Two Agents of Francis I of France: César Fragoso and Antonio Rincón

Abstract

The present work deals with the biographies of two characters, Antonio Rincón and César Fragoso, taking the references of the Spanish ambassadors whose of them served in Venice and Genoa during the sixteenth century. They were agents of the French King Francis I. The first of them, an old comunero, had an outstanding performance as the ambassador of Francis I in Cons- tantinople. The second one, Fragoso, was a member of an aristocratic family of Genoa concerning to pro-french faction. He was exiled in Venice when his native Republic became supervised by the Emperor Charles the Fifth and he became the greatest enemy of the imperial cause in Italy, getting the support of many families of Venice for France. The several trips of Rincón from France to Constantinople and viceversa, in which he was protected by Fragoso, they were the beginning of their relationship. They were killed probably by order of Fernando de Ávalos, marchese of Vasto and Spanish governor of Milan.