Welcome to the 2nd Sforza Family Thread
"I would save my arms for battles I can win." – Caterina Sforza




They might not be Borgias, but they're still pretty twisted, devious, and badass. This is a thread to discuss this family's role in the series so far and the part they might take as the show continues.

Previous Threads:
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The Sforza coat of arms shows a blue snake with a red Saracen child in its mouth as well an imperial eagle with a golden quince branch. The symbol of the snake can be seen as an heraldic overstatement since the Sforza took the emblem as well as the duchy of Milan from the Visconti. With this they pretend to be something they have no claim to: a distinguished and noble ancestory and genealogical continuity. That is to cover up the fact that the Sforza were actually ursupors.

In reality the Sforza's family tree does not have deep roots. Their progenitor was Giacomo Attendolo (1369-1424) from the small town Cotignola in the Romagna. His mother was a Petrasciani, an important family in the region, and gave her decendents the only touch of class. At the time the Romagna was a popular ground for mercenary recruitment. According to ledgend young Giacomo's path as a warrior was shown to him by a hoe that was stuck in a tree, leading to him to leave his life as a farmer behind to become a soldier. His courage in battle made him a captain at the age of twenty in a group of mercenaries led by the famous Condottiere Alberico da Barbiano. The latter gave him the nickname 'Sforza' because of his boldness. The stem of the word coming from the verb 'sforzare' which means 'to force', 'to apply pressure', 'to compel'. This underlined Giacomo's violent qualities. As he climbed socially and soon commanded his own mercenary unit, 'Sforza' became his trademark and he soon changed his name to Muzio Attendolo Sforza. The following years he served different masters gaining in reputation. His army was practically a family business: His brothers, nephews and sons were taking all the key positions. Even his sister Margherita gained glory in war as one of the first in a line of hands-on militant Sforza women who coined the expression "femmine animose".

Giacomo was married twice and had several mistress, all of which bore him many children. Out of those three family lines were most successful. Francesco (*1401 by his mistress Lucia), Alessandro (*1409 also by Lucia) and Bosio (*1411 by his noble Sienese wife Antonia Salimbeni).


Francesco Sforza (1401-1466)
At the age of sixteen he became a captain in the Sforza army and succeeded his father after his death. He continued his father's war against Braccio da Montone and entered Naples in April 1424 giving it back to its rightful Queen Johanna II. Due to his high military expertise Filippo Maria Visconti, the Duke of Milan, assured his services in 1425. After a series of failed military campaigns Francesco resurrected his image as condottiere by gloriously defeating the Venetians. Now Visconti wanted to bind Sforza to Milan even tighter and promised him marriage to his only (albeit illegitimate) daughter Biancia, who he married in Cremona in 1444. Visconti did not have any other children and therefore no heir, however, that did not mean that Francesco would automatically rule Milan when Bianca's father died in 1447. The Duke of Orléans, son of Valentina Visconti, claimed the duchy, which was corroborated by the will of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Valentia's and Filippo's father. However, the Milanese saw this situation as an opportunity to govern themselves, declaring Milan a republic. A lot of cities that previously belonged to Visconti territory did the same. This was helpful to Francesco who - sent on a mission by the new council - won back those towns one by one, seemingly all for the glory of the republic. The Milanese patricians, without a leader, were soon at each other's throats. Francesco used this to his advantage and was made town lord of Milan in 1450. To emphasis his claims he took on parts of the Visconti coat of arms (the snake with the child). He also continued various building projects his father-in-law had previously started, among them a gigantic castello in the city centre. His chief architect Filarete also designed the Ospedale Maggiore (today not a hospital anymore but part of the university). This charity building was meant to show the common people that he was a benevolent ruler to convince him to abandon the republic once and for all in favour of the Sforza reign. All in all Francesco had 35 children, those by his wife Bianca Visconti however would become the most important.

(1) Ippolita (1445-1488) was an incredibly educated woman, who spoke both Latin and Greek. It is said that Pope Pius II was very impressed by a speech she made at a congress in Mantua. In 1465 she was married to Alfonso of Aragon, son of King Ferrante of Naples.

