Ludovico Sforza (Ludovico il Moro, "The Moor") (July 27, 1452–May 27, 1508), a member of the Sforza dynasty of Milan, Italy, was the second son of Francesco Sforza, and was famed as patron of Leonardo da Vinci and other artists. July 27 is the 208th day (209th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 157 days remaining. ... Events October - English troops under John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, land in Guyenne, France, and retake most of the province without a fight. ... May 27 is the 147th day (148th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 218 days remaining. ... Events February - Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor attacks Venice June 6 - Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three year truce and cede several territories to Venice December 10 - League of Cambrai formed as an alliance against Venice between... Sforza was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. ... Location within Italy Piazza della Scala Milan (Italian: Milano; Milanese dialect: Milán) is the main city in northern Italy, and is located in the plains of Lombardy, the most populated and developed of Italian regions. ... Portrait of Francesco Sforza, ca 1460, by Bonifazio Bembo: Sforza insisted on being shown in his worn dirty old campaigning hat. ... Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo da Vinci (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519) was an Italian Renaissance architect, musician, anatomist, inventor, engineer, sculptor, geometer, and painter. ...

On the assassination of Ludovico's elder brother Galeazzo in 1476, the crown passed to his seven-year-old nephew Gian Galeazzo Sforza. Ludovico seized control of the government of Milan during Gian Galeazzo's minority despite attempts to keep him out of power. Galeazzo Maria Sforza (January 24, 1444 – December 26, 1476) was Duke of Milan. ... Events March 2 - Battle of Grandson. ...

When Gian Galeazzo died in 1494, Ludovico received the ducal crown from the Milanese nobles on October 22. The same year he simultaneously encouraged the French under Charles VIII of France, and the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian I, to become involved in Italian politics, hoping to control the two and reap the rewards himself—so starting the Italian Wars. Events January 25 - Alfonso II becomes King of Naples. ... October 22 is the 295th day of the year (296th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 70 days remaining. ... Charles VIII of France (June 30, 1470–April 7, 1498; French: Charles VIII de France), nicknamed the Affable (lAffable), was King of France from 1483 to his death. ... The Holy Roman Emperor was, with some variation, the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, the predecessor of modern Germany, during its existence from the 10th century until its collapse in 1806. ... Portrait by Albrecht Dürer, 1519 (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna). ... The Italian Wars were a series of wars from 1494 to 1559 for control over the States of Italy, mainly involving France and Spain, but also involving most other European states, and the imprisonment for several months of Pope Clement VII. They started with the plotting of Ludovico Sforza of...

Things did not go as planned, and finding his own position endangered by the French, he joined the league against Charles VIII, giving his niece Bianca in marriage to Maximilian I and receiving in return imperial investiture of the duchy. Bianca Maria Sforza ( Milan, April 5, 1472 – December 31, 1510 in Innsbruck) was the daughter of Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza of Milan. ... Portrait by Albrecht Dürer, 1519 (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna). ...

After first defeating the French at the Battle of Fornovo in 1495 (making weapons from 70 tons of Bronze, originally set aside for a Leonardo da Vinci statue), Lodovico was later driven from Milan by the new French king, Louis XII in 1499, and although reinstated for a short time by the Swiss he was eventually delivered over by them to the French (April 1500) and died a prisoner in the castle of Loches. The Battle of Fornovo took place in July 1495 during the Italian Wars. ... Events February 22 - King Charles VIII of France enters Naples to claim the citys throne. ... Louis XII Louis XII the Father of the People (French: Louis XII le Père du Peuple) (June 27, 1462 - January 1, 1515) was King of France from 1498-January 1, 1515. ... Events July 22 - Battle of Dornach - The Swiss decisively defeat the Imperial army of Emperor Maximilian I. July 28 - First Battle of Lepanto - The Turkish navy wins a decisive victory over the Venetians. ... // Events Europes population was ~60 million. ...

This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain. The Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1911) in many ways represents the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

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