Francesco III Ordelaffi (c. 1357 – September 8, 1405), also known as Cecco II, was an Italian condottiero and lord of Forlì

Forlì

Forlì is a comune and city in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the right of the Montone river, and is an important agricultural centre...

. A member of the Ordelaffi family, he was brother to Pino I

Pino I Ordelaffi

Pino I Ordelaffi was an Italian condottiero and lord of Forlì from 1386 until his death. A member of the Ordelaffi family, he was the son of Giovanni Ordelaffi and Tebalda Malatesta. He was also Papal vicar of Forlimpopoli, Castrocaro Terme and Sarsina.After imprisoning his uncle Sinibaldo, he...

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Together with Pino, he was a protagonist in the reconquest of Forlì by his uncle Sinibaldo

Sinibaldo II Ordelaffi

Sinibaldo II Ordelaffi was the lord of Forlì in 1480, inheriting it from his father Pino III Ordelaffi. After his death the Ordelaffi lost the control of the city, who was acquired by Pope Sixtus IV's nephew Girolamo Riario. Sinibaldo's relative Francesco V Ordelaffi shortly claimed the lordship,...

; the two imprisoned him and assumed jointly the seigniory on December 13, 1385. In the 1390s he allied with Antonio da Montefeltro

Antonio da Montefeltro

Antonio da Montefeltro was an illegitimate son of Federico III da Montefeltro, duke of Urbino.-Biography:He was born at Urbino, an inherited the title of count of Cantiano after the premature death of his brother Buonconte in 1458. In 1464 he abandoned the studies for the military career,...

 against Carlo

Carlo I Malatesta

Carlo I Malatesta was an Italian condottiero during the Wars in Lombardy and lord of Rimini, Fano, Cesena and Pesaro...

, Andrea

Andrea Malatesta

Andrea Malatesta was an Italian condottiero, a member of the Malatesta family of Romagna. He is also known as Malatesta da Cesena, a city he had inherited in 1385 from his father, Galeotto, together with Cervia and Bertinoro...

 and Pandolfo

Pandolfo III Malatesta

Pandolfo III Malatesta was an Italian condottiero and lord of Fano, a member of the famous House of Malatesta.-Biography:...

 Malatesta

House of Malatesta

The House of Malatesta was an Italian family that ruled over Rimini from 1295 until 1500, as well as other lands and towns in Romagna.Malatesta da Verucchio The House of Malatesta was an Italian family that ruled over Rimini from 1295 until 1500, as well as (in different periods) other lands and...

, and helped Azzo X d'Este in his failed attempt to gain Ferrara

Ferrara

Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...

 from Niccolò III

Niccolò III d'Este

Niccolò III d'Este was Marquess of Ferrara from 1393 until his death. He was also a condottiero.-Biography:...

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In 1402 succeeded Pino in the lordship of Forlì, receiving the title of Papal vicar by Boniface IX. His last years of rule were marked by cruelties and political suppression, and, when, being severely ill, in 1405 he attempted to ratify the succession for his son Antonio, the population rose and killed him. The city was therefore a Republic for several years.