Gentile, Benedetto

The son of Giovanni Pevere, Signor Cap Corso in Corsica, and presumably Marietina Grimaldi, was born in Genoa around 1490 . His family became related to the Gentile clan in 1309 .

Unlike its predecessors, the initial stages of Benedetto's career were not related to Genoese political life. Even in his youth, he ended up at the papal court in Rome , where he gained managerial experience in various positions in the Holy See system. Leaving Rome, he returned to the capital of the Republic of Genoa, where he married Benedettina Fieschi, who gave birth to his only son, but he drowned at a young age in a river in the Polchever Valley.

The election of Benedetto to the Doge’s post took place on January 4, 1547 , in the conditions of the “Fieschi conspiracy” against the republican government and Admiral Andrea Doria, the hero of Genoa. Characteristically, Doria, who barely escaped death on January 2, 1547 , was a supporter of the election of Benedetto, despite his kinship with the Fieschi family. It is believed that Doria highly appreciated Benedetto's peacefulness and his desire for compromise.

Gentile’s mandate expired on January 4, 1549 . He died presumably in Genoa in 1555 and was buried in the church of San Benigno.

• Sergio Buonadonna, Mario Mercenaro, Rosso doge. I dogi della Repubblica di Genova dal 1339 al 1797, Genova, De Ferrari Editori, 2007.