Francesco Maria Sforza (30 January 1491 – 1512), nicknamed ''il Duchetto'' ("The Little Duke"), was the only son of Gian Galeazzo Sforza, the sixth

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 his wife, Isabella of Naples. After the untimely death in 1494 of Francesco's father at the age of 25, his father's uncle, Ludovico Sforza, took over as Duke of Milan. Francesco was Count of

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the cap ...

from 1491 to 1499. In the latter year, as French troops conquered

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 ...

during the Italian War of 1499–1504, he was carried to France by King

Louis XII Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his 2nd cousin once removed and b ...

. Francesco died falling from a horse at

Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; oc, Engoleime) is a commune, the prefecture of the Charente department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Angoumoisins'' o ...

in 1512.

See also