Portrait of Francesco Sforza,, c. 1460, by Bonifacio Bembo: Sforza insisted on being shown in his worn dirty old campaigning hat. Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan.

Francesco I Sforza (July 23, 1401 - March 8, 1466) was an Italian condottiero, the founder of the Sforza dynasty in Milan, Italy. He was the brother of Alessandro, with whom he often fought. Download high resolution version (670x1057, 120 KB)Francesco Sforza, by Bonifazio Bembo c. ... Download high resolution version (670x1057, 120 KB)Francesco Sforza, by Bonifazio Bembo c. ... The Pinacoteca Brera (Brera Art Gallery) in Milan contains one of the foremost collections of Italian paintings, an outgrowth of the cultural program of the Accademia di Belli Arte (Academy of Fine Arts or Accademia Brera), which shares the site in the Palazzo Brera. ... July 23 is the 204th day (205th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 161 days remaining. ... [edit] Events The Lollards, a religious sect taught by John Wycliffe, were persecuted for their beliefs. ... March 8 is the 67th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (68th in Leap years). ... Events Chimú Empire conquered by troops of the Inca End of term for Regent of Sweden Jöns Bengtsson Oxenstierna. ... Condottieri (singular condottiero) were mercenary leaders employed by Italian city-states from the late Middle Ages until the mid-sixteenth century. ... Sforza was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. ... Country Italy Region Lombardy Province Milan (MI) Mayor Letizia Moratti Elevation 120 m Area 182 km² Population  - Total (as of December 31, 2004) 1,308,311  - Density 6,988/km² Time zone CET, UTC+1 Coordinates Gentilic Milanesi Dialing code 02 Postal code 20100 Patron St. ... Alessandro Sforza (October 21, 1409 - April 1473) was an Italian condottiero and lord of Pesaro, the first of the Pesaro line of the Sforza family. ...

Biography

Francesco was born in San Miniato, Tuscany, one of the seven illegitimate sons of the condottiero Muzio Sforza and Lucia da Torsano. He spent his childhood in Tricarico (in the modern Basilicata), the marquisate of which he had been granted in 1412 by King Ladislas of Naples. In 1418, he married Polissena Ruffo, a Calabrese noblewoman. San Miniato is a small city in Pisa Province in the Region of Tuscany, Italy. ... A flowered corn field in Tuscany. ... Muzio Attendolo Sforza. ... Tricarico, known as città arabo-normanna (arabic-norman town) is a town and comune in the province of Matera, in the Southern Italian region of Lucania (or Basilicata). ... Basilicata is a region in the south of Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Puglia to the east, Calabria to the south, it has one short coastline on the Tyrrhenian Sea and another of the Gulf of Taranto in the Ionian Sea to the south-east. ... King Ladislas of Naples, the Magnanimous (February 11, 1377–August 6, 1414), was King of Naples and titular King of Jerusalem and Sicily, titular Count of Provence and Forcalquier 1386–1414, and titular King of Hungary 1390–1414. ... Calabria, formerly Brutium, is a region in southern Italy which occupies the toe of the Italian peninsula south of Naples. ...

From 1419, he fought alongside his father, soon gaining fame as being able to bend metal bars with his bare hands. He later proved himself to be an expert tactician and very skilled field commander. After the death of his father, he fought initially for the Neapolitan army and then for Pope Martin V and the duke of Milan, Filippo Maria Visconti. After some successes, he fell in disgrace and was sent to the castle of Mortara as a prisoner de facto. He regained his status after a successful expedition against Lucca. Martin V, né Oddone Colonna or Odo Colonna (1368 – February 20, 1431), Pope from 1417 to 1431, was elected on St. ... This page lists rulers of Milan from the 13th century to the present. ... Filippo Maria Visconti Filippo Maria Visconti, (1392–1447), who became nominal ruler of Pavia in 1402, succeeded his assassinated brother Gian Maria Visconti as Duke of Milan. ... Edgardo Mortara was a the victim in a famous and controversial kidnapping. ... Lucca is a city in Tuscany, northern central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plain near (but not on) the Ligurian Sea. ...

