Born in a family of bankers from the Merchant City of Genoa, the young Ambrogio didn't seem to be cut for military life, as he was more interested in sciences and maths than fighting; it was his brother Federico, who went to serve under Alexander Farnese as a privateer, the one who appeared to be an admiral in making. However, after getting the shorter end of the stick in a political rivalry with the Doria family (chieftained by Gian Andrea Doria, one of the heroes of the Battle of Lepanto), Ambrogio decided to try luck himself in the mud of the war. His brother Federico had been recently allowed by King Philip III to organize an ambitious, private naval invasion of England, so the brothers reunited in Genoa, assembled an army off their own pocket like the Italian condottieros of yore, and marched to the Netherlands with enterprising goals in mind. However, the governors of the Netherlands, Archdukes Albert and Isabella Clara Eugenia, considered the plan a serious case of Awesome, but Impractical, and the sudden death of Federico in a naval exchange ultimately buried it before it could start. Ambrogio suffered a Heroic BSoD and thought about returning home, but he eventually recovered and put himself in the governors' service.
Despite starting at 34 and without military experience, Ambrogio was a great acquisition for the Habsburg army, as not only he was a Non-Idle Rich who could economically help the war effort when necessary, he also turned out to be a surprisingly skilled general himself, one who soon could rival the genius of the Dutch ringleader Maurice of Nassau (as well as surpass him, as Maurice was always more of a reformer and an armchair general). When the crown realized, impressed by his early success and interested on his new plans, they put Spinola in charge of the whole theater. Where previous generals had tried and failed to wage a defensive war of attrition, Spinola was an aggressive investor more in the vein of Farnese himself, favoring the approach of actively taking the war to their enemies' homes and feeding on their own land resources, as Cato the Elder had postulated many centuries ago. His relentless but deceptively calculated offensive soon reaped the benefit, managing to wrest a long list of cities away from Maurice's hands and forcing the rebels to negotiate a truce much needed by both sides (although this approach also had its downsides, namely that Spinola bankrupted himself in the process to be able to keep the pace).
Spinola spent the truce as a diplomat in France and the Netherlands, after which he and the Archduke Albert proposed to negotiate a long-lasting peace, knowing well the costs of continuing the war and predicting that they would likely not receive enough money to execute the strategies Spinola had planned in the meanwhile. Just as thought, King Philip III and his circle just told Spinola to continue warring and stop talking about money, and the negotiations for any form of peace went off the same window. Resigned, Ambrogio went all out and managed to improbably nail a big, decisive-looking victory by capturing the city of Breda, which was immortalized in a famous painting by Velázquez, and after that Maurice of Nassau himself sued for peace, marking the point in which the Genoese went officially Beyond the Impossible with his military miracles. However, the court's incompetence, added to the personal enmity of the new royal head honcho, the Count-Duke of Olivares, who was jealous of Spinola's success, prevented Spain from capitalizing on the chance, and it was ultimately All for Nothing. At this moment, supremely fed with everything, Spinola basically snapped and quit, returning to Spain and refusing to deploy again unless they were willing to do things properly.
His last years were spent in Milan, where he was tasked with fighting the War of the Mantuan Succession. The affair had been previously handled by a former understudy of Spinola, the eponymous grandson of the legendary Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, who warned the whole thing was unmanageable with the little resources they had, and Spinola found this assessment to be quite true. Upon his return to Spain, in midst of the disfavor brought by the Count-Duke of Olivares, Spinola fell ill and died, mistreated for the last time. His descendants would continue serving the Spanish Empire for several generations, although none of them with the same fame.
Tropes associatied with him in media
- Action Hero: His definitely tongue-in-cheek portrayal in Ministry of Time has Spínola as a sort of 17th century version of John McLane, being even played by by Ramón Langa, the official Spanish voice actor for Bruce Willis.
- The Ghost: He's mentioned a lot in Alatriste, as the title character is explained to have served as a sergeant under him, to the point of saving Spínola's life when German mercenaries mutinied. However, he doesn't appear properly in the series, with only the comic book adaptation showing him in a flashback. Eventually becomes a Posthumous Character after the series' timeline leaves behind the year of his death.
- Historical Villain Upgrade: His Ministry version, although heroic, is a racist and a misogynist extreme even by the time's standards (one could say even for the Theme Park Version of the 17th century the series is depicting). In real life, Spínola was raised by his mother and eventually became Isabella Clara Eugenia's Corporate Samurai, and as a Mediterranean merchant he was probably accustomed to trade with people of many skin tones, all which makes his characterization feel more than a bit forced.
- Manly Facial Hair: His stylish beard is present in all portrayals.
In fiction
Anime and Manga- An Alternate History version of Spinola appears in the manga Issak, set during the Thirty Years' War.
- Spinola plays somewhat of a Big Good role at the background of Arturo Pérez-Reverte's Alatriste.
- Spinola is a recurrent character in The Ministry of Time, where he doubles as head of security of the title ministry. His portrayal is rather In Name Only, being a sort of rude, uncouth lifelong soldier, but he became quite memetic nonetheless.
