The senate, despairing of victory in war, resorted to plots against the life of Sampiero. He was riding one day with his son Alfonso towards the castle of Rocca, when Raffaele Giustiniani, assailed him with a band of horsemen. Among the assailants, were some Corsicans who had deserted Sampiero, particularly Ercole da Istria and three brothers Ornano. They attacked him in a disadvantageous position in the valley of Cavro; but Sampiero told his son to save himself by flight and plunged into the thick of his enemies. He prostrated Gian Antonio Ornano with the fire of his arquebus, and was grappling with his enemies when he was killed by a musket ball in the shoulder. It was believed that Vittolo, his esquire, corrupted by the Genoese general, fired the fatal shot. His death did not dishearten the Corsicans; they fought two years longer under Alfonso, then only seventeen years of age. But finally both parties grew tired of the war and terms of accommodation were settled. The exiles now lost all hope of recovering their country. Though the Fieschi and their partisans were dead and Count Scipione disinherited, it is not probable that Andrea Doria forgot that Pier Luca Fieschi had advised Gianluigi to form an alliance with France; but perhaps others anticipated him in that part of his vengeance. We have seen that Paul III., having given his niece in marriage to Ferrero, invested him with the Marquisate of Masserano which belonged to Fieschi. The latter, indignant at this robbery, ceased to pay the annual tribute to the Pope for Crevacuore. Paul, for this, and, says the papal brief, “Also for falsifying money in his unlawful mints and other crimes,” condemned him, deprived him of his feud and gave it also to Ferrero. But neither the sentence, papal briefs or excommunications sufficed to expel Pier Luca from his castle, which he afterwards sold to the Duke of Savoy, (1548.) The duke took an oath that neither he nor his descendants would cede the whole or any part of the county of Fieschi to Ferrero or any person of his race. Gregory XIII. absolved him from this oath, and in spite of Pier Luca the feud reverted to Basso Ferrero and Clement XVII. erected it into a principate.