skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Giovanni Visconti (nato circa nel 1290 - morto il 5 ottobre 1354) fu arcivescovo e Signore di Milano ed una delle personalità caratteristiche del Trecento, mecenate fra l'altro del Petrarca. Giovanni Visconti, quale ultimo figlio di Matteo I Visconti e Bonacosa Borri, fu avviato alla carriera ecclesiastica. Giovanni fu eletto arcivescovo dal Capitolo del Duomo di Milano nel 1317. Papa Giovanni XII si rifiutò di confermare l'elezione e nominò invece arcivescovo Aicardo di Comodeia. Nel 1323 Giovanni fu scomunicato e accusato di eresia, ma trovò un alleato nell'antipapa Nicolò V che lo fece nel 1329, cardinale. Giovanni divenne nel 1331 vescovo e signore di Novara e nel 1339 alla morte di Aicardo poté entrare trionfalmente in Milano, della quale sarebbe divenuto Signore con il fratello Luchino Visconti nel 1341, avendone acquistato il titolo del papa per 500'000 fiorini. Nel frattempo nel 1342 papa Clemente VI aveva pure confermato con apposita bolla il suo titolo arcivescovile. Nel 1353 Giovanni fu eletto pure doge di Genova. Giovanni estese il potere dei Visconti fino a Genova nel 1352 e l'anno seguente a Bologna e Novara. Alla sua morte - l'anno seguente - lo Stato milanese fu diviso fra i tre figli di Stefano Visconti: Matteo II, Galeazzo II e Barnabò, che erano già stati associati alla Signoria di Giovanni dopo la morte dell'altro fratello Luchino.
Bianca Maria Visconti (born March 31, 1425 - October 28, 1468[1]) was Duchess of Milan from 1450 to 1468. Born near Settimo Pavese, Bianca Visconti was the illegitimate daughter of Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan and last of the Visconti rulers, and Agnese del Maino, the only person the shy, secluded Filippo ever loved. The couple had a second daughter, called Caterina Maria or Lucia Maria, also born in Settimo in 1426, but she died shortly after her birth [1]. When she was six months old, Bianca and her mother were sent to a castle in Abbiate, where a rich residence had been established for the two of them. The Duke spent much of his time in Abbiategrasso, where he was impressed by Bianca's strong character. Bianca spent her childhood and adolescence in Abbiategrasso, where she received a humanist education. The Ducal library contained a wide variety of works: Latin classics, narrative texts in Provençal and French, scientific and didactical works, as well as texts in Italian and volgare, mainly by Tuscan authors. Both Bianca and her father were passionate hunters and lovers of horses.In 1430, at the age of six, Bianca was betrothed to the condottiero Francesco I Sforza of the House of Sforza, a man twenty-four years older than her. In that year the condotta (contract) between Milan and Sforza came to an end, and the betrothal was a move to keep the powerful general tied with Milan. It has also been suggested that Visconti enticed Sforza with the promise of appointing him as legitimate heir to the Dukedom. The date of the entrance of the new duke and duchess in Milan is disputed: March 25 or March 22. Francesco and Bianca refused the triumphal wagon (they called it superstizione da re, "kings' superstition"), instead reaching the Duomo riding on a couple of horses. It was the first time that a duke's title had been awarded by the citizens of the city. During the first years of their reign, Bianca collaborated with her husband in recovering her father's assets and restoring the Ducal Palace. Francesco was again entangled in a war against Venice. Remaining alone in Milan, Bianca devoted herself to the administration of the Duchy, as attested by the correspondence with her husband, which gives precious insights on the education of their Children, state affairs, the financial difficulties, and details of her daily life. The letters also show the assertive character of Bianca, who did not hesitate to express her opinions even when they differed from her husband's. The letters include also accusations of his extramarital adventures. In 1453 in Pavia, Bianca hosted René I of Naples, who was asked to go to Cremona with his army to fight alongside Sforza. She later showed him the construction site of the large new Castello Sforzesco in Milan.The main problems for Bianca in this period came from their eldest son, Galeazzo Maria, whose unstable and treacherous character created numerous troubles for her. On December 13, 1465, her mother, Agnese del Maino, died. Not much later, on March 8, 1466, Duke Francesco Sforza died also. Bianca quickly took the reins of the duchy and called back Galeazzo Maria, who was fighting alongside the king of France, to succeed as duke. The latter's behavior was initially one of gratitude and deference towards his mother, but soon greed and ruthlessness led him to act independently against Bianca's advice. As time passed, the Duke relegated his mother to an increasingly secondary role and in the end forced her to leave Milan. She then moved to Cremona, her dowry city. According to some sources, she was thinking of giving the control of the city to Venice, and she had frequent contacts with Ferdinand I of Naples, who was aiming to overthrow Galeazzo. Against the advice of all her counsellors, Bianca decided to take part in Galeazzo's marriage on (May 9, 1468). At the end of the feasts she accompanied her daughter Ippolita to Serravalle, whence she set off to Cremona. However, when midway, in Melegnano, she fell ill. A high fever obliged her to stay in bed until August, but she kept up an intense correspondence. At the beginning of October, her condition worsened further. She died on October 28 of that year, after having recommended her younger children, Elisabetta and Ottaviano, to their brother Galeazzo. She was buried in the Duomo of Milan, next to her husband. The funeral oration, commissioned by Galeazzo, was written by the humanist Francesco Filelfo. Her death raised suspicions; Galeazzo Maria Visconti was accused by various men, including Bartolomeo Colleoni, of having poisoned her. It is certain that during her illness, there were in Melegnano certain men close to Galeazzo, some of whom were later involved in other cases of poisoning.[5]. According to Bernardino Corio, Bianca "died of natural ungratefulness more than poison". Bianca bore Francesco Sforza eight children, six sons and two daughters: Galeazzo, Duke of Milan from 1466 to 1476 (when he was assassinated);Ippolita, wife of King Alphonse II of Naples and mother of Isabella of Aragon, who was to marry Galeazzo's heir;Filippo Maria, Count of Corsica;Sforza Maria, Duke of Bari from 1464 to 1479;Lodovico, Duke of Bari from 1479 to 1494 and Duke of Milan from 1494 to 1499;Ascanio, Abbot of Chiaraville, Bishop of Pavia, Cremona, Pesaro, and Novara and Cardinal;Elisabetta, wife of Guglielmo VIII Paleologo, Margrave of Montferrat; andOttaviano, Count of Lugano, who drowned while escaping arrest.
Bianca Maria Visconti with her first-born son Galeazzo Maria as Saint Mary with the child Jesus Christ - she is the grandmother of Isabella of Aragon (from her mother´s side)
Filippo Maria Visconti, who had become nominal ruler of Pavia in 1402, succeeded his assassinated brother Gian Maria Visconti as Duke of Milan in 1412. They were the sons of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Gian Maria's predecessor. From his marriage to Beatrice Lascaris, Countess of Tenda and the unhappy widow of Facino Cane—the condottiere who had fomented strife between the factions of Filippo's elder brother and his mother the regent—Filippo Maria received a dowry of nearly half a million florins; but when Beatrice took too great an interest in affairs of state, he accused her of adultery and had her beheaded at the castle of Binasco in 1418. Cruel, paranoid and extremely sensitive about his personal ugliness, he was nevertheless a great politician, and by employing such powerful condottieri as Carmagnola, Piccinino—who unsuccessfully led his troops at the battle of Anghiari, 1440— and Francesco Sforza, he managed to recover the Lombard portion of his father's duchy. Visconti-Sforza tarot deckThe Devil card is a 20th Century remake of the card missing from the original 15th Century Deck. At the death of Giorgio Ordelaffi, signore of Forlì, he took advantage of his guardianship of the boy heir, Tebaldo Ordelaffi, to attempt conquests in Romagna (1423), provoking war with Florence, which could not permit his ambitions to go uncontested. Venice, urged on by Francesco Bussone da Carmagnola, decided to intervene on the side of Florence (1425) and the war spread to Lombardy. In March 1426 Carmagnola fomented riots in Brescia, which he had conquered for Visconti just five years previously. After a long campaign, Venice conquered Brescia, extending its terra ferma to the eastern shores of Lake Garda. Filippo Maria unsuccessfully sought imperial aid but was constrained to accept the peace proposed by Pope Martin V, favoring Venice and Carmagnola. The terms were grudgingly accepted in Milan and by the emperor; but hostilities were resumed at the first pretext by Filippo Maria, leading to the defeat of Maclodio (12 October 1427), followed by a more lasting peace signed at Ferrara with the mediation of Niccolò III d'Este. The following year the duke married his second wife Maria di Savoia (1411–1469), daughter of Duke Amadeus VIII of Savoy, a potent ally. With Visconti's support, Amadeus reigned briefly as antipope Felix V from November 1439 to April 1449. He invited the famous scholar Gasparino Barzizza to establish a school at Milan. Barzizza also served as his court orator. He died in 1447, the last of the Visconti in direct male line, and he was succeeded in the duchy, after the short-lived Ambrosian republic, by Francesco Sforza, who had married Filippo Maria's only heir, his natural daughter Bianca Maria in 1441.
Visconti-Sforza tarot deck - The Devil card is a 20th Century remake of the card missing from the original 15th Century Deck.
Gian Maria or Giovanni Maria Visconti (September 7, 1388 – May 16, 1412) was the second Visconti Duke of Milan, the son of Gian Galeazzo Visconti and Caterina Visconti. He assumed the title at thirteen, under his mother's regency. The Duchy soon disgregated: among the faviour parties contending its lands, the condottiero Facino Cane prevailed. Taking advantage on Gian Maria's cruelty, he managed to create in him doubts about Caterina, who was imprisoned in Monza, where she died in 1404, most likely by poison. The duke was famous for his dogs, which were trained to slaughter men. In 1408 Gian Maria married Antonia Malatesta, daughter of Carlo I lord of Rimini. A plot by a party of Milanese Ghibellines was raised against the Duke when Facino Cane was ill in Pavia, and assassinated Gian Maria in front of the church of San Gottardo in Milan. The dying Facino had his officers swear to support Filippo Maria, Gian Maria's brother, who in fact succeeded him.
Gian Galeazzo Visconti (November 1351 – September 3, 1402), son of Galeazzo II Visconti and Bianca di Savoia, was the first Duke of Milan (1395)[1] and ruled the late-medieval city just before the dawn of the Renaissance. He was the great founding patron of the Certosa di Pavia, completing at Pavia the palazzo begun by his father and furthering work on the Duomo of Milan. Although most famous as Signore of Milan, Gian Galeazzo was born into the branch of the Visconti that possessed the signoria of the city of Pavia. In 1385 Gian Galeazzo gained control of Milan by overthrowing his uncle Bernabò through treacherous means. His first marriage was to Isabelle de Valois, who brought him the title of comte de Vertus in Champagne, rendered in Italian as Conte di Virtù, the title by which he was known in his early career.[2]A devoted father to his daughter Valentina (wife of Louis, Duke of Orleans and mother of the famous poet, Charles of Orleans), Gian Galeazzo reacted to gossip about Valentina at the French Court by threatening to declare war on France. Galeazzo's role as a statesman also took other forms. Soon after seizing Milan he took Verona, Vicenza, and Padua, establishing himself as Signore of each, and soon controlled almost the entire valley of the Po. He lost Padua in 1390, when it reverted to Francesco Novello Carrara. He received the title of Duke of Milan from Wenceslaus, King of the Romans in 1395 for 100,000 florins. Gian Galeazzo had dreams of uniting all of northern Italy into one kingdom,a revived Lombard empire. The obstacles to his success included Bologna and especially Florence. In 1402 Gian Galeazzo launched assaults upon these cities. The warfare was extremely costly on both sides, but it was universally believed the Milanese would emerge victorious. The Florentine leaders, especially Coluccio Salutati worked successfully to rally the people of Florence, but the Florentines were being taxed hard by famine, disease, and poverty. Galeazzo won another victory over the Bolognese at the Battle of Casalecchio on June 26, 1402. Galeazzo's dreams were to come to naught, however, as he succumbed to a fever at the castello of Melegnano in August 10, 1402. He died on September 3. His empire fragmented as infighting among his successors wracked Milan, partly through his division of his lands among both legitimate and illegitimate heirs.[3] Gian Galeazzo was a complicated man. He spent 300.000 golden florins in attempting to turn from their courses the Mincio from Mantua and the Brenta from Padua, in order to render those cities helpless before the force of his arms. His library, housed in the grandest princely dwelling in Italy, the castello in Pavia, was renowned, and his rich collection of manuscripts, many of them the fruit
s of hi
s conq
uests.
Matteo II Visconti (c. 1319 – September 29, 1355) was co-ruler of Milan together with his brothers Galeazzo II and Bernabò. He was the eldest son of Stefano Visconti and Valentina Doria. In 1342 he married Egidiola di Filippino Gonzaga. His uncle Luchino Visconti exiled him to Montferrat in 1346, but in 1350 returned to Milan. As co-ruler of the duchy after the death of his uncle Giovanni Visconti (1354), Matteo was given Lodi, Piacenza, Parma and Bologna. He died after a dinner in which, according to his mother and others, he had been poisoned by his brothers.
