Giovanni II Bentivoglio
Encyclopedia
Tyrant
A tyrant was originally one who illegally seized and controlled a governmental power in a polis. Tyrants were a group of individuals who took over many Greek poleis during the uprising of the middle classes in the sixth and seventh centuries BC, ousting the aristocratic governments.Plato and...
of Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
from 1463 until 1506. He had no formal position, but held power as the city's "first citizen." The Bentivoglio family
Bentivoglio
Bentivoglio was an Italian family of princely rank, long supreme in Bologna and responsible for giving the city its political autonomy during the Renaissance.-History:...
ruled over Bologna from 1443, and repeatedly attempted to consolidate their hold of the Signoria
Signoria
A Signoria was an abstract noun meaning 'government; governing authority; de facto sovereignty; lordship in many of the Italian city states during the medieval and renaissance periods....
of the city.
Background
Born in Bologna, Giovanni II was the son of Annibale I BentivoglioAnnibale I Bentivoglio
Annibale I Bentivoglio was the ruler of Bologna from 1443 until his death. He was a member of the Bentivoglio family.The son of Antongaleazzo Bentivoglio, he was exiled from his city due to his father's anti-Papal stance. In 1438 he returned in Bologna, contributing to its liberation from the...
, then chief magistrate of the commune, and Donnina Visconti. He was a child when his father was murdered by his rival Battista Canneschi in June 1445.
Annibale I was succeeded in Bologna by Sante I, of uncertain paternity and origin, but alleged to be a son of Ercole Bentivoglio, a cousin of Annibale I. Originally an apprentice of the wool guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
of Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Sante ruled as signore of Bologna from 1443. When Sante died in 1463, Giovanni II Bentivoglio successfully made himself lord of the commune, although it was nominally a fief of the church under a papal legate. In 1446 he obtained by Pope Paul II
Pope Paul II
Pope Paul II , born Pietro Barbo, was pope from 1464 until his death in 1471.- Early life :He was born in Venice, and was a nephew of Pope Eugene IV , through his mother. His adoption of the spiritual career, after having been trained as a merchant, was prompted by his uncle's election as pope...
the privilege to be considered perpetual head of the city's Senate.
Sante had married Ginevra Sforza (1440–1507) on March 8, 1454. After his death, Giovanni married her on May 2, 1464. Ginevra bore Giovanni Bentivoglio 16 children, 11 of whom survived childhood.http://www.asn-ibk.ac.at/bildung/faecher/geschichte/maike/monalisa/g_eng/417.htm
Machiavelli writes that Annibale, "having been murdered by the Canneschi, who had conspired against him, not one of his family survived but Messer Giovanni, who was in childhood: immediately after his assassination the people rose and murdered all the Canneschi. This sprung from the popular goodwill which the house of Bentivoglio enjoyed in those days in Bologna; which was so great that, although none remained there after the death of Annibale who were able to rule the state, the Bolognese, having information that there was one of the Bentivoglio family in Florence, who up to that time had been considered the son of a blacksmith [Sante], sent to Florence for him and gave him the government of their city, and it was ruled by him until Messer Giovanni came in due course to the government." (The Prince
The Prince
The Prince is a political treatise by the Italian diplomat, historian and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli. From correspondence a version appears to have been distributed in 1513, using a Latin title, De Principatibus . But the printed version was not published until 1532, five years after...
, Chapter XIX)
Ruler of Bologna
In order to secure the support of the other powerful families of Italy, Giovanni fought personally as condottiero. In 1467 he was at the service of Florence, Milan and Naples against Bartolomeo ColleoniBartolomeo Colleoni
Bartolomeo Colleoni was a Venetian condottiero, who became Captain-General of the republic of Venice, where there is a famous statue showing him on horseback.-Biography:...
, and in 1471 again for Milan, but his first military deeds occurred only in 1477 when he besieged Faenza
Faenza
Faenza is an Italian city and comune, in the province of Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, situated 50 km southeast of Bologna.Faenza is noted for its manufacture of majolica ware glazed earthenware pottery, known from the name of the town as "faience"....
for the Sforza. In 1482, during the War of Ferrara, he helped Ercole d'Este against Pope Sixtus IV
Pope Sixtus IV
Pope Sixtus IV , born Francesco della Rovere, was Pope from 1471 to 1484. His accomplishments as Pope included the establishment of the Sistine Chapel; the group of artists that he brought together introduced the Early Renaissance into Rome with the first masterpiece of the city's new artistic age,...
and Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
. He later fought in small struggles for the Kingdom of Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
, but his personal interventions were always limited by the Bolognese institutions.
In 1488 his daughter Francesca killed her husband, Galeotto Manfredi
Galeotto Manfredi
Galeotto Manfredi was an Italian condottiero and lord of Faenza.Born in Faenza, Romagna, he was the son of Astorre II Manfredi. In 1477, after a failed attempt of military conquest, he succeeded as lord of Faenza to his brother Carlo, taking advantage of a rebellion against him...
, ruler of Faenza. The latter's citizens considered the feat as an occult move to conquer the city, and rebelled. When Giovanni reached the city to suppress the revolt, he was captured. He was freed only through the intercession of Lorenzo de' Medici
Lorenzo de' Medici
Lorenzo de' Medici was an Italian statesman and de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic during the Italian Renaissance. Known as Lorenzo the Magnificent by contemporary Florentines, he was a diplomat, politician and patron of scholars, artists and poets...
