Giovanni Ordelaffi was a member of the noble family of Ordelaffi, the Lords of Forlì

Forlì

Forlì is a comune and city in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the right of the Montone river, and is an important agricultural centre...

, in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, in the 14th and in the 15th centuries.

Born in Forlì, he was a famous condottiero.

His most famous battle was the Battle of Castagnaro

Battle of Castagnaro

The Battle of Castagnaro was fought on March 11, 1387 at Castagnaro between Verona and Padua. It is one of the most famous battles of the Italian condottieri age....

 (1387), in which he fought for the city of Verona

Verona

Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...

 against the troops of John Hawkwood

John Hawkwood

Sir John Hawkwood was an English mercenary or condottiero who was active in 14th century Italy. The French chronicler Jean Froissart knew him as Jean Haccoude and Italians as Giovanni Acuto...

, for Padua

Padua

Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...

, but was defeated in battle.

He was poisoned by Pino I Ordelaffi

Pino I Ordelaffi

Pino I Ordelaffi was an Italian condottiero and lord of Forlì from 1386 until his death. A member of the Ordelaffi family, he was the son of Giovanni Ordelaffi and Tebalda Malatesta. He was also Papal vicar of Forlimpopoli, Castrocaro Terme and Sarsina.After imprisoning his uncle Sinibaldo, he...

.