Galeas Fregoso

Fregoso, Galeas

Italian diplomat (fl. 1560-1585). Document signed. [Place illegible]. Small folio. ¾ p. In French.
$ 919 / 850 € (87234/BN57685)

A legal document relating to the appointment of a procurator in connection with a voyage, hardly legible beyond the title of Fregoso: "Messieur Galleasse Fregoso gentilhomme Italien chev[alier] de l'ordre du roy et gentilh[omm]e ordi[air]e de sa chambre [...] de Venise faict constituer son procu[reu]r [...]". - Galeas Fregoso was a member of the important Genovese noble family that produced several doges, cardinals, and condottiere. He is first documented as one of the Italian noblemen accompanying Renée de France (1510-74) on her return from Ferrara to France.

In France he entered the service King Charles IX, probably as a confidant of Catherine de' Medici. In 1572 he was charged with negotiations in Frankfurt with Louis of Nassau, who had raised an army in support of the Huguenots. - Counter-signed twice. With old water damage to the right margin, causing several tears that slightly affect the text..

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