Ferdinand II of Naples (26 August 1469-7 September 1496) was King of Naples from 23 January 1495 to 7 September 1496, succeeding Alfonso II of Naples and preceding Frederick of Naples.
Biography[]
Ferdinand was born in Naples, Kingdom of Naples on 7 September 1496, the son of Alfonso II of Naples and Ippolita Maria Sforza. He became the King of Naples after Alfonso's abdication; the future of his kingdom was unsure, as King Charles VIII of France was invading the kingdom at the time of Alfonso's abdication. The fortresses of Capua and Gaeta fell to the French, and Ferdinand fled to the castle of Ischia as the French entered Naples on 20 February 1495. Ferdinand moved to Messina, Sicily as Ischia held off several attacks by the French, and he joined Pope Alexander VI's coalition against the Kingdom of France during the Italian War of 1494-98. On 7 July 1496, he entered Naples, and he rid his state completely of invaders with the help of the Spanish general Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba.
Alliance with the Papacy[]
Ferdinand arguing with Borgia over the consummation of his nephew's marriage
Ferdinand sought to improve his relations with the Papal States by marrying his nephew Alfonso of Aragon to Pope Alexander's daughter Lucrezia Borgia. He was not willing, however, to accept the possibility that Alfonso and Lucrezia would raise Lucrezia's illegitimate son Giovanni Borgia together, causing an argument with her brother Cesare Borgia when he was sent to Naples to negotiate the marriage. In revenge, he invited Gian Paolo Baglioni, Prospero Colonna, Paolo Orsini, Roberto Orsini, Vitellozzo Vitelli, and Caterina Sforza to his nephew's wedding to show Borgia that the alliance with Rome was only one of many alliances that he would consider, that he had allies, and to shove Cesare Borgia's words back down his throat.
Ferdinand grew angry when he discovered that the marriage was unconsummated, discovering this while attempting to find out what type of sex position Lucrezia favored in a "manly" conversation with Alfonso. He visited Rome and confronted Pope Alexander and Cesare Borgia about the problem, claiming that the marriage was a sham unless it was consummated. He told Pope Alexander that he needed to force his daughter to have sex with his nephew, and Cesare Borgia was sent to tell Lucrezia about her need to consummate the marriage. Ferdinand and Cesare proceeded to watch, from behind a thin curtain, as the two had sex for the first time. Lucrezia wanted blood, as she despised Ferdinand for embarrassing her. She sought to poison the King, but Cesare Borgia instead insisted that his assassin Micheletto Corella could take care of it. While hunting, King Ferdinand shot a bear with an arrow and watched as it was devoured by flesh-eating lamprey fish. Ferdinand was amused by the gruesome scenario, but his amusement ceased when Micheletto pushed him into the pond. Ferdinand was then devoured by fish, and his death was seen as a "hunting accident".