Giovanni Andrea Doria (1539 – 1606), also known as Gianandrea Doria, was an Italian admiral and shipbuilder from Genoa. He was Marquis of Tursi and Prince of Melfi, which he inherited from his great-uncle, the famous Andrea Doria.
He spent his entire career in the service of the Spanish Empire as a commander and naval contractor, fighting against the French and the Ottomans. Unlike the renowned Andrea, he lacked major victories to his name and was dogged by controversy regarding his participation in the battles of Djerba and Lepanto, which earned him a partially undeserved reputation for incompetence. Nevertheless, he played a role in a long series of victorious Spanish campaigns, supporting them with his fleets and logistical capabilities.
His political and business career was less controversial, becoming one of the most influential figures in Spanish Mediterranean politics during the reigns of Philip II and Philip III. He was a lifelong member of the pro-Spanish faction in Genoa, where his leadership elevated the Doria family to new heights.
Birth and early years Doria was the son of Giannettino Doria, of the noble Doria family family of the Republic of Genoa. He was considered an intelligent and precocious child, who by the age of six had already read the chronicles of Julius Caesar. Shortly thereafter, his father was assassinated during the Fieschi conspiracy, prompting his great-uncle Andrea Doria to adopt him and immediately begin training him as his political and military successor. Giovanni started serving on Andre's galleys at the age of eight, and by fourteen he had already commanded entire squadrons of the Genoese fleet. During his childhood, a marriage was also arranged between him and Zenobia del Carretto, daughter of Marcantonio del Carretto, a nobleman whom Andrea Doria had adopted for political reasons. Giovanni and Zenobia had grown up together and were already close.Rodolfo Savelli, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 41, 1992
Italian Wars In 1554, at just fifteen years of age, Giovanni began his career as deputy admiral to Andrea during the final Italian War. Warned about a Franco-Ottoman fleet commanded by Antoine Escalin des Aimars and Salah Rais off the coast of northern Italy, the octogenarian Andrea delegated to Giovanni the task of preventing the enemy from landing near Porto Ercole. However, Giovanni and his 26 Genoese and Florentine galleys found the Franco-Ottoman armada numbered 56 ships, so the Genoese commander opted to call off the engagement and instead attack the enemy port of Civitavecchia. This decision drew criticism, pointing out that the enemy vessels were weaker and that allied land-based support was available. The immense expectation on Giovanni became evident, given that he was effectively being reproached for not engaging a fleet more than twice the size of his own.
In October of that same year, following the victory at Marciano over the army of Siena (an ally of France), Doria transported reinforcements for the Hispano-Florentine army of Gian Giacomo Medici, which was busy besieging the city. He then joined forces with admiral Bernardino de Mendoza, though their actions failed to satisfy Duke Cosimo I of Florence, who viewed the young Genoese with displeasure. In March 1555, amidst fears of an approaching major Ottoman armada, Giovanni deployed with 42 Genoese and Neapolitan galleys to blockade Piero Strozzi's supply lines in the Piombino Channel, while the elderly Andrea reinforced Agostino Spinola in Corsican revolt, which was by then largely reconquered from the French. In 1556 he narrowly escaped with his life from a storm that sank one of his fleets off Corsica, which led him to propose improvements in the training of Genoese pilots.
During the restart of the last Italian War in 1557, now under King Philip II, Giovanni Andrea and his relative and rival Antonio Doria came out with their respective galley squads. Very little action took place in the sea, as their French and Papal enemies barely had navies of their own, so the two Genoese had little to do, focusing especially in transporting land troops and helping against the Corsican revolt. Giovanni helped carrying the army of the Duke of Alba to invade the Papal States. In 1558, Doria managed to drive Ottoman admiral Piali Pasha off the Italian coast.
Despite initial skepticisms, he proved to be an effective commander during the Italian War, although he was criticized for possessing a character better suited to commerce and court life than to the military. He balanced his service with constant business ventures, concerned about the depletion of the family coffers caused by Andrea Doria's generosity and the payment delays typical of the Spanish Empire. This situation led to a clash between Giovanni and his uncle against his father-in-law Marcantonio, a conflict that required Philip II himself to broker a reconciliation so that the marriage to Zenobia could proceed. In 1559, alongside his uncle, he took part in secret talks with Philip in Brussels regarding a potential military intervention in Genoa to safeguard their shared interests, though the end of the war ultimately brought about a peaceful resolution.
War against the Ottoman Empire Djerba In 1560, at just 21 years old, he was given command of a combined Christian fleet of 100 ships for a projected reconquest of Tripoli on behalf of the Knights Hospitaller. However, although he had the counsel of his uncle Andrea, who refrained from participating due to his advanced age—the expedition was marred by a combination of poor preparation and questionable conduct. Upon arriving in Africa, Giovanni fell gravely ill with a epidemic caused by the local swampy terrains, to the point where his former tutor and aide Plinio Tomacelli had to act as an intermediary between him and the other commanders on the council.
