Alphonso II of Naples

Alphonso II of Naples (November 4, 1448 - December 18, 1495) was King of Naples from January 25, 1494 to 1495.

He was the oldest child of Ferdinand I of Naples and his first wife, Isabel de Claremont. (Isabel was the daughter of Tristan, Count of Capertino and Caterina Orsini.)

His reign was destined to be short. When his father died, the invasion of King Charles VIII of France was imminent; Charles (instigated by Lodovico Sforza, who wished to stir up trouble to allow him to seize power in Milan) had decided to reassert the Angevin claim to Naples and the accompanying title of King of Jerusalem.

Charles invaded Italy in September, 1494, and by early 1495 was approaching Naples. Alphonso, terrified by a series of portents, as well as unusual dreams (perhaps attributable to memories of his victims), abdicated in favour of his son, Ferdinand, and fled, entering a Sicilian monastery. He died in Messina later that year.

Marriages and children

Like his father, he married twice. His first wife was Hippolyta Sforza, whom he married on October 10, 1465, in Milan. His second wife was Trogia Gazzela.

He had three children with Hippolyta:

• King Ferdinand II of Naples (born 26 August, 1469)
• Isabella of Naples, Duchess of Bari (born 2 October, 1470)
• Piero of Rossano, Prince de Rossano (born 31 March, 1472)

and two with Troggia:

• Sancha of Aragon Birth: (born 1478, in Gaeta)
• Alfonso of Aragon, Prince of Salerno (born 1481, in Naples)

External links

• Alfonso's ancestry