at Marino. Numerous demonstrations in his honor are repeated in Rome (Roma), on the Capitoline Hill (Campidoglio) and in the Vatican. A long procession leaves by the Porta San Sebastiano, passes the arches of Constantine, Titus and Septimius Severus, parades on the Capitoline Hill and continues to the palaces of the Altieri, the Cesarini, the Massimo, as far as Monte Giordano and Saint Peter’s (San Pietro), where Colonna is awaited by the pontiff for the celebration of the Te Deum. The leading nobles of Rome, although they took part in great numbers in the battle of Lepanto, remain shut in their palaces or withdrawn to their country residences so as not to pay homage to one of their peers, even though a triumph has been decreed for him. Colonna closes the procession on a white horse, alone and unarmed, dressed in a simple black jacket adorned only with the collar of the order of the Golden Fleece (Toson d’Oro). In the same days, as a response to the exceptional honors paid to him, Philip II (Filippo II) rejects his request to be assigned to the government of Milan (Milano), preferring Luis de Requesens to him; the king does not even send him a letter of thanks, which, on the contrary, is sent to Paolo Giordano Orsini and to many other nobles who fought at Lepanto. Finally, Colonna is prevented from leaving the post of admiral of the papal galleys. | ||||
| 1572 | |||||
| Mar. Apr. | He prepares for a new campaign against the Turks. He goes to Venice (Venezia) to gather infantry to embark on the papal galleys. | ||||
| May | The new pope Gregory XIII (Gregorio XIII) confirms his appointment as commander of the papal fleet. He is sent to Florence (Firenze) to the grand duke of Tuscany Cosimo de’ Medici (Cosimo dei Medici) in order to speed up the operations of fitting out his naval squadron. He embarks at Gaeta in the Tuscan squadron. With the bailiff of the order of the Knights of Saint Stephen (cavalieri di Santo Stefano) Raffaele de’ Medici (Raffaele dei Medici) he surprises Barbarossa on the Tuscan coast. In command of 13 galleys, 2 galleasses, 10 galliots and the tall-sided galleon “Fenice”, he seizes the flagship of the corsair. | ||||
| June | At Naples (Napoli). The complaints of the Spanish against the Venetians begin again. On the other hand Cardinal Granvelle is increasingly hostile to Marcantonio Colonna; with the new pontiff the atmosphere toward him in Rome (Roma) also changes. He moves to Messina. | ||||
| July | His disagreements begin with Don John of Austria (don Giovanni d’Austria) who, under pressure from his half-brother Philip II (Filippo II), King of Spain, tends to delay the movements of the Spanish fleet with the pretext of a possible attack by the French. The armada of the league sails from Messina for the Levant with 128 galleys, 22 ships, 6 galleasses, 20 fustas and galliots (180 vessels in all); directly under the orders of Colonna are 11 Tuscan galleys, 3 papal, 16 Venetian under the provveditore Soranzo and 22 Spanish (with 2 galliots). After a useless attempt to embark infantry at Otranto he soon reaches Corfu. Having joined the rest of the Venetian armada led by Giacomo Foscarini, at the end of the month he sails out to face the ships of Occhiali: 180 units. The strengths of the two fleets are comparable in numbers. Colonna places his command on the Tuscan flagship and on the Tuscan padrona. | ||||
| Aug. | The two fleets face each other in the Maina channel (braccio di Maina). Colonna challenges his adversary in front of Monemvasia (Malvasia), where Occhiali has withdrawn; he sails always close to the Ottoman armada without seeking confrontation. He sails to Cape Matapan (Capo Matapan, Akra Tainaron) with the favor of the wind and here finds the enemy at a distance of 19 kilometers. The Turks sight a ship of the Serenissima coming from Venice (Venezia), which is inadvertently heading toward their fleet, having mistaken it for the Christian one. Occhiali dispatches 12 galleys against it; Colonna (who has under his orders 60 galleys and 23 cargo ships) sends 4 to the rescue of the ship of the Serenissima. A Cypriot slave escapes from an enemy ship and reports that the Ottoman fleet consists of 140 to 150 galleys and 50 smaller vessels, with crews decimated by disease. The following day the fleet of the League intercepts Occhiali drawing water at the tip of the Maina peninsula. The attack is launched. Occhiali falls back. At sunset the naval battle takes place; he places himself at the center with Foscarini and the Hospitaller knight Gil de Andrade (Gil d’Andrade). A squadron of 6 galleys precedes him as scouts. Occhiali is defeated; he withdraws with 5 galleys sunk and another 7 put out of action: he is not, however, pursued. With the arrival in mid-month of Don John of Austria (don Giovanni d’Austria) with 53 galleys, Colonna sails from Cythera (Cerigo, Kithira), heads for Zakynthos (Zante, Zakinthos) and arrives at Corfu. At this point the Spanish show their unwillingness to continue the campaign in the Aegean (Egeo) any further; they push, on the contrary, for an action against Tunis (Tunisi). | ||||