The expedition's land commander, Juan de la Cerda, duke of Medinaceli, insisted on building a fortress on the island of Djerba, a decision that Doria and the Hospitaller contingent of the fleet criticized as both pointless and dangerous. Yet, days after construction began, news arrived that Piali Pasha was approaching from Constantinople with 80 ships, spreading panic within the Christian camp. Doria, suffering from a relapse of his illness that had nearly claimed his life, urged the fleet to set sail and flee rather than risk the ships, the Christian ships, against others' advice to stay and fight the Ottomans off with their superior artillery.
The Christian fleet's departure was further hampered by adverse winds, allowing the Turkish fleet to catch up with them. Doria issued no further orders; when his flagship ran aground during the retreat, he succumbed to panic and abandoned the vessel to seek refuge ashore. The chronicler Herrera attributes his behavior to his illness. Be that as it may, the fleet was left leaderless and in disarray, resulting in the capture of a large portion of it during the ensuing battle. Rescued from the fort's garrison by Álvaro de Sande, Doria planned to rally the ships that had escaped and gather reinforcements in Sicily and Malta, but once he arrived there, Philip II vetoed the rescue operation, believing Sande could repeal the siege by himself.
Although Giovanni had managed to escape with his life, the stress and shame supposedly caused the older Andrea Doria to die. The disaster at Djerba had a disastrous impact on the reputations of both Giovanni and the Genoese fleet, even though Giovanni pointed out that his advice had been rejected from the start. The situation had been compounded by the heavy loss of galleys they owned. He spent the following summer commanding a score of ships, but the earlier disaster made it impossible to challenge Dragut's fleet, which was plundering at will. Although the Spanish fleet was rebuilt in 1561, Giovanni was replaced in command by his father-in-law, Marcantonio, who launched a hunt for Dragut, without success.
Oran and Vélez Having lost the favor of highest ranks, Doria never again held main commands. The Genoese, always more at ease in politics and commerce than on the battlefield, turned his attention to reorganizing his business affairs in Genoa, while simultaneously relaunching his career at the court of Philip II. During this period, he overhauled the family fleet and estates within the Republic. Among his diplomatic efforts, he persuaded Philip II not to reduce the number of family-owned galleys under contract with Spain.
In 1563, he was called to relief the Ottoman siege of Oran. Giovanni still expected to be handed command of the Christian fleet, but command was given to Francisco de Mendoza, leading Doria to protest to King Philip II, who convinced him to comply. Doria decided to take no high position whatsoever and handed command of the Genoese squad to his brother Pagano, electing to participate entirely as a volunteer. In any case, the operation was a success, surprising the Ottoman fleet of Dragut when it had divided itself to bring supplies from Algiers, eventually forcing it to withdraw. After Mendoza died of illness, although Doria requested the command again, Philip gave the job to the renowned veteran García de Toledo, which was deemed much fitter.
In 1564, Doria served under Toledo during the conquest of the Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, where he was tasked with disembarking the artillery and placing it at land. He also explored the fortress personally and climbed it after it had been finally abandoned by its Ottoman garrison. This new success made him receive praise for his performance. He was later sent again to the Genoese colony of Corsica to help against the French-aligned revolt of Sampiero Corso, which was eventually drowned.
Malta and the Alpujarras In 1565, he served again under García de Toledo in the relief of the Great Siege of Malta. Doria and Álvaro de Bazán brought squadrons of galleys to Sicily to assemble the rescue fleet. The Genoese commander shared a close bond with the Grand Master of the Hospitallers, Jean Parisot de Valette, even addressing each other as father and son, and advocated from the very beginning for the island's rescue. He even went so far as to ask Toledo for permission to join the defenders personally with four galleys should the decision be made not to launch a full relief expedition. He also pledged his own funds to the enterprise, stipulating that his heirs should cover the costs if he fell during the campaign.
When the relief fleet was assembled at Bazán's instigation, and deploye under Toledo himself, Doria was tasked with acting as a scout in a single galley. Before reaching Malta, he was spotted by a Turkish lookout brigantine. Although the enemy vessel could not catch him due to the shallow waters of the channel, Doria acted with great daring once the rest of the fleet arrived, maintaining communication with Maltese positions during the rapid landing operation. During these maneuvers, he was pursued by the Ottomans and wounded in the face by a Turkish arrow. The relief effort succeeded, however, forcing the Turkish fleet under Piali and Mustafa Pasha to retreat with heavy losses. The Siege of Malta thus became one of the great victories of the era.
In 1568, during the Rebellion of the Alpujarras, Doria assisted John of Austria, with whom he shared a close friendship, and captured several Barbary vessels. However, his ceaseless effort to balance the Doria family's accounts led him that same year to sell the County of Tursi, which he would not recover until much later.
Turkish-Venetian War
Cyprus