of Ferrara in his own family, in the person of C H A P. Girolamo Riario, who was indefatigable in pre- VI. paring for the approaching war. undertakes In this exigency, the duke of Ferrara had Lorenzo two powerful resources. One of these was in his defence. the support which he derived from his father-inlaw the king of Naples; and the other in the claims which he had upon the known justice of Lorenzo de' Medici. Neither of these disappointed his hopes. By the interference of Lo. renzo, the duke of Milan joined in the league; and the marquis of Mantua, and Giovanni Bentivoglio, also became auxiliaries in the cause. The command of the allied army was intrusted to Federigo, duke of Urbino ; but the preparation and direction of the war chiefly rested on Lorenzo de' Medici, on whose activity and prudence the allied powers had the most perfect reliancef. rentines and The first object of the allies was to discover The Flothe intentions of the pope. No sooner had the Neapolitang Venetians ravage the papal territories. f Fabroni has preserved a letter from the duke of Urbino to Lorenzo de' Medici, which sufficiently shows the confidence that was reposed in him by the allies, and the active part which he took in preparing for the contest. v. App. No. XLIII. VI. 1482. CHAP. Venetians commenced their attack on the territory of Ferrara, than a formal request was made to Sixtus, to permit the duke of Calabria, with a body of Neapolitan troops, to pass through his dominions. His refusal sufficiently discovered the motives by which he was actuated. The duke immediately entered in a hostile manner the territories of the church, and having possessed himself of Terracina, Trevi, and other places, proceeded without interruption till he arrived within forty miles of Rome. At the same time the Florentine troops attacked and captured Castello, which was restored to Nicolo Vitelli, its former lord. By these unexpected and vigorous measures, Sixtus, instead of joining the Venetians, was compelled to solicit their assistance for his own protection. The duke had approached so near to Rome, that his advanced parties daily committed hostilities at the very gates of the city. In this emergency the pope had the good fortune to prevail upon Roberto Malatesta, lord of Rimini, to take upon him the command of his army. This celebrated leader, who was then in the pay of the Venetians, on obtaining their permission to assist their ally, proceeded to Rome. Having there made the necessary arrangements, Roberto led out the papal troops, which were sufficiently numerous, and were only in need of an able general Calabria de general effectually to oppose their enemies. The c HAP. duke of Calabria, being in daily expectation of VI. a reenforcement under the command of his brother Federigo, would gladly have avoided an engagement, but his adversary pressed him so vigorously, that he was compelled either to risk the event of a battle, or to incur the still greater danger of a disorderly retreat. This engage. ment, we are assured by Machiavelli, was the most obstinate and bloody that had occurred in Italy during the space of fifty years. After The duke of a struggle of six hours, the contest terminated feated by in the total defeat of the duke, who owed his liberty, or his life, to the fidelity and courage of his Turkish followers. Having thus delivered the pope from the imminent danger that threatened him, Roberto returned to Rome to enjoy the honours of his victory; but his triumph was of short duration, for a few days after his arrival he suddenly died, not without giving rise to a suspicion, that poison had been administered to him by the intervention of Girolamo Riario". This "E fu questa giornata combattuta con più virtu, "che alcun' altra che fusse stata fatta in cinquanta anni " in Italia; perchè vi morì, tra l' una parte e l'altra, "più che mille huomini." Mac. Hist. lib. 8. h Gli scrittori dicono che fu sospetto che egli fosse morto di veleno, & io nelle notizie private de Malatesti ritrovo, Roberto Malatesta. VI. CHAP. This suspicion received confirmation in the publick opinion, by the subsequent conduct of Sixtus and his kinsman. No sooner was Roberto dead, than the pope erected an equestrian statue to his memory; and Riario proceeded with the army which Roberto had lately led to victory, to dispossess his illegitimate son Pandolfo, to whom he had bequeathed his possessions, of the city of Rimini. In this attempt the ecclesiastical plunderers would probably have been successful, had not the vigorous interference of Lorenzo de' Medici, to whom Pandolfo resorted for succour, and who sent a body of Florentine troops to his speedy relief, frustrated their profligate purpose. Riario then turned his arms towards Castello, which was courageously defended by Vitelli, till the Florentines once more gave him effectual aid. A similar attack, and with similar success, was about the same time made by Sixtus on the city of Pesaro, the dominion of Constantino Sforza; who having first engaged in the league against the Venetians, afterwards ritrovo, che l'autore di tanta sceleratezza fu creduto essere stato il conte Girolamo, nipote del papa, o per invidia, o pure con speranza di poter metter le mani a quello stato, non lasciando Ruberto figliuoli leggitimi. Ammir. lib. 25. Mac. Hist. lib: 8. afterwards deserted his allies, and entered into CHAP. their service, and was supposed to have died of VI. grief because they had defrauded him of his stipulated pay*. the Venetian Whilst Sixtus was thus employed in defend- Progress of ing his own dominions, or in attempting to seize upon those of his neighbours, the duke of Urbino had opposed himself to the Venetian army, but not with sufficient effect to prevent its making an alarming progress, and capturing several towns in the territory of Ferrara. The death of that general', and the sickness of the duke k❝ Constantinus Sfortia Pisauri princeps fidus antea "Florentinis, durante adhuc stipendio, defecit ad Ve"netos. Neque multos post dies, tertiana febri correp“tus, mærore, ut creditur, violatæ fidei, & a Venetis ́. 66 pacti non soluti stipendii, V Kal. Sextiles interiit." Fontius in Annal. ap. Fabr. ii. 235. 1 The duke of Urbino and Roberto Malatesta died on the same day; one at Bologna, the other at Rome; each of them, although at the head of adverse armies, having recommended to the other the protection of his possessions and surviving family: "A dì 12 di Settembre ❝1482, ci fu nuove el Magnifico Roberto de Rimini era "morto a Roma di flusso. Stimasi sia stato avvelenato. "El duca d'Urbino era morto in Bologna, che era andato al soccorso di Ferrara. Morirono in un dì, e " ciascuno VOL. II. |