The House of Sforza () was a ruling family of
Renaissance Italy
The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...
, based in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
. 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 member of the family's main branch in 1535.
History
The first son of
Muzio Attendolo Sforza,
Francesco I Sforza, married
Bianca Maria (1425–1468) in 1441. She was the daughter and only heir of the last
Duke of Milan, (
Filippo Maria Visconti). He thus acquired the title of
Duke of Milan (1450–1466), ruled Milan for 16 years, and made the Sforzas the heirs of the house of Visconti.
The family also held the seigniory of
Pesaro, starting with Muzio Attendolo's second son,
Alessandro
Alessandro is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Alexander. Notable people with the name include:
People with the given name Alessandro
* Alessandro Allori (1535–1607), Italian portrait painter
* Alessandro Baricco ...
(1409–1473). The Sforza held Pesaro until 1512, after the death of
Costanzo II Sforza.
Muzio's third son, Bosio (1411–1476), founded the branch of
Santa Fiora, who held the title of count of
Cotignola; the Sforza ruled the small
county of Santa Fiora in southern
Tuscany
it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman)
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until 1624. Members of this family also held important ecclesiastical and political positions in the
Papal States
The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...
, and moved to Rome in 1674, taking the name of Sforza Cesarini.
The Sforza became allied with the
Borgia family
The House of Borgia ( , ; Spanish language, Spanish and an, Borja ; ca-valencia, Borja ) was an Italian-Aragonese Spanish noble family, which rose to prominence during the Italian Renaissance. They were from Valencia, the surname being a Topony ...
through the
arranged marriage (1493–1497) between
Lucrezia Borgia and
Giovanni (the illegitimate son of
Costanzo I of Pesaro). This alliance failed, as the Borgia family annulled the marriage once the Sforza family were no longer needed.
In 1499, in the course of the
Italian Wars
The Italian Wars, also known as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a series of conflicts covering the period 1494 to 1559, fought mostly in the Italian peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and the Mediterranean Sea. The pr ...
, the army of
Louis XII of France took Milan from
Ludovico Sforza (known as ''Ludovico il Moro'', famous for taking
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...
into his service).
After Imperial
German troops drove out the
French,
Maximilian Sforza
Maximilian Sforza (Italian: ''Massimiliano Sforza''; 25 January 1493 – 25 May 1530) was a Duke of Milan from the Sforza family, the son of Ludovico Sforza. He was installed as a ruler of Milan in 1512 after the capture of Milan by the Holy ...
, son of Ludovico, became Duke of Milan (1512–1515) until the French returned under
Francis I of France
Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin on ...
and imprisoned him.
In 1521
Charles V Charles V may refer to:
* Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558)
* Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain
* Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise
* Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690)
* Infa ...
drove out the French and restored the younger son of Ludovico,
Francesco II Sforza to the duchy. Francesco remained the ruler of Milan until his death in 1535 and as he was childless the Duchy reverted to the Emperor, who passed it to his son
Philip II Philip II may refer to:
* Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC)
* Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor
* Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374)
* Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404)
* Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497)
* Philip ...
in 1540, thus beginning the period of Spanish rule in Milan.
Sforza rulers of the Duchy of Milan
*
Francesco I, 1450–1466
*
Galeazzo Maria, 1466–1476
*
Gian Galeazzo, 1476–1494
*
Ludovico
Ludovico () is an Italian masculine given name. It is sometimes spelled Lodovico. The feminine equivalent is Ludovica.
Persons with the name Ludovico Given name
* Ludovico D'Aragona (1876–1961), Italian socialist politician
* Ludovico Ariosto ...
, 1494–1499
*
Massimiliano, 1513–1515
*
Francesco II, 1521–1535
Sforza rulers of Pesaro and Gradara
*
Alessandro
Alessandro is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Alexander. Notable people with the name include:
People with the given name Alessandro
* Alessandro Allori (1535–1607), Italian portrait painter
* Alessandro Baricco ...
, 1445–1473
*
Costanzo I, 1473–1483
*
Giovanni, 1483–1500 and 1503–1510
*
Costanzo II, 1510–1512
* , 1512
Sforza family tree
*
Muzio Sforza with mistress Lucia da Torsano had 7 illegitimate sons
** son
Gabriele Sforza archbishop of Milan
** son
Francesco I Sforza married
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 du ...
*** son
Galeazzo Maria Sforza
Galeazzo Maria Sforza (24 January 1444 – 26 December 1476) was the fifth Duke of Milan from 1466 until his assassination a decade later. He was notorious for being lustful, cruel, and tyrannical.
He was born to Francesco Sforza, a popul ...
married
Bona of Savoy, mistress
Lucrezia Landriani
Lucrezia Landriani (born c. 1440 – living 17 August 1507) was the mistress of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan, and the mother of his renowned illegitimate daughter, Caterina Sforza, Lady of Imola, Countess of Forlì. Lucrezia had three oth ...
**** daughter
Bianca Maria (1472–1510), second wife of
Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I
**** son
Gian Galeazzo (1469–1494), married his cousin
Isabella of Naples
***** son
Francesco (II), nominally duke under the regency of Ludovico Maria
***** daughter
Bona (1494–1557), second wife of King
Sigismund I of Poland
Sigismund I the Old ( pl, Zygmunt I Stary, lt, Žygimantas II Senasis; 1 January 1467 – 1 April 1548) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until his death in 1548. Sigismund I was a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty, the ...
