Giovanni della Rovere, Duke of Sora

In 1474, thanks to his uncle, Pope Sixtus IV, he became lord of the papal fiefs of Senigallia and Mondavio.

Their children included Francesco Maria I della Rovere, the first Duke of Urbino, who married Eleonora Gonzaga.

After Charles VIII of France had abandoned the Kingdom of Naples and the Aragonese had been restored there, a conspiracy was hatched against the latter at Isola di Sora, in Giovanni's territories.

However, the plot was thwarted, although after it the Duchy of Sora followed a more anti-Spanish and pro-papal policy, and Giovanni led some pro-French expeditions in Campania and Abruzzo from 1494 to 1501.

In 1496, he defended the duchy against Prospero Colonna and Frederick IV of Naples, losing some territories, although most of them were later returned to him by Pope Alexander VI.