Gian Galeazzo Sforza (20 June 1469 – 21 October 1494), also known as Giovan Galeazzo Sforza, was the sixth
Duke of Milan.
Early life
Born in
Abbiategrasso
Abbiategrasso, formerly written Abbiate Grasso. (local lmo, Biegrass ; lmo, label= Milanese, Biaa ), is a ''comune'' and town in the Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy, situated in the Po valley approximately from Milan and ...
, he was only seven years old when in 1476 his father,
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 ...
, was assassinated and he became the
Duke of Milan. His uncle,
Ludovico Sforza, acted as regent to the young duke, but quickly wrested all power from him and became the
de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
ruler of Milan. Ludovico imprisoned Gian Galeazzo and later became the duke after Gian Galeazzo's death, which was widely viewed as suspicious.
Marriage and issue
In February 1489, Gian Galeazzo married his cousin Princess
Isabella of Naples
Isabella of Aragon (2 October 1470 – 11 February 1524), also known as Isabella of Naples, was by marriage Duchess of Milan and ''suo jure'' Duchess of Bari.
A member of the Neapolitan branch of the House of Trastamara, her life was charact ...
. Together they had four children:
*
Francesco Sforza
Francesco I Sforza (; 23 July 1401 – 8 March 1466) was an Italian condottiero who founded the Sforza dynasty in the duchy of Milan, ruling as its (fourth) duke from 1450 until his death. In the 1420s, he participated in the War of L'A ...
(1491–1512)
*
Ippolita Maria Sforza
Ippolita Maria Sforza (18 April 1445 – 20 August 1488) was an Italian noblewoman, a member of the Sforza family which ruled the Duchy of Milan from 1450 until 1535. She was the first wife of the Duke of Calabria, who later reigned as King Alfo ...
(1493–1501)
*
Bona Sforza (1494–1557); married
Sigismund I of Poland
*Bianca Maria Sforza (posthumously 1495–1496)
Death
In 1491 Ludovico Sforza had Gian Galeazzo Sforza and his wife
Isabella of Aragon transferred to the
Visconti Castle 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 ...
and where they created a brilliant court. Gian Galeazzo died in 1494 in the Visconti Castle, the summer home of the Visconti and Sforza families. During that time, he received a visit from
Charles VIII of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. According to the Italian historian
Francesco Guicciardini
Francesco Guicciardini (; 6 March 1483 – 22 May 1540) was an Italian historian and statesman. A friend and critic of Niccolò Machiavelli, he is considered one of the major political writers of the Italian Renaissance. In his masterpiece, ''Th ...
in his ''History of Italy'' ( it, La Historia di Italia), he was poisoned by his uncle,
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 rumor was widespread that Giovan Galeazzo's death had been provoked by immoderate coitus; nevertheless, it was widely believed throughout Italy that he had died not through natural illness nor as a result of incontinence, but had been poisoned … one of the royal physicians … asserted that he had seen manifest signs of it. Nor was there anyone who doubted that if it had been poison, it had been administered through his uncle Ludovico Sforza's machinations …
Ancestry
Notes and references
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sforza, Gian Galeazzo
1469 births
1494 deaths
People from Abbiategrasso
Gian Galeazzo
Gian Galeazzo
Medieval child rulers
15th-century Italian nobility