At six o'clock on the evening of the 4th of May the marriage of the Duke was finally celebrated in the hall of the Rocchetta, which was hung with cloth of gold beautifully decorated with garlands of flowers. Among the illustrious guests present were the Cardinal of Mantua, the Legate Caracciolo, Antonio de Leyva, and the chief nobles and senators. The Bishops of Modena and Vigevano chanted the nuptial Mass, and Monseigneur de Praet delivered a lengthy oration, which sorely tried the patience of his hearers. No sooner had he uttered the last words than the Duke took the bride's hand, and brought the ceremony to an abrupt conclusion by leading her into the banquet-hall. There a supper of delicate viands, fruit, and wines, was prepared, and the guests were entertained with music and songs during the evening.[101]
May, 1534] ALFONSO D'ESTE
Letters of congratulation now poured in from all the Courts of Europe. Christina's own relatives—Ferdinand and Anna, the King and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, the King and Queen of Portugal, the Elector of Saxony and the Marquis of Brandenburg—all congratulated the Duchess on her safe arrival and happy marriage; while the Pope, the Doge of Venice, and other Italian Princes, sent the Duke cordial messages. One of the most interesting letters which the bridegroom received was an autograph epistle from his cousin, Bona Sforza, Queen of Poland, who would probably herself have been Duchess of Milan if Massimiliano Sforza had reigned longer. It had been the earnest wish of her widowed mother, Isabella of Aragon, to effect this union, and it was only after the French conquest of Milan in 1515 that her daughter became the wife of King Sigismund. From her distant home Bona kept up an active correspondence with her Italian relatives, and now sent Francesco the following friendly letter:
"Dearest and most illustrious Cousin,
"I rejoice sincerely to hear that your most illustrious wife has reached Milan safely. I feel the greatest joy at your happy marriage, and trust that Heaven will send you a fine son. My husband and children join with me in wishing you every possible happiness.
"Bona, Queen.
"From Cracow, July 15, 1534."[102]
Another of Francesco's illustrious kinsfolk, Alfonso d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, came to Milan in person to offer his congratulations to his nephew, although he preferred to remain incognito, and his name does not figure among the guests who were present at the wedding festivities. But Ferrarese chroniclers record that the Duke went to Milan on the 30th of April, to attend the wedding of Duke Francesco Sforza, who took for wife Madame Christierna, daughter of the King of Dacia, and returned home on the 6th of May.[103] Forty-four years before, Alfonso, then a boy of fourteen, had accompanied his sister Beatrice to Milan for her marriage, and escorted his own bride, Anna Sforza, back to Ferrara. Now his long and troubled life was drawing to a close, and he died a few months after this last journey to Milan, on the 31st of October, 1534. By his last will he left two of his best horses and a pair of falcons to his beloved nephew, the Duke of Milan.[104] Some writers have conjectured that Alfonso brought his favourite painter, Titian, to Milan, and that the Venetian master painted portraits of the Duke and Duchess on this occasion.[105] No record of Titian's visit, however, has been discovered, and he probably painted the portraits of Francesco and Christina from drawings sent to him at Venice.
May, 1534] TITIAN'S PORTRAIT
Titian's friend, Pietro Aretino, was in constant correspondence with Count Massimiliano Stampa, who rewarded his literary efforts with gifts of gold chains, velvet caps, and embroidered doublets. "I shall be clad in your presents all through the summer months," he wrote in a letter, signing himself, "Your younger brother and devoted servant." Aretino was not only profuse in thanks to this noble patron, but sent him choice works of art, mirrors of Oriental crystal, medals engraved by Anichino, and, best of all, a little painting of the youthful Baptist clasping a lamb, "so life-like that a sheep would bleat at the sight of it."[106] The wily Venetian was exceedingly anxious to ingratiate himself with the Duke of Milan, and not only dedicated a "Paraphase" to him on his marriage, but, according to Vasari, painted portraits of both the Duke and Duchess. These pictures were reproduced by Campo in the "History of Cremona," which he published in 1585, while Christina was still living. The portrait of Francesco was at that time the property of the Milanese noble Mario Amigone, while that of Christina hung in the house of Don Antonio Lomboni, President of the Magistrates.[107] This last portrait was afterwards sent to Florence by order of the Grand-Duke Ferdinand, who married the Duchess's granddaughter, Christine of Lorraine.
"I send Your Highness," wrote Guido Mazzenta in January, 1604, "the portrait of the Most Serene Lady, Christina, Queen of Denmark, and grandmother of the Most Serene Grand-Duchess, painted by Titian, by order of Duke Francesco Sforza, when he brought her to Milan as his bride."[108]