Alfonso the Magnanimous
Portrait of Alfonso V of Aragon, by 16th century painter Vicente Juan Masip
King of Aragon, Majorca, Sicily and Valencia; Count of Barcelona
Reign	2 April 1416 – 27 June 1458
Predecessor	Ferdinand I
Successor	John II
King of Naples
Reign	2 June 1442 – 27 June 1458
Predecessor	René
Successor	Ferdinand I
Consort	Maria of Castile
among others... Issue
Ferdinand I of Naples (illegitimate)
House	House of Trastámara
Father	Ferdinand I of Aragon
Mother	Eleanor of Alburquerque
Born	1396 Medina del Campo, Kingdom of Castile
Died	27 June 1458 (aged 61–62) Castel dell'Ovo, Naples, Kingdom of Naples
Burial	Poblet Monastery
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Alfonso the Magnanimous KG (also Alphonso; Catalan: Alfons; 1396 – 27 June 1458) was the King of Aragon (as Alfonso V), Valencia (as Alfonso III), Majorca, Sardinia and Corsica (as Alfonso II), and Sicily and Count of Barcelona (as Alfonso IV) from 1416 and King of Naples (as Alfonso I) from 1442 until his death. He was one of the most prominent figures of the early Renaissance and a knight of the Order of the Dragon.

Biography[link]

Born at Medina del Campo, he was the son of Ferdinand I of Aragon (known as Ferdinand of Antequera) and Eleanor of Alburquerque. He represented the old line of the counts of Barcelona only through women, and was on his father's side descended from the House of Trastamara, the reigning House of Castile. By hereditary right he was king of Sicily and disputed the island of Sardinia with Genoa. Alfonso was also in possession of much of Corsica by the 1420s.

In 1421 Queen Joan II of Naples, who had no children, adopted and named him as heir to the Kingdom of Naples, and Alfonso went to Naples. Here he hired the famous condottiero Braccio da Montone with the task of reducing the resistance of the other pretender, Louis III of Anjou, and his forces led by Muzio Attendolo Sforza. As Pope Martin V supported Sforza, Alfonso switched religious allegiance to the Aragonese antipope Benedict XIII. When Sforza also abandoned Louis, Alfonso seemed to have all his problems solved; however, his relationship with Joan suddenly worsened, and in May 1423 he had her lover, and a powerful figure in the Neapolitan court, Gianni Caracciolo, arrested.

After an attempt to arrest the queen herself failed, Joan called Sforza who defeated the Aragonese milices near Castel Capuano in Naples. Alfonso fled to Castel Nuovo, but the help of a fleet of 22 galleys led by Giovanni da Cardona improved his situation. Sforza and Joan ransomed Caracciolo and retreated to the fortress of Aversa. Here she repudiated her earlier adoption of Alfonso and, with support from Martin V, named Louis III as her heir instead.

The Milanese Filippo Maria Visconti joined the anti-Aragonese coalition. Alfonso requested support from Braccio da Montone, who was besieging Joan's troops in L'Aquila, but had to set sail for Spain, where a war had broken out between his brothers and the Kingdom of Castile. On his way towards Barcelona, he destroyed Marseille, a possession of Louis III.

Manuscript detail of Alfonso V of Aragon.

In the late 1423 the Genoese fleet of Visconti moved in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea and easily conquered Gaeta, Procida, Castellammare and Sorrento. Naples, which was held by Alfonso's brother, Pedro de Aragon, was besieged in 1424 by the Genoese ships and Joan's troops, now led by Francesco Sforza, son of Muzio (who had died at L'Aquila). The city fell in the April of that year. Pedro, after a short resistance in Castel Nuovo, fled to Sicily in August. Joan II and Louis III again took possession of the realm, although the true power was in the hands of Gianni Caracciolo.

An opportunity for Alfonso to reconquer Naples occurred in 1432, when Caracciolo was killed in a conjure. Alfonso tried to regain the favour of the queen, but failed, and had to wait for the death of both Louis (at Cosenza in 1434) and Joan herself (February 1435). In her will, she bequeathed her realm to René of Anjou, Louis III's brother. This solution was opposed by the new pope, Eugene IV, who was nominal feudal lord of the King of Naples. As the Neapolitans had called for the French, Alfonso decided to intervene and, with the support of several barons of the kingdom, captured Capua and besieged the important sea fortress of Gaeta. His fleet of 25 galleys was met by the Genoese ships sent by Visconti, led by Biagio Assereto. In the battle that ensued, Alfonso was defeated and taken prisoner.

In Milan, however, he impressed his captor with his cultured demeanor and persuaded him to let him go by making it plain that it was not in Milan's interest to prevent the victory of the Aragonese party in Naples. Helped by a Sicilian fleet, Alfonso recaptured Capua and set his base in Gaeta in the February 1436. Papal troops had invaded the Neapolitan kingdom, but Alfonso corrupted the cardinal Giovanni Vitelleschi, who commanded them, and his successes waned.

