Soldiers, Lords, and Diplomats: The Rangoni Family in the Wars of Italy

In our time, when we increasingly lose the taste and the sense of the word, where language is simplified and terms such as valour, courage, loyalty, and love for art appear ever more emptied of their original meaning, it is with the old spirit that one must read the history of a house such as that of the Rangoni, especially in protagonists like Guido II and his father Niccolò Maria. As with other warlords, the Rangoni did not favour overly balanced positions; they were above all fighters in the service of the Este of Ferrara, the Bentivoglio of Bologna, and the Republic of Saint Mark. It is within this zeal that their strength and their capacity to shape the wars of Italy in their time are revealed. The Rangoni were a noble consortium of Guelph allegiance. Over the centuries they provided several podestàs to the Guelph cities of northern Italy. From the fifteenth century onwards, members of the house began to serve as captains of fortune. The Rangoni family represents one of the most tenacious and long-lived aristocratic nuclei of the Modenese territory, with a documented presence in the military and political affairs of central and northern Italy spanning more than two centuries, from the mid-fourteenth to the end of the sixteenth century.

Originally from Modena, the Rangoni built their fortune through a combination of military service, diplomatic skill, and careful management of the Este fiefs in the countryside: castles such as Spilamberto, Borgofranco (Castelfranco Emilia), Castelvetro di Modena, Levizzano Rangone, Campiglio di Vignola, and Castelnuovo Rangone formed the patrimonial backbone of the family, defended with determination even when individual members were serving far from their lands of origin. The Rangoni moved steadily within the Este orbit from their origins, but their position remained that of autonomous vassals, capable of forging alliances with Bologna, Venice, the Church, or the kingdom of France according to the convenience of the moment. During the fifteenth century they produced some of the most esteemed captains of the age; in the first half of the sixteenth century the house reached its apex with Guido II Rangoni, called il Piccolo, portrayed by Titian and a knight of the Order of Saint Michael; in the second half of the century members of the family distinguished themselves by their valour in France, England, Flanders, and at the Battle of Lepanto, before the house began its slow decline.

First Generation (mid-fourteenth century)

Gherardo I Rangoni † 1373 (October)

Father of Jacopino. Married Amabilia di Porcia, daughter of Brizaglia.

Lord of Castelvetro di Modena, Castelcrescente Ravarino, and Castelfranco Emilia (Borgofranco). Gherardo was one of the first Rangoni to emerge as a military force in the Modenese territory. Closely allied with the Este, he fought in the war against the Visconti at the Battle of San Polo d’Enza in 1356; the following year he fought alongside Lanfranco Rangoni, Ricciardo Cancellieri, and other captains, with 1,500 cavalry and 4,000 Bolognese infantry, against 2,000 Milanese cavalry led by Galeazzo Pio. In 1358 Pope Urban V confirmed his fiefs, previously purchased from Pietro della Rocca, formerly personal physician to King John of Bohemia. Such was his prestige in Emilia-Romagna that in 1359 he was summoned to Ravenna as arbiter of a decades-long dispute over possession of Castiglione di Ravenna between the da Polenta and the Pochepenne. His end was violent: returning from Bologna in 1373, while escorting the Marquess of Ferrara Niccolò d’Este to a meeting with the pontifical cardinal legate, he was ambushed and killed near the tower of the Samoggia by Francesco and Manfredino da Sassuolo. With his death, many Modenese fortresses surrendered to the Visconti. Sources remember him as “a celebrated man of arms and one of the most powerful supports of the Este against the Visconti.” (Argegni)

Lanfranco Rangoni of Modena (the Elder) † c. 1367

Married Agnese da Fogliano.

Knighted at Ferrara in March 1352 by Obizzo d’Este alongside Galeazzo Pio and Ugolino da Savignano, he took part in the same month in the civic council of Modena, which reaffirmed the city’s loyalty to the Este. In the service of the Marquess of Ferrara Aldobrandino d’Este, in 1353 he received Castelcicogna (?) as a fief; he served as podestà of Ferrara in 1360 and 1363. A celebrated condottiere, he is recorded as having faced the Visconti militias alongside Gherardo I Rangoni and other captains against the forces led by Galeazzo Pio.

Second Generation (late fourteenth – early fifteenth century)

Jacopino Rangoni † c. 1413

Lord of Castelvetro di Modena, Levizzano Rangone, Spilamberto, and Campiglio di Vignola. Son of Gherardo I, father of Gherardo II, son-in-law of Guido da Correggio. Married Fina Buzzaccarini, daughter of Arcuano (nobleman, condottiere of the Carrara of Padua) and Beatrice da Correggio, daughter of Guido, lord of Casalpò.

