Ferdinand of Aragón, Duke of Calabria

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Ferdinand of Aragón, Duke of Calabria (Spanish: Fernando de Aragón, Duque de Calabria) (1488-1550) was a Neopolitan aristocrat of royal blood who played a significant role in the Mediterranean politics of the Crown of Aragón in the early 16th Century. He should not be confused with his famous contemporary, relative and namesake King Ferdinand II of Aragón.

Born in Adria, as son of the King Frederick IV of Naples, he held the titles of Duke of Calabria and of Apulia.

An alliance of Kings Louis XII of France and Ferdinand II of Aragón (Frederick's cousin) had continued the claim of Louis's predecessor, King Charles VIII of France, to the thrones of Naples and Sicily, and in 1501 they deposed Frederick, and Naples initially went to Louis, but by 1504 a new war led to Naples' seizure by the Crown of Aragón.

Ferdinand was then taken prisoner by Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, and was moved to Barcelona as a hostage. Nevertheless he gained the friendship of Fernando II of Aragón and later on that of Charles V, to the point that the later managed the marriage of Ferdinand with Germaine de Foix in 1526 (she had been second wife of Ferdinand II, Charles V's maternal grandfather), and designated them as joint viceroys of Valencia. As such, they became renowned for their patronage of artistic and literary works.

[edit] Sources

Bernadette Nelson, The court of Don Fernando de Aragón, Duke of Calabria in Valencia, c.1526–c.1550: music, letters and the meeting of cultures. Oxford University Press. Early Music, Volume 32, Number 2, May 2004 , pp. 194-224(31)