In 1431, after a period in which he fought again for the Papal States, he led the Milanese army against Venice; the following year the duke's daughter, Bianca Maria, was bethroted to him. Despite these moves, the wavey Filippo Maria never ceased to be distrustful of Sforza. The allegiance of mercenary leaders was dependent, of course, on pay: in 1433-1435, Sforza led the Milanese attack on the Papal States, but when he conquered Ancona, in the Marche, he changed sides, obtaining the title of vicar of the city directly from Pope Eugene IV. In 1436-39, he served variously both Florence and Venice. The Papal States (Gli Stati della Chiesa or Stati Pontificii, States of the Church) was one of the major historical states of Italy before the boot-shaped peninsula was unified under the Piedmontese crown of Savoy (later a republic). ... Venice (Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venexia) is the capital of the region of Veneto and the province of the same name in Italy. ... Bianca Maria Visconti, heiress of the Duchy of Milan, with her first-born son Galeazzo as Saint Mary with the child Jesus Christ Bianca Maria Visconti (born March 31, 1425 near Settimo Pavese, died October 28, 1468 in Melegnano) was the illegitimate daughter of Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan... Ancona is a city and a seaport in the Marche, a region of northeastern Italy, population 100,507 (2001). ... This article is about the Italian region. ... Eugenius IV, né Gabriel Condulmer (1383 - February 23, 1447) was pope from March 3, 1431 to his death. ... Florences skyline Florence (Italian: ) is the capital city of the region of Tuscany, Italy. ...

In 1440, his fiefs in the Kingdom of Naples were occupied by King Alfonso I, and, to recover the situation, Sforza reconciled himself with Filippo Visconti. On October 25, 1441, in Cremona, he could finally marry Bianca Maria. In the following year, he allied with René of Anjou, pretender to the throne of Naples, and marched against southern Italy. After some initial drawbacks, he defeated the Neapolitan commander Niccolò Piccinino through the help of Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta (who had married his daughter Polissena) and the Venetians, and could return to Milan. The Kingdom of Naples was born out of the division of the Kingdom of Sicily after the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. ... Alfonso V of Aragon (also Alfonso I of Naples) (1396 – June 27, 1458), surnamed the Magnanimous, was the King of Aragon and Naples and count of Barcelona from 1416 to 1458. ... October 25 is the 298th day of the year (299th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This page is about the year 1441. ... Cremona is a city in Northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left shore of the Po river in the middle of the Pianura padana (Po valley). ... René dAnjou, René I of Naples (René I the Good, French Le bon roi René) (January 16, 1409–July 10, 1480), was Duke of Anjou, Count of Provence (1434–1480), Count of Piedmont, Duke of Bar (1430–1480), Duke of Lorraine (1431–1453), King of Naples (1438–1442; titular... Portrait Niccolò Piccinino (1386 - 1444), Italian condottiere, born at Perugia, was the son of a butcher. ... Portrait of Sigismondo Malatesta in a portrait by Piero della Francesca Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta (1417 – 1468) (the wolf of Rimini) was lord of Rimini, Fano, and Cesena from 1432. ...

Sforza later found himself warring against his son Francesco (whom he defeated at the Battle of Montolmo in 1444) and, later, the alliance of Visconti, Eugene IV, and Sigismondo Malatesta, who had allegedly murdered Polissena. With the help of Venice, Sforza was again victorious and, in exchange for abandoning the Venetians, received the title of capitano generale (commander-in-chief) of the Duchy of Milan's armies.

After the duke died without a male heir in 1447, fighting broke out to restore the so-called Ambrosian Republic. Sforza received the seigniory of several cities of the duchy, including Pavia and Lodi, and started to carefully plan the conquest of the ephemeral republic, allying with William VIII of Montferrat and (again) Venice. In 1450, after years of famine, riots raged in the streets of Milan and the city's senate decided to entrust to him the dukeship. It was the first time that such a title was handed over by a lay institution. The following year Sforza obtained also official ordination from the king of Germany, Frederick III. The short-lived Ambrosian Republic of Milan (1447 – 1450) was declared upon the death of the last of the Visconti dukes of Milian, Filippo Maria Visconti, in a sanguine moment hopeful of reviving the medieval rights of the comune, and named for St. ... Church San Michele in Pavia The Old Bridge (Ponte Vecchio) on the Ticino river is a symbol of Pavia Pavìa (the ancient Ticinum) (population 71,000) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its... Lodi (pronounced LOW-die) is the name of several places and a dynasty in India: in the United States of America: Lodi, California Lodi, New Jersey Lodi (village), New York Lodi (town), New York Lodi, Ohio Lodi, New Jersey Lodi, Wisconsin Lodi (town), Wisconsin Lodi Township, Michigan Lodi Township, Minnesota... William VIII Palaiologos (July 19, 1420 - February 27, 1483) was the Marquess of Montferrat from 1464 until his death. ... The following list of German Kings and Emperors is one of several Wikipedia lists of incumbents. ... Detail of Aeneas Piccolomini Introduces Eleonora of Portugal to Frederick III by Pinturicchio (1454-1513) Frederick III of Habsburg (Innsbruck, September 21, 1415 – August 19, 1493 in Linz) was elected as German King as the successor of Albert II in 1440. ...

Under his rule (which was moderate and skillful), Sforza modernised the city and duchy. He created an efficient system of taxation that generated enormous revenues for the government, his court became a center of Renaissance learning and culture, and the people of Milan loved him. In Milan, he founded the Ospedale Maggiore, restored the Palazzo dell'Arengo, and had the Naviglio d'Adda, a channel connecting to the Adda River, built. Raphael was famous for depicting illustrious figures of the Classical past with the features of his Renaissance contemporaries. ... Adda (anc. ...

