Count of Novilara
During the carnival festivities in 1513 Castiglione organised a splendid performance of Calandria, a play by his friend Bernardo Dovizi da Bibbiena, in the ducal palace of Urbino. The production was described by Baldssarre in a passionate and detailed letter, addressed to Ludovico di Canossa, which is eloquent proof of his genuine passion for the theatre.
On the death of Pope Giulio II, on the 2nd February, he was sent to Rome to follow at close quarters, as well as the funeral ceremonies, the conclave, that ended with the election of Cardinal Giovanni de’ Medici, Pope Leone X.
The letter to Henry VII, De vita et gestis Guidubaldi Urbini ducis, which Baldassarre had written the year before on the occasion of the death of the Duke, was published in June. The publication is the result of a private manoeuvre, by the author, and a public one, by the court of Urbino. In a difficult moment for the state, when the aims of Leone X to contest the succession of Francesco Maria came to light, the publication followed a self-defence strategy, centred around three points: recognising the legitimate title of the reigning duke as heir to Guidubaldo, invested by Giulio II; reiterating the alliance between the courts of Urbino and London; warning Leone X about the consequences of a move that would create, at an Italian and European level, an unbalanced and dangerous situation.
The strategy produced the desired effect. And on the 2nd September that year, for his personal cultural, diplomatic and military merits, Castiglione is given as a prize by the Duke Francesco Maria, subsequently sanctified by the Pope, the ducal and ecclesiastic fiefdom of the princely castle of Novilara, near Pesaro, together with the title of Count.