Aragonese, Valencian and Sicilian Royalty
House of Trastámara

Ferdinand I    Alfonso V    John II    Eleanor, Queen of Portugal Alfonso V John II    Charles IV of Navarre    Blanche II of Navarre    Eleanor I of Navarre    Ferdinand II    Joan, Queen of Naples Ferdinand II    Isabella, Queen of Portugal    Joanna I, Queen of Aragon    John, Prince of Asturias    Mary, Queen of Portugal    Catherine, Queen of England Joanna I

In the meantime, René had managed to reach Naples on 19 May 1438. Alfonso tried to besiege the city in the following September, but failed. His brother Pedro was killed during the battle. Castel Nuovo, where an Aragonese garrison resisted, fell to the Angevine mercenaries in the August 1439. After the death of his condottiero Jacopo Caldora, however, René's fortune started to wane: Alfonso could easily capture Aversa, Salerno, Benevento, Manfredonia and Bitonto. René, whose possession included now only part of the Abruzzi and Naples, obtained 10,000 men from the pope, but the cardinal leading them signed a truce with Alfonso. Giovanni Sforza came with a reduced corps, as troops sent by Eugene IV had halted his father Francesco in the Marche.

Alfonso, who was provided with the most impressive artillery of the time, again besieged Naples. The siege began on 10 November 1441, and ended on 2 June of the following year. After the return of René to Provence, Alfonso easily reduced the remaining resistance and made his triumphal entrance in Naples on 26 February 1443, as the monarch of a pacified kingdom. In 1446 he conquered also Sardinia.

Alfonso V's silver medal (1449), by Pisanello.

Alfonso, by formally submitting his reign to the Papacy, obtained the consent of Pope Eugene IV that the Kingdom of Naples would go to his immature son Ferdinand. He died in Castel dell'Ovo in 1458, while he was planning the conquest of Genoa. At the time, Alfonso was at odds with Callixtus III, who died shortly thereafter.

His Spanish possessions were ruled for him by his brother John, later king John II of Aragon. Sicily and Sardinia were inherited by his brother John, who survived him.

He was also a powerful and consistent supporter of Skanderbeg, whom he decided to take under his protection as a vassal in 1451, shortly after the latter had scored his second victory against Murad II. In addition to financial assistance, he supplied the Albanian leader with troops, military equipment, and sanctuary for himself and his family if such a need should arise. This was because in 1448, while Skanderbeg was victoriously fighting off the Turkish invasions, three military columns, commanded by Demetrio Reres along with his sons Giorgio and Basilio, were dispatched to help Alfonso V defeat the barons of Naples who had rebelled against him.

Family[link]

Alfonso had been betrothed to Maria of Castile (1401–1458; sister of John II of Castile) in Valladolid in 1408; the marriage was celebrated in Valencia on 12 June 1415. They failed to produce children. Alfonso had been in love with a woman of noble family named Lucrezia d'Alagno, who served as a de facto queen at the Neapolitan court as well as an inspiring muse.

Genealogical records in the Old Occitan Chronicle of Montpellier in Le petit Thalamus de Montpellier indicate that Alphonso's relationship with his mistress, Giraldona Carlino, produced three children^[1] :

• his successor in Naples, King Ferdinand I of Naples, (b. 1423; reigned 1458–1494).
• Maria d'Aragona (died 1449, aged around 15 or 16). She had married in 1444 Leonello d'Este, deceased 1450.
• Leonora d'Aragona, who married circa 1443, Mariano Marzano, Duke of Squillace, Prince of Rossano.

Giraldona was the daughter of Enrique Carlino and his wife, Isabel.

Art and administration[link]

Like a true prince of the Renaissance he favoured men of letters whom he trusted to preserve his reputation to posterity. He founded the Academy of Naples under Giovanni Pontano and, for his entrance in the city in 1443, had a magnificent triumphal arch added to the main gate of Castel Nuovo. This edifice, considered the most important civil piece of art of the time, was designed by Francesco Laurana. His devotion to the classics was exceptional even for the time.

For example, Alfonso halted his army in pious respect before the birthplace of a Latin writer, carried Livy or Caesar on his campaigns with him, and his panegyrist Panormita even stated that the king was cured of an illness when a few pages of Quintus Curtius Rufus' history of Alexander the Great were read to him. However, the classics had not refined his taste, for he was amused by setting itinerant scholars, who swarmed to his court, to abuse one another in the indescribably filthy Latin scolding matches which were then the fashion.

Castel Nuovo – triumphal arch entrance.

After his conquest of Naples in 1442, Alfonso ruled by his mercenary soldiers and mercenary men of letters. In his Italian kingdom, he maintained the former political and administrative institutions.

A unified General Chancellorship for the whole Aragonese reign was set in Naples, although the main functionaries were of Aragonese nationality. Apart from financial, administrative and artistical improvements, his other accomplishments in the Sicilian kingdom include the restoration of the aqueducts, the drainage of marshy areas, and the pavement of streets.

Connection with Ethiopia[link]

Alfonso was the object of diplomatic contacts from the empire of Ethiopia. In 1428, he received a letter from Yeshaq I of Ethiopia, borne by two dignitaries, which proposed an alliance against the Muslims and would be sealed by a dual marriage that would require the Infante Peter to bring a group of artisans to Ethiopia where he would marry Yeshaq's daughter.