The first member of the main line to attain a fully developed condottiere-lord profile, Jacopino served as podestà of Padua in 1373–1375: in January of the second year he condemned to death the members of a plot aimed at delivering the city’s lordship to Marsilio da Carrara at the expense of the latter’s brother, Francesco. He subsequently served as podestà of Rimini in July 1375 and as captain of the people in Perugia in 1388. In 1391 he received Castelnuovo Rangone as a fief from the Marquess of Ferrara Niccolò d’Este. In 1396 he was governing Vignola when the city was attacked by Giovanni da Barbiano: he was eventually forced to yield to his adversary after the latter succeeded in seizing the fortress. Still in the service of the Este, in 1404 he fought alongside Uguccione Contrari in an expedition on Reggio Emilia. He faced the militias of the lord of Parma, Ottobono Terzi. He again supported Contrari in a new action against Reggio Emilia. He entered Parma with Niccolò d’Este following the fall of the citadel of Porta Nuova. He remained in the city as lieutenant of the Marquess of Ferrara. He died at Spilamberto in 1413 and was buried in the church of San Francesco in Modena.

Vittore Rangoni (Vittorio Rangoni) † c. 1450. Of Modena.

Vittore belonged to another branch of the Rangoni, based in Modena. At the beginning of his career he served in the administrative and judicial role of podestà in various localities of central Italy, including Trevi (Umbria), Sansepolcro (Tuscany), and Forlì (Romagna). It was after this last experience that the figure in question dedicated himself to a purely military career. Following an account of his conduct in the Romagnol podesteria, he was condemned by the pontifical authorities to a fine of 400 lire for administrative irregularities. The inhabitants of Forlì intervened on his behalf; the same pontifical authorities eventually absolved him of all charges after a short time. The experience convinced him to take up soldiering, the trade of arms. He initially served Francesco Sforza. He is now recorded operating in Campania (Benevento), defending the future Duke of Milan’s possessions against the assaults of the troops of King Alfonso of Aragon of Naples. He was subsequently called to fight in Apulia in support of the Angevin cause of René of Anjou, in the latter’s attempt to seize that kingdom. In 1443 he operated in Apulia, first in the defence of Troia and subsequently in that of Manfredonia. Besieged for many months in the fortress of the second locality, he was finally forced to surrender. He passed into the pay of the victors and faced, on behalf of the Aragonese, the Sforza forces in the Marches. Francesco Sansovino remembered him as “a captain famous in arms.”

Third Generation (first half of the fifteenth century)

Gherardo II Rangoni † 1447. Of Modena.

Lord of Spilamberto, Castelvetro di Modena, Campiglio di Vignola, Levizzano Rangone, and Castelnuovo di Sopra in the Reggiano. Son of Jacopino, father of Guido I. Married Beatrice Boiardi, daughter of Selvatico, lord of Rubiera.

Son of Jacopino, Gherardo consolidated the family’s control over the paternal lands of the Modenese countryside. A fully-fledged captain of fortune and vassal of the Este, in 1409 he fought alongside the Marquess Niccolò III against Ottobono Terzi, lord of Parma; in 1420 he served as captain of that centre, again under the Este. Over the years he forged ties with the powerful Bentivoglio family, becoming in particular a friend of Antongaleazzo. With the latter’s killing at the hands of the pontifical forces (1435), he sought to avenge his memory; in 1438 he attempted to bring Niccolò Piccinino and the Visconti into Emilia to drive them from Bologna. In 1443 he hosted at Spilamberto Annibale Bentivoglio, natural son of Antongaleazzo, just freed by the Visconti from the fortress of Varano de’ Melegari; he acted as intermediary for his reconciliation with the powerful rival Canedoli family and helped him return secretly to Bologna, where a popular uprising brought him to the lordship of the city at the expense of Francesco Piccinino, representative of the Duke of Milan. A conflict with the new adversaries followed, in which he was prominent in the defence of the city and, shortly afterwards, along with other captains in a subsequent sacking of the territories of Imola and Faenza. To safeguard these, Astorre Manfredi, who had succeeded to the lordship of those lands following the death of his brother Guidantonio only three months earlier, was forced to abandon the pay of Filippo Maria Visconti. Gherardo Rangoni died in 1447.

Fourth Generation (fifteenth century)

Guido I Rangoni † 1467 (October)

Count, lord of Cordignano in Friuli. Together with his brothers Uguccione and Venceslao he controlled a vast patrimony in the Modenese countryside, in particular Castelcrescente Ravarino, Castelfranco Emilia (Borgofranco), Spilamberto, Castelvetro di Modena, Levizzano Rangone, Campiglio di Vignola, and Castelnuovo di Sopra. Son of Gherardo II and Beatrice Boiardi. Brother of Ugo, Uguccione, and Venceslao. Married Giovanna Boiardi, daughter of Feltrino, count of Scandiano, and in a second marriage Guiduccia da Correggio. Father of Niccolò Maria, father-in-law of Antonio da Tolentino.

