Ascanio Maria Sforza Visconti (3 March 1455 – 28 May 1505) was an Italian Cardinal of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Generally known as a skilled diplomat who played a major role in the election of Rodrigo Borgia as

Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...

, Sforza served as Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church from 1492 until 1505.

Biography

Early years

A member of the

House of Sforza The House of Sforza () was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. They acquired the Duchy of Milan following the extinction of the Visconti family in the mid-15th century, Sforza rule ending in Milan with the death of the last me ...

, Ascanio Sforza was born in Cremona, Lombardy. His parents were Francesco Sforza,

Duke of Milan The following is a list of rulers of Milan from the 13th century to 1814, after which it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia by the Congress of Vienna. Before elevation to duchy Until 1259, Milan was a free commune that elec ...

, and

Bianca Maria Visconti Bianca Maria Visconti (31 March 1425 – 28 October 1468) was Duchess of Milan from 1450 to 1468 by marriage to Francesco I Sforza. She was regent of Marche during the absence of her spouse in 1448. She served as Regent of the Duchy of Milan dur ...

. He was also the brother of two Milanese dukes, Galeazzo Maria Sforza (1466–1476) and Ludovico Sforza (1494–1499), and the uncle of a third, Gian Galeazzo Sforza (1476–1494). Ascanio was a student of Francesco Filelfo, a courtier of Duke Francesco Sforza, who introduced him to government and literature. Other cardinals of the family were Guido Ascanio Sforza di Santa Fiora (1534),

Alessandro Sforza Alessandro Sforza (21 October 1409 – 3 April 1473) was an Italian condottiero and lord of Pesaro, the first of the Pesaro line of the Sforza family. Biography He was born in Cotignola in 1409, an illegitimate son of the famous condottier ...

(1565), Francesco Sforza (1583) and Federico Sforza (1645). At age of 10 he was named

commendatory abbot A commendatory abbot ( la, abbas commendatarius) is an ecclesiastic, or sometimes a layman, who holds an abbey '' in commendam'', drawing its revenues but not exercising any authority over its inner monastic discipline. If a commendatory abbot i ...

of Chiaravalle. While still an adolescent, Ascanio was promised the red hat of a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church by Guillaume d'Estouteville, who wanted to gain Galeazzo Maria Sforza's support for his candidacy for the papal throne in 1471. However, it was in fact Francesco della Rovere ( Sixtus IV) who won the papal election, and Ascanio's promotion to cardinal was delayed. In September 1473, Ascanio's niece Caterina, the daughter of Duke Galeazzo Maria, was married to the nephew of Pope Sixtus IV,

Girolamo Riario Girolamo Riario (1443 – 14 April 1488) was Lord of Imola (from 1473) and Forlì (from 1480). He served as Captain General of the Church under his uncle Pope Sixtus IV. He took part in the 1478 Pazzi conspiracy against the Medici, and was ass ...

(the brother of Cardinal Pietro Riario). Girolamo was one of the leading members of the Pazzi Conspiracy against the life of Lorenzo the Magnificent of Florence. Hoping to pacify Milan, Sixtus IV attempted to create Ascanio a cardinal in 1477 but the Sacred College refused to accept him into its ranks.

Episcopate

Nevertheless, Ascanio entered the episcopate when he was appointed

Bishop of Pavia The Diocese of Pavia ( la, Dioecesis Papiensis) is a see of the Catholic Church in Italy. It has been a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Milan only since 1817.Ludovico Sforza at the Congress of Cremona.

Cardinalate

Pope Sixtus IV finally created him cardinal deacon of Ss. Vito e Modesto on 17 March 1484. Ascanio entered

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

on 23 August of the same year. Pope Sixtus had died on 12 August, and the Conclave to elect his successor was about to begin. Cardinal Ascanio's formal ceremony of investiture had not taken place, and some cardinals voiced objections to his participation in the forthcoming

conclave A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a bishop of Rome, also known as the pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Ro ...

