Ferdinand I of Naples - Marriages and Children

Marriages and Children

Ferdinand married twice.

• First to Isabel de Claremont in 1444. Isabel was daughter to Tristan, Count di Copertino and Caterina Orsini. She died in 1465. They had six children:
  • Alphonso II of Naples (November 4, 1448 – December 18, 1495).
  • Eleanor of Naples (June 22, 1450 – October 11, 1493). She was consort to Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara and mother to Isabella d'Este and Beatrice d'Este. The later daughter was consort to Ludovico Sforza.
  • Frederick IV of Naples (April 19, 1452 – November 9, 1504).
  • John of Naples (June 25, 1456 – October 17, 1485). Later Archbishop of Taranto, then Cardinal, and Archbishop of Esztergom (1480–1485) until his death.
  • Beatrice of Naples (September 14/November 16, 1457 – September 23, 1508). She was Queen consort to Matthias Corvinus of Hungary and later to Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary.
  • Francis of Naples, Duke of Sant Angelo (December 16, 1461 – October 26, 1486).

• Second to Joanna of Aragon (1454 – January 9, 1517). She was born to John II of Aragon and Juana Enríquez, his second wife. She was then, uterine sister of king Ferdinand II of Aragon, deceased 1516, and half sister to first born male in John II first marriage, the unfortunate Prince Charles of Viana, (1421–1461). They were married on September 14, 1476. They had two children:
  • Joanna of Naples (1478 –married 1496 - August 27, 1518). Queen consort to her nephew Ferdinand II of Naples, (1469–1496), the son of Alfonso II of Naples (1458 - king 1494 - Messina, 1495), the grandson of Ferdinand I of Naples, (1423 - king 1458 - 1494), the great grandson of Aragonese king Alfonso V of Aragon, a.k.a. Alfonso I of Naples, deceased 1458. No issue.
    Widower Queen Joanna of Naples would see then her brother-in-law, cadet brother of her deceased husband Ferdinand II to be known as the last "Trastamara" king of Naples, under the name Frederick IV of Naples deposed by French and Spaniards. He died as a prisoner in Tours, France, in 1506, but it would be the Spaniard, Ferdinand II of Aragon, deceased 1516, the smartest one, ruling Naples since about 1501 with the name of Ferdinand III of Naples thanks to the military skills of Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, (1453–1515).
  • Charles of Naples (1480–1486).

Ferdinand also had a number of illegitimate children:

• By his mistress Diana Guardato:
  • Ferdinando d' Aragona y Guardato, 1st Duke of Montalto, who married 1st, Anna Sanseverino, 2nd, Castellana de Cardona
  • Maria d'Aragona. Later consort to Antonio Todeschini Piccolomini, Duke of Amalfi, a nephew of Pope Pius II and brother of Pope Pius III.
  • Giovanna d' Aragona. Later consort to Leonardo della Rovere, Duke of Arce and Sora, a nephew of Pope Sixtus IV and brother of Pope Julius II.

• By his mistress Eulalia Ravignano:
  • Maria d'Aragona. Later wife to Gian Giordano Orsini.

• By his mistress Giovanna Caracciola:
  • Ferdinand d'Aragona, Count of Arsena.
  • Arrigo d'Aragona, Marquess of Gerace.
  • Cesare d'Aragona, Marquess of Santa Agata.
  • Leonor d'Aragona.

• Lucrezia d'Aragona, daughter of either Giovanna Caracciola or Eulalia Ravignano, was consort to Onorato III, Prince of Altamura.

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.