Pompeo Litta, in his collection of 184 fascicles covering 150 families, Famiglie celebri italiane, notes that Rangoni was a captain who “enjoyed being considered one of the good condottieri in the service of the Venetian republic, whose historians call him excellent in military discipline.” Bernardino Corio, an author writing shortly after his time, shared the same opinion, judging him in his work L’historia di Milano with identical terms: “a man excellent in military discipline.” Guido I Rangoni was indeed the first condottiere of the house to receive general recognition of his abilities. In the pay of the Venetians on the recommendation of Gattamelata, he found himself on several occasions clashing with Francesco Sforza, both when the future Duke of Milan fought in favour of the Ambrosian Republic and when the latter turned against the same republic, now allied with the Republic of Saint Mark, all in pursuit of his ambitious objective. In August 1448 he supported the Venetian captain general Micheletto Attendolo in the relief of Caravaggio, besieged by the opposing captain. He carried out several skirmishes towards the enemy defensive works in an attempt to assist the defenders. He was counter-attacked in the late afternoon, when his men had the sun in their eyes. The adversaries assaulted his fortified camp; Rangoni was forced to withdraw with some losses. In the subsequent conflict pitting Sforza against the Venetians, the condottiere again distinguished himself for his valour. With the subsequent Peace of Lodi (1454), in November of the same year the Serenissima rewarded him by enfeoffing him with the castle of Cordignano in Friuli. Like his father Gherardo I, he intervened on several occasions with his companies in Bolognese affairs in favour of the Bentivoglio: this occurred in July–August 1443 when he moved with his militias to the aid of Annibale Bentivoglio, who had become lord of Bologna at the expense of the Visconti. A similar intervention was repeated in June 1445, following the killing of that same lord Bentivoglio by the rival Canedoli family. In the final years of his career he declined the offers of favourable condotte proposed first by the Duke of Burgundy Charles the Bold, and then by the Venetians themselves to face the Turks in the Morea. He preferred to end his career as a soldier, one year before his death, with a less demanding appointment as captain general of the Este troops, entrusted to him by the Duke of Modena and Reggio, Borso d’Este. He died at Spilamberto in the first days of October 1467. He was buried in Modena in the church of San Francesco; years later, in the same church, his son Niccolò Maria would be buried at his side.

Lanfranco Rangoni † 1483 (December)

Brother of Cesare. Married Maria Trotti, daughter of Antonio Trotti, lord of Ovada; father-in-law of Albertino Boschetti, lord of San Cesario sul Panaro and Rodi Garganico.

This is a minor Rangoni, one might say, yet still significant within a house so rich in men of arms. According to local chroniclers J. and T. de’ Bianchi, in their work Cronaca modenese, he and his brother Cesare were among the finest captains of heavy cavalry of their time. A true captain of fortune, he served various employers, including the Este, the Venetians (against the Turks in Friuli), the Visconti (in Liguria against the Fieschi), and again the Este in the so-called War of Ferrara of 1482. Assigned to the guard of Rovigo, attacked by the troops of the Serenissima, he was forced to yield before the action carried out by the men of Roberto da San Severino. He died in the first days of December of the following year. He was buried, like many other members of his house, in the church of San Francesco in Modena. Lodovico Vedriani, another historian of Modena writing in the 1600s, described him as “also illustrious for his valorous deeds.”

Cesare Rangoni † c. 1505

Brother of Lanfranco, uncle of Guido II.

As with other members of the Rangoni house, his name is bound to the Bentivoglio. Litta described him as “a man expert in arms and of great repute.” Captain general of the troops of Giovanni Bentivoglio, lord of Bologna, he remained in his service until 1479, when he was replaced in command by his kinsman Niccolò Maria. Having passed into the pay of the Este, in 1482 he faced the Venetians in the War of Ferrara. He is recorded at the defence of Rovigo; in July 1484 he particularly distinguished himself in a skirmish near the Castel Nuovo, a defensive bastion of Ferrara itself. In the engagement, 200 infantrymen were captured and the opposing captains Bernardino di Montone and Pietro Carlino were wounded. Having returned to serve with the Bentivoglio, he was assigned the role of lieutenant in the company of Niccolò Maria Rangoni; upon the kinsman’s death, he was charged by the Bentivoglio with assisting the son Guido II with his experience. He died c. 1505.

Gherardo III Rangoni † 1523 (August)

Count of Borgofranco. Lord of Castelfranco Emilia (Borgofranco), Castelvetro di Modena, Castelcrescente Ravarino, and Levizzano Rangone. Ghibelline. Son of Ugo, father of Ugo bishop of Reggio Emilia. Cousin of Guido II, with whom his life intersected on several occasions. Married Lucia Boschetti, sister of Roberto, lord of San Cesario sul Panaro, and in a second marriage a woman of the Bevilacqua family.

