Italian condottiero
Francesco III Ordelaffi (c. 1357 – September 8, 1405), also known as Cecco III, was an Italian condottiero and lord of Forlì. A member of the Ordelaffi family, he was brother to Pino I.
Together with Pino, he was a protagonist in the reconquest of Forlì by his uncle Sinibaldo; the two imprisoned him and assumed jointly the seigniory on December 13, 1385. In the 1390s he allied with Antonio da Montefeltro against Carlo, Andrea and Pandolfo Malatesta, and helped Azzo X d'Este in his failed attempt to gain Ferrara from Niccolò III.
In 1402 succeeded Pino in the lordship of Forlì, receiving the title of Papal vicar by Boniface IX. His last years of rule were marked by cruelties and political suppression, and, when, being severely ill, in 1405 he attempted to ratify the succession for his son Antonio, the population rose and killed him. The city was therefore a Republic for several years.
Marriage
Married to Caterina Gonzaga, daughter of Guido II Gonzaga of Novellara.
Issue
Taddea Ordelaffi
Lucrezia Ordelaffi ,married to Andrea Malatesta
Cecco also had the following illegitimate children.
Antonio
Sources
- Spada, Sergio (2011). Gli Ordelaffi. Signori di Forlì e Cesena. Il Ponte Vecchio.
External links
| Preceded by
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Lord of Forlì
1402–1405
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Succeeded by Republic
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