Background
Giovanni della Rovere was born at Savona.
Giovanni della Rovere was born at Savona.
He was also Prefect of Rome and Duke of Sora and Arce. In 1484, Pope Innocent VIII made him also Captain-General of the Church. Their children included Francesco Maria I della Rovere, the first Duke of Urbino, who married Eleonora Gonzaga.
After Charles VIII of France had abandoned the Kingdom of Naples and the Aragonese had been restored there, a conspiracy was hatched against the latter at Isola di Sora, in Giovanni"s territories.
However, the plot was thwarted, although after it the Duchy of Sora followed a more anti-Spanish and pro-papal policy, and Giovanni led some pro-French expeditions in Campania and Abruzzo from 1494 to 1501. In 1495 he conquered Ceprano, Montecassino and the Terra Sancti Benedicti.
Giovanni della Rovere died at Rome in 1501.
In 1496 he defended the duchy against Prospero Colonna and Frederick IV of Naples, losing some territories, although most of them were later returned him by Pope Alexander VI.