Gherardo III was the principal representative of a collateral branch of the family between the late fifteenth and the early sixteenth century. The curious fact about this condottiere is that despite his long presence in the chronicles, no historian has ever offered any assessment of the merit or demerit of his conduct. Yet he was a hard man, who acted without half-measures, driven at times to cruelty by the spirit of faction. His life must be understood as the normal “representation” of what occurred in certain Emilian communities towards the end of the fifteenth century: localities such as Modena or Reggio Emilia, in which strong civic interests were present, represented by noble families concealing themselves behind the names of Guelphs and Ghibellines. His conduct was not so much remarked upon in particular acts of war such as skirmishes or ambushes, as in interventions on the urban population (Modena) to quell tumults caused by famine or by the passage of foreign militias provoking pillage, or in the hatreds dictated against the opposing faction. His career was tied to the Este and to the Papal State in opposition to the Bentivoglio of Bologna. Already at the side of the Duke of Ferrara Ercole d’Este in Tuscany against the Aragonese and the pontifical forces, he first distinguished himself during the War of Ferrara (1482), when in December of that year he intervened in Modena alongside his kinsman Niccolò Maria to put down a revolt of the inhabitants who, because of famine, had sacked two boats loaded with chestnuts, spelt, and other supplies destined for the soldiers at the front. Another similar action is recorded in August 1483, when he was called to intervene at Bondeno, in the Ferrarese, again because of a famine. A different motive appeared the following month in Modena: with his partisans he was involved in a brawl, pitting him against his long-standing rivals, the Ronchi and the Rangoni of Guelph allegiance. He subsequently served the Aragonese of Naples, before later opposing them in the same kingdom in the pay of the French. Returning to the service of the Este, he was sent by the Duke of Ferrara to guard the Castelletto of Genoa, given as pledge to Ercole d’Este as guarantee of compliance with the peace concluded between the King of France Charles VIII and the Duke of Milan Ludovico Sforza. In April 1501 he was called once again to act in Modena, where the population had risen against 150 Swiss soldiers, in the pay of the French, who had arbitrarily installed themselves in the city. Many were killed and wounded among the foreign mercenaries. The matter closed with a certain swiftness: the citizens were required to compensate the surviving soldiers with 400 ducats to avoid any French reprisal. A proper military period followed in the service of the Florentines in the Pisan war and then in that of the Papal State. He was invested with Castelvetro di Modena by Pope Julius II. It was in May 1507 that his relations with his Guelph kinsmen deteriorated further. Through his initiatives he contributed to the failure of the attempt by the Bentivoglio and their ally Guido II Rangoni to drive the pontifical forces from Bologna. In 1508 he was placed by the pontiff in charge of the guard of that city in order to suppress certain discords stirred up by the Bentivoglio partisans. In November 1509, having returned to serve the Este, he was appointed governor of Modena: he exercised his mandate with his customary harshness. In 1510 he returned to the pontifical banners. In August–October he took advantage of the illness of the Este governor Ercole d’Este (a namesake) to open the city gate of Saliceto and admit the pontifical militias of Francesco Maria della Rovere. His final years were marked by private wars against local families such as the Montecuccoli, the da Fogliano, and the Carandini. He enjoyed, in contrast, the support of Pope Julius II. In this climate reprisals against him were not lacking, as when in December 1511 his palace in Modena was sacked by supporters of the popular faction. Modena passed for a time under the control of the imperialists: Gherardo was summoned by the governor, the German Vitfurst, to contribute to restoring calm among the inhabitants. By the end of the year control of the city passed to the pontifical forces; he was placed in charge of its guard. In that capacity, in December, he received Guido II Rangoni (his long-standing rival), who took possession of the city castle (his own post) in the name of the same pontifical forces. Religious ceremonies in the cathedral followed with a new governor. The truces between the factions ended in March 1515. Gherardo allied with the Tassoni and unleashed a major skirmish directed against Guido II and his supporters. Many were wounded. A new truce was signed. Three hundred partisans of the adversaries broke into Modena through the Porta Baggiovara. His palace was systematically sacked; after a day he abandoned the castle where he had taken refuge, to seek shelter at Carpi. The following month he received reinforcements from the Pepoli; despite this, his supporters were forced to abandon Modena while he was compelled to return to Carpi. Not content, he persisted in his intrigues: his victims were again the Montecuccoli, lords of Frignano, and the Este of the new Duke of Ferrara, Alfonso d’Este. He died in Rome in August 1523. He was buried in Modena, in a different church from that where the remains of his Guelph kinsmen lie (San Francesco). His tomb is in the church of Santa Cecilia.

Niccolò Maria Rangoni 1455–1500 (October). Of Bomporto.

Lord of Cordignano and Spilamberto. At barely thirteen years of age, together with his brother Uguccione, he drove from Spilamberto his kinsmen Venceslao and Ugo (father of Gherardo III). A long dispute with the Este followed, concluding only in 1476 with the official investiture by the Duke of Ferrara Ercole d’Este. Count palatine. Son of Guido I, father of Guido II, Ludovico, Francesco, Annibale, Ercole (bishop of Adria, Modena, cardinal), and of the daughters Ginevra (who married Giangaleazzo da Correggio and Luigi Gonzaga, Marquess of Castiglione delle Stiviere) and Costanza (who married Tommaso Calcagnini and in a second marriage Cesare Fregoso): a woman celebrated in poems and epigrams, as well as in some of Matteo Bandello’s novelle. Rangoni married Bianca Bentivoglio, daughter of the lord of Bologna, Giovanni.

