, 21 May 1512) was a ruler of the Italian

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...

 city of Siena

Siena

Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...

 during the Renaissance

Renaissance

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...

.

Biography

Born and raised in Siena to an aristocrat

Aristocracy (class)

The aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in a society which has or once had a political system of Aristocracy. Aristocrats possess hereditary titles granted by a monarch, which once granted them feudal or legal privileges, or deriving, as in Ancient Greece and India,...

ic family, Petrucci was exiled from his home in 1483 for being a member of the city’s Noveschi political faction, which had fallen out of favor with the rulers of Siena. When the Noveschi returned to prominence, Petrucci became their chief and returned to Siena in 1487. He later became captain of the city guard in 1495. When his brother Jacopo (one of Siena’s most powerful residents) died in 1497, Petrucci assumed all of his offices and seized control of his fortune. His power and wealth increased even further with his marriage to Aurelia Borghese, daughter of the powerful Niccolò Borghese. With his father-in-law's backing, Petrucci assumed a number of public offices and gained a vast amount of political power. He subsequently used this power to sell public offices or to give them to his lackeys, a strategy which allowed him to become the most powerful man in Siena. However, Petrucci's power and his organization of followers in Siena’s government gained him many enemies, including his father-in-law. Niccolò and other influential citizens of Siena conspired to assassinate Petrucci, but Petrucci uncovered the plot and had Niccolò murdered in 1500.

With his enemies out of the way, Petrucci ruled as absolute tyrant over Siena. Petrucci subsequently stopped selling public offices in order to consolidate his own power. Although a brutal authoritarian and absolutist, Petrucci was careful to pacify the people of Siena by improving the city's economy and encouraging the advancement of art. He also managed to avoid a war with 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....

, which had been at odds with Siena for over a century due to a dispute over Siena's control of Montepulciano

Montepulciano

Montepulciano is a medieval and Renaissance hill town and comune in the province of Siena in southern Tuscany, in Italy. Montepulciano, with an elevation of 605 m, sits on a high limestone ridge. By car it is 13 km E of Pienza; 70 km SE of Siena, 124 km SE of Florence, and...

. When France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 invaded the Italian Peninsula

Italian Peninsula

The Italian Peninsula or Apennine Peninsula is one of the three large peninsulas of Southern Europe , spanning from the Po Valley in the north to the central Mediterranean Sea in the south. The peninsula's shape gives it the nickname Lo Stivale...

, Petrucci became involved in a number of political intrigues. During this time period, Petrucci tried to gain the powerful 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...

’s trust by diplomatically procuring French-controlled Piombino

Piombino

Piombino is an Italian town and comune of circa 35,000 inhabitants in the province of Livorno . It lies on the border between the Ligurian Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea, in front of Elba Island and at the northern side of Maremma.-Overview:...

 for Borgia. However, he secretly plotted against Borgia in the hopes of increasing his own power. Borgia, who had never trusted Petrucci, learned of the Sienese tyrant’s plans and invited him to a meeting at Senigallia

Senigallia

Senigallia is a comune and port town on Italy's Adriatic coast, 25 km by rail north of Ancona, in the Marche region, province of Ancona....

 in 1502, where Petrucci would have been executed along with Cesare’s other enemies. Petrucci suspected his life was in danger and avoided the meeting, but nevertheless fled Siena in January of 1503 in order to appease Borgia. He subsequently resided in Lucca

Lucca

Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plainnear the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca...

. With the assistance of his ally King 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...

, however, Petrucci was returned to power two months later.

With Borgia’s death in 1507, Petrucci became one of the most powerful men 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 his final years, Petrucci supported Pisa

Pisa

Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...

 militarily in its war against Florence. However, Pope Julius II

Pope Julius II

Pope Julius II , nicknamed "The Fearsome Pope" and "The Warrior Pope" , born Giuliano della Rovere, was Pope from 1503 to 1513...

 and Spain obliged Petrucci to make peace with Florence, to which he reluctantly gave the territory of Montepulciano in 1512. In return, the pope made Petrucci’s nephew a cardinal

Cardinal (Catholicism)

A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...

. Later that year, Petrucci handed control of Siena over to his son, Borghese, and died shortly afterwards in San Quirico d'Orcia

San Quirico d'Orcia

San Quirico d'Orcia is a comune of c. 2,500 inhabitants in the Province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 80 km southeast of Florence and about 35 km southeast of Siena inside the Valdorcia landscape...

, Italy. Before his death, Petrucci was known to have plotted in secret with Spain and Pope Julius II against his old allies, the French. He was also rumoured to have had Pope Pius III

Pope Pius III

Pope Pius III , born Francesco Todeschini Piccolomini, was Pope from September 22 to October 18, 1503.-Career:...

poisoned in 1503.

Following Pandolfo’s death, the Petrucci family ruled Siena until 1524.