Gian Gabriele I of Saluzzo

Gian Gabriel of Saluzzo (26 September 1501 in Saluzzo – 29 July 1548 in Pinerolo) was the last Marquess of Saluzzo, between 1537 and 1548.

Gabriel was the fourth and youngest son of Ludovico II of Saluzzo and Margaret of Foix-Candale. Because it was unlikely that he would ever rule Saluzzo, he had been destined for a career in the church and became abbot of Staffarda Abbey. But when two of his brothers had died and with Giovanni Ludovico in exile, he was recalled to rule the Marquisate of Saluzzo in 1537.

This couldn't have been at a worse time. The marquisate had been a battleground during the Italian Wars and a succession war between the pro-Habsburg Giovanni Ludovico and the pro-French Francesco. This left the marquisate utterly ruined and completely dependent on the King of France.

Gabriel couldn't turn the tide and was deposed by an uprising on 23 February 1548. Representatives of the Saluzzo municipalities gathered to discuss the future of the nation and decided to request the annexation to France.

In 1549, King Henry II of France formally annexed Saluzzo to France. By then, Gabriel had already died.

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