(2) Galeazzo Maria (1444-1476) succeeded his father as Duke of Milan. He married Bona of Savoy and had a mistress named Lucrezia Landrini. In 1476 he was murdered during mass at San Stefano by conspiritors. This assassination is often seen as an example to the Pazzi's murder attempt of the Medici two years later. Of his legitimate children his son Gian Galeazzo (1469-1494) was meant to be Duke, however he was merely a child at the time. Bona reigned on his behalf until she gave part of the responsibilty away to Francesco's second oldest son Ludovico. This proved to be a fatal mistake as he soon banished her and while his nephew remained Duke, it was him who had all the power. In 1490 Gian Galeazzo married Isabella of Aragon, sister of Sancia Squillace. He would never regain power, his death remains a cause of speculation; some think that he was poisoned by his uncle. His daughter Bona (1493-1557), however, would later become Queen of Poland. For two of Galeazzo's daughters Ludovico arranged impressive marriages: Bianca Maria (1472-1510) became Holy Roman Empress of the German Nations by marrying Maximillian I. and Anna (1476-1497) married Alfonso d'Este (later the husband of Lucrezia Borgia) to secure an allay to Milan in Ferrara. Another marriage contract was still made by Galeazzo Maria himself: His illegitimate daughter Caterina (1463-1509) was married to Girolamo Riario, a nephew of Pope Sixtus IV and captain of the papal armies. As a dowry she got the town of Imola. Sixtus IV had given Girolamo Forlì. However, the couple mainly resided in Rome. Upon Sixtus IV death Caterina took the Castell Sant'Angelo by force and by surprise, threatening the conclave to elect a pope that was Sforza/Riario friendly. After Innocent VIII's election, the couple retreated to Forlì where Girolamo was anything but popular. In 1488 he was killed and hung from his palazzo's window, meanwhile Caterina took over Forlì's citadel. The conspiritors still held her children hostage in the city. She refused to give up the citadel which led to Machiavelli's anecdote that she got up on the walls, raising her skirts and telling them that she was still young enough to have more children. Subsequently, Caterina was reinstated as countess of Forlì which she oversaw on behalf of her eldest son who was not of age yet. That was until 1499 when Cesare Borgia defeated her in a bitter fight and she was taken to Rome as a prisoner. The only one of Caterina's children who gained any kind of importance came from her third marriage to Giovanni di Pierfrancesco de Medici: Giovanni della Bande Nere (1498-1526) established himself as a brutal condottiere and politician in true Sforza tradition. His son from his marriage to Maria Salviati saved the Medici from extinction and indeed they regained power in Florence again for the next two centuries.

(3) Ludovico (1451-1508), after he ousted his sister-in-law Bona, pulled the strings in Milan. Under his reign the city was to become the centre of Renaissance culture. In 1482 he employed Leonardo da Vinci as an engineer, director of festivities and artist. Unlike the Medici in Florence it was not Ludovico's goal to gather literati and philosophers but men with interests in military, technology and sciene like Leonardo da Vinci, the mathematician Luca Pacioli and the architect Donato Bramante. In 1491 he married Beatrice d'Este, daughter of the Duke of Ferrara, in a pompous ceremony. There were three days of tournaments and dancing to which he had Leonardo design costumes and sets. Politically, Ludovico struck a bargain with Maximilian I. who would invest him with the duchy of Milan upon Gian Galeazzo's demise. His luck ran out when the French claimed Milan and formed and alliance with Venice. In 1500 he returned and regained power briefly only to be imprisoned soon after by the French. With him was his brother Ascanio. He never regained his freedom and died in captivity at the palace of Loches in 1508. His two sons (Beatrice died in childbirth) Ercole Massimiliano (1493-1530) and Francesco (1495-1535) would both rule Milan at some point but merely briefly and dependant on foreign protective powers like the Swiss, the Spanish or the French. This marked the end of the Sforza's power in Milan.

(4) Ascanio (1455-1505) was created cardinal deacon Ss. Vito e Modesto on March 17, 1484 by Pope Sixtus IV. Shortly after his death he went to Rome. The formal nomination ceremony had not taken place and some cardinals voiced objections to his participation in the forthcoming conclave. Due to Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia’s intervention however, Ascanio was received with full cardinalitial rights and contributed to the election of Giovanni Cybo as Pope Innocent VIII. Named administrator of Novara (October 25, 1484 - April 18, 1485 and occupied the post again in May 1505, a few days before his death. His main purpose was to reconcile Ferdinand I of Naples with the Sforzas. In March 1486, Ascanio had a dispute with Cardinal Jean Balue, the French ambassador to Rome. The ambassador had suggested that the Pope should summon Rene d'Anjou to retrieve his rights over the Neapolitan throne. Their quarrel became so violent that Pope Innocent VIII, generally hesitant to interfere with his inferiors, ordered them to stop. In his palace at the Piazza Navona, Ascanio built his own court, receiving the intellectuals of the eternal city, among them the composers Josquin Desprez and Serafino Asquilano. In his effort to ally Naples with Milan, Ascanio received Ferdinand of Capua, Ferrante’s grandson, in his palace in Trastevere in May 1492. The banquet organised in honour of the Neapolitan prince was so extravagant and magnificent that, according to Stefano Infessura, if I were to give an account, no one would believe me. n the Conclave of August 1492, after having failed to obtain the tiara for himself, Ascanio promised his vote to Rodrigo Borgia, Vice-Chancellor of the Roman Curia in exchange for Rodrigo’s prestigious association. The latter was elected to the papal throne partly due to Sforza’s persuasive manner, becoming Alexander VI and appointed Ascanio his Vice Chancellor, making him the virtual prime minister of the Holy See. Resigned his deaconry of S. Vito e Modesto on August 26, 1492 and opted for it again on January 31, 1495 and occupied it until his death. Named administrator of the metropolitan see of Eger on August 31, 1492 until June 1497. In order to strengthen the relationship between his family and the papal house, Ascanio arranged the marriage of Giovanni Sforza, his cousin and governor of Pesaro, to Lucrezia Borgia. The friendship between Ascanio and Alexander VI came to a deadlock when the French invaded Italy in September 1494. Ludovico Sforza having secretly allied himself with King Charles VIII of France, Ascanio betrayed the Pope together with several cardinals and clamoured for his deposition. After the papal triumph over the King, Milan abandoned the French and Ascanio was received once again in the Vatican. He never managed however to regain his former influence over the Pope. When the French again invaded Italy with the support of the Holy See, Ascanio watched Ludovico Sforza’s downfall and imprisonment unable to act. On June 15, 1500 he was taken to France and imprisoned in Lyon, later at the Tour de Bourges. He was freed on January 3, 1502 with the promise of not leaving France without royal permission. He participated in the Papal conclave, September 1503, he made futile efforts to succeed Alexander VI, fighting against Cardinal della Rovere and Georges d'Amboise, the formal nominee of France. When Pius III (Francesco Piccolomini) died the same month of his coronation, Cardinal Sforza took part in the Papal conclave, October 1503 and was defeated by Giuliano della Rovere (Julius II) . Vanquished by disappointments, the fifty year old Ascanio died of the plague in Rome, on the May 25, 1505. Julius II, despite their hostilities, commissioned the erection of the Cardinal’s tomb in the Cappella Maggiore of Santa Maria del Popolo.


