| The Wars of Castro | |||||||
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The city of Castro, on which the Wars of Castro centered. |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Papal armies of Pope Urban VIII and Pope Innocent X | Farnese Dukes of Parma and of Castro – Odoardo Farnese and later Ranuccio II Farnese | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Taddeo Barberini and Antonio Barberini Luigi Mattei as commander of papal loyalists and hired mercenaries |
Mattias de' Medici as commander of the forces of the Republic of Venice, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and the Duchy of Modena and Reggio
Raimondo Montecuccoli as commander of mercenary Modenese forces loyal to Francesco I d'Este |
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The Wars of Castro is a term referring to a series of events in the mid-17th century revolving around the ancient city of Castro (located in present-day Lazio, Italy), which eventually resulted in the city's destruction on 2 September 1649. The conflict was a result of a power struggle between the papacy – represented by members of two deeply entrenched Roman families, the Barberini Pope Urban VIII and then the Pamphili Pope Innocent X – and the Farnese dukes of Parma, who controlled Castro and its surrounding territories as the Duchy of Castro.
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Papal politics of the mid-seventeenth century were complicated, with frequently shifting military and political alliances across the Catholic world. While it is difficult to trace the precise origins of the feud between the duchy of Parma and the papacy, its origins can be looked for in political maneuverings occurring in the years or even decades preceding the start of military action. The duke of Parma and his immediate family had narrowly escaped a planned mass assassination of the Farnese in 1611, for which ten high-born conspirators were executed in the main square of Parma in May of the following year.
Odoardo Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza, who controlled Castro, had quarrelled with Pope Urban VIII's influential Barberini nephews[1] during a visit to Rome in 1639. These offended relatives of the Pope convinced him to ban grain shipments originating in Castro from being distributed in Rome and the surrounding territory, thereby depriving Duke Odoardo of an important source of income.[2] As a result, Duke Odoardo was unable to pay debts owed to Roman creditors, which he had accumulated in military adventures against the Spanish in Milan and in luxurious living. These unpaid and unhappy creditors sought relief from the pope, who turned to military action in an attempt to force payment.
Pope Urban VIII responded to the requests of Duke Odoardo's creditors by sending Marquis Luigi Mattei (a military leader loyal to Pope Urban and the Barberini) to occupy the city of Castro.
On 12 October 1641, Mattei led 12,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry against the fortified town.[3] His force was met with very little resistance and the town surrendered. The army was split into three and the Pope's nephew, Taddeo Barberini (General-in-chief of the papal army) arrived with one contingent in the papal city of Ferrara on 5 January 1642. On 11 January the opera L'Armida, by Barberini house composer Marco Marazzoli, was presented in his honor and Marazzoli composed a work Le pretensioni del Tebro e del Po to commemorate recent events.[4]
Urban excommunicated Odoardo and rescinded his fiefdoms (which had been granted by Pope Paul III – Odoardo's great-great-great-grandfather – in 1545) on 13 January. Odoardo countered with a military march of his own, this time on the papal state itself and his forces were soon close enough to threaten Rome. Odoardo forged alliances with the Venice, Modena, and Tuscany which was under the command of his brother-in-law, Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.
At first, Pope Urban threatened to excommunicate anyone who helped Odoardo, but Odoardo's allies insisted their conflict was not with the papacy, but rather with the Barberini family (of which the Pope happened to be a member). When this failed, the Pope attempted to call on old alliances of his own and turned to Spain for assistance. But he received little help as Spanish forces were fully occupied by the Thirty Years' War.
Exasperated, the Pope increased taxes and raised additional forces and the war continued with Cardinal Antonio Barberini (Taddeo's brother) finding success against the Venetians and Modenese. But Papal forces suffered significant defeats in the area around Lake Trasimeno at the hands of the Tuscans (the Battle of Mongiovino). Fighting in the style typical of 17th century Europe, by the latter half of 1643 neither side had made significant ground, though both sides had spent significant amounts of money perpetuating the conflict. It has been suggested that Pope Urban and forces loyal to the Barberini spent some 6 million thalers[5] during the 4 years of the conflict that fell within Pope Urban's reign.
In 1643 both sides entered into peace negotiations mediated by Cardinal Bernardino Spada. But negotiations collapsed and the conflict resumed. The papal forces suffered a crucial defeat in the Battle of Lagoscuro in 1644 and were forced to surrender; a peace was agreed to in Ferrara on 31 March of that year.
Under the terms of the peace, Odoardo was readmitted to the Catholic Church and his fiefdoms were restored to him. Grain shipments from Castro to Rome were once again allowed and Odoardo was to resume payments to his Roman creditors. This peace settlement concluded the First War of Castro and was widely considered a disgrace to the papacy, which was unable to impose its will through use of military force.
Pope Urban VIII died just a few months after the peace settlement was agreed to, on 29 July 1644 and on 15 September Pamphili family Pope Innocent X was elected to replace him. Almost immediately, Innocent X began an investigation into the financing of the conflict and the nephews of Pope Urban VIII who had led the papal armies, brothers Antonio Barberini (Antonio the Younger), Taddeo Barberini and Francesco Barberini, were forced to abandon Rome and flee to France, assisted by Cardinal Mazarin. There they depended on the hospitality of Louis XIV, King of France.
Taddeo Barberini died in Paris in 1647 but in 1653 Antonio and Francesco Barberini were allowed to return to Rome after sealing a reconciliation with Innocent X through the marriage of Taddeo's son Maffeo Barberini and Olimpia Giustiniani (a niece of Innocent X). Relations were also later repaired with some of Odoardo's former allies when Taddeo's daughter, Lucrezia Barberini married Francesco I d'Este, Duke of Modena who had led Modenese forces against the Barberini.
With peace agreed to and with Barberini power-brokers dead or exiled, the citizens of Castro were left alone. But Odoardo Farnese, who had signed the original peace accord, died in 1646 and was succeeded by his son Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma.
In 1649, Ranuccio refused to pay Roman creditors as his father had agreed in the treaty signed five years prior. He also refused to recognize the new bishop of Castro, Monsignor Cristoforo Giarda, appointed by Pope Innocent X. When the bishop was killed en-route to Castro, near Monterosi, Pope Innocent X accused Duke Ranuccio, and his supporters, of murdering him.
In retaliation for this alleged crime, forces loyal to the Pope marched on Castro. Ranuccio attempted to ride out against the Pope's forces but was routed by Luigi Mattei.[6] On 2 September, on the Pope's orders, the city was completely destroyed. Not only did Pope Innocent's troops destroy the fortifications and general buildings of Castro, they destroyed the churches as well so as to completely sever all links between the city and the papacy.[7] As a final insult, the troops destroyed Duke Ranuccio's family Palazzo Farnese and raised a column reading "Quì fu Castro" 'Here stood Castro'.
Duke Ranuccio II was forced to cede control of the territories around Castro to the pope, who then attempted to use the land to settle debts with the Ranuccio's creditors. This marked the end of the Second War of Castro and the end of Castro itself – the city was never rebuilt.