| Sept. | At Corfu. The Christian armada leaves the island; it is at Paxos (Paxo, Paxoi); an assault on Navarino (Pilos) is considered while Occhiali is stationed at Modon (Modone, Methoni). Colonna clashes near that place with some enemy galleys. Occhiali persists in his waiting tactic. 3,000 Spanish infantry land near the fortress of Koroni (Corone): the action fails; the fleet then returns to Modon, where the enemy admiral is still holding position. New offensive attempts have no success; at the end of the month 4,000 Spanish infantry, 500 papal, 500 Venetians under the orders of Paolo Orsini and 1,000 adventurers (venturieri) land at Navarino. The general command is given to Alessandro Farnese. The maneuver does not succeed owing to the actions of Occhiali. | ||||
| Oct. | Marcantonio Colonna falls back from Navarino and Occhiali also returns to Modon. The admiral initially returns to Zakynthos (Zante), where with the lighter galleys he moves with the marquis of Santa Cruz and Giovanni Cardona to the rescue of a Spanish galley intercepted by the ships of Occhiali near Modon. He reaches Corfu; at Paxos (Paxo, Paxoi) the papal galley “San Pietro” is wrecked. The Spanish definitively abandon the campaign to move to Messina. He separates from the Venetians and heads for Civitavecchia. In Rome (Roma) and in Madrid the substantial failure is attributed to him. The Venetians no longer find his support in trying to convince Don John of Austria (don Giovanni d’Austria) to take offensive action. | ||||
| Nov. Dec. | He takes to the sea again bound for Catalonia (Catalogna); in Madrid he joins King Philip II (Filippo II). He is looking for a prestigious post. | ||||
| 1573 | |||||
| May | He returns to Italy in the vain expectation of the fulfillment of what had been promised to him by the prince of Éboli. He is not even granted permission to join at Naples (Napoli) Don John of Austria (don Giovanni d’Austria), who is preparing for a naval mission in the western Mediterranean. In the meantime his protector, the prince of Éboli, dies in Spain; with the breaking of the alliance between the Venetians and the Spanish, finally, his command of the papal fleet also ends. He is succeeded by Giacomo Boncompagni, a relative of Pope Gregory XIII (Gregorio XIII). | ||||
| 1574 | At court he now relies on the faction of Antonio Pérez. In the winter he is granted the title of captain of the kingdom of Naples (Napoli). In his new post he inspects the fortresses of Taranto and Brindisi; he reviews the troops. | ||||
| 1575 | With Paolo Orsini he is put on alert by the pope for a possible intervention in Genoa (Genova), torn by factional struggles. | ||||
| 1576 | He goes to Madrid with his sons Fabrizio and Ascanio. He stays there a few weeks. | ||||
| 1577 | |||||
| Mar. Apr. | He returns to Italy. He is appointed viceroy of Sicily (Sicilia): the official communication is given to him by the Spanish ambassador in Rome (Roma), Zúñiga. He embarks at once for Palermo, which he reaches at the end of April: he is received with a solemn ceremony (triumphal arch on the mole; visit to the most representative places of the city accompanied by a long procession; investiture of the office in the cathedral). | ||||
| 1578 | The situation of the kingdom of Sicily (Sicilia) soon appears to him in all its precariousness. He takes very severe measures to combat the plague that has been raging on the island for two years; he rationalizes the Sicilian fleet, reducing the number of galleys from 22 (mostly in poor condition) to 16. In the same way he also tries to put the land defenses in order. He devotes himself to reorganizing the public administration and the fiscal system; he oversees the mechanisms that preside over justice. His energy in exercising government is noted and praised by Philip II (Filippo II). At the same time he gains the trust of the Sicilian aristocracy in the service of the Spanish by opposing, and increasingly limiting, the influence in Sicilian politics of the former viceroy, the duke of Terranova Carlo d’Aragona. One episode in particular marks the conduct of Marcantonio Colonna in this period. A famous bandit, Riccio da Saponara (favored by many island nobles), manages to flee from Sicily to Tuscany (Toscana). To have him in his power, Colonna proposes to the grand duke of Tuscany an exchange with a gentleman of the Martelli house, who had fled to Sicily at the time following a conspiracy. The bandit will be poisoned during the sea crossing, taking with him the secret of the connivances he enjoyed. | ||||
