of Castilian nobles to maneuver him into an interven-
tion (1425) that freed another brother, Enrique, from
captivity and briefl y restored Antequera dominance.
Within two years the brothers were again at odds, and
Alfonso found himself once more driven to invade Cas-
tile. Álvaro Luna countered devastatingly by throwing
the Antequera estates to his wavering adherents; a mere
handful stirred to support Alfonso, Catalonia denounced
the operation, and rebellion threatened in Aragón. His
frontiers menaced by vastly superior Castilian forces,
Alfonso was compelled to seek a truce that left the An-
tequera hold upon Castile broken and his own reputation
battered. Small wonder that he developed an aversion
to further involvement in Castile and seized upon an
invitation from the anti-Angevin faction in Naples to
prepare another Italian expedition. It cost many substan-
tial concessions to the ruling classes of Catalonia before
he could sail again in 1432, leaving his wife and Juan as
regents in that province and Aragón, respectively.
Uncertain how matters stood in Naples, he alighted
fi rst in Sicily, then essayed a punitive raid against Tu-
nisia that demonstrated his naval power and crusading
credentials but deepened the hostility of that Muslim
state. An attempt to force the issue in Naples by a show
of strength at Ischia (1435) having come to nothing,
he had to retire once again to Sicily and wait for the
unfolding of events. At this juncture pressure from his
brothers threatened to draw him back to Spa, where
renewed war loomed with Castile. Orders for return had
already been given when news that fi rst Louis of Anjou,
then Giovanna, had died transformed his prospects. Sup-
ported by all his brothers, he made for the mainland to
claim his inheritance.
Yet again, Genoa’s fear of a Catalan stranglehold on
the western Mediterranean snatched away apparently
certain victory. In a battle off Ponza (5 August 1435)
its fl eet not only destroyed an overconfi dent enemy but
took Alfonso, two brothers, and a host of nobles as pris-
oners. Hauled, albeit courteously, to Milan—Genoa’s
overlord—Alfonso looked to all the world a beaten
man. Yet by a veritable coup de theatre he transformed
his captor, the volatile Visconti duke, into a devoted
ally. Together they plotted a condominium over Italy,
and early in 1436 Alfonso was once more pursuing his
conquest of Naples. Dogged opposition from the papacy,
Genoa, and René of Anjou delayed victory for another
six years until with the fall of the capital on 2 June 1442
all resistance crumbled. A great triumph had crowned
decades of unremitting persistence.
Alfonso now faced a choice between exploiting his
Italian victory and returning to Spain, where domestic
problems and Castilian complications continued to
fester. While always proclaiming his intention to return,
he chose instead to spend the rest of his life in Italy,
where he enjoyed more unfettered authority, alluring
international opportunities, and a stimulating cultural
environment. Already he had gathered there his three
children—all illegitimate—and proclaimed his only son,
Ferdinando, heir to Naples. Wholeheartedly he threw
himself into the strife of Italy, seeking to establish a
virtual protectorate over the papal states, reduce Genoa
to subservience, make good his claim upon Corsica,
and secure, despite Venice, a hold upon the eastern
shores of the Adriatic. Failure to fi nd a dependable ally
frustrated all these ambitions in some measure. Most
galling of all was the about-face of his former chan-
cellor, Alfonso Borja, who, once planted on the papal
throne as Calixtus III (1455), tamed from servitor into
implacable foe.
More successfully, Alfonso exploited the commercial
potential of his conquest, encouraging Catalans and Va-
lencians to follow royal example. From Flanders to Alex-
andria royal vessels plied their trade as he wove schemes
to integrate his states into an economic community.
Art and learning also fascinated him. From early
youth he developed a taste for music and books; later he
cultivated interests in architecture, painting, and sculp-
ture. In his maturity these resulted in a library, a musical
establishment, and a royal palace (Castelnuovo, Naples)
to rival any in Europe. Under his patronage Italian and
Spanish men of arts and letters brought the Renaissance
to life in southern Italy and sowed its seed in Spain.
Ambitious, inscrutable, politically shrewd, and an
indefatigable administrator, Alfonso V devoted himself
conscientiously to his duty in the conviction that royal
authority divinely ordained better served the common
good than did the play of private interest. In war he dis-
played tenacity, courage, and a sense of mission rather
than brilliant generalship. Sobriety marked his behavior
as man and king, save for the occasional display of
magnifi cence, and his autumnal passion for Lucrezia
d’Alagno, a young Neapolitan.
He died on 27 June 1458, leaving Naples to his son
and his other dominions to his brother Juan.Further Reading
Ametller y Vinyas, J. Alfonso V de Aragón en Italia y la crisis
religiosa del siglo XV. 3 vols. Gerona, 1903–1928.
Beccadelli, A. De dictis et factis Alphonsi regis Aragonum et
Neapolis. Basel, 1538.
Pontieri, E. Alfonso il Magnanimo: Re di Napoli 1435–1458.
Naples, 1975.
Ryder, A. Alfonso the Magnanimous, King of Aragón, Naples
and Sicily, 1396–1458. Oxford, 1990.
Alan RyderALFONSO VI, KING OF LEÓN-CASTILE
(1037–1109)
The second son of Fernando I, King of León-Castile
(1037–1065), he was born about 1037. On the death ofALFONSO VI, KING OF LEÓN-CASTILE