Giovanni dalle Bande Nere

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Giovanni de' Medici, also known as Giovanni dalle Bande Nere (April 5, 1498 - November 30, 1526) was an Italian condottiero.

[edit] Biography

Giovanni was born in the Northern Italian town of Forlì to Giovanni de' Medici (also known as il Popolano) and Caterina Sforza, one of the most famous women of the Italian Renaissance.

From an early age, he demonstrated great interest and ability in physical activity and especially the martial arts of the age: horse-back riding, sword-fighting, etc. He committed his first murder at the age of 12, and was twice banished from the city of Florence for his unruly behavior.

He married Maria Salviati, and had a son, Cosimo (1519-74), who was destined to become Grand Duke of Florence.

Giovanni became a condottiere, or mercenary military captain, in the employ of Pope Leo X (Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici) and underwent his baptism by fire on March 5, 1516 in the war against Francesco Maria della Rovere, duke of Urbino. Giovanni won after 22 days.

As a symbol of mourning for the death of Pope Leo X (December 1, 1521), Giovanni added black bands to his insignia, whence comes his nick-name, Giovanni dalle Bande Nere (or Giovanni of the Black Bands).

After a short, but illustrious, career Giovanni de' Medici died of septicemia at Mantua on November 30, 1526, four days after being shot in the leg by a small cannon at a battle near Governolo against the Imperial Landsknechte (lead by Georg von Frundsberg). Giovanni's premature death signaled the end of the age of the condottieri, as their mode of fighting (which emphasized armored knights on horseback) was rendered practically obsolete by the introduction of the mobile field cannon. He is therefore now known as the last of the great condottieri. His lasting reputation has been kept alive in part thanks to Pietro Aretino, the (in)famous Renaissance author, satirist, playwright and "scourge of the princes", who was Giovanni's close friend. Aretino accompanied Giovanni on some of his exploits and was present at his deathbed; in a famous letter he describes the scene and Giovanni's courage in the face of death.

Ermanno Olmi's 2001 film, Il mestiere delle armi, faithfully follows Giovanni dalle Bande Nere in his last week of life, as he engages in battle with the Imperial forces amidst the cold, damp fields of the Lombard countryside.