In return, Alfonso sent a party of 13 craftsmen, all of whom perished on the way to Ethiopia.^[2] He later sent a letter to Yeshaq's successor Zara Yaqob in 1450, in which he wrote that he would be happy to send artisans to Ethiopia if their safe arrival could be guaranteed, but it probably never reached the Emperor.^[3][4]

Ancestors[link]

Notes[link]

v t e Princes of Girona Infante Felipe (1977-present) Infante Alfonso (1907–1931)  · Infante Charles (1661-1665)  · Infante Philip Prospero (1657-1661)  · Infante Balthasar Charles (1629–1646)  · Philip IV (1605-1621)  · Infante Philip (1582-1598)  · Infante Diego (1578-1582)  · Infante Ferdinand (1571–1578)  · Infante Charles (1556-1568)  · Philip II (1527-1556)  · Infante Charles (1504-1516)  · Infanta Joanna (1509-1516)  · Infante John (1509)  · Infanta Joanna (1502-1509)  · Infante Michael of Portugal (1498-1500)  · Infante John (1479-1497)  · Infante Ferdinand (1461-1479)  · Infante Charles (1458-1461)  · Infante Alfonso (1416)

v t e Monarchs of Aragon House of Jiménez Ramiro I Sancho Ramírez Peter I Alfonso I Ramiro II Petronilla House of Barcelona Alfonso II Peter II James I Peter III Alfonso III James II Alfonso IV Peter IV John I Martin House of Trastámara Ferdinand I Alfonso V John II Ferdinand II Joanna

Aragon Aragón (Spanish) Aragón (Aragonese) Aragó (Catalan)
—  Autonomous Community  —
Aragón
Flag Coat of arms
Map of Aragon (in red) within Spain
Coordinates: 41°00′N 1°00′W / 41°N 1°W / 41; -1Coordinates: 41°00′N 1°00′W / 41°N 1°W / 41; -1
Country	Spain
Capital	Zaragoza
Government
• President	Luisa Fernanda Rudi (Partido Popular)
Area(9.4% of Spain; Ranked 4th)
• Total	47,719 km2 (18,424 sq mi)
Population (2006)
• Total	1,277,471
• Density	27/km2 (69/sq mi)
• Pop. rank	11th
• Percent	2.9% of Spain
ISO 3166-2	AR
Anthem	Himno de Aragón
Official languages	Spanish (Aragonese and Catalan have special status)[1]
Statute of Autonomy	August 16, 1982
Parliament	Cortes Generales
Congress seats	13 (of 350)
Senate seats	14 (of 264)
Website	Gobierno de Aragón

Loarre, one of the most important Romanesque castles in Europe

Aragon ( /ˈærəɡɒn/ or /ˈærəɡən/), also known in Spanish and Aragonese as Aragón ([aɾaˈɣon]) and in Catalan as Aragó ([əɾəˈɣo] or [aɾaˈɣo]), is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to south): Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza (also called Saragossa in English). The current Statute of Autonomy declares Aragon a nationality of Spain.

Aragon's northern province of Huesca borders France and is positioned in the middle of the Pyrenees. Within Spain, the community is flanked by Catalonia on the east, Valencia and Castile–La Mancha to the south, and Castile and León, La Rioja, and Navarre to the west.

Covering an area of 47,719 km² (18,424 sq mi), the region's terrain ranges diversely from permanent glaciers to verdant valleys, rich pasture lands and orchards, through to the arid steppe plains of the central lowlands. Aragon is home to many rivers—most notably, the river Ebro, Spain's largest river in volume, which runs west-east across the entire region through the province of Zaragoza. It is also home to the Aneto, the highest mountain in the Pyrenees.

As of 2006, the population was 1,277,471—with more than half of the autonomous community's people living in Zaragoza, its capital city.

In addition to its three provinces, Aragon is subdivided into 33 comarcas or counties; all with a rich geopolitical and cultural history from its pre-Roman and Roman days; and from the four centuries of Islamic period as Marca Superior of Al-Andalus or kingdom (or taifa) of Saraqustah, and as lands that once belonged to the Frankish Marca Hispanica; and counties that later formed the Kingdom of Aragon and eventually the empire or Crown of Aragon.

Population[link]

As of 2006, half of Aragon's population, 50.8%, live in the capital city of Zaragoza. Huesca is the only other city in the region with a population greater than 50,000.

The majority of Aragonese citizens, 71.8%, live in the province of Zaragoza; 17.1% in Huesca and 11.1% in Teruel.^[2] The population density of the region is the second lowest in Spain: only 26,8/km²; after Castilla La Mancha. The most densely populated areas are around the valley of the river Ebro, particularly around Zaragoza, and in the Pyrenean foothills, while the areas with the fewest inhabitants tend to be those that are higher up in the Pyrenean mountains, and in most of the southern province of Teruеl.

Only four cities have more than 20,000 inhabitants: Zaragoza 700,000; Huesca 50,000; Teruel 35,000 and Calatayud 20,000.

Language[link]

Language distribution in Aragon. Spanish is spoken in all of Aragon, and is the only official language.

