Ascanio della Corgna

Ascanio is described as having a peripatetic career as a professional soldier for hire, battling during his lifetime Lutherans in Germany and Turks in Malta.

He began as a young man when he joined the French army with the siege of Mirandola as a squire for Gianfrancesco Gonzaga, il Cagnino.

He was then recruited by the infantry-deficient Republic of Venice to battle the rebel Ariadeno Barbarossa and assault Castelnuovo di Cattaro.

He then returned to Perugia where he led a series of near-rebellions of Umbrian communes against the rule of Pope Paul III, which reached some reconciliation around 1540.

These powers, led by García Álvarez de Toledo, however lobbied for his freedom and he was released to participate in the battles against the Turks in the Great Siege of Malta and provided substantial leadership in the Lepanto.

Ascanio della Corgna, blind in right eye.
Coat of arms of Ascanio della Corgna as Marquess of Castiglione del Lago.