Niccolò Piccinino
Encyclopedia
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...
condottiero.
Biography
He was born at PerugiaPerugia
Perugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the River Tiber, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area....
, was the son of a butcher.
He began his military career in the service of Braccio da Montone
Braccio da Montone
frame|Braccio da Montone.Braccio da Montone , born Andrea Fortebracci, and also known as Braccio Fortebraccio, was an Italian condottiero.-Biography:...
, who at that time was waging war against Perugia on his own account, and at the death of his chief, shortly followed by that of the latter's son Oddo, Piccinino became leader of Braccio's condotta. After serving for a short period under the Florentine Republic, he went over to Filippo Maria Visconti
Filippo Maria Visconti
Filippo Maria Visconti was ruler of Milan from 1412 to 1447.-Biography:Filippo Maria Visconti, who had become nominal ruler of Pavia in 1402, succeeded his assassinated brother Gian Maria Visconti as Duke of Milan in 1412. They were the sons of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Gian Maria's predecessor, by...
, duke of Milan (1425), in whose service together with Niccolò Fortebraccio
Niccolò Fortebraccio
Niccolò Fortebraccio , also known as Niccolò della Stella, was an Italian condottiero.Born in Sant'Angelo in Vado, he was the son of Stella, sister of Braccio da Montone. His half-brother Oddo and his cousin Carlo were also condottieri....
he fought in the Wars in Lombardy
Wars in Lombardy
The wars in Lombardy were a series of conflicts fought in central-northern Italy between the Republic of Venice and the Duchy of Milan, and their different allies. They lasted from 1425 until the signing of the Treaty of Lodi in 1454...
against the league of Pope Eugene IV
Pope Eugene IV
Pope Eugene IV , born Gabriele Condulmer, was pope from March 3, 1431, to his death.-Biography:He was born in Venice to a rich merchant family, a Correr on his mother's side. Condulmer entered the Order of Saint Augustine at the monastery of St. George in his native city...
, Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
and 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....
.
After an outstanding victory over the Venetians at the battle of Delebio
Battle of Delebio
The Battle of Delebio was a battle of the Wars in Lombardy. It occurred on 18 and 19 November 1432, near Delebio, in the Valtellina. It was an aftermath of the occupation of Brescia and the Valle Camonica by the armies of the Republic of Venice, led by Francesco Bussone, Count of Carmagnola.The...
(19 November 1432), he defeated the papal forces at Castel Bolognese (1434). When another papal army under Francesco Sforza defeated and killed Fortebraccio at Fiordimonte, Piccinino was left in sole command of the Visconti army, and in a series of campaigns against Sforza he seized a number of cities in Romagna
Romagna
Romagna is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to the east, and the rivers Reno and Sillaro to the north and west...
by treachery.
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...
and Milan
Duchy of Milan
The Duchy of Milan , was created on the 1st of may 1395, when Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Lord of Milan, purchased a diploma for 100,000 Florins from King Wenceslaus. It was this diploma that installed, Gian Galeazzo as Duke of Milan and Count of Pavia...
, Piccinino, fighting for the duchy of Milan Filippo Maria Visconti
Filippo Maria Visconti
Filippo Maria Visconti was ruler of Milan from 1412 to 1447.-Biography:Filippo Maria Visconti, who had become nominal ruler of Pavia in 1402, succeeded his assassinated brother Gian Maria Visconti as Duke of Milan in 1412. They were the sons of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Gian Maria's predecessor, by...
, tried to take the city of Brescia
Brescia
Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...
, in Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
, but Scaramuccia da Forlì
Scaramuccia da Forlì
Scaramuccia da Forlì was an Italian condottiero active in the first half of the 15th century. In Italian his name means "skirmish". He was a native of Forlì, Romagna....
, fighting for Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, intervened successfully to raise the siege. In 1439 Piccinino again fought in Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
with varying success against Sforza, who had now entered the Venetian service.
Piccinino then induced the duke of Milan to send him to Umbria
Umbria
Umbria is a region of modern central Italy. It is one of the smallest Italian regions and the only peninsular region that is landlocked.Its capital is Perugia.Assisi and Norcia are historical towns associated with St. Francis of Assisi, and St...
, where he hoped, like so many other condottieri, to carve out a dominion for himself. He was defeated by Sforza at the Battle of Anghiari (1440)
Battle of Anghiari (1440)
The Battle of Anghiari was fought on June 29, 1440, between Milan and the Italian League led by Republic of Florence in the course of the Wars in Lombardy....
, but although a number of his men were taken prisoners they were at once liberated, as was usually done in wars waged by soldiers of fortune. Again the war shifted to Lombardy, and Piccinino, having defeated and surrounded Sforza at Martinengo, demanded of the visconti the lordship of Piacenza as the price of Sforza's capture.
The duke by way of reply concluded a truce with Sforza; but the latter, who, while professing to defend the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
, had established his own power in the Marche
Marche
The population density in the region is below the national average. In 2008, it was 161.5 inhabitants per km2, compared to the national figure of 198.8. It is highest in the province of Ancona , and lowest in the province of Macerata...
, aroused the fears of the pope and the king of Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, as well as of the viscenti, who gave the command of their joint forces to Piccinino. Sforza was driven from the Marche, but defeated Piccinino at Montelauro, and while the latter was preparing for a desperate effort against Sforza he was suddenly recalled to Milan, his army was beaten in his absence, and he died of grief and of his wounds in 1444.
Short of stature, lame and in weak health, he was brave to the point of foolhardiness, wonderfully resourceful, and never overwhelmed by defeat. He was cruel and treacherous, and had no aim beyond his own aggrandizement. Piccinino left two sons, Jacopo and Francesco
Francesco Piccinino
260px|thumb|Latin epitaph of Francesco Piccinino.Francesco Piccinino was an Italian condottiero.He was the adoptive son of the condottiero Niccolò Piccinino and the brother of Jacopo Piccinino. At Niccolò's death , he had been already established as a gallant warrior under the Duchy of Milan and...
, both condottieri.