Ferdinand I of Naples (2 June 1423-25 January 1494), also known as Ferrante of Naples, was King of Naples from 27 June 1458 to 25 January 1494, succeeding Alfonso I of Naples and preceding Alfonso II of Naples.
Biography[]
Ferdinand was the son of Alfonso V of Aragon and Giraldona Carlino, and he belonged to the Aragonese House of Trastamara. He became King of Naples on his father's death in 1458, and he faced a long revolt by the barons in 1459. In 1460, he was defeated at the Sarno by John II, Duke of Lorraine, and he was nearly captured. The Pope and the Duchy of Milan sent reinforcements to assist Ferdinand, but these forces were crushed by John's army at San Fabriano. However, the Papacy, Milan, and the Albanian prince Skanderbeg combined their armies to defeat John at Troia on 18 August 1462, and his fleet was destroyed off Ischia in July 1465. Ferdinand re-established his rule over his kingdom, and he had his slain enemies and deceased courtiers stuffed and seated at a table in his castle at Naples in a gruesome "Last Supper" setting. In 1478, Ferdinand allied with Pope Sixtus IV against Lorenzo de Medici, but Lorenzo journeyed alone to Naples and made peace. In 1480, Sultan Mehmed II of Turkey and his Ottoman forces captured Otranto and massacred the majority of its inhabitants, but it was retaken by Ferdinand's son, the future Alfonso II of Naples. In 1482, Ferdinand sided with Ferrara and Milan against the Pope and the Republic of Venice in the War of Ferrara. In 1485, the barons again conspired against Ferdinand, who had many of them jailed and executed, despite his announcement of a general amnesty. In 1493, Ferdinand's rival, Ludovico Sforza, colluded with King Charles VIII of France to depose Ferdinand and enforce the French claim to the throne of Naples; Spain also claimed the throne. The deaf Ferdinand's negotiations with Pope Alexander VI and Sforza failed, and he died in January 1494.