A Genoese nobleman who wore the archbishop’s mitre and the corsair’s flag with equal conviction
PAOLO FREGOSO. Of Genoa. Corsair. Doge. Archbishop of Genoa and Cardinal.
Born: 1430
Death: 1498, March
| Year, Month | State, Comp. ventura | Opponent | Command | Area of Activity | Actions Undertaken and Other Salient Facts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1453 | |||||
| Aug. | Liguria | In mid-month he is consecrated Archbishop of Genoa by bull of Pope Callixtus III. | |||
| 1459 | Upon the death of his brother Piero, he becomes the recognised leader of the Fregoso faction. | ||||
| 1461 | |||||
| Mar. | Fregoso | France | He reaches an agreement with Francesco Sforza and the Adorno in order to raise Genoa against the French who control the city. He enters the city at the head of many peasants together with Prospero Adorno. He favours the latter’s rise to the dogeship in mid-month. The Duke of Milan Francesco Sforza sends 1,000 men with whom Paolo Fregoso begins to besiege the Castelletto. | ||
| May/June | Piedmont, Lombardy, and Liguria | Following the resumption of internal struggles between the Fregoso and the Adorno, the Archbishop leaves Genoa to take refuge in Novi Ligure. Four members of the Doria family and three Spinola follow him. He is summoned to Milan by Francesco Sforza, whom he meets the same month. He is able to return to Genoa shortly thereafter following a reconciliation with Adorno. In June, having received 600 ducats, he moves to Savona to fight the French present there. | |||
| July | Milan | France | Genoa is threatened by the Angevin militias of René of Anjou (Renato d’Angiò). Paolo Fregoso is tasked with guarding the stretch of walls running from the Castellazzo to the monastery of San Benigno. He controls all roads leading to the Castelletto, where the adversaries are besieged. He then moves to Cornigliano, where the French are stationed with Prospero Adorno and Marco Pio: the Genoese lack the courage to engage the enemy and hastily withdraw to the city. The enemies occupy without difficulty the monastery of San Benigno and the hills overlooking Genoa. Troops land at Sampierdarena. Paolo Fregoso takes part in the battle in which the Sforza commanders Carlo Cademosto, Niccolò Albanese, and Giorgio della Tarchetta distinguish themselves. With the victory (2,500 enemy dead) he pursues the French, who abandon the Castelletto and retreat to Savona; he halts at Pontedecimo; he re-enters Genoa immediately despite being ordered otherwise by the Doge. Bartolomeo Doria in turn breaks into the harbour with 2 galleys and joins his crews to Fregoso‘s followers. Prospero Adorno is forced to flee Genoa following a new clash; he takes refuge in Milan. Paolo Fregoso has first a kinsman, Spinetta, elected to the dogeship; upon the latter’s renunciation, another kinsman, Ludovico Fregoso, succeeds him after a few days. | ||
| 1462 | |||||
| May | On own account | Genoa | New tumults arise in Genoa against Ludovico Fregoso. Paolo Fregoso gathers 500 of his partisans in the archbishop’s palace while his kinsman shuts himself in the Castelletto. He leaves the city by sea with his brother Pandolfo; he heads for Portofino with 3 galleys. He links up with Obietto Fieschi and lands at the mouth of the Bisagno. He re-enters the city by night with his followers; he besieges his adversaries in the Castelletto and in San Francesco; he has himself named Doge and defender of the people. At the end of the month he seizes the Porta degli Archi. To procure money he takes possession of 2 ships, one laden with merchandise from Spain and another, also a merchant vessel, ready to set sail from Liguria. A few days pass; a gathering of inhabitants in the church of Santa Maria delle Vigne brings about his renunciation of the dogeship. He abandons Genoa with Obietto Fieschi; Spinetta and Ludovico Fregoso have also reached an agreement against him. Paolo Fregoso returns to privateering. | ||
| June | He seizes in the port of Genoa a ship belonging to Giuliano Gattilusio: the damage is estimated at around 25,000 ducats. | ||||
| July/Sept. | He reconciles with Ludovico Fregoso in order to better counter the Angevin threats against Genoa. Nevertheless, fighting between their followers continues. | ||||
| Oct. | He is intercepted off Genoa with 2 galleys by the Aragonese admiral Bernardo Villamarina at the head of 6 galleys and a fusta. He is pursued as far as Monaco, where he manages to escape. The Grimaldi requisition his 2 ships and send the crews back to Genoa. | ||||
