Ludovico Sforza Duke of Milan (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. The following is a list of rulers of Milan from the 13th century to 1859 when Milan and the rest of Lombardy were incorporated into the Kingdom of Events 1214 - Battle of Bouvines: In France, Philip II of France defeats John of England. Events 927 - Simeon the Great, Tsar of Bulgaria, dies 1120 - Richard III of Capua is anointed Sforza was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. Milan (Milano Milan (listen) is one of the largest cities in Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Francesco I Sforza ( July 23, 1401 - March 8, 1466) was an Italian Condottiero, the founder of the Sforza dynasty in Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci ( April 15 1452 – May 2 1519 was an Italian Polymath, having been a scientist Mathematician, Engineer It is said that he was called il Moro because of his dark skinned complexion. Complexion refers to the natural color texture and appearance of the Skin, especially that of the face Some scholars believe that the name Moro came from Ludovico's coat of arms, which contained the mulberry tree, but that is doubtful, as the Italian name for that tree is the feminine mora rather than the masculine moro. It should be noted that in Italian "moro", just like "bruno", is just the masculine equivalent of "brunette" ("mora" in italian). Brown hair is the second most common Hair color, with black being the most common So the epithet most likely just refers to Ludovico's jet black hair. An epithet (from Greek ἐπίθετον - epitheton, neut of ἐπίθετος - epithetos, "attributed added" is a
Biography
Ludovico Sforza was born at Vigevano, in what is now Lombardy. Vigevano is a town and commune in the Province of Pavia, Lombardy, northern Italy, which possesses many artistic treasures and runs a huge industrial Lombardy (Lombardia Latin: Langobardia, Western Lombard: Lumbardìa, Eastern Lombard: Lombardia) is one of the
Ludovico married Ercole I d'Este's youngest daughter Beatrice d'Este in January 1491 in a double Sforza-Este marriage. Ercole I d'Este ( October 26, 1431 &ndash June 15, 1505) was Duke of Ferrara from 1471 until 1505 Beatrice d'Este ( June 29 1475 &ndash January 2 1497) duchess of Milan, one of the most beautiful and accomplished princesses Ludovico Sforza married Beatrice d'Este, while Beatrice's brother, Alfonso d'Este, married Anna Sforza, the sister of Gian Galeazzo Sforza. Alfonso d'Este ( 21 July, 1476 &ndash 31 October, 1534) was Duke of Ferrara during the time of the War of the League of Anna Sforza Gian Galeazzo Sforza (also Giovan Galeazzo Sforza) ( June 20, 1469 - October 21, 1494) was the sixth Duke of Milan. Leonardo da Vinci orchestrated the wedding celebration. Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci ( April 15 1452 – May 2 1519 was an Italian Polymath, having been a scientist Mathematician, Engineer
Beatrice and Alfonso’s sister, Isabella d'Este (1475–1497) was married to Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua. Isabella d'Este ( 18 May 1474 &ndash 13 February 1539) was marchesa of Mantua and one of the leading women of the Francesco II (or IV Gonzaga ( 10 august, 1466 &ndash March 29, 1519) was the ruler of the Italian city of Mantua from
Ludovico had many mistresses. Cecilia Gallerani was Ludovico’s favorite mistress. Cecilia Gallerani (1473 &ndash 1536 was one of the mistresses of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan. She gave birth to his child, a son, in the same year as he married Beatrice d'Este. She is thought to be the subject of Leonardo da Vinci’s Lady with an Ermine. The ermine was the heraldic animal of Ludovico il Moro.
On the assassination of Ludovico's elder brother Galeazzo in 1476, the crown passed to his seven-year-old nephew Gian Galeazzo Sforza. Galeazzo Maria Sforza ( January 24, 1444 &ndash December 26, 1476) was Duke of Milan from 1466 until his death Gian Galeazzo Sforza (also Giovan Galeazzo Sforza) ( June 20, 1469 - October 21, 1494) was the sixth Duke of Milan. Ludovico seized control of the government of Milan during Gian Galeazzo's minority despite attempts to keep him out of power. When he/she 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 manipulate the two and reap the rewards himself—thus starting the Italian Wars. Charles VIII, called the Affable (l'Affable 30 June 1470 &ndash 7 April 1498 was King of France from 1483 to his death The Holy Roman Emperor (Römischer Kaiser or Römisch-Deutscher Kaiser Romanorum Imperator was the elected monarch ruling over the many varying numbers of states 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 ( April 5, 1472 &ndash December 31, 1510) was the daughter of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, the Duke of Milan
After first defeating the French at the Battle of Fornovo in 1495 (making weapons from 70 tons of bronze originally intended for a da Vinci statue), Ludovico was later driven from Milan by the new French king, Louis XII in 1499. The Battle of Fornovo took place 30 km southwest of the city of Parma on 6 July 1495. See also Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo da Vinci ( 15 April 1452 – 2 May 1519) was an Italian Renaissance Louis XII ( June 27, 1462 – January 1, 1515) called "the Father of the People" (Le Père du Peuple was the thirty-fifth king In 1500, Louis XII laid siege to the city of Novara, where Ludovico was based. Novara ( Nuara in the local Novarese dialect of Western Lombard) is the capital city of the Province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest The armies of both sides included Swiss mercenaries. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation The Swiss did not want to fight each other and chose to leave Novara. Ludovico was handed over to the French in April 1500 and died as prisoner in the castle of Loches. The Swiss later executed a soldier from Uri called Hans Turmann who had, they claimed, betrayed Ludovico for money. Uri (German) is one of the 26 Cantons of Switzerland. It is located in Central Switzerland.
The Swiss later restored the duchy of Milan to Ludovico's son, Maximilian Sforza. Maximilian (Massimiliano Sforza (1493 - 1530 was a Duke of Milan from the Sforza family the son of Lodovico Sforza. His other son Francesco II also held the Duchy of Milan for a short period; Giovanni Paolo, another Ludovico's son, was a successful condottiero and the first in the family line of the marquesses of Caravaggio. Francesco II Sforza ( February 4 1495 &ndash October 24 1535) also known as Francesco Maria Sforza, was the last Duke of Milan The Duchy of Milan was a state in northern Italy from 1394 to 1797 Giovanni Paolo I Sforza (March 1497 - December 1535 was an Italian Condottiero, the first in the Sforza family line of the Marquesses of Caravaggio. Condottieri (singular condottiero, rarely condottiero) were Mercenary leaders employed by the Italian City-states from the Late Middle Caravaggio (also known locally as Careàs) is a town in the Province of Bergamo, in Lombardy, Italy, 40 kilometres east of Milan.
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| Preceded by Gian Galeazzo Sforza |
Duke of Milan 1494–1499 |
Succeeded by Louis |
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