House of Sforza: Difference between revisions

''':Cadet branches:'''

* Prince of [[Genzano di Roma|Prince of Gengazano]]

* [[Onano|Duke of [[Onano]]

* [[Castell'Arquato|Marquess of [[Castell'Arquato]]

* Marquess of [[Caravaggio, Lombardy|Marquess of Caravaggio]]

* [[Celano|Count of [[Celano]]

* Count of [[Borgonovo Val Tidone|Count of Borgonovo]]

* House of Sforza-CesariniDemartini}}

The '''House of Sforza''' ({{IPA-|it|ˈsfɔrtsa|pronlang}}) was a ruling family of [[Renaissance Italy]], based in [[Milan]]. TheySforza acquiredrule began with the family's acquisition of the [[Duchy of Milan]] following the extinction of the [[Visconti of Milan|Visconti family]] in the mid-15th century, Sforzaand rule ending in Milanended with the death of the last member of the family's main branch, [[Francesco II Sforza]], in 1535.

The first son of [[Muzio Attendolo Sforza]], [[Francesco I Sforza]], married [[Bianca Maria Visconti|Bianca Maria]] (1425–1468) in 1441.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Muzio Attendolo Sforza |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG185699 |website=[[British Museum]]}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Mila, Leonardo and the Sforza Family |url=https://cenacolovinciano.org/en/story/milano-leonardo-and-the-sforza/ |website=Cenacolo Vinciano (Last Supper Museum)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Bianca Maria Sforza |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/786269 |website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art}}</ref> She was the daughter and only heir of the last [[Duke of Milan]], ([[Filippo Maria Visconti]]).<ref name=":0" /> 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 Sforza|Alessandro]] (1409–1473).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alessandro Sforza, 1409-1468, Lord of Pesaro 1445 [reverse], 1475 |url=https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.44485.html |website=[[National Gallery of Art]]|date=1475 }}</ref> The Sforza held Pesaro until 1512, after the death of [[Costanzo II Sforza]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Eiche |first=Sabine |date=May 1985 |title=Towards a Study of the 'Famiglia' of the Sforza Court at Pesaro |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/i40136077 |journal=Renaissance and Reformation }}</ref>

In 1521 [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|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 of Spain|Philip II]] in 1540, thus beginning the period of Spanish rule in Milan.

* [[Francesco II Sforza|Francesco II]], 1521–1535<ref name="CAR">{{cite book |last=Cartwright |first=Julia |title=Beatrice d'Este, Duchess of Milan, 1475–1497: A Study of the Renaissance |year=1899 |place=Hallandale}}</ref>

* {{ill|Galeazzo Sforza (Pesaro)|it|lt=Galeazzo}}, 1512<ref name=":1" />

* [[Muzio Sforza]] with mistress Lucia da Torsano had 7 illegitimate sons<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mulazzani |first=Germano |date=May 1971 |title=Observations on the Sforza Triptych in the Brussels Museum |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/876636 |journal=[[The Burlington Magazine]] |volume=113 |issue=818|pages=252–253 |jstor=876636 }}</ref>

***** daughter [[Bona Sforza|Bona]] (1494–1557), second wife of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania [[Sigismund I the Old|Sigismund I of Poland]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/biography/Sigismund-I-king-of-Poland|title = Sigismund I &#124; king of Poland &#124; Britannica}}</ref>

*** illegitimate daughter [[Polissena Sforza|Polissena]] (1428-14491428–1449), married [[Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta]]

|[[Bianca Maria Visconti]]||[[ImageFile:biancamatiBonifacio Bembo, Ritratto di Bianca Maria Visconti, Chiesa di Sant’Agostino a Cremona. - копия.jpg|100px229x229px]]|| Wife of [[Francesco I Sforza]]

|[[Galeazzo Maria Sforza]]||[[ImageFile:GiangaleazzosketchPiero Pollaiuolo Portrait of Galeazzo Maria Sforza.jpg|100px152x152px]]|| Son of [[Francesco I Sforza]] and [[Bianca Maria Visconti]], Duke of Milan

|[[Gian Galeazzo Sforza]]||[[ImageFile:GianniDavinciWorkshop of Benedetto Briosco, Gian Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan, early 1490s, NGA 128.jpg|100px100x100px]]||Son of [[Galeazzo Maria Sforza]]

|[[Bona Sforza]]||[[Image:Caraglio Cameo of Bona Sforza.jpg|100px]]||Daughter of [[Gian Galeazzo Sforza]]<br> and Queen of [[Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)|Kingdom of Poland]] and Grand PrincessDuchess of [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]], <br>as the wife of [[Sigismund I the Old]], King of [[Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)|Kingdom of Poland]] and [[Grand Duke of Lithuania|Grand Duke]] of [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]]

|[[Anna Sforza]]||[[Image:Anna Maria Sforza.jpg|100px]]|| Daughter of [[Galeazzo Maria Sforza]] and wife of [[Alfonso I d'Este]]<br>Her successor would be the infamous [[Lucrezia Borgia]]

|[[Caterina Sforza]]||[[ImageFile:CattysporjaItalia, caterina riario di forlì, riproduzione della medaglia del 1488 ca.jpg.JPG|100px100x100px]]|| Illegitimate daughter of [[Galeazzo Maria Sforza]], Duke of Milan

|[[Ludovico Sforza]]||[[ImageFile:LudosporjailmoroLudovico Sforza by G.A. de Predis (Donatus Grammatica).jpg|100px151x151px]]|| Son of [[Francesco I Sforza]] and [[Bianca Maria Visconti]], Duke of Milan

|[[Beatrice d'Este]]||[[ImageFile:BettyesteMiniatura sporjawifedi Beatrice d'Este contorno ritagliato.jpg|100px102x102px]]|| Wife of [[Ludovico Sforza]]

|[[Giovanni Paolo I Sforza]]||[[File:Giovanni Paolo Sforza with the Sforza symbol.jpg|100px]]||Illegitimate son of [[Ludovico Sforza]], first Marquess of [[Caravaggio, Italy|Caravaggio]]

While the House of Sforza has died out over the last{{specify}} century, it is closely related to the [[Castellini Baldissera]]|Castellini Baldissera family]], who inherited a number of their palazzos and estates.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=de Sio|first=Gian Filippo|date=March 2019|title=Lo sfarzo abituale di una nobile famiglia milanese. Gli eredi Mellerio 1783-1792|journal=Società e Storia|issue=163|pages=57–89|doi=10.3280/ss2019-163004|s2cid=187172458|issn=0391-6987}}</ref>

* [[Caterina Sforza]] appears as a [[non-playable character]] in the video game ''[[Assassin's Creed 2]]'' and its sequel, ''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2010/10/12/the-real-life-characters-of-assassin-s-creed.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101015054754/http://gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2010/10/12/the-real-life-characters-of-assassin-s-creed.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 15, 2010 |title=The Real Life Characters of Assassin's Creed |first=Matt |last=Miller |date=12 October 2010 |access-date=18 June 2019 |magazine=[[Game Informer]]}}</ref>

* There are notable members from the family in the Televisiontelevision Seriesseries ''[[Medici (TV series)|Medici]]''.