- Costanza d'Avalos, Duchess of Francavilla
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Coat of arms of the d'Avalos family
Mona Lisa (La Gioconda)Costanza d'Avalos (1460–1541), Duchess of Francavilla, was a noblewoman of Spanish origin from the d'Avalos family.
Life
She was the daughter of Innico I d'Avalos, count of Monteodorisio, and Antonella d'Aquino, heiress to the marquisate of Pescara. Her father had come to Italy with Alfonso V of Aragon in 1442.
She was given in marriage to Federico del Balzo, Prince of Altamura and Duke of Venosa, son of Pietro Del Balzo and brother of the Queen of Naples, Isabella.[1]
After she was widowed without children King Frederick of Naples granted her the Duchy of Francavilla.
She then followed her brother, Innico II d'Avalos, to Ischia.
In 1501 she defended Ischia against the French, with great skill and bravery. Her services were rewarded by the settlement of the civil and military government of the island on the D'Avalos family, which power it retained until 1734, when its military command was transferred to Naples.[2] She established her court at Ischia, which was frequented by many Neapolitan intellectuals of the period.
Vittoria Colonna, shortly after her marriage, spent her time on Ischia with Constanza. Vittoria was married to Francesco Ferrante d'Avalos, a nephew of Constanza's.
In 1523 Charles V granted to Costanza the land which nowadays forms Pescara[3].
Scholarly as well as amateur speculation has assigned the Mona Lisa's name to Costanza (among other women) - she was referred to as La Gioconda.[4]
References
- ^ http://genealogy.euweb.cz/baux/baux3.html
- ^ http://www.pennaluce.com/html/vastodomani/articolo06-2003-ITL.html
- ^ http://www.tuttoabruzzo.it/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&lang=en&id=9477
- ^ Wilson, Colin (2000). The Mammoth Encyclopedia of the Unsolved. Carroll & Graf Publishers. ISBN 0-7867-0793-3. http://books.google.com/?id=Mf7ujOGDzZ8C
See also
- D'Avalos
- Mona Lisa
Categories:- D'Avalos family
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