. In the same year he was made Capitano Generale (Chief of Staff) of the Milanese army, but this was an almost honorific position as Giovanni left the command duties to his sons. In 1488 Giovanni had also to crush a plot against him, led by the Malvezzi family, whose members were almost all hanged or exiled. In 1501 the same fate struck the Marescottis.
Bentivoglio had managed to resist the expansionist designs of Cesare Borgia
Cesare Borgia
Cesare Borgia , Duke of Valentinois, was an Italian condottiero, nobleman, politician, and cardinal. He was the son of Pope Alexander VI and his long-term mistress Vannozza dei Cattanei. He was the brother of Lucrezia Borgia; Giovanni Borgia , Duke of Gandia; and Gioffre Borgia , Prince of Squillace...
, but on October 7, 1506, Pope Julius II issued a bull deposing and excommunicating
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
Bentivoglio and placing the city under interdict
Interdict (Roman Catholic Church)
In Roman Catholic canon law, an interdict is an ecclesiastical censure that excludes from certain rites of the Church individuals or groups, who nonetheless do not cease to be members of the Church.-Distinctions in canon law:...
. When the papal troops, along with a contingent sent by Louis XII of France
Louis XII of France
Louis proved to be a popular king. At the end of his reign the crown deficit was no greater than it had been when he succeeded Charles VIII in 1498, despite several expensive military campaigns in Italy. His fiscal reforms of 1504 and 1508 tightened and improved procedures for the collection of taxes...
, marched against Bologna, Bentivoglio and his family fled. Julius II entered the city triumphantly on November 10.
Giovanni moved first to Busseto
Busseto
Busseto is a comune in the province of Parma, in Emilia-Romagna in Northern Italy. It was the capital of Stato Pallavicino. Opera composer Giuseppe Verdi was born in the nearby village of Le Roncole and he moved there in 1824...
, host of the Pallavicino family. An attempt led by his sons Annibale II and Ermes
Ermes Bentivoglio
thumb|230px|Ermes Bentivoglio.Ermes Bentivoglio was an Italian condottiero, the son of Giovanni II Bentivoglio, lord of Bologna, and Ginevra Sforza, daughter of Alessandro Sforza, lord of Pesaro.-Biography:...
to reconquer Bologna in 1507 failed. The Bolognese subsequently rioted against his possessions in the city, destroying the palace.
Excommunicated, Giovanni ended his days as prisoner of Louis XII in Milan. He died in 1508 in the Castello Sforzesco
Castello Sforzesco
Castello Sforzesco is a castle in Milan, Italy, that used to be the seat and residence of the Duchy of Milan and one of the biggest citadels in Europe and now houses several of the city's museums and art collections.-History:...
of that city.
Overview
Giovanni II Bentivoglio ruled with a stern sway for nearly half a century, maintaining a splendid court and beautifying Bologna, in particular developing its waterways. The misery of the city's poor, however, stood in stark contrast to the splendor of the city and its festivities.Among the projects he commissioned were the frescoes depicting the life of Saint Cecilia
Saint Cecilia
Saint Cecilia is the patroness of musicians and Church music because as she was dying she sang to God. It is also written that as the musicians played at her wedding she "sang in her heart to the Lord". St. Cecilia was an only child. Her feast day is celebrated in the Roman Catholic, Anglican,...
in the Oratorio di Santa Cecilia through the archway of San Giacomo. These frescoes were painted by artists living in the city at the time: Francesco Francia, Lorenzo Costa the Elder and Amico Aspertini
Amico Aspertini
Amico Aspertini is an Italian Renaissance painter whose complex, eccentric, and eclectic style anticipates Mannerism. He is considered among the first of the Bolognese School of painting.-Biography:...
. http://www.footprintguides.com/Bologna/Northeast-the-university-quarter.php Lorenzo Costa's Bentivoglio Altarpiece, housed in the Bentivoglio Chapel in the church of San Giacomo Maggiore
San Giacomo Maggiore
San Giacomo Maggiore is a church in Bologna, central Italy. It was founded by the Augustinian Order in 1267 and houses, among the rest, the Bentivoglio Chapel, featuring numerous Renaissance artworks.-History:...
, was commissioned by Giovanni Bentivoglio as a votive offering of thanks for the family’s escape from an attempted massacre by the Malvezzi family. http://www.footprintguides.com/Bologna/Northeast-the-university-quarter.php Bentivoglio also ordered the Palazzo Bentivoglio (City Hall) to be built by the architect G. Nadi, starting in 1498. The Bolognese architect Aristotile Fioravanti
Aristotile Fioravanti
Ridolfo "Aristotele" Fioravanti was an Italian Renaissance architect and engineer. His surname is sometimes given as Fieraventi. Russian versions of his name are Фиораванти, Фьораванти, Фиеравенти, Фиораванте....
, who later settled in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, created the plans for the reconstruction of the Palazzo del Podestà, but the reconstruction was not carried out by Bentivoglio until 1484–94.
Trivia
Bentivoglio is said to have consulted the astrologer Luca GauricoLuca Gaurico
Luca Gaurico was an Italian astrologer, astronomer, and mathematician. He was born to a poor family in the Kingdom of Naples, and studied judicial astrology, a subject he defended in his Oratio de Inventoribus et Astrologiae Laudibus...
about his destiny. Displeased with Gaurico's prophecy, Bentivoglio subjected Gaurico to the torture of mancuerda
Mancuerda
Mancuerda was a method of torture. A tight cord was wound around the arms of the condemned. The executioner would then throw his entire weight backwards, or the pressure would be exerted by a lever.The cord cut through skin and muscle directly to the bone...
and exiled the astrologer from Bologna.