Alfonso II Piccolomini

Alfonso II Piccolomini (10 March 1499 – 17 February 1559) was a Neapolitan nobleman and military leader who held the office of Duke of Amalfi throughout his life.

[1] In the summer of 1529, Alfonso was appointed captain-general of the Republic of Siena with command of the garrison of Spanish troops sent by the Emperor Charles V, who was also king of Spain and Naples.

He returned to Siena in 1532 and remained there as the imperial governor and captain-general of the Spanish garrison until 1541, mediating between political factions to maintain the peace.

[1][2] In 1553, Alfonso purchased the island of Nisida and began constructing a massive castle that could serve as both the centre of a refined aristocratic court and part of a strategic line of defence in the Gulf of Naples.

He was succeeded as duke of Amalfi by his son Innico, who in 1538 had married his cousin, Silvia Piccolomini, thus uniting the Sienese and Neapolitan branches of the family.