Historica Wiki
Advertisement
Guidobaldo da Montefeltro

Guidobaldo da Montefeltro (17 January 1472 – 10 April 1508) was the Duke of Urbino from 1482 to 1508, succeeding Federico da Montefeltro and preceding Francesco Maria I della Rovere.

Biography[]

Guidobaldo da Montefeltro was born in Gubbio, Duchy of Urbino on 17 January 1472, the son of Federico da Montefeltro. He succeeded his father when he was just ten years old, and he married Francesco II Gonzaga's sister Elisabetta; despite Guidobaldo's impotence, they did not divorce. During the Italian Wars, he fought as one of Pope Alexander VI's lieutenants against King Charles VIII of France during his invasion of southern Italy, and he was forced to pay his own ransom after being captured at the Siege of Bracciano in 1493; this left him with a hatred of Juan Borgia, who he threatened to kill for refusing to pay his ransom. In 1502, he was forced to flee Urbino as Cesare Borgia's army invaded, but his lands were returned to him after the Pope's death in 1503. He adopted Pope Julius II's nephew Francesco Maria I della Rovere as his son, and Montefeltro assisted Pope Julius in reconquering Romagna. He died in 1508.

Advertisement