Andrea Doria Andrea Doria ( or D ' Oria ) ( 30 November 1466 – 25 November 1560 ) was an Italian " condottiero " and admiral from Genoa . Early life . Doria was born at Oneglia from the ancient Genoese family , the Doria di Oneglia branch of the old Doria , de Oria or de Auria family . His parents were related : Ceva Doria , co - lord of Oneglia , and Caracosa Doria , of the Doria di Dolceacqua branch . Orphaned at an early age , he became a soldier of fortune , serving first in the papal guard and then under various Italian princes . In 1503 he was fighting in Corsica in the service of Genoa , at that time under French vassalage , and he took part in the rising of Genoa against the French , whom he compelled to evacuate the city . From that time onwards , he became famous as a naval commander . For several years he scoured the Mediterranean in command of the Genoese fleet , waging war on the Turks and the Barbary pirates . Wars between France and the Holy Roman Empire . In the meanwhile Genoa had been recaptured by the French , and in 1522 by the armies of the Holy Roman Emperor . But Doria joined the French or popular faction and entered the service of King Francis I of France , who made him captain - general ; in 1524 he relieved Marseille , which was besieged by the Imperialists , and later helped to place his native city once more under French domination . Dissatisfied with his treatment at the hands of Francis , who was mean about payment , he resented the king ' s behavior in connection with Savona , which he delayed handing back to the Genoese as he had promised . Consequently , on the expiration of Doria ' s contract he entered the service of Emperor Charles V ( 1528 ) . Re - establishment of the Genoese Republic . Doria ordered his nephew Filippino , who was then blockading Naples in alliance with a French army , to withdraw ; Doria then sailed for Genoa where , with the help of some leading citizens , he expelled the French and re - established the republic under imperial protection . He reformed the constitution in an aristocratic sense , most of the nobility being Imperialists , and put an end to the factions which divided the city , by creating 28 Alberghi or " clans " . The 28 Alberghi that formed this new ruling class included the Cybo , Doria , Fieschi , Giustiniani , Grimaldi , Imperiale , Pallavicino , and Spinola families . He refused offers to take the lordship of Genoa and even the dogeship , but accepted the position of " perpetual censor " , and exercised predominant influence in the councils of the republic until his death . The title " censor " in this context was modeled on its meaning in the Roman Republic , " i . e . " , a highly respected senior public official ( see Roman censor ) , rather than its modern meaning having to do with censorship . He was given two palaces , many privileges , and the title of " Liberator et Pater Patriae " ( Liberator and Father of His Country ) . Doria as imperial admiral . As imperial admiral he commanded several expeditions against the Ottoman Empire , capturing Koroni and Patras , and co - operating with the emperor himself in the capture of Tunis ( 1535 ) . Charles found him an invaluable ally in the wars with Francis I , and through him extended his domination over the whole of Italy . In February 1538 , Pope Paul III succeeded in assembling a Holy League ( comprising the Papacy , Spain , the Holy Roman Empire , the Republic of Venice and the Maltese Knights ) against the Ottomans , but Hayreddin Barbarossa defeated its combined fleet , commanded by Andrea Doria , at the Battle of Preveza in September 1538 . This victory secured Turkish dominance over the Mediterranean for the next 33 years , until the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 . He accompanied Charles V on the ill - fated Algiers expedition of 1541 , of which he disapproved , and which ended in disaster . For the next five years he continued to serve the emperor in various wars , in which he was generally successful and always active , although now over seventy years old . Later years . After the Peace of Crépy between Francis and Charles in 1544 , Doria hoped to end his days in quiet . However , his great wealth and power , as well as the arrogance of his nephew and heir Giannettino Doria , had made him many enemies , and in 1547 the Fieschi conspiracy to dislodge his family from power took place . Giannettino was killed , but the conspirators were defeated , and Doria showed great vindictiveness in punishing them , seizing many of their fiefs for himself . He was also implicated in the murder of Pier Luigi Farnese , duke of Parma and Piacenza , who had helped Fieschi . Other conspiracies followed , of which the most important was that of Giulio Cybo ( 1548 ) , but all failed . Although Doria was ambitious and harsh , he was a patriot and successfully opposed Emperor Charles ' s repeated attempts to have a citadel built in Genoa and garrisoned by Spaniards ; neither blandishments nor threats could win him over to the scheme . Nor did age lessen his energy , for in 1550 , aged 84 , he again put to sea to confront the Barbary pirates , but with no great success . In 1552 the Ottoman fleet under the command of Turgut Reis defeated the Spanish - Italian fleet of Charles V under the command of Andrea Doria in the Battle of Ponza ( 1552 ) . War between France and the Empire having broken out once more , the French seized Corsica in the Invasion of Corsica ( 1553 ) , then administered by the Genoese Bank of St George . Doria was again summoned , and he spent two years ( 1553 – 1555 ) on the island fighting the French with varying fortune . He returned to Genoa for good in 1555 , and being very old and infirm , he gave over the command of the galleys to his great - nephew Giovanni Andrea Doria , the son of Giannettino Doria , who conducted an expedition against Tripoli , but proved even more unsuccessful than his great - uncle had been at Algiers , barely escaping with his life after losing the Battle of Djerba against the Turkish fleet of Piyale Pasha and Turgut Reis . Andrea Doria left his estates to Giovanni Andrea . The family of Doria - Pamphili - Landi is descended from Giovanni Andrea Doria and bears his title of Prince of Melfi . Judged by the standards of his day , Doria was an outstanding leader . Ships . Several ships were named in honour of the Admiral :