House of Sforza
The House of Sforza 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
ruled Milan, having acquired the title of Duke of Milan after marrying in 1441 the natural daughter and only heir of the last Duke of Milan, Filippo Maria Visconti, Bianca Maria, 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. The Sforza held Pesaro until 1512, after the death of Costanzo II Sforza.
Muzio's third son, Bosio, 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 between Lucrezia Borgia and Giovanni. 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.
After Imperial German troops drove out the French, Maximilian Sforza, son of Ludovico, became Duke of Milan 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
- 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
- , 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, second wife of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I
- ***son Gian Galeazzo, married Isabella of Naples
- ****son Francesco, nominally duke under the regency of Ludovico Maria
- ****daughter Bona, second wife of King Sigismund I of Poland
- ****daughter Ippolita Maria Sforza
- ***illegitimate daughter Caterina Sforza married Giovanni de' Medici il Popolano
- ***illegitimate son Ottaviano Maria Sforza bishop of Lodi
- **son Ludovico il Moro
- ***son Ercole Massimiliano
- ***son Francesco II Maria
- ***illegitimate daughter Bianca Sforza married to Galeazzo Sanseverino
- ***illegitimate son Giovanni Paolo I, marquess of Caravaggio
- **son Ascanio, Cardinal
- **daughter Ippolita Maria, married king of Alfonso II d'Aragon of Naples
- *son Alessandro, first lord of Pesaro
- **son Costanzo I
- ***son Giovanni, first husband of Lucrezia Borgia
- ****son Costanzo II last ruler of Pesaro
- *Bosio
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 |
In popular culture
- One of the cursed artifacts from ' 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, '.
- 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.