Spanish is the native language in most of Aragón, and it is the only official language, understood and spoken by virtually everyone in the region. In addition to it, the Aragonese language continues to be spoken in several local varieties in the mountainous northern counties of the Pyrenees, particularly in western Ribagorza, Sobrarbe, Jacetania and Somontano; it is enjoying a resurgence of popularity as a tool for regional identity. In the easternmost areas of Aragón, along the border with Catalonia, varieties of the Catalan language are spoken, including the comarcas of eastern Ribagorza, La Litera, Bajo Cinca, Bajo Aragón-Caspe, Bajo Aragón and Matarraña. The strip-shaped Catalan-speaking area in Aragon is often called La Franja.

Geography[link]

View from Ordesa valley in the Aragonese Pyrenees

With such a low population density large areas of Aragon remain wild and relatively untouched. It is a land of extreme natural contrasts, both in climate and geologically, from the green valleys and snow-capped peaks of the Pyrenees to the dry plains and lonely hilly areas of the south.

Relief[link]

Aragon's Pyrenees include splendid and varied mountain landscapes with soaring peaks, deep canyons, dense forests and spectacular waterfalls. Its rugged peaks include the Aneto (3,404 m), the highest in the range, the misty Monte Perdido (3,355 m), Perdiguero (3,221 m), Cotiella (2,912 m) and many others.

Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park, near the border with France, boasts some of the most spectacular scenery in Europe with its canyons, frozen lake caverns, numerous waterfalls and varied wildlife many species of which are endemic to the Pyrenees. The park is also one of the last sanctuaries of birds of prey in the range. Many beautiful mountain butterflies and flowers can be seen in the summer, while during winter the region is a paradise for skiers.

Circo de Soaso in Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park

The principal valleys in the mountains include those of Hecho, Canfranc, Tena, Benasque and others. The green valleys hide pretty villages with nice Romanesque churches and typical Pyrenean houses with flowers on the balconies. The oldest Romanesque cathedral in Spain is located in the medieval town of Jaca in the very northern part of Huesca Province.

The Moncayo Massif seen from Alcalá de Moncayo.

In the Pyrenean foothills, or pre-Pyrenees, the Mallos de Riglos are a famous natural rock formation. Ancient castles nestle on lonely hills, the most famous being the magnificent Loarre Castle.

Further south, the Ebro valley, irrigated by the river Ebro, is a rich and fertile agricultural area covered with vast fields of wheat, barley and other fruit and vegetable crops. Many beautiful and little-known settlements, castles and Roman ruins dot the landscape here. Some of the most notable towns here include Calatayud, Daroca, Sos del Rey Catolico, Caspe and others.

South of Zaragoza and the Ebro valley, the elevation rises again into the Sistema Ibérico, a complex system of mountain ranges that separates the Ebro valley from the Meseta Central and plains of Castile–La Mancha. The highest massif in this range is the Moncayo (2,313 m) and, despite getting less snow than in the Pyrenees, it has several ski resorts.

Climate[link]

Formigal (Huesca) winter

Aragon's climate can be defined as continental moderate. Temperatures are determined mainly by altitude, ranging from cold or very cold in winter and cool in summer in the mountains to the north (Pyrenees) and to the south and west (Iberian range), to mild in winter and hot in summer in the central lowlands. Rainfall is also very variable, with very low mean values in the central areas and increasingly higher values in mountain areas, especially in the high Pyrenees.

In the middle of Aragon, which is only 200 metres (660 ft) above sea level, the annual average temperature is around 14 °C (57 °F). To the north and south of the Ebro valley, where the elevation rises to 500 m (1,600 ft) above sea level, the temperature drops by two degrees. In the mountains, between 600 m (2,000 ft) and 1,000 m (3,300 ft) observed temperatures are between 11 and 12 °C (52 and 54 °F).

History[link]

Crown of Aragon in the 15th century.

Formation of the kingdom[link]

Before Aragon came into being as a self-proclaimed kingdom in 1035, the northern counties of Jaca, Sobrarbe and Ribagorza were all independent marches and Frankish feudal fiefs. In a bid to stem Frankish and Moorish invasions, a northern alliance of the counties of Aragon, Sobrarbe, Ribagorza, and the duchy of Castile united under the Kingdom of Pamplona (later Navarre). After King Sancho's death, the kingdom was divided between his sons. Ramiro I was initially named king of Aragon in 1035; later, after his brother Gonzalo's death, he was also named king of Sobrarbe and Ribagorza in 1044. The new kingdom grew quickly, conquering territories from the Moorish kingdoms to the south. Huesca was taken in 1096 and Zaragoza in 1118. According to Aragonese laws, the King had to swear he accepted the Kingdom laws before being accepted as king. The King was considered "Primus inter pares" between nobility. There was a nobleman with the title "Justicia" ^[4] that acted as ombudsman who was in charge of supervising that the King obeyed the Aragonese laws. There is an old saying "En Aragón antes de Rey hubo Ley" roughly translated as "In Aragon before a king there was law".

Absorption of Barcelona County[link]

Emblematic allegorical woodcut (c. 1820) made during the Trienio Liberal. The political constitution illuminates the Aragonian shield that had been enclosed by the royal crown.