Compelled by circumstances to take up a military career at a very young age, with this choice he conformed to the purest tradition of his time and to that of his influential family; Niccolò Maria was a soldier, an experienced, well-known, and respected commander of militias, so much so that he was called upon by Giovanni Bentivoglio to lead his troops in place of Antonio Trotti. His subsequent marriage to the lord of Bologna’s daughter established a solid alliance between the two families, a fact that would influence their destiny for the following generation. Niccolò Maria is the most complex and celebrated figure of the house before his son Guido II. It can be said without hesitation that his story and that of his eldest son are two sides of the same coin. “A man of the utmost integrity and valour” is how he was described by his contemporary Cherubino Ghirardacci in his work Della historia di Bologna; the two Modenese chroniclers (contemporaries) J. and T. de’ Bianchi were of the same opinion: “A gentleman and a good man, honourable, worthy, useful to the city of Modena and everywhere he went” (Cronaca modenese); and the later Girolamo Tiraboschi wrote: “Although he was a man of war, we see him nonetheless praised as a magnificent protector of scholars and of poets in particular” (Memorie storiche modenesi). With him disappeared an aristocratic figure of the Italian Renaissance, faithful in his own way to friendships and to a chivalric and brilliant way of life, expressed in the organisation of games (the so-called gioco del pallone, imported directly from Florence) and in his personal participation in jousts and various tournaments organised to celebrate weddings or patron saints’ feasts (San Petronio). His reputation on the military plane was, however, inferior to that of his son, limited by his early death and by his service exclusively with the Bentivoglio. As commander of his father-in-law’s men-at-arms, he distinguished himself in several episodes during the War of Ferrara (1482–1484). It was in April 1488 that he was forced into action, when he was sent to the aid of Caterina Sforza to secure her control of Forlì and Imola immediately after the assassination of her husband Girolamo Riario. In June of the same year he assisted his father-in-law’s attempt to seize Faenza following the assassination of its lord Galeotto Manfredi by the Bentivoglio’s own daughter, Francesca. In the subsequent tumults a Sforza condottiere, Giampietro Bergamino, was killed, while Niccolò Maria was forced to shut himself in the city fortress. Besieged, he was shortly compelled to surrender: he was almost immediately freed along with the Bentivoglio, who found himself in the same situation. Ten years passed, and in October 1498 he was marginalised and confined, probably to Modena. He had refused to betray his friendship with the lord of Florence, Piero de’ Medici: this had aroused the fury of the Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, and of his own father-in-law, who held command of the Sforza troops outside Lombard territory. Only with the victory of the French and Venetians over Sforza (July 1500) could he return to Bologna. Even in this circumstance, his loyalty to the Bentivoglio did not fail. In October, Cesare Borgia threatened Bologna; Niccolò Maria Rangoni was found at his father-in-law Giovanni’s side. He died at the end of the month, by night. He was buried in Modena in the church of San Francesco, beside his father Guido I.

Fifth Generation (sixteenth century)

Guido II Rangoni (il Piccolo) 1485–1539 (January). Of Modena.

Count, Marquess of Longiano and Savignano. Lord of Cordignano, Spilamberto, Sant’Arcangelo di Romagna, Vignola, Beauregard, Belleville, La Tour du Pin. In 1507 the Duke of Ferrara confiscated Spilamberto from him for the aid he gave the Bentivoglio in their attempt to recover Bologna. Son of Niccolò and Bianca Bentivoglio. Brother of Annibale, Francesco, Ludovico, Ercole (cardinal), Ginevra (wife of Giangaleazzo da Correggio and of Luigi Gonzaga), Costanza (wife of Tommaso Calcagnini and of Cesare Fregoso). Father of Baldassarre; of Lavinia, wife of Sigismondo Gonzaga, Marquess of Vescovato, and of Gian Francesco Pusterla; Bianca, who married Gian Francesco da Bagno; Isabella, wife of Ermes Stampa, Marquess of Soncino. Married Argentina Pallavicini, daughter of Federico, Marquess of Zibello. He was called “il piccolo” by local chroniclers to distinguish him from his cousin Guido, a namesake called “il grosso.” In his case, “piccolo” was not a diminutive but a qualifying term, akin to “the younger.” His physical build is rendered in the painting preserved by the Confraternity of San Geminiano in Modena, of which he was a great benefactor, depicting him as lean and muscular, as befits a true soldier.

The number of citations in his entry on this site is considerable (35). Guido II was indeed the most celebrated of the condottieri of the Rangoni house; this is attested by the portrait by Titian, by the conferment of the Order of Saint Michael by the King of France (accompanied by certain fiefs), and by his fame for having learned the use of arms at the School of Bologna, together with Giovanni de’ Medici, under the guidance of master Guido Antonio de Luca. Not by chance, in this respect, a nineteenth-century historian, Albano Sorbelli, judged him “held to be one of the finest swordsmen and captains of his time.” The esteem expressed broadens with Leandro Alberti, his contemporary: “This valorous Captain was not only skilled in arms, but was also a man of letters, eloquent, generous, and an excellent patron of men of virtue.” Praised also by French historians such as Du Bellay and Picot, the apex is reached by the local chroniclers J. and T. de’ Bianchi, who knew him personally: “This lord Count Guido is the greatest and most honoured lord and gentleman born of Modena for a long time; he is well beloved, because his most illustrious lordship has always been most liberal and splendid beyond any of the Rangona house.” As G.C. Montanari wrote in his biography dedicated to this condottiere: “He lived a sufficiently long life, perhaps cut short before its time. A captain of fortune, one might define him with considerable approximation. He was certainly a man of arms,” who lived astride two epochs, the Renaissance and the Modern Age, who grew up quickly like his father and was endowed with great personal qualities. He died in Venice in January 1539, not without suspicion of having been poisoned. He was buried in that city in its greatest basilica, the church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, where the tombs and equestrian monuments of other condottieri who fought alongside him in the War of the League of Cambrai are to be found (Niccolò Orsini, Dionigi Naldi, Fra Leonardo Prato). For his activity as a man of arms, the reader is referred to the dedicated entry on this site.