| 1579 | He entrusts the command of the squadron of Sicily (Sicilia) to his son Fabrizio. | ||||
| 1580 | |||||
| Summer | He is reconfirmed in his post for another three years. New conflicts arise, however, with the tribunal of the Holy Office (Sant’Uffizio) of the Supreme Inquisition (Suprema Inquisizione) because he does not want to remove from the ordinary jurisdiction the nobles who, on the contrary, wish to avail themselves of ecclesiastical protection. The court supports him. | ||||
| 1581 | |||||
| … | Spain (Spagna) | Tunis (Tunisi) | He is received with a triumphal arch at Messina. He sees to supporting the action of the Tunisian insurgents and to restoring Hamida Bey (Hamida) to the throne. | ||
| … | He intervenes in Malta to quell some riots that have broken out on the island. | ||||
| … | He carries out in Palermo a new urban policy, changing the configuration of the city; he also leaves a strong mark of his presence in the building sector. Finally, he has the defensive cordon formed by the coastal watchtowers strengthened to prevent attacks by the Barbary corsairs. His way of governing, however, meets difficult moments because of the gossip concerning his private life (adultery with Eufrosina Siracusa Valdavia and the accusation of having had her husband Galcerano Corbera assassinated in Malta by a hired killer of his). Marcantonio Colonna tries to repress his opponents or those who try in some way to hinder his projects. Cardinal Granvelle pushes at court for his replacement with Giovanni Andrea Doria, who also enjoys the support of the duke of Terranova. The Holy Office (Sant’Uffizio) also presses so that his mandate as viceroy is not renewed a third time. A royal inspector in Palermo prepares a negative report on his activity. | ||||
| 1582/83 | In October 1582 the inspector Gregorio Bravo de Sotomayor (Gregorio Bravo di Sotomayor) arrives in Palermo. The latter’s activity is carried out entirely to the detriment of the viceroy, whose responsibilities he does not fail to highlight (excessive largesse and administrative and judicial irregularities). In 1583 the mandate of Marcantonio Colonna expires. The lack of support at court allows his detractors to spread numerous slanders about him. Toward the end of the year Giovanni Andrea Doria is entrusted with the office of admiral general of the kingdom of Spain (Spagna): the tension toward him therefore eases. | ||||
| 1584 | |||||
| June Aug. | He is summoned to Madrid by Philip II (Filippo II) on the charge of maintaining guilty amorous relations and ambiguous dealings with the Turks. He reaches Civitavecchia with 10 galleys of Sicily (Sicilia); he continues to Rome (Roma) (where he is received with all honors). He pays homage to Pope Gregory XIII (Gregorio XIII) and in early July lands at Colibre (Colibres) on the Catalan coast. At sea he has an altercation with Giovanni Andrea Doria, crossed in the waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea (Tirreno), over questions of precedence. Having arrived at Medinaceli, at the end of the month he is struck by a very violent attack of tertian fever. He dies after midnight on the first of August; talk of poison begins at once and persists. The widow, daughter of Gian Giordano Orsini, will take charge of the fate of the lover Eufrosina: she will have her married to one of her husband’s most devoted companions, the nobleman Lelio Massimo. The children of Lelio‘s first marriage will kill the woman in mid-June of the following year. They will be condemned to death by the new pope Sixtus V (Sisto V). Marcantonio Colonna is buried at Paliano in the church of Sant’Andrea. He had the tower Caldana (torre Caldana) built in his fief of Nettuno, on the sea, near some small lakes of thermal waters. He is remembered in a short story by Leonardo Sciascia. |
Sources
-“Egli alto e svelto della persona, calvo in sin da giovinetto, gran fronte, viso lungo, occhi grandi, aspetto serio, tinte calde, lunghi mustacchi, portamento nobilissimo; grande intelligenza, raro valore, e cuor magnanimo… Prode condottiero di fanti e cavalli… ma anche valente capitano di mare…Il più grand’uomo del suo tempo, colonna saldissima del Cristianesimo, dell’Italia, e di Roma: dal cui senno e valore deve la posterità riconoscere la grande vittoria. ” Guglielmotti
-“Cavaliere oltre l’illustrezza del sangue, chiaro per gli studi delle lettere romane.” Ammirato
-“Vere columnam, et decus romanae nobilitatis.” Bizari
-“La cui morte privò il nostro re di un gran ministro e guerriero d’Italia.” Summonte