. Due to Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia’s intervention, however, Ascanio was received with full cardinalitial rights. Ascanio was given an important assignment by his brother Ludovico, who at the time was Duke of Bari and Regent of Milan. Ascanio and Cardinal Giovanni d'Aragona were to present a formal letter to the Cardinals in Congregation, advising them that Milan opposed the election of Cardinals Barbo, Costa, Cibò, and Savelli. Cibò and Savelli were followers of Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere and his pro-French policy. Unfortunately the letter from Duke Ludovico, sent on 26 August, did not reach their hands in time, otherwise it would have been the earliest known attempt at an ''exclusiva'' (veto) in a papal election. Giovanni Battista Cybo was elected

Pope Innocent VIII Pope Innocent VIII ( la, Innocentius VIII; it, Innocenzo VIII; 1432 – 25 July 1492), born Giovanni Battista Cybo (or Cibo), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1484 to his death in July 1492. Son of th ...

on 29 August 1484. Sforza became administrator of

Novara Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It is ...

from 25 October 1484 to 18 April 1485, occupying the post again in May 1505, a few days before his death on 27 May. As a cardinal, Ascanio's main priority was to reconcile

Ferdinand I of Naples Ferdinando Trastámara d'Aragona, of the Naples branch, universally known as Ferrante and also called by his contemporaries Don Ferrando and Don Ferrante (2 June 1424, in Valencia – 25 January 1494, in Naples), was the only son, illegitimate, of ...

, known as Ferrante, with the Sforza dynasty. A dispute with Cardinal Jean Balue, the French ambassador to the Papal Court, in March 1486 complicated matters. Balue had suggested that Innocent VIII summon

René II, Duke of Lorraine René II (2 May 1451 – 10 December 1508) was Count of Vaudémont from 1470, Duke of Lorraine from 1473, and Duke of Bar from 1483 to 1508. He claimed the crown of the Kingdom of Naples and the County of Provence as the Duke of Calabria 14 ...

to retrieve his rights over the Neapolitan throne – leading to a violent quarrel with Ascanio; to which only the pope could bring a halt. Ascanio was appointed Administrator of the See of Cremona on 28 July 1486 and occupied the post until his death. He also became Administrator of the See of Pesaro in 1487 until May 1491. In his effort to ally

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

with

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

, he received Ferdinand of Capua, Ferrante's grandson, in his palace in Trastevere in May 1492. The banquet organised in honour of the Neapolitan prince was so extravagant and magnificent that, according to Stefano Infessura, ''If I were to give an account, no one would believe me. It is enough that if the King of France or some similar person should visit, nothing more could be provided.'' Ferdinand hoped to arrange a marriage between another of King Ferrante's grandsons, Don Luigi d'Aragona, with a member of Pope Innocent's family, Battistina Cibò. The alliance was hoped to put some distance between Innocent and the French. At the same time, Ferdinand of Capua was seeking to obtain the investiture of Naples from the Pope, thereby solidifying his family's hold on the Kingdom, to the prejudice of

, the French claimant. On 4 June 1492, Pope Innocent issued a bull, determining that King Ferrante would be succeeded by his son Alfonso, and Alfonso by Ferdinand. The French were checked. The Milanese were happy.

Vice-Chancellor

In the

Conclave of August 1492 The 1492 papal conclave (6–11 August) was convened after the death of Pope Innocent VIII (25 July 1492). It was the first papal conclave to be held in the Sistine Chapel. Cardinal Roderic Borja was elected unanimously on the fourth ballot as P ...

, after having accepted that he would not be able to obtain the papal tiara for himself, Ascanio promised his vote to Rodrigo Borgia, then- Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church. Borgia promised Sforza the office of Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church, as well as the Palazzo Borgia. In addition he would receive the castle at Nepi, the Bishopric of Eger (which had an annual income of 10,000 ducats), two canonries, and the office of Prior of a convent in the diocese of Calahorra which was held by Borgia. Borgia was elected to the papal throne partly due to Ascanio's persuasive manner, becoming Alexander VI. He appointed Ascanio his Vice-Chancellor as he had promised, making him the virtual prime minister of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

. Sforza resigned his deaconry of S. Vito e Modesto on 26 August 1492 and opted for it again on 31 January 1495 and occupied it until his death. He was named administrator of the Metropolitan See of

Eger Eger ( , ; ; also known by other alternative names) is the county seat of Heves County, and the second largest city in Northern Hungary (after Miskolc). A city with county rights. Eger is best known for its castle, thermal baths, baroque bu ...

on 31 August 1492, retaining that position until June 1496.Williams, George L., ''Papal Genealogy'', McFarland, 2004
In order to strengthen the relationship between his family and the papal house, Ascanio arranged the marriage of Giovanni Sforza, his cousin and governor of Pesaro, to Lucrezia Borgia, the Pope's illegitimate daughter, in 1493. The marriage was

annulled Annulment is a legal procedure within secular and religious legal systems for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almost ...

in 1497, on grounds of non-consummation.

