Bona Sforza
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| Bona Sforza | |
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| Coronation | 18 April 1518 |
| Spouse | Sigismund I the Old |
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| Isabella, Queen of Hungary Sigismund II of Poland Anna I of Poland Catherine, Queen of Sweden |
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| House | House of Sforza |
| Father | Gian Galeazzo Sforza |
| Mother | Isabella of Naples |
| Born | 2 February 1494 Vigevano, Italy |
| Died | 7 November 1558 (aged 64) Bari, Italy |
| Burial | Basilica di San Nicola, Bari |
Bona Sforza d'Aragona (2 February 1494 – 7 November 1558) was a member of the House of Sforza who in 1518 became the second wife of Sigismund I of Poland.
When her mother Isabella of Naples died in 1524, Bona succeeded to the titles Duchess of Bari and Princess of Rossano. She also became the holder of the Brienne claim to the title of King of Jerusalem.
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[edit] Biography
Bona was born in Vigevano, daughter of Gian Galeazzo Sforza of Milan and Isabella of Naples. She was the niece of Bianca Maria Sforza, who in 1493 married Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. She was named after her grandmother, Bona of Savoy.
Bona married King Sigismund I of Poland in 1518 and was crowned Queen of Poland in Wawel Cathedral, Kraków, on 18 April. As niece of the empress, was a patron of Renaissance culture, which thanks to her, began to further flourish in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. She is also considered to have influenced the Polish and Lithuanian cuisines, having introduced many new dishes to the Commonwealth.
Upon her husband's death, she sided with many in Catholic Poland in opposing her son King Sigismund II Augustus' marriage to the Lithuanian Calvinist, Barbara Radziwiłł, and was suspected, without evidence, of having poisoned the new queen, who died shortly after her coronation.
In 1556, she returned to Bari, Italy where she was poisoned by her private secretary Gian Lorenzo Pappacoda. Pappacoda was acting on behalf of King Philip II of Spain, who wished to avoid repaying his sizable debts to the Polish queen.
She was succeeded by her three children. Her only surviving son, Sigismund August Jagellon, became the king of Poland. After her brother's death, Anna the Jagiellonian was elected King of Poland in the second election for the king, and ruled Poland with her elected husband king Stephen Bathory. The title of King of Jerusalem passed to the youngest daughter Catherine Jagellonica, Queen of Sweden, who passed it on to her son, also elected King Sigismund III Vasa of Poland.
[edit] Children
Bona and Sigismund I of Poland had six children:
- Isabella (18 January 1519 – 15 September 1559), was a Queen of Hungary, wife of John Zápolya,
- Sigismund Augustus (1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572), was a King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania,
- Sophia (13 July 1522 – 28 May 1575), was a Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg, wife of Henry V, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg,
- Anna (18 October 1523 – 9 September 1596), elected King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, wife of Stefan Batory,
- Catherine (1 November 1526 – 16 September 1583), was a Queen of Sweden and Grand Duchess of Finland, wife of John III of Sweden,
- Wojciech Olbracht, born and died 20 September 1527.
[edit] Ancestors
[edit] Gallery
 Queen Bona as a widow |
 Queen Bona's gardens at the Wawel Castle |
 Castle in Bari, where she died in 1557 |
[edit] See also
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bona Sforza |
[edit] External links
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Bona Sforza
Born: 2 February 1494 Died: 19 November 1557 |
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| Preceded by Barbara Zápolya |
Queen consort of Poland 1518-1548 |
Succeeded by Elisabeth of Austria |
