Filippo Maria Visconti (3 September 1392 – 13 August 1447) was the duke of
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
from 1412 to 1447. Reports stated that he was "paranoid", but "shrewd as a ruler." He went to war in the 1420s with
Romagna,
Florence
Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025.
Florence ...
, and
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
in the
Wars in Lombardy but was eventually forced to surrender under
Pope Martin V
Pope Martin V (; ; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Oddone Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431. His election effectively ended the We ...
. He would return to war again, where another peace agreement was required to stop the war. He married twice and his second wife was
Marie, whom he married in 1428. Marie was the daughter of his ally
Amadeus VIII. When he died, Fillippo was the last of the Visconti male line and was succeeded by
Francesco Sforza, husband to his natural daughter
Bianca Maria Visconti, birth by his mistress
Agnese del Maino.
Biography
In 1402, when Filippo Maria was ten years old, his father died from plague, and his brother, 14-year-old Gian Maria, became the new Duke of Milan. Their mother Caterina worked for her son.
Gian Maria, however, was through the interference of people close to him. He therefore came to regard Caterina as threat to his power. On 18 August 1404, he had their mother imprisoned at Monza, where she died on 17 October 1404, the death was rumored to be caused by poison.
Filippo Maria Visconti became ruler of
Pavia
Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086.
The city was a major polit ...
in 1402, succeeding his assassinated brother
Gian Maria Visconti as
Duke of Milan in 1412.
After the assassination of Gian Maria (16 May 1412) and her brother Condottiero Faucino Cane, Filippo Maria occupied himself to Condottiero's widow
Beatrice Cane. In doing so, he acquired control over Condottiero's wealth and his armies
urging him to gain control over Milan.
Filippo Maria was the brother of the deceased Gian Maria, the legal heir, as the son of Gian Galeazzo, who had usurped the lordship of Milan by overthrowing and murdering his uncle and father-in-law Bernabo Visconti, known as the maternal grandfather of Filippo Maria. Therefore, his succession to the lordship of Milan was opposed by other people, like his uncle
Estorre Visconti and his cousin Giancarlo Visconti, who was an illegitimate son and legitimate grandson of Bernabo Visconti.
They had support by the Milanese people themselves, just after the death of Gian Maria. They would hold the title until the 16 June of that same year, when Filippo Maria managed to retake the city.
That same year, he confiscated several properties belonging to the Scotti family, including the
Agazzano Castle. From Filippo's marriage to Beatrice Lascaris di Tenda, Countess of
Biandrate and the widow of
Facino Cane—the
condottiere who had power between the factions of Filippo's elder brother and his mother, and Caterina Visconti, the regent—Filippo Maria received half a million
florins; but when Beatrice was interested in the affairs of state, he accused her of adultery and had her beheaded at the castle of
Binasco in 1418.
Despite reports of self-hate, he was purportedly a good
politician
A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
, and by employing ''
condottieri'' to
Carmagnola,
Piccinino—where his troops were stationed at the
Battle of Anghiari, in 1440— and with
Francesco Sforza, he managed to recover the Lombard portion of his father's duchy.
Upon the death of
Giorgio Ordelaffi, lord of
Forlì, he took advantage of his guardianship of the boy heir, Tebaldo Ordelaffi, to attempt conquests in
Romagna (1423), starting a war with
Florence
Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025.
Florence ...
.
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
, urged on by Francesco Bussone da Carmagnola, decided to intervene on the side of Florence (1425) and the war spread to Lombardy. In March 1426 Carmagnola fomented riots in
Brescia
Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...
, which he had conquered for Visconti just five years previously. After a long campaign, Venice conquered Brescia, extending its mainland possessions to the western shores of
Lake Garda
Lake Garda (, , or , ; ; ) is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, between Brescia and Milan to the west, and Verona and Venice to the east. The lake cuts into the edge of the Eastern Alps, Italian Alp ...
. Filippo Maria unsuccessfully sought imperial aid but was constrained to accept the peace proposed by
Pope Martin V
Pope Martin V (; ; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Oddone Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431. His election effectively ended the We ...
, favouring Venice and Carmagnola. The terms were grudgingly accepted in Milan and by the emperor; but hostilities were resumed at the first pretext by Filippo Maria, leading to the defeat of
Maclodio (12 October 1427), followed by a more lasting peace signed at
Ferrara
Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...
with the mediation of
Niccolò III d'Este, Marquis of Ferrara.
The following year the duke married his second wife,
Marie of Savoy, Duchess of Milan
Marie of Savoy (1411–1469) was a Duchess of Milan by marriage to Filippo Maria Visconti.
Biography
Marie was a daughter of Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy (later the Antipope Felix V) and Mary of Burgundy, Duchess of Savoy, Mary of Burgundy. Her ...
, daughter of Duke
Amadeus VIII of Savoy, who was an ally. With Visconti's support, Amadeus reigned as antipope Felix V from November 1439 to April 1449.
He invited the famous scholar
Gasparino Barzizza to establish a school in Milan. Barzizza would also serve as his court
orator
An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled.
Etymology
Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14 ...
.
He died in 1447. He was the last of the Visconti family's in direct male line, and was succeeded in the duchy, after the short-lived
Ambrosian republic, by Francesco Sforza (1401–1466). In 1441, Francesco married Filippo Maria's only heir, his natural daughter
Bianca Maria (1425–1468) by his mistress
Agnese del Maino (1401–1465).
Art
The oldest extant
Tarot decks, then called ''
carte da trionfi'', were probably commissioned by Filippo Maria Visconti.
See also
*
Montechino Castle
*
Wars in Lombardy
*
Vincenzo Bellini's 1833 opera ''
Beatrice di Tenda''
References
Sources
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Visconti, Filippo Maria
1392 births
1447 deaths
15th-century dukes of Milan
Filippo Maria
Burials at Milan Cathedral