French invasion

Cardinal Sforza was named Administrator of the diocese of Elne, a suffragan of the diocese of Narbonne in France, in January 1494; on 20 January 1495 Caesare Borgia was appointed Bishop of Elne, and Sforza relinquished the administratorship in May 1495. The friendship between Ascanio and Alexander VI came to an end when the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

invaded

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in September 1494. Aware of Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere’s machinations against him, Alexander decided to resist the French. Ludovico Sforza having secretly allied himself with King Charles VIII of France, Ascanio betrayed the Pope together with several cardinals and clamoured for his deposition under della Rovere. After the papal triumph over the King, Milan abandoned the French and Ascanio was received once again in the Vatican. He never managed, however, to regain his former influence over the Pope. When Giovanni Borgia, the Pope's son, was stabbed in 1497, Ascanio did not attend the following consistory and was accused of the murder. He was immediately absolved, however, by the Pope. When the French again invaded Italy with the support of the Holy See, Ascanio watched his brother Ludovico Sforza's downfall and imprisonment (1500), unable to act. On 15 June 1500, he was taken to France and imprisoned in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

, later at the Tour de Bourges. He was freed on 3 January 1502 based on his promise to not leave France without royal permission. He participated in the Papal conclave, September 1503. He made futile efforts to succeed Alexander VI, fighting against Cardinal della Rovere and Georges d'Amboise, the formal nominee of France. When Pius III (Francesco Piccolomini) died the same month of his coronation, Cardinal Sforza took part in the Papal conclave, October 1503, but Giuliano della Rovere (

Julius II Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or the ...

) was elected nearly unanimously. On 23 May 1505, Cardinal Ascanio attended a Secret Consistory in good health, and went hunting after lunch. On his return he felt ill. He took medicine against the plague, but on Wednesday, 28 May, took to his bed with a cold sweat. The fifty-year-old Ascanio died in Rome, in the house in his garden next to S. Girolamo dei Schiavoni, on 28 May 1505. It was not disappointment, however, that killed Cardinal Ascanio, but the plague (''pestis inguinaria''). He was buried that same evening, with no cardinal and neither Master of Ceremonies being present due to the plague. Julius II commissioned the erection of the Cardinal's tomb in the Cappella Maggiore of Santa Maria del Popolo, with a revealing inscription in which Pope Julius announced that he had forgotten Ascanio's honest opposition ("honestissimarum contentionum oblitus"). The artist was Andrea Sansovino.

The arts

Ascanio's lifelong focus on public affairs distracted his attention from being a patron of the arts. However, he was the one to introduce Josquin des Prez, the most famous musician of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

, to the papal court in 1486. Edward Lowinsky, ''Music in the Culture of the Renaissance, and other essays'' (Chicago: University of Chicago Press 1989), pp. 535-564. He also commissioned the ''Liber musices'' of

Florentius de Faxolis Florentius de Faxolis, in Italian Fiorenzo de' Fasoli ( – 18 March 1496), was an Italian priest and music theorist.Clement A. Miller and Bonnie J. Blackburn, "Florentius de Faxolis", ''Grove Music Online'' (Oxford University Press, 2019 001, re ...

. Strenuous and hard-skinned as a politician, Ascanio preferred gambling rather than studying. He was undoubtedly Machiavellian, but also clear-sighted and intelligent, with haughty spirit and unfinished courage. His political morals were typical of his era and he remained dedicated to his love for Milan and for his family.

Representations in popular culture

Television

* In the 1981 BBC series '' The Borgias'', Cardinal Sforza is played by British actor Clive Merrison. * In the 2011

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global ...

series '' The Borgias'', Cardinal Sforza is played by British actor Peter Sullivan. *In the Canal+ series '' Borgia: Faith and Fear'', Cardinal Sforza is played by English actor Christian McKay.

References and notes

Bibliography

* * Pastor, Ludwig von. ''The History of the Popes, from the close of the Middle Ages'', third edition
Volume V
Saint Louis: B. Herder 1902. * Pastor, Ludwig von. ''The History of the Popes, from the close of the Middle Ages'', second edition
Volume VI
Saint Louis: B. Herder 1902. * *

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sforza, Ascanio 1455 births 1505 deaths Clergy from Cremona Ascanio Sforza 16th-century Italian cardinals Bishops of Pavia 15th-century Italian cardinals 15th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops 16th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops 16th-century deaths from plague (disease) Bishops of Elna