House of Sforza
 |
|
| Country | Italy |
|---|---|
| Ancestral house | House of Visconti (through Bianca Maria Visconti) |
| Titles |
|
| Founder | Muzio Attendolo |
| Final sovereign |
Milan:
Francesco II (1535)
Pesaro:
Galeazzo (1519) |
| Current head | Extinct |
| Founding | 1447 |
| Deposition |
Milan:
1500: Italian Wars
Pesaro:
1519: Death of Galeazzo
Two Sicilies:
1624 |
| Cadet branches |
Illegitimate
|
Sforza was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan.
Contents |
[edit] History
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The dynasty was founded by Muzio Attendolo (1369–1424), called Sforza (from sforzare, to exert or force), a condottiero from Romagna serving the Angevin kings of Naples. He was the most successful dynast of the condottieri.
His son Francesco I Sforza ruled Milan for the first half of the Renaissance era, acquiring the title of Duke of Milan from the extinct Visconti family in 1447.
Rising from peasant origins, the Sforzas became condottieri and used this military position to become rulers in Milan. The family governed by force, ruse, and power politics, similar to the Medici in Florence. Under their rule the city-state flourished and expanded. The family also held the seigniory of Pesaro, starting from Muzio Attendolo's second son, Alessandro (1409–1473). The Sforza held Pesaro until 1519, with the death of Galeazzo. 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 position in the Papal States, and moved to Rome in 1674.
The Sforza would later join with the Borgia Family, through the arranged marriage of Lucrezia Borgia to Giovanni (the illegitimate son of Costanzo I of Pesaro[1]).
Ludovico Sforza (also known as Ludovico il Moro, famous also for taking Leonardo da Vinci at his service) was defeated in 1500 by the French army of Louis XII of France - see also Italian Wars.
After the French were driven out by Imperial German troops, Maximilian Sforza, son of Ludovico, became Duke of Milan, until the French returned under Francis I of France and imprisoned him.
[edit] Sforza rulers of Duchy of Milan
- Francesco I 1450–1466
- Galeazzo Maria 1466–1476
- Gian Galeazzo 1476–1494
- Ludovico 1494–1499
- Ludovico (restored) 1500
- Massimiliano 1512–1515
- Francesco II 1521–1535
[edit] Sforza rulers of Pesaro and Gradara
[edit] Sforza family tree
- Muzio Sforza with mistress Lucia da Torsano had 7 illegitimate sons
- 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
- illegitimate daughter Caterina Sforza married Giovanni de' Medici il Popolano
- son Giovanni dalle Bande Nere married Maria Salviati
- son Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany married Eleanor of Toledo
- son Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany married Archduchess Joanna of Austria (1547–1578)
- daughter Marie de' Medici married Henry IV of France
- daughter Henrietta Maria of France married Charles I of England
- son Charles II of England mistress Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth
- son Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond married Anne Brudenell
- son Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond married Sarah Lennox, Duchess of Richmond and Lennox
- son General Lord George Lennox married Lady Louisa Kerr
- son Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond married Lady Charlotte Gordon
- son Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond married Lady Caroline Paget
- daughter Lady Cecilia Catherine Gordon-Lennox married Charles Bingham, 4th Earl of Lucan
- daughter Rosalind Cecilia Caroline Bingham (1869–1958) married James Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn
- daughter Cynthia Spencer, Countess Spencer married Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer
- son John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer married Frances Shand Kydd
- daughter Diana, Princess of Wales married Charles, Prince of Wales
- son John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer married Frances Shand Kydd
- daughter Cynthia Spencer, Countess Spencer married Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer
- daughter Rosalind Cecilia Caroline Bingham (1869–1958) married James Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn
- daughter Lady Cecilia Catherine Gordon-Lennox married Charles Bingham, 4th Earl of Lucan
- son Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond married Lady Caroline Paget
- son Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond married Lady Charlotte Gordon
- son General Lord George Lennox married Lady Louisa Kerr
- son Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond married Sarah Lennox, Duchess of Richmond and Lennox
- son Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond married Anne Brudenell
- son Charles II of England mistress Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth
- daughter Henrietta Maria of France married Charles I of England
- daughter Marie de' Medici married Henry IV of France
- son Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany married Archduchess Joanna of Austria (1547–1578)
- son Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany married Eleanor of Toledo
- son Giovanni dalle Bande Nere married Maria Salviati
- son Ludovico il Moro (the Moor) (1451–1508)
- son Ercole Massimiliano
- son Francesco II (III) Maria
- 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 Galeazzo Maria Sforza mistress Lucrezia Landriani
- son Alessandro, first lord of Pesaro
- son Costanzo I
- son Galeazzo, last Sforza ruler of Pesaro
- son Giovanni (1466–1510), first husband of Lucrezia Borgia
- Bosio (count of Cotignola, lord of Castell'Arquato)
- son Francesco I Sforza married Bianca Maria Visconti
[edit] Notable members
[edit] In popular culture
- One of the cursed artifacts 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 anime, manga and book series Trinity Blood, one of the Cardinals and Duchess of Milan 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.
- The Sforza figure prominently in the Showtime series on the Borgia family
