Annibale II Bentivoglio


Annibale II Bentivoglio was an Italian condottiero, who was shortly lord of Bologna in 1511–1512. He was the last member of his family to hold power in the city. He was the son of Giovanni II Bentivoglio.
'' by Lorenzo Costa, detail with the portrait of Annibale II Bentivoglio.
In 1487 he married Lucrezia d'Este. He served Florence and fought against the French invasion of Charles VIII in 1494. In 1500, in a changing of side ordered by his father, he paid 50,000 ducats to Gian Giacomo Trivulzio, French plenipotentiary in Milan, to save his city from any attack.
In 1506 Giovanni II was ousted from Bologna. Annibale and his brother Ermes remained in the city in order to favour the family's return, but in vain. In 1511, thanks to Trivulzio's intercession, he managed to return as ruler. But he was able to maintain his position only until June 10, 1512, after the French defeat at Ravenna.
He took refuge in Ferrara, where he died in 1540. He is portrayed in Lorenzo Costa the Elder's Bentivoglio Altarpiece, commissioned by his father in 1488.

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