Annibale Rangoni † 1523 (April)

Count. Lord of Cordignano and Spilamberto. Son of Niccolò Maria and Bianca Bentivoglio. Brother of Guido II, Francesco, Ludovico, Ercole (cardinal), Ginevra, Costanza. Married a Frenchwoman, the Countess of Marienne.

“Having achieved fame through many valorous proofs, he was in his time an honoured warrior.” Sansovino: “A magnificent protector of scholars and poets.” Tiraboschi. Such are the characteristics reported by historians regarding this figure. Annibale, like his father and his brothers Guido, Francesco, and Ludovico, also devoted himself to the trade of arms, training in the use of the sword almost certainly at the “Bolognese school” of fencing. It is not known with certainty whether he attended the lessons of the same master as Guido II, Guido Antonio de Luca. In 1511 he supported the Bentivoglio in their attempt to recover the lordship of Bologna. Two years later he is recorded alongside Annibale II Bentivoglio, confined to Ferrara at the indication of Pope Julius II. He passed to the service of the Papal State with the accession of Leo X to the pontificate. In 1518 the chronicles record him as one of the actors in the private war between the Lazio families of the Conti and the Gaetani di Sermoneta on one side and the Colonna on the other. Several localities in the Roman Campagna belonging to the rivals were sacked. Still in the service of the pontifical forces, in May 1520 he arrested in Rome Giampaolo Baglioni, who was beheaded in Castel Sant’Angelo the following month for many crimes, including the charge of having incited a revolt in the Marca d’Ancona. This example did not prevent him, in the spring of 1522, from taking command of the Bentivoglio troops in their last attempt to recover the lordship of Bologna: on Easter Day he assaulted the city with scaling ladders. Wounded in the leg by an arquebus shot, and with 500 dead in his ranks, he was finally forced to withdraw. Among the fallen was also a brother, who died subsequently at Spilamberto from wounds sustained. The episode does not appear to have done him too great a disservice. He was able to return to Spilamberto and resume the guard of Modena, again on behalf of the pontifical forces. He was summoned to Rome, where he was appointed a knight of the Order of Saint John the Baptist. He died in April 1523 near Rome from the after-effects of the wound sustained at Bologna.

Francesco Rangoni † 1528 (May)

Lord of Spilamberto and Cordignano. Patrician of Modena. Son of Niccolò Maria and Bianca Bentivoglio. Brother of Guido II, Annibale, Ludovico, Ercole (the cardinal), Ginevra, and Costanza. Married Fiammetta d’Appiano, daughter of the lord of Piombino, Jacopo, and Cassandra da Collalto.

No citations concerning him are recorded. His first military experiences, in command of a company of mounted crossbowmen in the service of the Venetians, date from 1512. He had occasion to face the Spanish on numerous occasions in Piedmont, Emilia, and Lombardy. In 1513, after the defeat of Bartolomeo d’Alviano at the Battle of Creazzo, he is recorded at the defence of Padua; in 1514 he returned to Lombardy for the defence of Crema under the orders of Renzo di Ceri. At the end of that conflict, in 1517, he passed to the service of the Papal State: he faced Francesco Maria della Rovere in the Marches as the latter sought to reconquer the Duchy of Urbino. In 1522 he supported his brother Annibale in the attempt to restore the Bentivoglio to the lordship of Bologna. Finally, he passed to the service of the French. In 1528 he followed Lautrec in his expedition into the Kingdom of Naples; he took part in the storming of Melfi and in the siege of Naples. He died of plague in May 1528 near that Campanian city; his brother Guido II, struck by the same illness, lay ill at Capua in the same days.

Ludovico Rangoni † 1552 (December)

Marquess of Zibello, Count of Roccabianca. Lord of Spilamberto, Cordignano, Zibello, Roccabianca, and for brief periods also of Montecchio Emilia, Tizzano Val Parma, Nonantola, and Forlimpopoli. Son of Niccolò Maria and Bianca Bentivoglio. Brother of Guido II, Francesco, Annibale, Ercole (the cardinal), Ginevra, and Costanza. Father of Pallavicino and Giulio. Married Barbara Pallavicini, daughter of Rolando, who brought him Zibello and Roccabianca as dowry. Father of Pallavicino and Giulio.

