Francesco of Saluzzo

This article does not cite any sources. Please help by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources:  –  ·  ·  · scholar · JSTOR (November 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Francesco Ludovico of Saluzzo (25 February 1498 in Saluzzo – 28 March 1537 in Carmagnola), was Marquis of Saluzzo between 1529 and 1537.

Coin of Francesco Marquis of Saluzzo (1529-37)

Francesco was the third son of Ludovico II of Saluzzo and Margaret of Foix-Candale. He became ruler of Saluzzo when Francis I of France deposed Francesco's elder brother , who had tried to ally Saluzzo with Emperor Charles V.

Owing his title to the French King, Francesco couldn't prevent the Marquisate of Saluzzo becoming a satellite state of France. When John George, last Marquis of neighbouring Marquisate of Montferrat died, Francesco claimed the succession. But Montferrat was occupied by the Spanish under Emperor Charles V of Habsburg, who gave it to his ally Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua.

Francesco died in 1537 without heirs, and the rule of Saluzzo passed on to his youngest brother Gabriel.