The dynastic union between Petronila, Queen of Aragon, and Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona, produced a son, Alfonso II of Aragon who inherited all their respective territories creating the Crown of Aragon which included all lands and people, titles and states previously until then outside of the Kingdom of Aragon. This Crown was effectively ended after the dynastic union with Castile (see below) but the title continued being used until 1714. The dynasty of the Kings of Aragon (called by some present-day historians "Kings of Aragon and Counts of Barcelona") ruled the present administrative region of Aragon, Catalonia, and later the Balearic Islands, Valencia, Sicily, Naples and Sardinia (see Aragonese Empire).

In the Crown of Aragon, the king was the direct king of the Aragonese region but also held the title of King of Valencia, King of Majorca (for a time), Count of Barcelona, Lord of Montpellier, and (temporarily) Duke of Athens and Neopatria. Each of these titles gave him sovereignty over a certain region, and these titles changed as he lost and won territories.

The unsuccessful French assault of Zaragoza in 1808

Union with Castile[link]

Although there was a dynastic union with Castile and most other kingdoms in Spain since the marriage of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon at the end of the 15th century, and this union was progressively consolidating along 16th and 17th centuries, Aragon lasted as a separate kingdom, with its own laws and institutions, until 1707 when Philip V, the first Bourbon king of Spain, invaded Aragon with his Army and forced the signature of the Nueva Planta decrees, consolidating Spain into a more centralized state and forcing the use of castilian language.

Under the Bourbon dynasty[link]

During the War of the Spanish Succession the advancing army of German, British and Dutch troops defeated the Spanish Army in the battle of Saragossa in 1710. As a result of the battle Felipe V was forced to abandon Madrid and retreated to Valladolid.

During the Peninsular War the Aragonese capital was a site of two fierce sieges. During the siege in 1808 the Spanish under General Palafox defeated a superior French force. In 1809 during a particularly bloody siege the Spaniards were overwhelmed by superior enemy forces. In the course of the siege almost 30,000 of the garrison and citizens of Zaragoza (from a total of 32,000) perished instead of surrendering the city. Two weeks after they breached the walls the French were forced to fight for separate houses, squares, churches, convents.

20th century[link]

During the Spanish Civil War, Aragon saw the establishment of various anarchist communes.

In 1982 Aragon became an autonomous community within the new Spanish democracy.

Culture[link]

Further to the south lies Teruel, famous for its Mudejar architecture, which can be easily spotted in its magnificent cathedral, churches and towers. Other notable towns to the south include Albarracin, Alcañiz, Valderrobres, Mora de Rubielos and many others.

Some medieval monuments of Teruel and Zaragoza are protected by UNESCO as part of the World Heritage Sites Mudéjar Architecture of Aragon.

The traditional dance is known as jota and is one of the faster dances of Spain. It's also the most widespread in Aragon and the exact styles and music depends on the region.

There are other less popular dances named "paloteaos" similars to some sword/stick dances in other regions.

The music of one of the typical dance "The dance of majordomos" from Benasque was enjoyed by Rafael del Riego when he was in Benasque so he ordered to copy it and as a result the "himn of Riego" appeared.

There are some typical Aragonese instruments like the stringed drum "Chicotén", bagpipes as "gaita de boto", oboes like "Dulzaina", small flutes like "Chiflo" and some instruments are lost like "trompa de Ribagorza" although there have been efforts to reconstruct them. In contrast with other pyrenaic regions "Chicotén" and "Chiflo" never have stopped being played ^[5]

The Carnival of Bielsa^[6] (Huesca) has ancient origins and includes a group of men porting long sticks, wearing skirts, cowbells and boucard/goat-like horns and skins with black-painted faces called "Trangas" that symbolice "virility" that surround another man wearing skins that acts as bear called "l'onso". In Aragonese mythology the bear carried souls between the world of the living and the world of the dead. Trangas dance with young females named "madamas" that symbolise "purity" and wear colourful dresses. There are also some traditional characters like a horse rider named "Caballé".

Economy[link]

Aragon is among the richest autonomous regions in Spain, with GDP per capita above the nation's average. The traditional agriculture-based economy from the mid-20th century has been greatly transformed in the past several decades and now service and industrial sectors are the backbone of the economy in the region.

The well-developed irrigation system around the Ebro has greatly supported the productive agriculture. The most important crops include wheat, barley, rye, fruit and grapes. Livestock-breeding is essential especially in the northern areas, where the lush meadows provide excellent conditions for sheep and cattle. The main livestock are cattle, 334,600; sheep, 2,862,100; pigs, 3,670,000; goats, 78,000; and poultry, 20,545,000.^[7]

The chief industrial centre is the capital Zaragoza, where the largest factories are located. The largest plant is the Opel automotive plant with 8,730 employees and production of 200,000 per year. It supports many related industries in the area. Other large plants in the city include factories for trains and household appliances. Mining of iron ore and coal is developed to the south, near Ojos Negros. Electricity production is concentrated to the north where numerous hydro power plants are located along the Pyrenean rivers and in the 1,150 MW Teruel Power Plant. There is an aluminium refinery in the town of Sabiñánigo. The main centres of electronics industry are Zaragoza, Huesca and Benabarre. Chemical industry is developed in Zaragoza, Sabiñánigo, Monzón, Teruel, Ojos Negros, Fraga, Benabarre and others.