| Dec. | His supporters attack the ducal palace and put his cousin Ludovico Fregoso in chains; they drag the latter prisoner to the monastery of San Francesco; near the Castelletto they erect a gallows and threaten to hang him should the garrison not surrender. Paolo Fregoso immediately convenes the council and has himself elected Doge. Pope Pius II confirms him in this office. He implements a strategy of pacification among the city’s factions; in particular he seeks to recover the solidarity of the Adorno, traditional adversaries of the Fregoso, in the name of a shared pro-popular orientation. The plan, though apparently supported by the Duke of Milan, fails due to the opposition of the great Genoese merchants and financiers gathered around the Bank of San Giorgio (Banco di San Giorgio). | ||||
| 1463 | |||||
| ……………… | He welcomes the pirate Giuliano Gattilusio with the greatest cordiality when the latter appears in Ligurian waters with a ship laden with salt. He invites him not to unload the goods at his usual port of Savona, but at Voltri, much closer to the capital. | ||||
| Apr. | Genoa | Exiles | On Easter Day he repels an attack on Genoa, at the Porta delle Vacche, carried out by exiles aided by the French and by Giovanni del Carretto, with the use of 4 galleys and 2 fusts. During the fighting several supporters of Marquis Giovanni del Carretto and of Carlino Adorno are captured. The Archbishop spares the latter’s life (he is nonetheless imprisoned in the Castelletto) in order to win favour with his brother Prospero. Six of the prisoners are hanged. | ||
| Dec. | Genoa | Milan | The violent factional clashes end up favouring the designs of the Duke of Milan Francesco Sforza to make himself lord of Genoa. With the investiture of the city to the latter by King Louis XI of France (Luigi XI), Paolo Fregoso becomes the principal opponent of Sforza rule in Genoa. He allies himself with Obietto Fieschi. Several French galleys appear before the city’s harbour and block its provisioning by sea. | ||
| 1464 | |||||
| Feb. | He strengthens his position in Genoa. He arms 4 large ships. He sends troops to the Riviera di Levante to recover Savona, conquered by the Sforza forces. With his galleys he joins Giuliano Gattilusio (another 2 galleys) in plundering the coasts of the Riviera di Levante. | ||||
| Mar. | He seizes Portofino through the action of Martino Fregoso. | ||||
| Apr. | He sets sail from Genoa with 3 galleys (having been forced to scuttle the fourth ship as unseaworthy) and heads for Piombino, Porto Pisano, and Portovenere, counting on the help of Jacopo d’Appiano, husband of his niece Battistina Fregoso. He also seeks new vessels and troops to return to Genoa and continue hostilities against the Sforza. At the request of Sforza, Cosimo de’ Medici intervenes with Jacopo d’Appiano to prevent him from supplying provisions to the Archbishop. Paolo Fregoso is at sea when his adversaries enter Genoa and besiege his brother Pandolfo in the Castelletto with 500 infantry. He has 500 armed men. Falling ill, he halts at Piombino with 2 galleys; he sends the third, with the best crew, in pursuit of a Venetian grain ship towards Talamone. He subsequently moves his logistical base to Corsica. | ||||
| May/Aug. | On own account | Milan | He captures all ships transporting grain to Genoa; he wages war on the capital with frequent landings. Following the fall of the Castelletto, he sails along the Riviera di Ponente; in the port of Villefranche (Villafranca), near Nice (Nizza), he fiercely attacks many Genoese ships for an entire day. The Genoese charge Francesco Spinola (4 ships) with hunting him down. He is caught by surprise in the port of Villefranche. He flees. He takes refuge initially in Corsica. Driven from those shores as well by Francesco Spinola (4 galleys), he puts to sea toward Sardinia, Tunis, and Sicilian waters, always in search of Genoese vessels. He captures a Genoese ship and several Barbary vessels. In the meantime (July) he agrees, for 8,000 ducats, to enter the service of the Viceroy of Sicily Bernardo de Requesens (Bernardo di Requesens), who governs the island on behalf of King John of Aragon (Giovanni d’Aragona). He is unable to honour the commitment, also because Francesco Sforza has had 4 large ships armed to hunt him down, still under Spinola‘s command. The Genoese admiral encounters the Archbishop’s flotilla at the Strait of Bonifacio: Paolo Fregoso chooses not to fight, abandons the hulls, and saves himself with a single fusta. He heads for Piombino; he soon abandons that vessel as well, which likewise falls into his adversaries’ hands along with the others. All captured ships are brought to Genoa. Paolo Fregoso retains the 4,000 ducats received in advance from Bernardo de Requesens. | ||
| Nov. | He travels to Venice. He is granted permission by the authorities to reside without difficulty in Padua. He is also secretly granted a stipend. | ||||
| 1467 | |||||
| Mar. | Exiles | Genoa | He is reported in Lunigiana enlisting local infantry. | ||