***** daughter
Ippolita Maria Sforza (1493–1501)
**** illegitimate daughter
Caterina Sforza
Caterina Sforza (1463 – 28 May 1509) was an Italian noblewoman, the Countess of Forlì and Lady of Imola, firstly with her husband Girolamo Riario, and after his death as a regent of her son Ottaviano. Caterina was a noblewoman who lived a li ...
married
Giovanni de' Medici il Popolano
**** illegitimate son
Ottaviano Maria Sforza
Ottaviano Maria Sforza (1475–1545) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Arezzo (1519–1525), Bishop of Lodi (1497–1499, 1512–1519 and 1527–1530), and Titular Patriarch of Alexandria (1541–1545) and Bishop of Terracina, ...
bishop of Lodi
*** son
Ludovico il Moro
Ludovico Maria Sforza (; 27 July 1452 – 27 May 1508), also known as Ludovico il Moro (; "the Moor"). "Arbiter of Italy", according to the expression used by Guicciardini, (the Moor) (1451–1508)
**** son
Ercole Massimiliano
**** son
Francesco II (III) Maria
**** illegitimate daughter
Bianca Sforza (1483–1496) married to Galeazzo Sanseverino
**** illegitimate son
Giovanni Paolo I (1497–1535), marquess of
Caravaggio
*** son
Ascanio (1444–1505), Cardinal
*** daughter
Ippolita Maria (1446–1484), married king of
Alfonso II d'Aragon of
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 ...
*** illegitimate daughter
Polissena (1428-1449), married
Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta
Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta (19 June 1417 – 7 October 1468) was an Italian condottiero and nobleman, a member of the House of Malatesta and lord of Rimini and Fano from 1432. He was widely considered by his contemporaries as one of the mo ...
** son
Alessandro
Alessandro is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Alexander. Notable people with the name include:
People with the given name Alessandro
* Alessandro Allori (1535–1607), Italian portrait painter
* Alessandro Baricco ...
, first lord of
Pesaro
*** son
Costanzo I
**** son
Giovanni (1466–1510), first husband of
Lucrezia Borgia
***** son
Costanzo II (Giovanni Maria) last ruler of Pesaro
** Bosio (count of Cotignola, lord of
Castell'Arquato)
Notable members
Castellini Baldissera
While the House of Sforza has died out over the last century, it is closely related to the
Castellini Baldissera family, who inherited a number of their palazzos and estates.
In popular culture
* One of the cursed artefacts from ''
Friday the 13th: The Series'' was the "Sforza Glove", attributed to the original family's possession.
*
Thomas Harris
William Thomas Harris III (born 1940/1941) is an American writer, best known for a series of suspense novels about his most famous character, Hannibal Lecter. The majority of his works have been adapted into films and television, the most notab ...
's character
Hannibal Lecter
Dr. Hannibal Lecter is a Character (arts), fictional character created by the novelist Thomas Harris. Lecter is a serial killer who Human cannibalism, eats his victims. Before his capture, he was a respected Forensic psychiatry, forensic psychi ...
is a descendant of the House of Sforza.
* In the book, anime, and manga series ''
Trinity Blood
is a series of Japanese light novels written by Sunao Yoshida with illustrations by Thores Shibamoto and originally serialized in ''The Sneaker''. Set 900 years after an apocalyptic war between humans and vampires, the series focuses on the ...
'', the Duchess of Milan, who is also one of the Cardinals, is named
Caterina Sforza
Caterina Sforza (1463 – 28 May 1509) was an Italian noblewoman, the Countess of Forlì and Lady of Imola, firstly with her husband Girolamo Riario, and after his death as a regent of her son Ottaviano. Caterina was a noblewoman who lived a li ...
.
*
Caterina Sforza
Caterina Sforza (1463 – 28 May 1509) was an Italian noblewoman, the Countess of Forlì and Lady of Imola, firstly with her husband Girolamo Riario, and after his death as a regent of her son Ottaviano. Caterina was a noblewoman who lived a li ...
appears as a
non-playable character
A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster ...
in the video game ''
Assassin's Creed 2
''Assassin's Creed II'' is a 2009 action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montréal and published by Ubisoft. It is the second major installment in the ''Assassin's Creed'' series, and the sequel to 2007's ''Assassin's Creed''. The ga ...
'' and its sequel, ''
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood''.
* The Sforza figure prominently in the
Showtime series ''
The Borgias''.
* The house is mentioned in a song about the Borgia family in the British edutainment TV show ''
Horrible Histories
''Horrible Histories'' is an educational entertainment franchise encompassing many media including books, magazines, audio books, stage shows, TV shows, and more.
In 2013, Lisa Edwards, UK publishing and commercial director of Scholastic Corpor ...
''.
* There are notable members from the family in the television series ''
Medici
The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Mu ...
''.
See also
*
Gradara
Gradara is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino ( PU), in the region of Marche in central Italy. It is 6 km from Gabicce Mare and Cattolica, 25 km from Rimini, 15 km from Pesaro and 33 km from Urbino.
The a ...
*
Italian Wars
The Italian Wars, also known as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a series of conflicts covering the period 1494 to 1559, fought mostly in the Italian peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and the Mediterranean Sea. The pr ...
*
List of rulers 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 ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sforza, House Of
Dukes of Milan
Italian noble families
Roman Catholic families