The House of Sforza

Sforza was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan, who acquired the Duchy of Milan following the extinction of the Visconti family in the mid-fifteenth century. The house was founded by Francesco I Sforza (1401 – 8 March 1466), who along with Cosimo de Medici the elder was a member of the Order of the Crescent, founded by René of Anjou, a purported Grand Master of the Priory of Sion. Francesco I ruled Milan, having acquired the title of Duke of Milan (1450–1466) after marrying in 1441 Bianca Maria, the natural daughter and only heir of the last Duke of Milan, Filippo Maria Visconti (1392 – 1447), making the Sforzas the heirs of the House of Visconti. Francesco I Sforza and his father-in-law Filipo Maria Visconti, commissioned the Visconti-Sforza tarot decks, the oldest surviving tarot cards, later adapted and popularized by the Golden Dawn.

The Sforza became allied with the Borgia family through the arranged marriage (1493–1497) between Lucrezia Borgia and Giovanni, the illegitimate son of Costanzo I of Pesaro. In 1499, in the course of the Italian Wars, the army of Louis XII of France took Milan from Ludovico Sforza (known as Ludovico il Moro, famous for taking Leonardo da Vinci into his service. Ludovico was also Grand Master of the Order of the Fleur de Lys, also founded by René of Anjou. In 1491, Ludovico married Beatrice d'Este, the youngest daughter of Ercole d'Este Duke of Ferrara, in a double-marriage, while Beatrice's brother, Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, married Anna Sforza, Ludovico's niece. Leonardo da Vinci orchestrated the wedding celebration. Beatrice and Alfonso's sister, Isabella d'Este (1474–1539) was married to Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua.

After Imperial German troops drove out the French, Maximilian Sforza (1493 – 1530), son of Ludovico, became Duke of Milan until the French returned under Francis I of France, Grand Master of the Order of the Golden Fleece, and imprisoned him. In 1521, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, drove out the French and restored the younger son of Ludovico, Francesco II Sforza (1495 – 1535) 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.

• Francesco I Sforza (Order of the Crescent and in 1480 with the death of Rene d’Anjou, became head of the Order of the Fleur de Lys, supported by Cosimo de Medici) + Bianca Maria Visconti (d. of Filippo Maria Visconti, who commissioned the Visconti-Sforza tarot, the first Tarot deck)

  • Galeazzo Maria Sforza + Lucrezia Landriani

    • Caterina Sforza (devoted to alchemy) + Giovanni de' Medici il Popolano

      • Giovanni delle Bande Nere + Maria Salviati

        • Cosimo I de' Medici (Order of the Golden Fleece, also interested in alchemy) + Eleanor of Toledo

          • Lucrezia, Duchess of Modena + Alfonso II d'Este (ally of Rudolf II)

    • Carlo Sforza + Bianca Simonetta

      • Ippolita Sforza + Alessandro Bentivoglio

        • Violante Bentivoglio + Giovanni Paolo I Sforza (see below)

  • Galeazzo Maria Sforza + Bona of Savoy (d. of Louis, Duke of Savoy and Anne de Lusignan of Cyprus)

    • Gian Galeazzo Sforza + Isabella of Naples (great-granddaughter of Alfonso V of Aragon, member of Order of the Dragon)

      • Bona Sforza + Sigismund I the Old (Order of the Golden Fleece)

        • Sigismund II (employed jester Jan Stanczyk) + Barbara Radziwiłł (accused of promiscuity and witchcraft)

          • Sigismund II Augustus

        • Anna Jagiellon + Stephen Báthory (sponsor of John Dee and uncle of Elizabeth Báthory, the “Blood Countess”)

        • Catherine Jagiellon + John III of Sweden

          • Sigismund III Vasa (from whom the Vasa kings of Poland were descended. Raised by Jesuits, sponsored alchemist Sendivogius)

    • Bianca Maria Sforza + Philibert I, Duke of Savoy

    • Bianca Maria Sforza + Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor

    • Anna Sforza + Alfonso I d’Este

  • Ludovico Sforza (commissioned The Last Supper, Grand Master of the Order of the Fleur de Lys) + Beatrice d’Este (double-wedding with Anna Sforza + Alfonso I d’Este orchestrated by Leonardo da Vinci)

  • Ludovico Sforza + Lucrezia Crivelli

    • Giovanni Paolo I Sforza + Violante Bentivoglio (see above)

      • Muzio I Sforza di Caravaggio + Faustina Sforza di Santa Fiora

        • Francesco I Sforza di Caravaggio + Colonna Sforza (patrons of artist Caravaggio)