Ferrante I (or Ferdinand I) (1423–1494)

King of Naples (1458–94). The illegitimate son of Alfonso V of Aragon, his reign was dominated by attempts to secure his kingdom against external opposition. His authoritarian rule provoked several baronial revolts, including major ones in 1462 and 1485. All the same, he was able to act as a major player on the Italian stage, allying (for example) with Sixtus IV against Lorenzo de' Medici following the Pazzi conspiracy. He promoted learning (inheriting some scholars, like Giovanni Pontano, from his father's court) as well as the arts (or at least the more militarily useful of them – Fra Giocondo was for a time in his service). His hold on his territories was weak. He fought a series of campaigns against the French and Turks to retain his dominions, but the French invaded soon after his death.