Gian Galeazzo Sanvitale, also known as Galeazzo I Sanvitale (1496 – 2 December 1550) was an Italian condottiero, a member of the noble Sanvitale family.
Gian Galeazzo Sanvitale was born at Fontanellato, near Parma, to Jacopo Antonio and Veronica da Correggio, a few months after the battle of Fornovo, in which his elder brother Gian Francesco had fought under the French army of Charles VIII. At the death of his father, in 1511, he inherited the fiefs of Fontanellato, Noceto, Belforte and Pietramogolana. The following year, his mother also died, and Gian Galeazzo was tutored first by Gian Francesco and then by Galeotto Lupi, husband of Ludovica Sanvitale.
During the Italian Wars, he remained faithful to the French. After the battle of Ravenna, in spite of being victorious, the latter had to abandon Emilia and Lombardy, and their local followers found themselves in a dangerous position. Parma was occupied by papal troops and Gian Francesco Sanvitale, perhaps forced to leave Fontanellato, asked his brother to submit to Pope Julius II. In December of the same year the property of the Rocca di Fontanellato was divided among them. Galeotto Lupi died in 1513, and Gian Galeazzo inherited his assets. In 1516 he married Paola Gonzaga, daughter of Ludovico Gonzaga marquess of Sabbioneta. [1] The court of Fontanellato became subsequently an active cultural center, thanks to the patronage of Sanvitale himself, of his wife, his brother Gian Ludovico and, above all, Girolamo Sanvitale, count of Sala Baganza.
In 1522, Sanvitale was appointed as colonel of the King of France and helped his cousin Girolamo in the struggle against the Rossi of Parma. In 1525, after the French defeat in the Battle of Pavia, the Sanvitale suffered heavy attacks from the communal troops of Parma, but he remained loyal to Francis I of France, and later he received the French citizenship in reward.
In 1536, together with Girolamo Sanvitale, he was declared a rebel against the papal power. In 1539–1540, with the collaboration of the Pico and the French support, he attempted a coup in Cremona, but this was discovered and thwarted by the imperials. When, in 1545, Pier Luigi Farnese became lord of Parma, Sanvitale shared with him the philo-French stance. After the new duke was killed at Piacenza, he fortified Fontanellato and resisted the troops of Ferrante Gonzaga, Spanish governor of Milan, refusing to submit to emperor Charles V. He died near Parma at the beginning of the War of Parma.
The House of Sforza was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. They acquired the Duchy of Milan following the extinction of the Visconti family in the mid-15th century, Sforza rule ending in Milan with the death of the last member of the family's main branch in 1535.
Francesco II Gonzaga was the ruler of the Italian city of Mantua from 1484 until his death.
Ludovico III Gonzaga of Mantua, also spelled Lodovico was the ruler of the Italian city of Mantua from 1444 to his death in 1478.
Ludovico Maria Sforza, also known as Ludovico il Moro. "Arbiter of Italy", according to the expression used by Guicciardini, was an Italian Renaissance nobleman who ruled as Duke of Milan from 1494 to 1499.
The Visconti of Milan are a noble Italian family. They rose to power in Milan during the Middle Ages where they ruled from 1277 to 1447, initially as Lords then as Dukes, and several collateral branches still exist. The effective founder of the Visconti Lordship of Milan was the Archbishop Ottone, who wrested control of the city from the rival Della Torre family in 1277.
Bernabò or Barnabò Visconti was an Italian soldier and statesman who was Lord of Milan. Along with his brothers Matteo and Galeazzo II, he inherited the lordship of Milan from his uncle Giovanni. Later in 1355, he and Galeazzo II were rumoured to have murdered their brother Matteo since he endangered the regime. When Galeazzo II died, he shared Milan's lordship with his nephew Gian Galeazzo. Bernabò was a ruthless despot toward his subjects and did not hesitate to face emperors and popes including Pope Urban V. The conflict with the Church cost him several excommunications. On 6 May 1385, his nephew Gian Galeazzo deposed him. Imprisoned in his castle, Trezzo sull'Adda, he died a few months later, presumably from poisoning.
Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola, also known as Francesco Mazzola or, more commonly, as Parmigianino, was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker active in Florence, Rome, Bologna, and his native city of Parma. His work is characterized by a "refined sensuality" and often elongation of forms and includes Vision of Saint Jerome (1527) and the iconic if somewhat anomalous Madonna with the Long Neck (1534), and he remains the best known artist of the first generation whose whole careers fall into the Mannerist period.
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Fontanellato is a small town in the province of Parma, in northern Italy. It lies on the plains of the River Po near the A1 autostrada, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) west of Parma towards Piacenza.
The Rocca Sanvitale, or Sanvitale Castle, is a fortress residence in the centre of the town of Fontanellato, near Parma, northern Italy. Construction of the moated block, accessible through a drawbridge, was begun in the 13th century, mostly completed by the 15th century, with embellishments continuing through to the 18th century. It is prototypical of the urban castle-houses of the turbulent medieval communes of Northern Italy. Until the 1930s it was the home of the descendants of the Count of Sanvitale.
Pandolfo III Malatesta was an Italian condottiero and lord of Fano, a member of the famous House of Malatesta.
Ferrante I Gonzaga was an Italian condottiero, a member of the House of Gonzaga and the founder of the branch of the Gonzaga of Guastalla.
Agnese Visconti also known as Agnes was a daughter of Bernabò Visconti and his wife Beatrice Regina della Scala. She was consort of Mantua by her marriage to Francesco I Gonzaga.
Portrait of Galeazzo Sanvitale (1524) is a painting of the condottiero Gian Galeazzo Sanvitale by the Italian late Renaissance artist Parmigianino. It is housed in the National Museum of Capodimonte, Naples, Italy.
Galeazzo da Sanseverino, known as the son of Fortuna, was an Italian-French condottiere and Grand Écuyer de France; Marquis of Bobbio, Count of Caiazzo, Castel San Giovanni, Val Tidone and Voghera. He was first the favorite of Ludovico il Moro and Beatrice d'Este, then of Louis XII and Francis I of France, as well as a sworn enemy of Gian Giacomo Trivulzio.
On the other hand the Duke of Milan
called and gave the general cane
to Maria Galeazo, and captain
did it of his people on the saddle,
who riding then from hand to hand,
with the banner in the wind of the snake,
honor and glory of Lombardy,
with many great gentlemen in company.
Ludovico Gonzaga was an Italian nobleman and condottiero, a member of the House of Gonzaga branch of Sabbioneta.
Galeotto I Pico della Mirandola was an Italian condottiero and nobleman, Signore of Mirandola and Concordia. He was noted by contemporaries for his tyranny. The son of Gianfrancesco I Pico, Galeotto initially allied himself to the Duchy of Ferrara, first fighting for Duke Borso d'Este and then Ercole I d'Este, with whom he formed a strong bond. In 1486, he switched allegiance to Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan. He fought his brother Antonio for the Signoria of Mirandola. He was ultimately successful in the last battle, taking his brother's place in 1491, which was reaffirmed two years later. He died in 1499 and was succeeded by his son Giovanni Francesco.
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Sanvitale is an Italian surname. It may refer to: