For four years Sforza encountered the enmity of Venice, until the Peace of Lodi in 1454 put an end to their languid warfare. He governed Milan during sixteen years with prudence and moderation; and, already possessed of a splendid territory, he wisely abstained from risking his possessions by any wanton aggression upon the other states. He availed himself, however, of the internal commotions of Genoa, who in 1435 had revolted from Filippo Visconti, and now again placed herself under the dominion of Milan. He maintained the respect of the Italian, as well as foreign powers; rendered himself generally acceptable to his people; and peaceably transmitted his duchy to his posterity. In that age of treachery and perfidy, the means by which he had obtained his power left no stigma on his reputation; it was sufficient that his bad faith and dissimulation had been crowned with success.
Court Costume of a Young Italian Nobleman, Fifteenth Century
On the death of Francesco Sforza, in 1466, he was succeeded by his eldest son Galeazzo Maria, a compound of ambition, lust, and cruelty. Contrary to the wishes of her brother Amadeus IX, duke of Savoy, he had espoused Bona, daughter of Duke Louis, and sister of Charlotte married to Louis XI, king of France. But the nuptial tie placed no restraint on his disorderly life; the dwellings of his subjects were perpetually invaded by his illicit passions, and the honour of many noble families was violated by his amours. His savage disposition made him no less odious; and he delighted in aggravating the punishment of death by wanton and refined tortures. At length three young men of noble birth united in the design of destroying the tyrant. Carlo Visconti, Girolamo Olgiato, and Andrea Lampugnano had been educated under the same master, and imbibed, with the love of liberty, the dangerous lesson that the assassination of a tyrant confers immortal fame. Their patriotism, however, was not unmixed with personal motives, for all had been privately injured by the object of their vengeance. The bloody deed was accomplished on the festival of St. Stephen; Galeazzo fell beneath the daggers of the conspirators, as he entered the church of the Martyr between the ambassadors of Mantua and Ferrara. In the general confusion Olgiato effected his escape; but the other two were instantly put to death by the multitude. Nor did Olgiato long elude the pursuit of justice. His father, in horror at his guilt, refused him admission within his doors; and after a short concealment in the house of a friend he was dragged to execution, and died exulting in his ill-gained immortality.
The conspirators had believed that Milan would approve their murderous act, and rejoice in her liberation. But an indolent submission possessed the minds of the people, and the vices of their oppressor appear to have been forgotten in the emotions produced by his miserable fate. The young son of the murdered duke was quietly acknowledged as his successor; and as Gian Galeazzo Maria had only attained his eighth year, his mother, Bona of Savoy, was recognised as regent during his minority. Aided by her minister and favourite, Cecco Simonetta, the duchess soon found herself sufficiently strong to counteract the sinister machinations of her husband’s brothers, who were anxious to wrest the government out of her hands. Sforzino, duke of Bari, Lodovico Sforza, surnamed Il Moro, the Moor, Ottaviano, and the cardinal Ascanio were compelled to quit Milan—the first being banished to his duchy, the second to Pisa, and the cardinal to Perugia; whilst Ottaviano, in attempting his escape, was drowned in the river Adda.[c]
FOOTNOTES
[16] It will be of aid to have a list of the kings of Naples and Sicily, and of the tyrants of Milan, presented here as a guide to the text.
Kings of Naples and Sicily (1309-1496 A.D.).—Naples (House of Anjou); 1309, Robert (The Wise); 1343, Joanna I; 1382, Charles III; 1386, Ladislaus; 1414, Joanna II.
Sicily (House of Aragon); 1337, Pedro II, king of Sicily; 1342, Louis; 1355, Frederick III; 1377, Maria; 1402, Martin I, king of Aragon; 1409, Martin II, king of Aragon; 1412, Ferdinand, king of Aragon; 1416, Alfonso I, king of Aragon.
Naples and Sicily (House of Aragon); 1435, Alfonso I, king of Aragon; 1458, Ferdinand I, king of the Two Sicilies; 1494, Alfonso II; 1495, Ferdinand II; 1496, Frederick II.