The transport infrastructure has been greatly improved. There are more than 1,000 km (620 mi) of motorways which run from Zaragoza to Madrid, Teruel, Basque country, Huesca and Barcelona. The condition of the other roads is also good. As of 2005 there are 520,000 cars in Aragon.^[8] Through the territory of the province runs the new high-speed railway between Madrid and Barcelona with siding from Zaragoza to Huesca, which is going to be continued to the French border. There is an International Airport at Zaragoza, as well as several smaller airports at Huesca, Caudé, Santa Cilia de Jaca and Villanueva de Gállego.

Government and politics[link]

Current political organization[link]

As an autonomous community of Spain, Aragon has an elected regional parliament or cortes, which meets in the Aljafería, a Moorish palace in the capital city, Zaragoza. The Parliament chooses a president for the Diputación General de Aragón or Aragon Government, for a four-year term. The current president (since July 2011) is Luisa Fernanda Rudi.

List of historic Chancellors[link]

Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragoza.

The Aljafería

Castle of San Pedro in Jaca.

The gates of Daroca

The city of Teruel is known for its numerous old Mudéjar buildings.

Regional parliaments of Aragon.

• Alfons de la Cavallería 1494–1508
• Tomás de Malferit 1508
• Antoni Agustí de Sicart 1508–1523
• Frederic Honorat de Gualbes de Vallseca (for the Principality of Catalonia) 1523–1529
• Jeronimo de Rage (for Aragón Kingdom) 1523–1529
• Eiximèn Perez de Figuerola (for Valencia Kingdom) 1523–1529
• Joan Sunyer 1529–1533
• Enrique Bierling 1533–1546
• Jeroni Descoll de Oliva 1546–1554
• Pere de Clariana de Seva 1554–1562
• Bernardo de Bolea y Portugal 1562–1585
• Simó Friigola 1585–1598
• Dídac Civarrubias Sanç 1598–1607
• Diego Clavera 1608–1612
• Andreu Roig 1612–1622
• President Garci Peréz de Araciel 1623–1624
• President Juan Manuel de Mendoza Luna Manrique, marquis of Montesclaros 1628
• President Enrique Pimentel, bishop of Cuenca 1628–1632
• President Francisco Fernández de la Cueva, Duke of Dürbheim 1632–1637
• President Gaspar de Borja y de Velasco 1637–1645
• Maties Bayetola Cabanilles 1646–1652
• Cristòfor Crespí de Vallclaura Brizuela 1652–1671
• [elcior de Navarra Rocafull 1671–1677
• President Pasqual d'Aragó Folc de Cardona 1677
• President Pere Antoni d'Aragó Folc de Cardona i Córdoba 1677–1690
• Melcior de Navarra Rocafull 1690–1691 (second time)
• President Gaspar Jan Girón y Sandoval y Weidner, duke of Spaichingen Osuna 1692–1694
• President Ferran de Montcada-Aragó i de Montcada 1695–1698
• President Rodrigo Manuel Manrique de Lara y de Tabora 1698–1702
• President Iñigo de la Cruz Manrique de Lara y Ramírez de Arellano, count of Aguilar and Frigiliana 1702–1707

See list of Lieutenants of the Kingdom of Aragón.

The dynastic union of Castile and Aragon in 1479, when Ferdinand II of Aragon wed Isabella I of Castile, led to the formal creation of Spain as a single entity in 1516. See List of Spanish monarchs and Kings of Spain family tree.

Cuisine[link]

With its lush pyrenean pastures, lamb, beef, and dairy by-products are, not surprisingly, predominant in Aragonese cuisine. Also of note is its ham from Teruel; olive oil from Empeltre and Arbequina; longaniza from Graus; rainbow trout and salmon, boar, truffles and wild mushrooms from the upper river valleys of the Jacetania, Gallego, Sobrarbe, and Ribagorza regions; and wines from Cariñena, Somontano, Calatayud, and Campo de Borja; and fruit, especially peaches, from its fertile lower valleys. The region also features a unique local haggis, known as chireta, several interesting seafood dishes, including various crab pastes, which developed from an old superstition that crabs help prevent illness and sweets such as "Adoquines del Pilar" and "Frutas de Aragón". There are also other sweets like "Tortas de alma" from Teruel and "Trenza de Almudevar" or "Castañas de Huesca" from Huesca

Notable people from Aragon[link]

Up to the 19th century[link]

• Joseph Calasanz, (1557–1648), born in Aragon, was a Catholic priest who dedicated himself to the education of poor boys at Rome and founded a society pledged to that work.
• Francisco Garcés, (1738–1781), born in Aragon, was a missionary priest to North America who founded two pueblo missions.^[9]
• Elizabeth of Aragon (Queen Saint Elisabeth) (1271–1336) was queen consort of Portugal and a Saint of the Roman Catholic Church.
• Gaspar Sanz, (1640–1710), composer, guitarist and organist.
• Francisco de Goya, 18th-century painter (1746–1828).
• Michael Servetus, theologian and physician who received numerous charges of heresy by both Catholics and Protestants and was burnt at the stake in Calvin's Geneva during the 16th century.
• Baltasar Gracián, Writer of Spanish Baroque literature.
• Antipope Benedict XIII, (1328–1423) Avignon pope and Aragonese art patron-sponsor.
• Ferdinand II of Aragon, married Isabella I of Castile and united Aragon with the kingdom of Castile, giving form to the actual Spain.