Alessandro Sforza (1409-1473)
By marrying Constanza da Varano, Alessandro managed to form his own branch of the Sforza dynasty. The marriage made him ascend to town lord of Camerino and shortly after he conquered Pesaro with the help of Frederico da Montefeltro. He supported his brother Francesco with recruits from Pesaro in his attempt to gain power in Milan as well as in his campaign Venice (1452-1454) and Naples (1460-62). Meanwhile he consolidated his power in Pesaro by making improvements to the town and extending his mansion to a ducal palace. He had one illegitimate daughter Ginevra (1440-1507) who he married to a Bentivoglio of Bologna. She was politically and culturally active, becoming the heart of the family of town lords. His legitimate daughter Battista (1446-1472) was said to be incredibly educated and married Frederico da Montefeltro, twenty-five years her senior. She died giving birth to his son Guidobaldo. Her brother Costanzo (1447-1483) became a successful condottiere like his father. He employed the famous architect Luciano Laurana to build a castello. Furthermore he was known to be a patron of the arts, mainly writers. Upon his death he didn't have a legitimate heir. His natural son Giovanni (1466-1510) was however confirmed as vicar of Pesaro. His first marriage was to Maddalena Gonzaga who died in childbirth. Shortly after a glamorous future seemed to appear on the horizon when he married Lucrezia Borgia. However, luck wasn't on his side. After Ludovico's betrayal, Giovanni was no longer politically useful to Alexander VI. Therefore the marriage was dissolved on grounds of impotence in 1497. During Cesare Borgia's campaigns in the Romagna and Marche, Giovanni lost Pesaro but could later regain it. However, upon his death Pesaro reverted to the church. This branch of the Sforza family died out with Giovanni's illegitimate daughter Isabella (1503-1561). She had married a rich Florentine patrician and became an acclaimed author, two of her books were printed by the Venitian printer and publisher Aldo Manuzio. One of the books dealt with the issue of women's rights ("Dello stato femminile").


Bosio Sforza (1411-1476)
He was the legitimate son of Giacomo Sforza and Antonia Salimbeni, like his brothers a successful condottiere. His collateral line, with its dominion in Santa Fiora, Tuscany gained importance through their alliance with the Farnese. Rather than by force he gained his lands by marriage. The first in 1439 was to Cecilia Aldobrandeschi, Countess of Santa Fiora. (The comune was of importance for its mineral wealth in Monte Amiata of cinnabar, from which mercury is derived.) The second in 1464 to Griselde of Capua, daughter of Matteo Acquaviva, Duke of Atri. Bosio's son Guido (1455-1508), Count of Santa Fiora, married a niece of Giulia Farnese, his grandson Bosio († 1435), Alessandro Farnese's (later Pope Paul III) daughter Constanza Farnese. This double enforced relationship brought many benefices: Their son Guido Ascanio (1518-1564) was made a cardinal at age sixteen, Michelangelo desgined his tomb. His younger brother Alessandro (1534-1581) was also made cardinal at an early age and played an important role in the council of Triest. Two other brothers became successful condottiere. The line of the counts of Santa Fiore was continued by Bosio's and Constanza's son Mario who managed to marry into Roman nobility. Henceforth the family became the Cesarini-Sforza, they however decayed from the 17th century onwards, until the territory of Santa Fiora was annaexed to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany by Leopold II.

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Happy thoughts,
Nina

You might want to rethink marrying the lines "Kids are dead! Kids are dead!" ("Happy days are here again.").

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"This is no Chronicle of Saints. Nor yet is it a History of Devils." -
The Life of Cesare Borgia by Sabatini.

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Happy thoughts,
Nina

You might want to rethink marrying the lines "Kids are dead! Kids are dead!" ("Happy days are here again.").

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Cesare a de belles fesses

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Cesare a de belles fesses

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Cesare a de belles fesses