Federico da Montefeltro (1422-1482) 
- Name:
- Federico Montefeltro, known as da Montefeltro
- Dates:
- Gubbio, 7 June 1422 - Ferrara 1482
- Attivitą:
- Condottiere and soldier of fortune; lord and later Duke of Urbino (1444-1482)
- Places:
- Urbino
- Biographical information:
-
Federico was born on 7 June 1422 in the castle of Petroia in the vicinity of Gubbio. He was the fruit of an adulterous liaison between Guidantonio da Montefeltro, lord of Urbino, Gubbio and Casteldurante and Duke of Spoleto, and Elisabetta degli Accomandugi, lady-in-waiting to the Countess Rengarda, Guidantonio’s wife.
Up to the age of 11 he remained at Mercatello sul Metauro, being raised by Giovanna degli Alidosi with the Brancaleoni family. While he was still a child he was sent as a hostage to Venice and Mantua. In 1437 he was made a knight by the Emperor Sigismund of Luxemburg, and in the same year married Gentile Brancaleoni in Gubbio. This match brought him as dowry the territory of Mercatello, of which Federico became count in 1443. He took up a career as a military leader or condottiere, setting himself at the service of Niccolò Piccinino.
Combining his prowess as a man of arms with his diplomatic skills, Federico managed to expand his dominions and become a fully-fledged player on the contemporary political scene among the principal Italian seignories. More specifically, he exploited the traditional rivalry between the potentates of Romagna and the Marches and staunchly opposed the expansionist ambitions of Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, lord of Rimini.
In 1441 Federico wrested from the Malatesta the castle of San Leo, previously part of the Montefeltro dominions; later he also captured Fossombrone and Fano.
On 22 July 1444, his stepbrother Oddantonio II was assassinated in a conspiracy, and Federico succeeded him as lord of Urbino.
His fame as a mercenary leader meant that his services were in great demand for the armies of the various Italian states, and he waged war on behalf of the Sforza, the Pope, the Aragon rulers of Naples and the Florentines. In 1450 he entered the service of Pope Pius II.
In 1459 in Mantua he drew up the contract of betrothal with Battista Sforza, daughter of Alessandro, lord of Pesaro and niece of Francesco, Duke of Milan. The marriage was warmly encouraged by Pope Pius II, by the King of Naples and by Francesco Sforza himself. On 10 February 1460 the wedding was celebrated with great pomp in Pesaro. From his father-in-law Federico received the territory of Pesaro in exchange for Fossombrone. Thus Montefeltro became lord of the entire Marches.
In 1459 he fought in Romagna at the head of the Papal army against Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, inflicting a sound defeat in 1462 at the Cesano river near Senigallia. As a reward, the Pope appointed him as vicar and granted him control of Rimini.
In his many battles, and in particular that of San Fabiano d’Ascoli with Piccinino in 1460 and that of Molinella with Bartolomeo Colleoni in 1467, Federico demonstrated rare tactical and military gifts. In 1466 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Italic League, the diplomatic-military pact established between the Italian potentates with the objective of guaranteeing the political and territorial balance of power in Italy, established at the time of the Peace of Lodi (1454).
Finally, on 24 January 1472, Battista was delivered of the longed-for male heir, Guidantonio, after eight girls. Shortly afterwards, on 6 July, Federico’s wife died of pneumonia.
In 1474 Pope Sixtus IV invested Federico with the title of Duke of Urbino, an honour that had previously been given to his stepbrother. The Pope also married his nephew Giovanni Della Rovere to Federico’s daughter Giovanna.
Sustaining the interests of Sixtus IV, Federico was one of the most staunch supporters of the Pazzi Conspiracy, perpetrated in Florence against the Medici in 1478, but to no avail.
In the meantime Federico gathered around him one of the most cultured and sophisticated of all the Renaissance courts. The palace-fortress built for Montefeltro by Luciano Laurana and Francesco di Giorgio Martini is one of the masterpieces of Renaissance architecture, emblematic of the Duke’s intentions. The Duke summoned to join him there artists and intellectuals from various parts of Italy and Europe, including Melozzo da Forlì, Piero della Francesca, Pedro Berruguete, Paolo Uccello and Luca Pacioli.
In this prestigious site Federico also brought together the most extraordinary library, comparable only to that of the Vatican and that of Oxford. The collection comprised classical Greek, Latin and mediaeval works and also included singular sections, such as a fascinating series of treatises on medicine.
During a battle Federico was struck on the face and disfigured to the point of losing his right eye. In fact, the numerous portraits that he commissioned always show him in profile.
It is also said that he had a piece of his nose cut out because, being exceptionally protruding, it interfered with his field of vision.
Federico died in 1482 in the war of Ferrara, as he was defending the city of the Venetian ranks in his capacity as Commander of the Italic League. He was buried in the church of San Bernardino in Urbino.
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