Giovanni Zurolo
Giovanni Zurolo, also called Giovanni Zurlo, in Latin Johannes Zurolo, was an Italian feudal lord and count of the Terra d'Angri, Roccapiemonte and fiefdoms of the Kingdom of Naples. He was a member of the noble Zurolo family or Zurlo family.
He was a military leader and boss of the Angevins militias during the dynastic struggles between the Angevins and the Aragonese. Giovanni sided with the Angevins, remaining faithful to them in the conflict. When King Alfonso V of Aragon led his army of four thousand knights to occupy the fortress of Angri, to punish him for disobedience, Giovanni managed with the help of a handful of soldiers, to prevent them from crossing the bridge of Scafati, slowing the advance of the invading mercenaries, led by Andrea Fortebraccio da Montone, despite the betrayal of his brother Francesco Zurolo and the non-arrival of reinforcements by Muzio Attendolo Sforza of Cotignola, Angri was besieged on the same day.
He went into voluntary exile after the capture of Angri but, due to his loyalty to the Angevin crown, he was reinstated in his possessions, with a royal diploma issued by Queen Joanna II d'Angiò-Durazzo, on 26 June 1428 and was able to return to Angri.
Again in June 1438, King Alfonso V of Aragon decided to invade the city of Angri, this time too Giovanni and the Angevins militia attacked him in various clashes and blocked him again at the borders of Angri, near Scafati.
Giovanni was the founder of the convent with adjoining church of the Church of the [Santissima Annunziata (Angri)|SS. Annunziata] of Terra d'Angri, by a notarial deed dated 26 July 1436.
He died in 1440 in Naples and was buried, presumably, in the church of Santa Restituta, the Cathedral of Naples.
Biography
He was a member of the noble Zurolo family or Zurlo family. Giovanni Zurolo, Count of Zurolo was the second-born son of Bernardo Zurolo and Antonella Caracciolo, from whom he inherited the Terra d'Angri, Roccapiemonte and other fiefdoms of the Kingdom. He had brothers and sisters, among whom are recorded: Biancamano known as Blanca, Francesco, Salvatore known as Russillo and Emilia.He received the title of feudal lord directly from King Louis II of Anjou-Valois and feudal dominion over Angri.
Giovanni married Dalfina Caracciolo in, the daughter of Leonetto and Caterina Filangieri. With Dalfina he had a daughter, Antonella, born, the Countess of Bsistenza who in 1439 married the Count of Buccino, Francesco Caracciolo – known as Petricone.
Battle of the Terra d'Angri of September 1421
Giovanni strenuously defended the Terra d'Angri during a battle on 24 September 1421, from the soldiers of Andrea Fortebraccio da Montone, the Italian leader known as Braccio da Montone. During the struggles for succession to the throne of Naples, between Alfonso V of Aragon and Louis III of Anjou, siding with the latter, being the Capetian [House of Anjou|Angevin faction].Background
During the dynastic struggles for the succession to the throne of Naples, between Alfonso V of Aragon and Louis III of Anjou, Giovanni Zurolo sided in favor of the latter, in fact in this period the fiefdom of Angri drew many benefits thanks to his loyalty to this dynasty, as his paternal grandfather was already a feudal lord loyal to the dynasty.Once King Alfonso had taken power in the Kingdom of Naples, he then punished the disobedient feudal lord by sending the Italian mercenary leader Braccio da Montone, already appointed by him and the queen, to the Terra d'Angri Joanna II of Anjou, on 21 September 1421, Count of Foggia and Prince of Capua and "perpetual general".
On 23 September Andrea and King Alfonso visited various Neapolitan locations after which he was instructed by the rulers to attack the fiefdom of Angri governed by Count Giovanni Zurolo, who had not accepted the loyalty of the new sovereign. Braccioforte marched towards the Sarno valley with his mercenary army made up of around 12,000 men and, mostly: crossbowmen, foot infantry and knights.
File:Parte del Pons Sarni che sovrasta l’omonimo fiume che passa per la città di Scafati e della chiesa di Santa Maria delle Vergini.png|left|thumb|Part of the Pons Sarni which overlooks the river of the same name which passes through the city of Scafati and the church of Santa Maria delle Vergini, 15th century.
Battle account
At dawn on 24 September 1421 the mercenaries headed towards the border of Angri, more precisely towards a bridge in the current city of Scafati, the bridge was called Pons Sarni, They waited there for the enemy because the area was easier for those attacked to defend themselves, furthermore, there was also a military fortification, which currently no longer exists.The feudal lord's plan envisaged a defensive fight in this area with the help of the armed forces of his brother Francesco Zurolo, count of Nocera dei Pagani and Montoro, and then also being assisted by the military aid of count Muzio Attendolo Sforza of Cotignola who it should have arrived a few days later, since it was a fairly easy area to defend and the banks of the river already allowed excellent defense by those attacked. Giovanni Zurolo waited with the local militia near the Angrese border but help from Francesco and Sforza never arrived. Betrayed by his brother, Giovanni had to fight alone against an overwhelming enemy army, retreating immediately after Braccio's first attack to the fief of Angri and instead headed towards the city, after a few hours and a few enemy assaults it was invaded and sacked.
