Alfonso d'Avalos

Timeline

1. 1502–1525Ischia · Italian PeninsulaAlfonso was born on the island of Ischia in the Kingdom of Naples, a member of the Spanish noble d'Avalos family. His uncle, the Marquis of Pescara, was one of Charles V's finest generals. Alfonso took up arms from youth, campaigning with imperial forces in northern Italy and gaining harsh practical combat experience. At the Battle of Pavia in 1525 he took part in and witnessed the imperial victory that defeated and captured King Francis I of France.
2. 1526–1535Milan · Italian PeninsulaAfter the Sack of Rome in 1527, Alfonso's reputation grew on every Italian front, and he gradually became a pivotal commander in the imperial army. In 1535 he joined Charles V's Tunis expedition, helping defeat the Ottoman-backed pirate king Hayreddin Barbarossa; the imperial forces won a great victory and Alfonso gained enormous prestige for his exploits.
3. 1538–1546Milan · Italian PeninsulaIn 1538 Charles V appointed Alfonso d'Avalos governor of Milan, the most important imperial administrative post in northern Italy. In office he implemented imperial political and military policies while also patronizing literature and the arts, becoming an influential noble patron of the late Italian Renaissance. However, at the Battle of Ceresole in 1544 the imperial army under his command was defeated by the French general François de Bourbon, Duke of Enghien, an indelible stain on his military career. He died of illness at Vigevano in 1546.