Amidst these disasters, the young duke, now fast attaining his majority, evinced a fierceness and brutality of disposition which detached from him the last remnant of his adherents. Amongst his favourite diversions was the pastime of beholding his well-trained bloodhounds lacerate the limbs of those subjects who incurred his displeasure; and his repeated barbarities grew past endurance. At length a conspiracy was set on foot for his destruction; and during mass in the church of St. Gothard he was despatched by two blows. After his murder a struggle prevailed between his brother Filippo Maria and Astorre, the natural son of Barnabò Visconti, whose intrepidity caused him to be styled “the soldier without fear.” His efforts, however, to supplant the legitimate heir were unavailing; whilst defending the citadel of Monza his leg was shattered by a stone; and his death, which immediately ensued, left Filippo Maria in undisputed possession of the poor remains of his father’s once extensive dukedom (1412).
Filippo Maria Visconti
It was the good fortune of the new duke to retain amongst his commanders Francesco Bussone, surnamed Carmagnola; and by the skill and prowess of this renowned general many of the lost territories of Milan were rapidly recaptured. Bergamo, Piacenza, Como, and Lodi were again annexed to the duchy; Cremona, Parma, Brescia, Crema, and Asti once more submitted; and Genoa yielded to the arms of Carmagnola. These signal services were rewarded by the duke with wealth and honours; who united the meritorious warrior to one of his natural daughters, and even adopted him as his successor in the dukedom, by the name of Francesco Visconti.
His well-earned trophies, however, were not long to be worn by the gallant Carmagnola. Every day proved to him that, having reached the highest point in his sovereign’s favour, the fickleness or jealousy of the duke forbade him to look for a continuance of his regard. Without being able to ascertain the cause of his disgrace, he found himself deprived of his command, and even excluded from the ducal presence; and he indignantly quitted the court of Milan, denouncing vengeance on the ungrateful Filippo. As Venice was now in league with Florence and some less considerable states, in order to check the increasing power of the duke, Carmagnola offered his services to the Venetian government, and was entrusted with the command of the allied army. The capture of Brescia and other considerable cities soon reduced the duke to alarming extremities, and he was happy to purchase a respite from this ruinous warfare by ceding Bergamo and great part of the Cremonese to Venice. But the good fortune of Carmagnola forsook him in a new campaign against his former master; he received a complete overthrow by the Milanese troops under Niccolo Piccinino, a defeat which was rendered doubly disastrous by its mainly contributing to the discomfiture of the Venetian fleet two days afterwards. Whilst the Venetian galleys were attacked in the Po by those of Milan, the defeated general, encamped on the neighbouring shore, was repeatedly summoned to the assistance of his naval colleague. But though Carmagnola was still at the head of a considerable armament he made no effort to accede to the call; and under the eyes of the troops of Venice their fleet was entirely destroyed, with the loss of eight thousand prisoners (1431).
After a short peace, the restless and ambitious spirit of the duke of Milan again agitated Italy; and the papal dominions, as well as those of Florence, were the objects of his rapacity. After ravaging Romagna and defeating the Florentines at Anghiera, the Milanese general Piccinino was recalled into Lombardy once more to the attack of Venice. But besides her trusty general Gattamelata, the republic had secured the services of Francesco Sforza, son of Giacomuzzo, the favourite of Joanna II, queen of Naples. Francesco, endowed with the military talents of his father, after leading the forces of the duke of Milan, saw reason to abandon his patron, and devoted himself to the service of Venice. He was now opposed to Piccinino, his former companion in arms, and the annals of Italy are swelled with the splendid exploits of these great commanders. But the genius of Sforza, if not superior to, was at least more fortunate than that of his rival; and his glory was completed by a triumphant campaign, in which he discomfited Piccinino and rescued Verona and Brescia from the hands of Filippo. During a short interval of peace the duke of Milan diligently laboured to recover the friendship of Sforza, who was won over by the offer of Cremona and the hand of Bianca, the natural daughter of Filippo. But the latter years of this inconstant prince were spent in turmoil and distraction, and his new son-in-law became the object of his bitterest persecution. Again reconciled to the duke, and again exposed to his malice, Sforza still had good reason for preserving his connection with Milan, since Filippo had no legitimate issue, and his marriage with Bianca encouraged hopes of his succession to the duchy. At the close of his life the duke again invoked the aid of Sforza against the Venetians, and immediately afterwards terminated his tumultuous reign.
With him ended the dynasty of the Visconti in Milan. Without possessing the personal courage which distinguished many of his family, Filippo Maria Visconti was endowed with no common share of that keenness and subtlety which are frequently more efficacious than wisdom and valour. He has been praised for the clemency and generosity with which he treated his prisoners—no inconsiderable merit in an age full of perfidy and cruelty, when, the gates of the prison once closed upon the captive, his fate remained matter of doubt and secrecy. We have already seen his extraordinary moderation, when Alfonso of Aragon and his noble companions were led prisoners to Milan; nor are there wanting other examples of the magnanimous conduct of Filippo. But a dark stain rests upon his fame, from his unfeeling treatment of his duchess Beatrice, whose alliance and ample fortune had rendered him the most signal service, when in the outset of his reign he was beset by poverty and threatened with expulsion from his paternal inheritance. An improbable accusation of adultery with one of his domestics stretched the devoted victims on the rack; and condemned by the ravings of her imputed paramour the duchess suffered an ignominious death. In the last moments of her life Beatrice maintained a calmness which can seldom be commanded by guilt, and died with such solemn assertions of her innocence as seem to have convinced all save her obdurate husband (1418).
The House of Sforza
[1432-1447 A.D.]
Though the Milanese had long acquiesced in the hereditary succession of the Visconti, Sforza beheld his hopes endangered by the spirit of liberty which now prevailed in Milan. The late duke left no less than four wills, each constituting a different successor, and bequeathing the duchy according to the momentary dictates of his capricious temper. By one of these, Bianca, the wife of Sforza, was declared his heir; but the people rejected this attempt to dispose of them and the state, and with loud shouts of “liberty!” opposed the pretensions of Francesco. Despairing of present success, Sforza wisely resolved to temporise, and his views were soon favoured by the proceedings of Venice. Anxious to enrich herself with the spoils of Milan, that republic immediately commenced aggressions on the Milanese territory, and Sforza was called upon by the citizens to lead their army against the invaders. But while Sforza affected to defend the interests of Milan, he secretly negotiated with Venice; and at length, renouncing his allegiance to the Milanese, attacked their domains, and with the aid of the Venetians carried his conquests to the very gates of the city. In the height of his success Sforza found his prospects endangered by the perfidious policy of his ally. The senate, alarmed at his approaching power, now thought fit to intimate the necessity of suffering Milan to remain free under its new republican government, and even entered into a treaty with the Milanese for the preservation of their liberty and territory. The genius of Sforza triumphed in this emergency; he baffled the confederate hostility of Venice and Milan; and by a strict blockade of the city reduced the citizens to the last stage of famine. Within the walls a considerable party was ready to surrender into his hands; and the populace, maddened by hunger, anxiously besought their rulers to capitulate. An insurrection of a few plebeians drove the regents from the palace; and Sforza was received into the city with a burst of enthusiasm which saluted him by the title of duke of Milan.
[1447-1476 A.D.]