House of Sforza

Sforza
Sforza
Country	Italy
Founded	1411
Founder	Muzio Attendolo
Final ruler	Milan: Francesco II (1535) Pesaro: Galeazzo Sforza (1512)
Titles	Duke of Milan; Duke of Bari; Lord of Pesaro; Marquess of Caravaggio; Count of Cotignola; Lord of Castell'Arquato;
Estate(s)	Milan, Pesaro, Gradara
Cadet branches	Illegitimate: House of Sforza-Pesaro (extinct in 1515); House of Sforza-Cotignola (extinct in 1624); House of Sforza-Cesarini;

Sforza (pronounced [ˈsfɔrtsa]) 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 member of the family's main branch in 1535.

History[]

Francesco I Sforza ruled Milan, having acquired the title of Duke of Milan (1450–1466) after marrying in 1441 the natural daughter and only heir of the last Duke of Milan, Filippo Maria Visconti, Bianca Maria (1425–1468), making 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 (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 until 1624. Members of this family also held important ecclesiastical and political positions in the Papal States, and moved to Rome in 1674, taking the name of Sforza Cesarini.

The Sforza became allied with the Borgia family through the arranged marriage (1493–1497) between Lucrezia Borgia and Giovanni (the illegitimate son of Costanzo I of Pesaro).^[1] 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 army of Louis XII of France took Milan from Ludovico Sforza (known as Ludovico il Moro, famous for taking Leonardo da Vinci into his service).

After Imperial German troops drove out the French, Maximilian Sforza, son of Ludovico, became Duke of Milan (1512–1515) until the French returned under Francis I of France and imprisoned him.

In 1521 Charles V 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 in 1540, thus beginning the period of Spanish rule in Milan.

Sforza rulers of the Duchy of Milan[]

Map of Italy in 1494. Insert shows the Duchy of Milan ruled by the Visconti family and inherited by the Sforzas.

Francesco I, 1450–1466
Galeazzo Maria, 1466–1476
Gian Galeazzo, 1476–1494
Ludovico, 1494–1499
Massimiliano, 1513–1515
Francesco II, 1521–1535

Sforza rulers of Pesaro and Gradara[]

Alessandro, 1445–1473
Costanzo I, 1473–1483
Giovanni, 1483–1500 and 1503–1510
Costanzo II, 1510–1512
[it], 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
  - son Galeazzo Maria Sforza mistress Lucrezia Landriani
    - daughter Bianca Maria (1472–1510), second wife of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I
    - son Gian Galeazzo(1469–1494), married 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^[2]
      - daughter Ippolita Maria Sforza (1493–1501)
    - illegitimate daughter Caterina Sforza married Giovanni de' Medici il Popolano
    - illegitimate son Ottaviano Maria Sforza bishop of Lodi
  - son Ludovico il Moro (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
- son Alessandro, 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[]

Name	Portrait	Relationship to the House of Sforza
Muzio Attendolo		Founder of the House of Sforza
Francesco Sforza		Son of Muzio Attendolo, first Sforza ruler of Milan
Bianca Maria Visconti		Wife of Francesco I Sforza
Galeazzo Maria Sforza		Son of Francesco I Sforza and Bianca Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan
Gian Galeazzo Sforza		Son of Galeazzo Maria Sforza
Bona Sforza		Daughter of Gian Galeazzo Sforza and Queen of Kingdom of Poland and Grand Princess of Grand Duchy of Lithuania, as the wife of Sigismund I the Old, King of Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania
Bianca Maria Sforza		Daughter of Galeazzo Maria Sforza and Holy Roman Empress, as the wife of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Anna Sforza		Daughter of Galeazzo Maria Sforza and wife of Alfonso I d'Este Her successor would be the infamous Lucrezia Borgia
Caterina Sforza		Illegitimate daughter of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan
Ludovico Sforza		Son of Francesco I Sforza and Bianca Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan
Beatrice d'Este		Wife of Ludovico Sforza
Maximilian Sforza		Son of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan
Francesco II Sforza		Son of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan
Giovanni Paolo I Sforza		Illegitimate son of Ludovico Sforza, first Marquess of Caravaggio

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.^[3]

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's character Hannibal Lecter is a descendant of the House of Sforza.
In the book, anime, and manga series Trinity Blood, the Duchess of Milan, who is also one of the Cardinals, is named Caterina Sforza.
Caterina Sforza appears as a non-playable character in the video game Assassin's Creed 2 and its sequel, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.^[4]
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.
There are notable members from the family in the Television Series Medici (TV series)

References[]

^ "La Signoria degli Sforza". Gradara.com. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
^ http://www.britannica.com/biography/Sigismund-I-king-of-Poland
^ de Sio, Gian Filippo (March 2019). "Lo sfarzo abituale di una nobile famiglia milanese. Gli eredi Mellerio 1783-1792". Società e Storia (163): 57–89. doi:10.3280/ss2019-163004. ISSN 0391-6987.
^ Miller, Matt (12 October 2010). "The Real Life Characters of Assassin's Creed". Game Informer. Retrieved 18 June 2019.

External links[]

Media related to House of Sforza at Wikimedia Commons

[1] "La Signoria degli Sforza". Gradara.com. Retrieved 2013-04-23.

[2] ttp://www.britannica.com/biography/Sigismund-I-king-of-Poland

[3] Sio, Gian Filippo (March 2019). "Lo sfarzo abituale di una nobile famiglia milanese. Gli eredi Mellerio 1783-1792". Società e Storia (163): 57–89. doi:10.3280/ss2019-163004. ISSN 0391-6987.

[4] Miller, Matt (12 October 2010). "The Real Life Characters of Assassin's Creed". Game Informer. Retrieved 18 June 2019.

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