Beyond the encomiastic citations in his regard, such as that of Bonifacio “A man of great daring and great military expertise,” or that of Sansovino “Equal to the greatest of his predecessors in greatness of spirit and in skill of arms,” a reading of his curriculum makes the assessment expressed by Giovanni Battista Giraldi seem more plausible: “A man very weak in counsel,” in his work Commentario delle cose di Ferrara et de’ Principi d’Este. Ludovico had the longest and most eventful career among his brothers. For a more detailed examination of his military history the reader is referred to the dedicated entry on this site. He was an arrogant and quarrelsome man, in conflict with anyone who appeared to threaten his interests. For the same reason he was also suspected of having had his wife poisoned. Numerous were the occasions on which he came into conflict with the popes, with the Este, with the Marquess of San Secondo Piermaria dei Rossi — whom he challenged to a duel with a cartel posted on the columns of Piazza San Marco in Venice, accusing him of having been the victim of a poisoning attempt — with the Duke of Parma Pier Luigi Farnese, with the Pallavicini, with his own sister-in-law Argentina, widow of his brother Guido II, and with Pope Paul III, when he seized Forlimpopoli by a coup de main at the expense of his adversary of the moment, Antonello Zampeschi. He was eventually banished from the Este states for having killed a Ferrarese man guilty, with others, of having abducted women residing in the territories under his control. He withdrew to Cremona and after five years was found reconciled with his sister-in-law and absolved of all condemnations by the Dukes of Ferrara. He found peace only in the service of the Venetians, who entrusted him with the government of Friuli. He died at Udine in December 1552. He is recalled in a novella by Matteo Bandello.

Claudio Rangoni 1507 (July) – 1537 (February)

Count. Lord of Castelvetro di Modena and Levizzano Rangone. He belonged to a collateral branch from that of the Rangoni di Spilamberto, namely that of Castelvetro di Modena. Cousin of Guido II, Ludovico, Francesco, Annibale, Ercole, Ginevra, and Costanza. Married Lucrezia della Mirandola, daughter of Ludovico and sister of Galeotto.

Despite the brevity of his life (thirty years), the anthology of judgements expressed in his regard by historians of different eras is considerable: assessments ranging from praise of his worth as a captain to the broader concept of “valour” understood as a combination of moral and intellectual qualities. “A lord of generous and civil spirit” (Sansovino); “Hope and honour of the afflicted age” (Varchi); “He was one of the most valorous captains of arms the sixteenth century had, and had death not struck him in the flower of his years he would have been able to rival the glory of the most renowned” (Tiraboschi); “In the time when he was well he was a soldier of the King of France with a most handsome provision, and at present he had taken a position with the Lordship of Venice with a good pay; he was most splendid and received lords in his house most honourably, and was well loved in Modena, and took delight in virtù” (J. and T. de’ Bianchi). After his military apprenticeship in the companies of his cousin Guido II, he held important commands in the service of the Florentines and the Duke of Urbino. He subsequently served King Francis I of France. In 1526 he assaulted Monza alongside Lorenzo Cybo, entered the city, and forced the Spanish garrison in the fortress to surrender; on that occasion he killed the captain Sivilla with an arquebus shot. In February 1527 he carried out bold incursions into the Piacentino; at Mucinasso he captured 80 cavalry and 100 imperial infantrymen, including the imperial captain Zuchero and the master of the stables of the Prince of Orange; he pushed as far as the gates of Rome with Luigi Gonzaga. From 1527 to 1529 he served the Serenissima in Lombardy, distinguishing himself in various actions from the defence of Melzo to the Battle of Pavia, in a series of tactical engagements among the best documented of the entire house. He died in February 1537 from the after-effects of a fall from a horse. He was buried initially in Modena in the church of San Biagio, where his commemorative tomb erected by Niccolò Cavallerino to a design by Giulio Romano was placed. His tomb was subsequently transferred to the church of San Francesco (now San Giorgio), beside the Rangoni di Spilamberto.

Seventh Generation (mid- to late sixteenth century)

Baldassarre Rangoni 1535–1581

Marquess of Longiano and Savignano, Baron of Pernes, Count of Castelcrescente Ravarino. Lord of Spilamberto, Longiano, Savignano, and Vignola. Son of Guido II and Bianca Bentivoglio. Father of Guido III. Married Giulia Orsini, daughter of Camillo, Marquess of Mentana, and Elisabetta Baglioni.

Son of Guido II, Baldassarre projected the house onto the international stage of the late sixteenth century. Governor of Carpentras, knight of the Order of Saint Michael, Baron of Pernes, governor of Dalmatia and of the island of Crete: such, in brief, was his cursus honorum. The citations in his favour, by minor contemporary authors, are sparse: “He was among the greatest captains of his age” (De’ Crescenzi), and “A most honourable warrior” (Cirni). On the death of his father, Pope Paul III confirmed his fiefs of Longiano and Savignano in Romagna. He too chose a military career. In 1550 he fought in the War of Parma for the pontifical forces under the orders of his future father-in-law Camillo Orsini; he took part in the siege of the Mirandola. In 1556 he faced the imperialists in Lazio; captured by the Count of Popoli in an ambush between Grottaferrata and Frascati, he was freed shortly afterwards. In 1557–1559 he suffered the persecutions of the Carafa (Paul IV); he became embroiled in the affairs of Cardinal Giovanni Morone, bishop of Modena. He was imprisoned by the Inquisition at Ancona and saw the fief of Longiano taken from him on charges of desecrating churches and maintaining relations with Jews. Rehabilitated and absolved of all charges of heresy by the new pontiff Pius IV, he was sent to Avignon (the city still belonging to the Papal State), where he took active part in the struggles against the Huguenots. In command of the pontifical militias, in 1562 his conduct earned him from King Charles IX of France the barony of Pernes. He served as governor of Carpentras in 1563 and obtained French citizenship in 1568. In 1570–1571 he returned to Italy in the pay of the Serenissima. As governor general of Dalmatia he had occasion to face the Turks. In 1578 he returned to the pontifical forces the fiefs of Longiano and Savignano, received by his father as pledge against a loan provided to the Papal State. He died in 1581 at Candia (Crete), his last military destination. His son, Count Guido III, proved to be an unscrupulous man. He was imprisoned by the Este on charges of various acts of violence accompanied by murders. Confined in the castle of Ferrara, he attempted to escape by lowering himself into the moat of the city fortress. He fell from the parapet of the tower and drowned in the ditch.

