It had been Francesco's wish to sleep with his parents in the Church of S. Maria delle Grazie, where the effigies of Lodovico and his lost Beatrice had been carved in marble. But when this became known there was a general outcry. The people would not allow their beloved Duke to be buried anywhere but in the Duomo with the great Francesco and the other Sforza Princes. So it was decided only to bury the Duke's heart in the Dominican church. His body was laid in a leaden casket covered with black velvet, and a wax effigy, wearing the ducal crown and robes, was exposed to public view.
Nov., 1535] FUNERAL RITES
Late on Friday, the 19th of November, an imposing funeral procession passed from the Castello to the Duomo, through the same streets which, only eighteen months before, had been decked in festive array to receive the late Duke's bride. First came the Bishops and clergy with candles and crosses, then the senators, magistrates, and nobles, wearing long black mantles and hoods. After them gentlemen bearing the ducal standard, cap, and baton, and Francesco's sword and helmet, and what moved the spectators more than all, the white mule which he had ridden daily, led by four pages, "looking just as it did when His Excellency was alive, only that the saddle was empty." Then the bier was carried past, under a gold canopy, and the wax effigy of the dead man, was seen clad in gold brocade and ermine, with a vest of crimson velvet and red shoes and stockings. Immediately behind rode the chief mourner, Giovanni Paolo Sforza, followed by Antonio de Leyva, the Imperial and Venetian Ambassadors, the Chancellor Taverna, Count Massimiliano Stampa, and the chief Ministers and officials. After them came a vast multitude of poor, all in mourning, bearing lighted tapers, and weeping as they went. A catafalque, surrounded with burning torches, had been erected in the centre of the Duomo, and here, under a canopy of black velvet, the Duke's effigy was laid on a couch of gold brocade, with his sword at his side and the ducal cap and baton at his feet—"a thing," says the chronicler, "truly marvellous to see."[124]
The next morning the funeral rites were celebrated in the presence of an immense concourse of people, and a Latin oration was delivered by Messer Gualtiero di Corbetta. During three days requiems were chanted at every altar in the Duomo, and the great bell, which had never been rung before, was tolled for the space of three hours, accompanied by all the bells of the other churches in Milan. "And there was no one with heart so hard that he was not moved to tears that day," writes Burigozzo, the chronicler who was a living witness of the love which the citizens bore to their dead Duke.[125] At the end of the week the casket containing Francesco's remains was finally laid in a richly carved sarcophagus, which had been originally intended to receive the ashes of Gaston de Foix, the victor of Ravenna, and which was now placed against the wall of the choir, "for a perpetual memorial in the sight of all Milan."[126]
No one loved the Duke better and lamented his loss more truly than Count Massimiliano Stampa, and Pietro Aretino, who realized this, condoled with his noble friend, and at the same time paid an eloquent tribute to the dead Prince, in the following letter:
"The Duke is dead, and I feel that this sad event has not only taken away all your happiness, but part of your own soul. I know the close intimacy in which you lived, nourished in your infancy at the same breast, and bound together in one heart and soul. But you must take comfort, remembering that His Excellency may well be called fortunate in his end. His wanderings began when he was barely six years old, and he was driven into exile before he was old enough to remember his native land. After so many wars and labours, after experiencing famine and sickness himself, and seeing the cruel misery and affliction endured by his subjects, he lived to see perfect tranquillity restored in his dominions, and to enjoy the passionate affection of all Milan. Now, secure in the friendship of Cæsar and the love of Italy, he has given back his spirit to God who gave it. Rejoice, therefore, and render praise and glory to Francesco Sforza's name, because by his wisdom and virtue he conquered fortune, and has died a Prince on his throne, reigning in peace and happiness over his native land. So, my dear lord, I beg you dry your tears, and meet those who love you as I do with a serene brow. The fame of your learning and greatness is known everywhere. Rise above the blows of fate, and console yourself with the thought of your Duke's blessed end. There lies His Excellency's corpse. Give it honourable burial, and I meanwhile will not cease to celebrate him dead and you who are alive."[127]
FOOTNOTES:
[79] Calendar of Spanish State Papers, ii. 146.
[80] Schäfer, iv. 204, 209.
[81] "Diarii," liii. 231.