Torquato Conti
| Torquato Conti | |
|---|---|
| Duke of Guadagnolo | |
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| Titles and styles | |
| Born | 1591 Rome |
| Died | 1636 Ferrara |
| Wife | Felice Sassatelli-Bevilacqua |
| Father | Lotario Conti, Duke of Poli |
| Mother | Clarice Orsini |
Torquato Conti (1591–1636) was an Italian military commander who served as a General-Field Marshal of the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years' War. His barbarous treatment of defenceless villagers earned him the nickname, The Devil. He later became a nobleman and was made Duke of Guadagnolo and Gonfalonier of the Church by Pope Urban VIII.
Conti was born in 1591 at Rome, the son of Lotario Conti (Duke of Poli) and his first wife Clarice Orsini (Lotario Conti had 14 children in total by two wives). He was the grandson of another Torquato Conti (1519–1571) and thus the nephew of Cardinal . His father suggested an ecclesiastic career and to that end he studied under the tutelage of Cardinal Odoardo Farnese, a relative of the wife of his grandfather Torquato, Violante Farnese. For reasons unknown, he instead volunteered in the army of the Spanish Empire.
In 1616, Conti commanded a company of infantry against Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy (who was supported by the Kingdom of France) in an unsuccessful attempt to maintain the Spanish occupation of Alba. Alba was retaken by the Duke of Savoy and Conti, having survived the battle, went to Germany.
The development of Conti's military career generally followed the development of the Thirty Years' War and he fought in a number of early battles and sieges at the beginning of the war.
In Germany, Conti commanded the Italian volunteers fighting for Ferdinand II, who in 1619 became Holy Roman Emperor. Conti was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and Regimental Chief in the interceding years before commanding troops loyal to Charles Bonaventure de Longueval, Count of Bucquoy first at the Siege of Pilsen and then at the Battle of White Mountain in 1620. He continued with Count of Bucquoy and commanded troops during the Siege of Érsekújvár where Bucquoy was killed. Conti led a contingent to recover the body of the count but was captured.
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