Cane, Facino (c. 1350–1412)

Italian mercenary (condottiere). From 1397 he was employed by the of Milan and, under the rule of the weak Giovanni Maria (1402–12), became so powerful that he seemed to be on the point of ousting the family. When Filippo Maria came to power in 1412 he married Cane's sister, Beatrice, whom he put to death on a false charge of adultery in 1418.

Piedmontese by birth, Cane led mercenary forces there and in Savoy from his youth and established a reputation as a ruthless and efficient condottiere. The Genoese gave him a major command in 1394, and he entered the employ of Giangaleazzo Visconti in 1397.