During Sforza's reign over Milan, Florence was under the command of Cosimo de' Medici and the two rulers became close friends. This friendship eventually manifested in the Peace of Lodi, an alliance between Florence and Milan that succeeded in stabilising almost all of Italy for its duration. After the peace, Sforza renounced part of the conquests in eastern Lombardy obtained by his condottieri Bartolomeo Colleoni, Ludovico Gonzaga, and Roberto Sanseverino after 1451. As King Alfonso of Naples was among the signatories of the treaty, Sforza also abandoned his long support of the Angevin pretenders to Naples. He also aimed to conquer Genoa, then an Angevin possession: when a revolt broke out there in 1461, he had Spinetta Campofregoso elected as Doge, as his own puppet, of course. Sforza occupied Genoa and Savona until 1464. Jacopo Pontormo: Cosimo de Medici, 1518-1519 Cosimo di Giovanni de Medici (September 27, 1389 – August 1, 1464), was the first of the Medici political dynasty, rulers of Florence during most of the Italian Renaissance; also known as Cosimo the Elder (il Vecchio) and Cosimo Pater Patriae. ... Peace of Lodi - A peace agreement signed at Lodi, Italy between Milan and Venice on April 9, 1454. ... Bartolomeo Colleoni (1400-1475), Italian condottiere (soldier of fortune), was born at Bergamo. ... Andrea Mantegna: Ludovico Gonzaga, 1474. ... Angevin (IPA: ) is the name applied to the residents of Anjou, a former province of the Kingdom of France, as well as to the residents of Angers. ... Country Italy Region Liguria Province Genoa (GE) Mayor Giuseppe Pericu (since 2005-05-30) Elevation 20 m Area 243 km² Population  - Total (as of 2006) 620,316  - Density 2,553/km² Time zone CET, UTC+1 Coordinates Gentilic Genovesi Dialing code 010 Postal code 16100 Frazioni Acquasanta, Vesima Patron St. ... Flag of Genoa. ... Country Italy Region Liguria Province Savona (SV) Mayor Federico Berruti Elevation m Area 65 km² Population  - Total (as of December 12, 2004) 61,742  - Density 921/km² Time zone CET, UTC+1 Coordinates Gentilic Savonesi Dialing code 019 Postal code 17100 Frazioni Lavagnola, Légino, Zinola, Santuario Patron Our Lady...

Sforza suffered of hydropsy and gout. In 1462 rumours spread that he was dead and a riot exploded in Milan. He however survived for four years, dying in the March of 1466. Edema (American English) or oedema (British English), formerly known as dropsy or hydropsy, is swelling of any organ or tissue due to accumulation of excess lymph fluid, without an increase of the number of cells in the affected tissue. ...

Culture

Francesco is mentioned several times in Niccolò Machiavelli's book The Prince; he is generally praised in that work for his ability to hold his country and as a warning to a prince not to use mercenary troops. Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (May 3, 1469 – June 21, 1527) was a political philosopher, musician, poet, and romantic comedic playwright. ... Il Principe (The Prince) is a political treatise by the Florentine writer Niccolò Machiavelli, originally called De Principatibus (About Principalities). ... A mercenary is a soldier who fights or engages in warfare primarily for private gain, usually with little regard for ideological, national, or political considerations, however, when the term mercenary is used to refer to a soldier of a national, regular army, it usually is an insult, epithet or pejorative. ...

He was a moderate patron of the arts. The main humanist of his court was the writer Francesco Filelfo. Francesco Filelfo (July 25, 1398 - July 31, 1481), was an Italian Renaissance humanist. ...

See also

• Bianca Maria Visconti
• Condottieri
• Duchy of Milan
• Alessandro Sforza
• Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta

Bianca Maria Visconti, heiress of the Duchy of Milan, with her first-born son Galeazzo as Saint Mary with the child Jesus Christ Bianca Maria Visconti (born March 31, 1425 near Settimo Pavese, died October 28, 1468 in Melegnano) was the illegitimate daughter of Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan... Condottieri (singular condottiere) were mercenary leaders employed by Italian city-states from the late Middle Ages until the mid-sixteenth century. ... The Duchy of Milan was a state in northern Italy from 1395 to 1797. ... Alessandro Sforza (October 21, 1409 - April 1473) was an Italian condottiero and lord of Pesaro, the first of the Pesaro line of the Sforza family. ... Portrait of Sigismondo Malatesta in a portrait by Piero della Francesca Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta (1417 – 1468) (the wolf of Rimini) was lord of Rimini, Fano, and Cesena from 1432. ...

References

• Rendina, Claudio (1994). I capitani di ventura. Netwon Compton.