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of which he was excommunicated and attacked by both Venice and the papacy. He resisted successfully, partly thanks to French help, and partly due to Ferrara’s superior cannons whose manu- facture was a matter of special concern and pride to the duke. In 1526–27 Alfonso took part in the expedition of Charles V (Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain) which led to the sacking of Rome. filippo, duke See visconti, filippo. fogliani, giovanni A leading citizen of Fermo, Fogliani was killed in 1501. forlì, countess of Caterina Sforza (1463–1509), an illegiti- mate daughter of Galeazzo Sforza, Duke of Milan. She married Girolamo Riario, officially the nephew but possibly the son of Pope Sixtus IV. Riario was Count of Forlı̀ and after his murder in 1488 Caterina took control of the town until it was captured by Cesare Borgia in 1500. She is famous for having refused to hand over the citadel of Forlı̀ to rebels despite their threatening to kill her children, whom they held hostage. Exposing her gen- itals from the castle walls, she told them she was perfectly capable of producing more children. gracchi, the The brothers Tiberius Gracchus and Gaius Sem- pronius Gracchus were members of a prominent family in Rome in the second century bc. Both became Tribunes of the Plebs and both were murdered after attempting to limit the power of the nobles and introduce reforms in favour of the plebs. guidobaldo, duke of urbino (1472–1508) Guidobaldo da Montefeltro succeeded his father as Duke of Urbino in 1482. He fought as a military captain for Pope Alexander VI and Charles VIII of France, and later for Venice against Charles. Under attack from Cesare Borgia in 1497, he fled the town, returning when Borgia’s mercenaries proved disloyal. Under Guidobaldo’s rule, the court of Urbino was among the most refined in Europe and is considered to have been the inspiration of Baldassare Castiglione’s Book of the Courtier, which discusses the qualities of the perfect courtier. hamilcar Hamilcar Barca (c.270–228 bc). Successful com- mander of the Carthaginians in the First Punic War against Roman forces in Sicily in 247 bc. Launched an invasion of