Giulio Rangoni † 1583

Marquess of Roccabianca, lord of Spilamberto, Campiglio di Vignola, Castelcrescente Ravarino, and Cordignano. Patrician of Modena. Son of Ludovico Rangoni and Barbara Pallavicini. Brother of Pallavicino, cousin of Baldassarre. Married Lucia Scotti.

As with other members of his house, it was the love of letters that shed lustre on this figure. “He was a man who did not neglect letters and was a cultured poet” (Litta). The martial aspect is certainly not lacking, as attested by his participation in many military events. Very young, he departed as a volunteer to face the Turks of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. In 1554 he fought for the Duke of Parma Ottavio Farnese against the troops of Pope Paul IV. The following years saw him engaged in campaigns fought abroad rather than on the peninsula. In the service of the Spanish he distinguished himself in 1568 in Flanders, where he faced the troops of William of Orange. In 1571, again against the Ottomans, he was wounded at the Battle of Lepanto. He died in 1583.

Pallavicino Rangoni † 1570

Marquess of Roccabianca, lord of Campiglio di Vignola, Castelnuovo di Sopra, and Cordignano. Son of Ludovico and Barbara Pallavicini. Brother of Giulio; cousin of Baldassarre. Knight of the Order of Saint Michael. Patrician of Modena.

“Having devoted himself to military discipline, he performed honourable deeds therein,” states Sansovino. His activity took place entirely outside Italy. He began in the pontifical service, fighting the Huguenots in France on its behalf. He then moved to England. In the service of King Edward VI he faced the Scots. On the death of the sovereign he returned to Italy in 1553. In 1565 the Ottomans assaulted the island of Malta; he raised at his own expense a company of infantry and faced the adversaries under the command of Don Garcia di Toledo. Years later (1569) he is recorded in France in the pay of King Charles IX. His adversaries were again the Huguenots; he distinguished himself at the Battle of Poitiers. His conduct was so effective that the French awarded him the Order of Knighthood of Saint Michael and recognised him as a French citizen. In 1570 he was engaged by the Venetians; he was sent to Greece to oppose the Ottomans. Assigned to the defence of the island of Cyprus, his pride was such that he refused to transfer to the defence of Famagusta rather than serve under the orders of Astorre Baglioni. Censured for this conduct, he was not dismissed by the Serenissima but simply transferred to the island of Crete, where he was charged with recruiting the troops destined for the defence of Cyprus. He died of illness at Licona in the same year.

Alessandro Rangoni 1532–1572 (January). Of Modena.

Count of Borgofranco (Castelfranco Emilia). Lord of Castelvetro di Modena and Levizzano Rangone. Son of Ercole and the Ferrarese Beatrice Roverella. His father was a Modenese nobleman, largely implicated as an abettor of religious dissent in his city. Married Renata d’Este, natural daughter of Cardinal Ippolito d’Este.

He took up the trade of arms at a very young age, despite having been destined by his family for an ecclesiastical career. Tiraboschi’s judgement of him is succinct, assimilating his disposition to that of other members of his house: “He served with a reputation as a valorous warrior various princes. But although he lived almost always among arms, he nonetheless cultivated vernacular poetry (poetry in Italian).” His first engagement (1551) saw him in Hungary fighting the Ottomans for the imperialists, under the orders of Francesco d’Este. In 1554 he took part in the War of Siena, on the French side, against the imperialists and the Florentines; present at the Battle of Marciano, he was taken prisoner there; led captive to Florence, he was freed upon payment of 700 scudi (the initial demand being 1,000). Three years later, in 1557, he again faced the imperialists in the service of the Duke of Ferrara Ercole II d’Este. Ten years passed, and in 1567 his presence in France in the pay of King Charles IX is recorded. His adversaries were the Huguenots. He obtained from the Duke of Savoy Charles Emmanuel Philibert the command of a colonel of infantry and the appointment of his councillor, with a provision of 500 scudi per year. Still active, the last to employ him was the Serenissima (1570). At that juncture an obstacle opposed his desire to fight the Ottomans in Greece. A soldiers’ brawl, which broke out at departure for the front from Chioggia, prevented him from taking part in the expedition due to a serious wound. He died at Seville in January 1572; he was buried in Modena in the following April in the church of San Vincenzo.