| ……………… | He reaches an understanding with the new Duke of Milan Galeazzo Maria Sforza; he commits to not returning to Genoa. He withdraws into exile in Mantua, as a guest of Benedetto Cavriani, in exchange for an annual pension of 2,000 ducats (at Sforza expense) and permission to exercise the jurisdictions connected to the archiepiscopal dignity of Genoa. | ||||
| 1476/1478 | At the end of December 1476, Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza is murdered in Milan. Tumults arise in Genoa, culminating in the flight from the city of the governor Giovanni Pallavicini. He sides with Giovanni Battista Guarco and other members of his family, with whom he attempts in vain to seize the Castelletto. The Sforza forces intervene with Roberto da San Severino, Gian Giacomo da Trivulzio, Giovanni Pallavicini, and Donato del Conte. He moves to the monastery of San Benigno; with Obietto Fieschi he occupies the bastion of the Castellaccio, near the Castelletto, in order to block the passage of the adversaries. The Sforza forces with Prospero Adorno manage to relieve the defenders of the Castelletto. Fregoso is defeated; he flees to Quarto (Quarto dei Mille); attacked by Carlo Adorno, he again escapes capture aboard a fusta toward Piombino. He turns to piracy, launching a series of actions against his fellow citizens. In May he negotiates a surrender with the ducal forces. He asks to continue enjoying his ecclesiastical benefices and to be allowed to travel to the papal court in Rome. The first request is accepted; the second is not, since another exile, Obietto Fieschi, is already present in the papal capital. He takes the road of exile, while Prospero Adorno is elected governor of Genoa on behalf of the Dukes of Milan. In October 1478 he retires to the Parma area, to the Cistercian abbey of Fontenuova, of which he has been commendatory abbot since 1470. | ||||
| 1480 | |||||
| May | Pope Sixtus IV appoints him cardinal with the title of Sant’Anastasia, which years later (1490) he will exchange for that of San Sisto. The Genoese present him with a golden basin. | ||||
| 1481 | Church | Ottoman Empire | 24 galleys (21 armed in Genoa, 3 in Ancona) | Puglia | He commands 24 galleys (of which 21 are armed in Genoa and 3 in Ancona) to counter the Turks threatening Rhodes, seat of the Hospitaller Order. The fleet enters the Tiber and halts in Rome at San Paolo fuori le Mura to be blessed by the pontiff. He sails in Apulian waters and cooperates with the Aragonese (during the period July–September) in the recovery of Otranto. He returns to Civitavecchia due to the scarcity of booty offered to him. |
| 1483 | |||||
| Nov. | The Doge of Genoa is his nephew Battista. Together with the captain of the garrison Agostino Fregoso and some men of his faction, among whom Lazzaro Doria, he conspires against his nephew, who has in his view become too arrogant. He detains him prisoner in the archbishop’s palace during a visit by the kinsman; under threat of having him killed, he forces him to hand over the keys to the fortresses held by him. At the end of the month Paolo Fregoso is elected Doge once again. A period of good governance in the city follows on his part. He establishes the feast of the Precept of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist; a series of sumptuary laws appreciated by Girolamo Savonarola is promulgated; a patronage is established for victims of fraud and naval seizure; the Monte di Pietà is founded with the collaboration of Blessed Angelo Carletti di Chivasso. | ||||
| 1485 | |||||
| Aug. | Lazio | He takes part in the conclave in which the Genoese Giovanni Battista Cybo is elected pope (Innocent VIII). He sends his own ambassadors to the new pontiff to urge him to intervene with the Florentines to put an end to the War of Sarzana. | |||
| 1486 | |||||
| Apr. | Genoa | Florence | The Florentines take up arms again against Sarzana; they will seize the town in June of the following year. | ||
| 1487 | |||||
| Jan. | Genoa | Exiles | He is forced to accept in Genoa the presence of a council of 12 citizens tasked with overseeing his activity. Together with his son Fregosino he avenges the arrest of Tommasino Fregoso, accused of secret dealings with some relatives in Corsica. One of the magistrates is gravely wounded: the Fieschi, the Adorno, and Battista Fregoso immediately conspire against him. He seeks to win over Obietto Fieschi. The latter too opposes his actions. Paolo Fregoso prepares his defence and plays for time; attacked in the palace, he takes refuge in the Castelletto, pursued by his nephew. | ||
| 1488 | |||||
| ……………… | Having made himself hateful to the Genoese, he sends 8 ambassadors to Milan in order to negotiate the return of the Republic of Genoa under the Sforza. | ||||
