- Jacopo Caldora
Jacopo Caldora (
1369 -december 18 1439 ) was an Italiancondottiero .Biography
Caldora was born in
Castel del Giudice (Abruzzo , then part of theKingdom of Naples ), into a feudatory family. He began his military career underBraccio da Montone , and, returned to his lands, expanded them by hiring mercenaries from the surrounding mountains. Called to the Neapolitan court by Queen Joan II of Anjou, he became a favourite of the powerful ministerSergianni Caracciolo .In the political turmoil of the period, Caldora later became a general of
Alfonso V of Aragon in his conquest of the Kingdom. When the Aragonese troops were left under siege in Naples, he changed sides again, winning the title of "conestabile" from Queen Joan, and serving as assistant to the Kingdom's commander-in-chiefMuzio Attendolo Sforza. When the latter drowned before theBattle of L'Aquila in 1424, Caldora led the Angevine army to victory.He subsequently continued to defend the Anjou cause after Alfonso's return. In 1431 he was sent to fight against the excommunicated
Colonna in southernLazio , but he was bribed by them and remained inactive. When his protector Sergianni Caracciolo died, and the marriage of his daughter toFrancesco Sforza was annulled byPope Martin V , he returned to his lands.He died during a siege at
Colle Sannita , nearBenevento . His sonAntonio Caldora was also a successful condottiero.ources
*cite book|last=Rendina|first=Claudio|title=I capitani di ventura|publisher=Newton Compton|location=Rome|year=1994
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