-“(Prima della battaglia di Lepanto) A mio parere si dimostrò troppo debole. Egli non seppe un solo istante imporre la sua volontà, nonostante i poteri che gli erano stati conferiti.” Quarti
-“Lasso tute le laudi che si diè/dar al Colonna, a la fama imortal/che con la so destra conquistè.” (Da un canto sulla battaglia di Lepanto riportato dal Quarti)
-“Summo natura loco et magnae habitum potentiae.” G.A. Guarneri
-“Il trionfatore dei turchi, ed il più famoso tra i tanti eroi della sua illustre prosapia.” Ratti
-“Fu di grande statura: di carnagione alquanto bruna, d’occhi neri: e di barba simile.” Totti
-“Nello stesso 1577 egli mostrò di non voler continuare la politica in favore dei nobili dei suoi predecessori, facendo arrestare il marchese de la Favara, che aveva fino ad allora agito senza temere di nessuno. Il suo modo reciso di procedere offendeva o danneggiava personaggi altolocati, fra cui egli si faceva nemici. Così in breve si inimicò con Diego Enriques, nobile iberico-siciliano; così si alienò Geronimo de Cordova e il duca di Sessa, il duca di Medina di Riosecco, i quali andarono a costituire e ad alimentare un partito anti-Colonna, già formatosi in Spagna alla sua nomina. Un altro nemico potente si procurava nel 1579 nel duca di Terranova, accusandone la sorella di veneficio nei confronti del marito. Anche con i suoi ministri iberici, il conservatore Estevan de Monreal e il consultore Taboada, il viceré ebbe relazioni pessime, che gl’impedirono di instaurare con loro un rapporto di proficua collaborazione. Un atteggiamento duro, che gli procurò altre inimicizie, fu quello avuto dal Colonna nel suo tentativo di reprimere il banditismo, che aveva potenti connivenze. Specie durante il primo periodo del suo viceregno si eseguirono parecchie condanne capitali, che egli rifiutò di mitigare. Riuscì ad assicurare alla giustizia anche due banditi famosi, Girolamo Colloco, che fece giustiziare, e Rizzo di Saponara, che però fu avvelenato prima che potesse essere giustiziato.” F. Petrucci
“Ebbe anch’egli molti processi, da cui non apparisce esente da’ quei vizi, dei quali era accusato suo padre (Ascanio). Ribelle al Papa fu processato, scomunicato, condannato contumace a morte; e altre condanne ebbe pure per angherie a danno de’ suoi vassalli di Nettuno. Tenia varie firme, una ben diversa dall’altra, secondo gli affari, di cui doveva prender più o meno responsabilità. Invitato una volta a riconoscere la propria sottoscrizione, giurava avanti il giudice che non era sua, mentre i suoi segretari, già prima avevano attestato di riconoscerla…E’ noto come Marcantonio Colonna abbia avuto nella sua vita dei grandi contrasti, sia stato talvolta ingiuriato, qualificato per pazzo, perseguitato, e a sua volta accusato presso il Governo spagnuolo mentre esso si portava ad esso per difendersi, un veleno, a quanto si crede da tutti gli storici, troncavagli la vita.” Bertolotti
“Le spiccate doti militari, la sua sfrontatezza unita spesso ad una buona dose di arroganza e ad un ardore emergente in ogni sua manifestazione, rappresentavano sicuramente gli elementi peculiari della sua figura. Lo storico Paolo Giovio, che lo conosceva bene per averlo seguito e celebrato in alcune battaglie dell’epoca, ce lo descrive con occhi terribili, una fronte accigliata, ancor più evidente e marcata in tenuta militare, e con un atteggiamento spavaldo ed arrogante da incutere paura, oltre che alla capacità di mostrare vigore d’animo e aria bellicosa.” Mancini
Alla battaglia di Marciano “Haveva Marc’Anton Colonna il giorno/ Fatto una squadra a tutta di signori/ E con questa pel campo corre intorno/ Che parien di catena usciti fuori/ Perché con tanto furor questi intorno/ Che molti trasson delle selle fuora/ E corson sino alle bandiere, dove/ Fer con le spade di mirabil prove.” Da “La rotta della Chiana” in Guerre in Ottava Rima
“Importante membro della più grande famiglia nobiliare romana…Per gli standard di una repubblica marinara non aveva in effetti grande esperienza, tuttavia era una delle poche persone dei territori pontifici che potesse vantare una qualche competenza in quell’ambito (comando navi). All’inizio degli anni sessanta, dopo la disfatta completa della flotta pontificia a Djerba, la piccola flotta privata di Colonna era stata la sola disponibile per proteggere la costa (e probabilmente praticare attività di corsa). Nel 1563, o poco prima, aveva comprato tre galee dal cardinal Borromeo; ne aveva venduta una a un armatore genovese, ma nel 1565 era ancora attivo come proprietario di galee e si ritiene che la sua flotta constasse di sette galee nel suo momento di massima espansione. Pare anche aver passato diverso tempo a bordo di una delle navi, a sufficienza per farsi un po’ le ossa.” Malcolm
Featured image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcantonio_Colonna#/media/File:Marcantonio_II_Colonna.jpg
