#imediciedit

[hecstia]

[osvaldrps-archived]

Synnove Karlsen as Clarice Orsini on Medici: Masters of Florence, episode 2.03 “Obstacles and Opportunities”

[prideandprejudice]

Lorenzo & Clarice: season 3 (I Medici)

[leto-atreiides]

MEDICI APPRECIATION MONTH | one relationship → Lorenzo de’ Medici and Clarice Orsini | modern setting

[madeforgardens]

You and I could stop a war.

[putalittleloveonme]

[ducavalentinos]

Francesco became duke of Milan in 1450 and showed he was as able a statesman and ruler as he was a military commander. His marriage to Bianca Maria Visconti helped the people of the duchy to accept the Sforzas as legitimate dukes of Milan, and he made effective use of his skilled and devoted officials to impose his authority. With his ally Cosimo de’ Medici of Florence, he played an important role in developing a more stable system of relations between the states of Italy. 

Renaissance and Reformation, James Patrick.

Even more spectacularly successful, and by a wide margin the most feared, was Francesco Sforza. Though not born into a ruling family, he gained admittance to the brotherhood of condottieri while still half-grown by virtue of being the son of one of the leading mercenary commanders of the early 1400s, Muzio Attendolo. In the course of his own impressive career, as a kind of early experiment in branding, this Attendolo had given himself the name Sforza, meaning “force.” Francesco, twenty-three when his father drowned crossing a river during one of their campaigns, took charge of the family business and soon showed himself to be a general of immense courage and rare ability. In the manner of his profession he changed sides whenever it was advantageous to do so, first fighting against Pope Eugenius IV and then contracting to work for him. Later, in the service of Venice, he inflicted a painful defeat on Milan, after which he married the sixteen-year-old only child of Milan’s ruler, the last Visconti duke. When his father-in-law died, Francesco laid claim to the ducal title. To win it he had to fend off challenges from the German emperor (whose fiefdom Milan was), the French duke of Orléans (whose mother was a Visconti), and the military might of Venice. In succeeding he became the only condottiere to found a ruling dynasty.

G.J Meyer, The Borgias: The Hidden History.

The people of Milan, divided, isolated and hungry, were no match for the forces of Francesco Sforza. By the time he reached the outskirts of the city in February 1450, he had already conquered many of the former Visconti possessions, at first in the service of the Milanese themselves, and then on his own behalf. When he entered Milan on 26 February, a new regime began. At first Francesco was mainly occupied with winning acceptance within the Visconti territories and dealing with the Venetians. His aim was to re-establish control over Bergamo and Brescia, as well as Verona and Vicenza. He still had the support of Florence, but Alfonso of Aragon, king of Naples, intent on expanding northwards had broken ranks, joining forces with Venice. War dragged on until 1453, when financial expediency and the capture of Constantinople provided all sides with the occasion for a settlement, Francesco Sforza being forced to cede Bergamo, Brescia, and Crema in the Peace of Lodi in 1454. In 1464, having helped the Genoese free themselves from the French, he was himself elected signore of Genoa. Within the duchy, the new duke was careful to demonstrate continuity with the government of Filippo Maria, reappointing Visconti officials to key positions and re-establishing the Consiglio Segreto and Consiglio di Giustizia. He was fortunate in having the able assistance of his wife Bianca Maria and of his secretary, Cicco Simonetta. By the time of his death on 8 March 1466, Francesco had achieved his main ambition: he had preserved the Visconti inheritance and made it mostly his own. On the other hand, he had signally failed to win the imperial recognition for which he had yearned.

Absolutism in Renaissance Milan: Plenitude of Power Under The Visconti and The Sforza, Jane Black.

[taminoe]

When will I see you again?