The news of the military defeat of Angri spread quickly among the various inhabitants of the lands of the Agro and the nearby city of Nocerina, the looting and destruction was a warning to the locals to guarantee obedience towards the new Aragonese dynasty. Braccio, after taking Angri, left a group of his soldiers under the command of a captain governor, a certain Luca de Triccia, since, in the evening, he headed to conquer Castellammare di Stabia with the rest of the army.
File:Castello Doria-Angri.jpg|thumb|Castle and Palazzo Doria of Angri, located in the square of the same name.
Other accounts of the battle
According to ancient and official sources, Count Giovanni Zurolo, after having briefly discussed against the enemy army at the Pons Sarni, headed with his soldiers to the Oppido Angarium and fought with the local citizens, a militia and various improvised leaders until the end of the clash, in fact after a few hours of various enemy assaults they surrendered but the city was not spared by the attackers.Other sources instead speak of a retreat by Zurolo from his brother to the fortress of Nocera dei Pagani and of abandoning his lands at the mercy of his enemies, from which the Angrese had to defend themselves alone and against an overwhelming army.
[File:Momento dello scontro fra i soldati della milizia angioina e la compagnia braccesca aragonese, durante la giornata dell’assalto al castello e nella rievocazione dei giochi storici medievali della città-Angri (SA).jpg|thumb|Assault on the castle of 24 September 1421, event of the Palio Storico Città di Angri (year 2023), historical-reenactment event linked to the events of 1421-25 and 1428-36, in Piazza Doria.]
Angri fiefdom reinstatement
In 1428 the fief of Angri was restored, the period in which Giovanni strategically distanced himself from Angri, his brother Francesco made use of the special prerogatives and graces that he had deserved with his surrender, he worked hard at the court of King Alfonso so that the fiefdom of Angri could return to its legitimate owner of his brother and his heirs. Angri, in fact, with the Cancellara fiefdom once again entered the feudal succession of the Zurolo with all the connected jurisdictional rights, with a certain Scipione who in 1485 is listed, in the documents of the time, as dominus utilis of Angri; then on 5 February 1463, he was invested with the fiefdom of Solofra, again by the same sovereign, Ferrante I. Ad antiquo therefore the fiefdom of Angri remained with the Zurolo counts until it came under the dominion of other noble and powerful lords of the kingdom.File:Chiesa della Santissima Annunziata-Angri.jpg|thumb|Facade, in Vanvitellian architectural style, of the church SS. Annunziata in Angri, with adjacent former convent, formerly a charitable hospice, of the Dominican preaching friars, located in the square of the same name, 13th–15th centuries.|left
Sponsor
He was the founder of the former convent of the Dominican preaching fathers, with the adjoining church of the SS. Annunziata della Terra d'Angri, on a previous chapel also dedicated to the SS. Annunziata. The notarial deed drawn up before the major church of Angri was executed on 26 July 1436.Battles of Terra d'Angri of June 1438
At the beginning of June 1438, when King Alfonso, with his army of four thousand men on horseback, moved to occupy the fortress of Angri, Count Zurolo with a handful of soldiers fought heroically and forced him to stop at the Ponte di Scafati, blocking his path. In these bloody battles, which lasted for days, between the partisans of the Angevin and Aragonese factions, the young captain Angelo Concilio, of the Casato de' Concilij of Angri, heroically lost his life.Death and burial
Giovanni, feudal lord of Angri, died in around 1440, and was probably buried in the church of his greatest ancestors of Santa Restituta in the Cathedral of Naples.File:Lapide commemorativa in marmo, posta nel giorno della ricorrenza dell’edificazione della chiesa della Santissima Annunziata di Angri e voluta dal sacerdote Don Bellino Di Lieto e dall'avvocato Gennaro Zurolo-Angri.jpg|thumb|Commemorative plaque of the foundation of the church and convent of the Ss. Annunziata, currently the municipality of Angri, in the Terra d'Angri, in July 1436.
Dedications
- Road plaques in white marble entitled Giovanni Zurolo affixed at the end of the road, where it begins and ends, on the walls of two buildings for civic use, a third plaque was instead entitled Largo Palio Storico, of the same workmanship as the previous ones, affixed in the clearing between Via Coronati and Via Amendola, relating to the events of 1421–1425 and 1428–1436 called "Palio Storico Città di Angri". The aforementioned headstones were subsequently removed by the same municipality for legal reasons.Via Zurlo, in Angri, dedicated to the feudal lord of the Terra d'Angri, Count Giovanni Zurolo, around the 70s of the last century.
- In Montoro, now Montoro Inferiore, there was a chapel dedicated to Santa Margherita, located in the ancient farmhouse of Borgo, Mercatello district. There, in the altarpiece, Bernardo Zurolo and his sons, Francesco Zurolo and Giovanni Zurolo were represented.
- In the church of the Ss. Annunziata of Angri, a plaque was placed inside by the community of faithful, the parish priest, and a member of the Zurolo family, in memory of the foundation of the same, by Count Giovanni Zurolo, dated in July 2004.