Cesare Michelangelo d’Avalos d’Aquino d’Aragona was born in Vasto on January 15, 1667, and baptized on January 19 in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore. He was the third son of Diego I d’Avalos, Marquis of Vasto. After the untimely death of his elder brother, who left no heirs, Cesare Michelangelo assumed the title of Marquis of Pescara. Upon his father’s death in 1697, he inherited the Marquisate of Vasto along with over 30 titles and estates spanning from Pescara to Isernia.
Through his marriage to Ippolita d’Avalos di Troia, daughter of Giovanni d’Avalos d’Aquino, Prince of Troia, Cesare Michelangelo united the Abruzzese and Apulian branches of the family, establishing himself as one of the most influential feudal lords in the Kingdom of Naples, both in terms of territorial expanse and land revenues.
At the turn of the 18th century, the kingdom, under Spanish rule and governed by the Viceroy Count of Medinaceli, faced turmoil following the death of King Charles II without an heir. This sparked tensions and the looming prospect of war between the Austrian Habsburgs and the French Bourbons over the Spanish succession.
Amidst disputes with pro-Bourbon nobles and the viceroy, Cesare Michelangelo aligned himself with the Habsburg faction. Anticipating military conflict, in 1700 he purchased Caldoresco Castle from the city of Vasto and commissioned extensive renovations, including the excavation of new moats and the addition of the cylindrical tower that defines its profile to this day.
Following the death of Charles II, Cesare Michelangelo joined the Macchia conspiracy, an attempt by Neapolitan nobles to overthrow the Bourbon-aligned leadership. However, the plot was uncovered, and its leaders were arrested and executed. The Marquis of Vasto, having distanced himself from direct involvement in the military action, was declared a rebel by the new king, Philip V of Bourbon. On October 29, 1701, Cesare Michelangelo fled Vasto in haste to avoid capture, while his wife, Ippolita, sought refuge in a Poor Clare convent and joined him only months later.
The couple initially found sanctuary with Pope Clement XI, but their refuge was short-lived due to the pope’s alignment with the Bourbon cause. On March 18, 1702, Cesare Michelangelo was condemned to death following a denunciation by Cardinal de Forbin-Jansòn.
Forced into exile, Cesare Michelangelo joined the Habsburg army as a commander of the Imperial forces. For Emperor Leopold I, the Marquisate of Vasto was a strategic asset in the ongoing War of Spanish Succession, which pitted Spain and France against England, the Dutch Republic, and the Holy Roman Empire, united in the Grand Alliance.
Lacking substantial military experience, Cesare Michelangelo was recalled to Vienna, where he resided at the Habsburg court and was granted the title of Prince of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1705, following the Habsburgs’ acquisition of the Spanish crown, Cesare Michelangelo was appointed ambassador to Charles III of Habsburg, the new King of Spain, at the court of Emperor Leopold I.
After England’s withdrawal from the Grand Alliance in 1707, the War of Spanish Succession continued for six more years, concluding with the Treaty of Utrecht. Under the treaty, the Habsburgs relinquished their claim to Spain but retained the Kingdom of Naples, where Emperor Charles VI, formerly Charles III of Spain, assumed the throne.
In 1713, Cesare Michelangelo d’Avalos was reinstated in his estates and returned to Vasto with grand ambitions to transform it into “the Athens of the Abruzzi”.
He lived a life of opulence in his hometown until his death in 1729.
The return of the Bourbons to power in the Kingdom of Naples in 1730 marked a turning point for the d’Avalos family. Many of their fiefdoms were sold or seized. In 1743, some titles and lands were restored to Cesare Michelangelo’s nephew, Giovàn Battista d’Avalos, a member of the family’s Apulian branch. However, the legacy of Cesare Michelangelo faded into obscurity, and even today, the location of his burial remains unknown.
