He was born at
Naples into one of the city's most ancient and distinguished families, a younger son of Giovanni Alfonso Carafa, count of Montorio, and his countess, Caterina Cantelma. One brother was
Giovanni Carafa, Duke of Paliano another, Antonio Carafa (1520—1588), was made marchese di Montebello. Without making a name for himself, he had a long and dubious career as a mercenary soldier in
Italy and
Germany. He entered the household of Cardinal
Pompeo Colonna at an early age, as a page and was enrolled in the
Order of St John of Jerusalem later, that of
Pierluigi Farnese, Duke of Castro (later Duke of Parma), the son of
Paul III. He then fought under the
Alfonso d'Avalos, Marchese del Vasto, in Lombardy and Piedmont, and under
Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma, in Flanders and Germany, fighting Protestants in the name of the Emperor. Here an incident occurred that reinforced perceptions among contemporaries for greed, arrogance and a violent nature: his possession of a captive gentleman worth a considerable ransom was challenged by a Spaniard, whose right was upheld by his compatriot, the Duke of Alba; and in the aftermath Carlo, pursuing his adversary to provoke a duel was incarcerated at
Trento until he agreed not to pursue the vendetta. He was subsequently exiled from Naples in 1545 for murder and banditry and, having withdrawn to
Benevento, was embroiled in another assassination, and was then alleged to have perpetrated the massacre of
Spanish soldiers as they recuperated in a hospital in
Corsica. ==Cardinal Nephew==