Ettore Pignatelli e Caraffa, 1st Duke of Monteleone

Who is Ettore Pignatelli e Caraffa, 1st Duke of Monteleone?

Ettore Pignatelli e Caraffa, 1st Duke of Monteleone, also known as Héctor Pignatelli, 1st Count of Monteleone since 1505, afterwards 1st Duke of Monteleone and Count of Borrello, was an Ambassador in Naples, Italy, of king Ferdinand II of Aragón (1453–1516), where his maternal half-sister sister Juana of Aragón was the young second Queen Consort of Naples, the 2nd wife of king Ferrante I of Naples.

In the war of the French against the Republic of Venice, 1511–1513, he was taken prisoner to France in the defeat, for the Spaniards, known as Battle of Ravenna, 10 April 1512, while the acting Viceroy of Naples was Ramón de Cardona.

In 1517, the now 17 years old king Charles I of Spain on advice of his international war counselors awarded him the title of Viceroy of Sicily, 1517 - 1535. He replaced there Hugo of Moncada, as Hugo of Moncada, apparently, had suggested to put as Viceroy an "Italian" to calm the restlessness of the Sicilians with the Spanish seamen and troopers concentrating there to fight against the Tunisian and Algerian sailors and warriors seeking defense alliances with the Ottoman Turks.

In 1523, he managed to quench some restlessness from Sicilian families, namely the Spadafora family group. In 1527, king Charles I of Spain rewarded him by changing the 1st County of Monteleone to 1st Duchy of Monteleone.