Alfonso d’Ávalos, marchese del Vasto
BIRTH
Ischia (Naples), 25 May 1502
DEATH
Vigevano (Pavia), 31 November 1546
Alfonso d’Ávalos, marchese del Vasto
Alfonso was born in Ischia on 25 May 1502 of Iñigo d’Ávalos, Marquis of Vasto, and Laura Sanseverino. Having started his military career as a young man, in the service of Emperor Charles V, Alfonso took part in the most importat battles of the 1520s (Bicocca, Pavia). During the War of Florence (1529-1530), Alfonso d'Ávalos led important operations, most notably the ruthless ransacking of Empoli (29 May 1530). In 1535, he led the military action in Tunis, which he conquered on 20 July. After the death of Antonio de Leyva (15 September 1536), Alfonso d’Ávalos was appointed by Charles V Captain General of the Imperal army in Italy then, in 1538, Governor of Milan. On the 14th of April 1544, duuring the battle of Ceresole d’Alba in Piedmont, d’Ávalos was defeated by the Count of Enghien, Francis of Burgundy. The Marquis of Vasto died two years later in Vigevano (31 November 1546).
Bibliography and sources:
Gaspare De Caro, Alfonso d’Avalos, in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, 4, 1962, s.v.
Federico Chabod, Lo Stato di Milano nell’Impero di Carlo V, Roma, Istituto di arti grafiche, 1934