Fiesco, Giovanni Luigi

(also Fieschi). Born 1522 in Genoa; died there January 1547. Organizer of a conspiracy against the doge Andrea Doria. Count of Lavagna.

During the Italian Wars of 1494–1559, the Fiesco family, which had led the Guelphs from the 13th century, supported the French. G. Fiesco plotted the murder of Andrea Doria, a supporter of the Holy Roman emperor, believing this would bring Genoa under a French protectorate and would further increase the Fiesco family’s influence. On Jan. 2, 1547, the conspirators seized key positions in the city. However, as a result of Fiesco’s accidental death by drowning during an attempt to seize a ship in port, the conspiracy was mercilessly crushed. The Fiesco family was subjected to persecution and subsequently went into decline.

Schiller’s drama Fiesco is based on the conspiracy.