Quick Facts
Biography
Gjon Kastrioti II (Italian: Ioanne Castrioto, Giovanni Castrioto; 1456–1502) was the son of Skanderbeg, the Albanian national hero, and of Donika Kastrioti, daughter of Gjergj Arianiti. He was for a short time Lord of Kruja after his father death, Duke of San Pietro in Galatina (1485), Count of Soleto, Signore of Monte Sant'Angelo and San Giovanni Rotondo. In 1495 Ferdinand I of Naples gave the title of the Signore of Gagliano del Capo and Oria. While in his teens he was forced to leave the country after the death of his father in 1468. He is known also for his role in the Albanian uprising of 1481, when, after reaching the Albanian coast from Italy settling in Himara, he tried to struggle against the Ottomans. In June 1481 he supported forces of Ivan Crnojević to successfully recapture Zeta from Ottomans. He was unable to re-esablish the Principality of Kastrioti and liberate Albania from the Ottomans, and he retired in Italy after three years of war in 1484.
Family
He married Jerina Branković, daughter of Serbian Despot Lazar Branković. They had the following issue:
- Ferrante (d. 1561), duke of San Pietro in Galatina
- Maria (d. 1569)
The Castriota living in Italy today represent the only descendants of Manuel II Palaiologos, through Jerina, the great-granddaughter of Manuel II Palaiologos.