20th and 21st centuries[link]

• Eva Amaral, Singer-songwriter and member of the Rock band Amaral.
• Enrique Bunbury (Enrique Ortiz de Landázuri), is a Spanish rock singer-songwriter for Heroes del Silencio and Enrique Bunbury Band.
• Luis Buñuel, film maker.
• St. Jose Maria Escriva, Spanish Catholic priest, founder of Opus Dei.
• Pablo Gargallo, sculptor and painter.
• José Antonio Labordeta, singer, writer and politician.
• Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his research on the human brain and nervous system.
• Carlos Saura, film maker.
• Pablo Serrano, sculptor.
• Alberto Zapater, footballer.

See also[link]

• Aragonese Wikipedia
• Aragonite
• Auberge d'Aragon
• Catherine of Aragon, 1st queen of Henry VIII of England
• Expo 2008
• List of Aragonese people
• List of mountains in Aragon
• Mudéjar Architecture of Aragon
• Music of Aragon
• Nationalities in Spain
• River Aragón

Footnotes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Aragon

• Aragon at the Classic Encyclopedia, based on the 1911 Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica
• (Spanish) Government of Aragon
• Senderos de Aragón Aragon government tourism site.
• (Spanish) Basic statistical data on Aragon
• Complete guide to Aragon
• Guide to the Aragon Pyrenees Mountains.
• Guide to Aragon
• Maps of Aragon

v t e Autonomies of Spain Autonomous communities Andalusia Aragon Asturias Balearic Islands Basque Country Canary Islands Cantabria Castile–La Mancha Castile and León Catalonia Extremadura Galicia La Rioja Community of Madrid Region of Murcia Navarre Valencian Community Autonomous cities Ceuta Melilla Plazas de soberanía Islas Chafarinas Peñón de Alhucemas Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera

v t e Provinces of Aragon Huesca Teruel Zaragoza

Antonello da Messina
Portrait of a man, called the Condottiero, dated 1475 (Louvre)
Birth name	Antonello di Giovanni di Antonio
Born	c. 1430 Messina, Italy
Died	February 1479 Messina, Italy
Nationality	Italian
Field	Painting
Training	nothing
Movement	Italian Renaissance
Works	St. Jerome in His Study St. Sebastian Virgin Annunciate

Antonello da Messina, properly Antonello di Giovanni di Antonio (c. 1430 – February 1479) was an Italian painter from Messina, Sicily, active during the Italian Renaissance. His work shows strong influences from Early Netherlandish painting and, unusually for a painter from Southern Italy, he was influential on the art of Northern Italy, especially Venice.

Early life[link]

Antonello was born at Messina around 1429-1431, to Giovanni de Antonio Mazonus and Garita (Margherita). He was probably apprenticed both in his native city and in Palermo.

Around the year 1450, according to a 1524 letter of the Neapolitan humanist Pietro Summonte,^[1] he was a pupil of the painter Niccolò Colantonio at Naples, at the time one of the most active centres of Renaissance arts.

Around 1455 he painted the so-called Sibiu Crucifixion, which was inspired by the Flemish Calvaries and is housed in the Muzeul de Artǎ in Bucharest. Of the same years is the Crucifixion in the Royal Museum of Antwerp: his early works shows a marked Flemish influence, which it is now understood he derived from his master Colantonio and from works by Rogier van der Weyden and Jan van Eyck that belonged to Colantonio's patron, Alfonso V of Aragon; his biographer Vasari remarked that Antonello saw at Naples an oil painting by Jan Van Eyck (the "Lomellini Tryptych") belonging to King Alfonso V of Aragon; Vasari's further narrative, that being struck by the new method, set out for the Netherlands to acquire a knowledge of the process from Van Eyck's disciples is discredited today. Another theory, supported only by vague documentary evidence, suggests that in 1456 Antonello visited Milan, where he might have met Van Eyck's most accomplished follower, Petrus Christus. Since Antonello was one of the first Italians to master Eyckian oil painting, and Christus was the first Netherlandish painter to learn Italian linear perspective, their meeting is a tempting answer to both questions. But in fact, neither artist is known for certain to have been in Milan at the time.

Career[link]

The following year, Antonello received his first commission as an independent artist, a banner for the Confraternità di San Michele dei Gerbini in Reggio Calabria. At this date, he was already married, and his son Jacobello had been born.

In 1460, his father is mentioned leasing a brigantine to bring back Antonello and his family from Amaltea, a town in Calabria. In that year, Antonello painted the so-called Salting Madonna, in which standard iconography and Flemish style are backed by a greater attention in the volumetric proportions of the figures, probably coming from his knowledge of some works by Piero della Francesca. Also from around 1460 are the two small panels depicting Abraham Served by the Angels and St. Jerome Penitent now in the Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia in Reggio Calabria. In 1461 his younger brother Giordano entered Antonello's workshop, signing a three-years' contract. Of that year is a Madonna with Child for the Messinese nobleman Giovanni Mirulla, now lost.