| June | All his enemies unite against him: Obietto and Gian Luigi Fieschi, Battista Fregoso, Agostino and Giovanni Adorno take part in the conspiracy. Caught off guard, he takes refuge in the Castelletto. Giovanni Francesco da San Severino arrives from Novi Ligure. The latter reaches an agreement with his rivals for the election as Sforza governor of Genoa, for ten years, of Agostino Adorno; Paolo Fregoso also finds an accommodation. He is promised an annual pension of 6,000 ducats until Pope Innocent VIII intervenes with an equivalent income derived from ecclesiastical benefices. He returns the fortress to the Sforza forces and sets sail toward Lazio with 2 galleys. One of these is wrecked in Corsican waters with the death of all those on board. Fregoso, with the other, arrives safely at Civitavecchia, from where he reaches Rome. | ||||
| 1490 | Lazio | He takes part in the conclave that concludes with Rodrigo Borgia (Alexander VI) ascending to the papacy. | |||
| 1493 | Ludovico Sforza refuses to pay him the annual allowance agreed upon at the time of the handover of Genoa. | ||||
| 1494 | Exiles | Milan | He flees from his exile in Rome. Together with Obietto Fieschi he joins the Aragonese to fight against Genoa. | ||
| 1495 | |||||
| Mar. | Exiles | Milan | Together with Obietto Fieschi he sides with King Charles VIII of France (Carlo VIII). He attempts in vain to recover the dogeship; he lands near Rapallo with 7,000 men, both infantry and cavalry: with him are also Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere and Obietto Fieschi. He puts to flight 300 Genoese cavalry who attempt to oppose him. | ||
| July | Together with Giovanni Grimaldi and Luca Doria he appears before Ventimiglia: he demands its surrender in vain in the name of King Charles VIII of France (Carlo VIII). He subsequently moves on Genoa with Obietto Fieschi and Battistino Fregoso. The attempt is repulsed. | ||||
| 1496 | |||||
| Feb. | In mid-month he is forced to resign the office of Archbishop; he will recover it, however, a few months later at the end of July of the same year. | ||||
| ……………… | Veneto | He resides in Venice. | |||
| 1498 | He dies in Rome at the end of March. |
Sources
-“Questo tiranno, demagogo e turbolento, fu forse il più tristemente celebre fra i signori del mare genovesi. S’impossessò delle imbarcazioni più imponenti, fra tutte quelle ancorate nei porti e, per mesi, fece man bassa sulle navi da trasporto che incrociava, quelle di Genova per prime. Egli trovò in Corsica, in particolare a Bonifacio, il suo quartier generale e alcuni rifugi inaccessibili; disponeva inoltre di più di cinquecento uomini e si faceva aiutare dalla sua famiglia. A causa sua, armatori e mercanti perdevano decine di migliaia di ducati. Bisognò armare una numerosa squadra di navi supportate da galere da combattimento. Circondato vicino alle coste della Corsica, egli perse i suoi bastimenti migliori, ma riuscì a guadagnare l’isola, e poi a riprendere le armi; e per qualche anno ancora anche a vivere del ricavato delle rapine, seppure con parsimonia.” Heers
-“Archeveque-brigand.” Petit
-“Cui meglio la corazza che la mitra s’affettava.” Interiano
-“L’annotazione del Sanuto alla registrazione della sua morte (“era povero cardinale et havea poca entrata”) conferma, al di là dei rovesci che certo ne caratterizzarono il destino, la natura indipendente e orgogliosa di una personalità straordinaria, la cui ambiziosa utopia sarà demonizzata da una tradizione storiografica conformisticamente disposta a sottoscrivere la condanna di un prete-politico scomodo per il Banco di S. Giorgio, per gli Sforza e per gli strati alti della Repubblica genovese.” Cavanna Ciappina (Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani)
-“Paolo Fregoso, comeché arcivescovo di Genova e cardinale di Santa Chiesa, aveva costumi e indole, quali si possono supporre in un facinoroso versato sin dalla prima giovinezza nelle turbolenze, e stato a volta a volta autor di fazioni, pirata, generale ammiraglio, doge. Fiero, risoluto, crudele e in pari tempo scostumatissimo, ei stimava lecito tutto che a lui giovava, non badando a mezzi e ai fini.” Da G. Serra (Storia dell’antica Liguria e di Genova), riportato da Escher
-“Tre volte doge, due volte papabile, Arcivescovo e politico spregiudicato fino a svendere Genova ai milanesi, pirata e condottiero del papato a Otranto, padre di cinque figli (tra quelli noti) da due donne diverse, è un personaggio contradditorio che farebbe la gioia di ogni biografo.” Sancisi
-“Fu ricordato per la sua natura indipendente e orgogliosa…Tre volte doge, due volte papabile…Prete e politico, ricordato come “figura sinistra”; scomodo per il Banco di San Giorgio, per gli Sforza e per gli strati alti della Repubblica genovese; in lui si combinavano perfettamente tutte le virtù e i vizi del suo secolo.” Molinari
Featured image: wikipedia
