Niccolò di Pitigliano

He was the descendant of a Romano ["Romanello"] Orsini, Count of Nola, who had acquired the Signoria of the tiny Tuscan citystate of Pitigliano in 1293 by marrying Anastasia de Montfort, heiress of the Aldobrandeschi Lords of the city.

Consequently, when Louis crossed the Adda River in early May and Alviano advanced to meet him, Pitigliano moved away to the south, believing it best to avoid a pitched battle.

Pitigliano managed to avoid encountering Louis; but his mercenary troops, hearing of Alviano's defeat, had deserted in large numbers by the next morning, forcing him to retreat to Treviso with the remnants of the Venetian army.

The major cities that had not been occupied by the French—Padua, Verona, and Vicenza—were left undefended by Pitigliano's withdrawal, and quickly surrendered to Maximilian when Imperial emissaries arrived in the Veneto.

Because of a lack of horses, as well as general disorganization, Maximilian's forces would not reach Padua until September, giving Pitigliano the time to concentrate such troops as were still available to him in the city.

[6] In mid-November, Pitigliano returned to the offensive; Venetian troops easily defeated the remaining Imperial forces, capturing Vicenza, Este, Feltre, and Belluno.