Between 1465-1470, Antonello finished a Portrait of a Man now at Cefalù. His portraits are noteworthy for his characteristic use of the three-quarter view, typical of the Flemish School, whereas almost all Italian painters adopted the medal profile pose. Antonello travelled to Venice around 1470, to see Giovanni Bellini's paintings.

The Palermo Annunciation.

In this year he executed his first signed and dated work, the Salvator Mundi. Back at Sicily, Antonello finished the St. Gregory's Polyptych.

In 1474, he painted the Annunciation, now in Syracuse, and the St. Jerome in His Study, one of his most famous paintings. The following year he began his regular sojourn in Venice, where he remained until the fall of 1476. His works of this period begin to show a greater attention to the human figure, regarding both anatomy and expressivity, according to the influence of Piero della Francesca and Bellini.

His most famous pictures dating from this period include the Condottiero (Louvre, illustration), the San Cassiano Altarpiece and the St. Sebastian (see selected works for details). The San Cassiano Altarpiece was especially influential on Venetian painters, as it was one of the first of the large compositions in the sacra conversazione format which was perfected by Giovanni Bellini (Antonello's surviving work in Vienna is only a fragment of the much larger original).

Antonello returned briefly to Sicily in 1476, where he painted the famous Virgin Annunciate, now in the Palazzo Abatellis at Palermo.

Death[link]

He died at Messina in 1479: his testament dates from February of that year, and he is documented as no longer alive two months later. Some of his last works remained unfinished, but were completed by his son Jacobello.

Crucifixion, Antwerp, detail.

Style and legacy[link]

Antonello's style is remarkable for its union, not always successful, of Italian simplicity with Flemish concern for detail. He exercised an enormous influence on Italian painting, not only by the introduction of the Flemish invention, but also by the transmission of Flemish tendencies. However, no school of painting formed after his death, with the exception of the Sicilian Marco Costanzo.

Selected works[link]

• Sibiu Crucifixion (1455) - Muzeul de Artà, Bucharest
• Crucifixion (1455) - Oil on panel 52.5 x 42.5 cm, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp
• Abraham Served by the Angels - Museo della Magna Grecia, Reggio Calabria
• Ecce Homo (c. 1470) - Tempera and oil on panel, 42.5 x 30.5 cm, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
• Ecce Homo (1470) - Tempera and oil on panel, 40 x 33 cm, Galleria Nazionale di Palazzo Spinola, Genoa
• St. Jerome Penitent - Various techniques on wood, 40.2 x 30.2 cm, Museo della Magna Grecia, Reggio Calabria
• Ecce Homo (c. 1473) - Tempera on panel, 19.5 x 14.3 cm, Private collection, New York City
• Portrait of a Man (1474) - Oil on wood, Staatliche Museen, Berlin
• Madonna with Child (Salting Madonna) - Oil on wood, 43.2 x 34.3 cm, National Gallery, London
• Portrait of a Man (1474) - Oil on wood, 32 x 26 cm, Staatliche Museen, Berlin
• Annunciation (1474) - Oil on panel, 180 x 180 cm, Museum of Palazzo Bellomo, Syracuse
• St Jerome in His Study (c. 1474) - Oil on wood, 46 x 36,5 cm, National Gallery, London
• Ecce Homo (1475) - Oil on panel, 48.5 x 38 cm, Collegio Alberoni, Piacenza
• Portrait of a Man (Il Condottiere) (1475) - Oil on wood, 35 x 38 cm, Musée du Louvre, Paris
• Crucifixion (1475) - Wood, 42 x 25,5 cm, National Gallery, London
• Portrait of a Man (c. 1475) - Oil on wood, Galleria Borghese, Rome
• Portrait of a Man (c. 1475) - Oil on panel, 36 x 25 cm, National Gallery, London
• Portrait of a Man (1475–1476) - Oil on panel, 28 x 21 cm, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid
• San Cassiano Altarpiece (1475–76) - Oil on panel, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
• The Dead Christ Supported by an Angel (1475–78) - Panel, 74 x 51 cm, Museo del Prado, Madrid
• Christ at the Column (c. 1475-1479) - Oil on wood, 25,8 x 21 cm, Musée du Louvre, Paris
• Virgin of the Annunciation -Oil on panel, Alte Pinakothek, Munich
• Portrait of a Man (1476) - Oil on panel, Museo Civico d'Arte Antica, Turin
• Virgin Annunciate (c. 1476) - Oil on wood, 45 x 34,5 cm, Museo Nazionale, Palermo
• St. Sebastian (1477–1479) - Oil on canvas transferred from panel, 171 × 85 cm, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden
• Portrait of a Young Man (c. 1478) - Panel, 20.4 x 14.5 cm, Staatliche Museeun, Berlin

Notes[link]

References[link]

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

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Antonello da Messina

• Antonello da Messina in the "History of Art"
• Antonello da Messina - Biography and Works
• Guardian article on "Portrait of a Man"
• Best of Sicily Magazine article on Antonello da Messina and the technique of egg tempera / oil media
•  "Antonello da Messina". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913.