Alessandro Sforza (21 October 1409 – 3 April 1473) was an Italian condottiero and lord of Pesaro, the first of the Pesaro line of the

Sforza The House of Sforza () was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. They acquired the Duchy of Milan following the extinction of the Visconti family in the mid-15th century, Sforza rule ending in Milan with the death of the last me ...

family.

Biography

He was born in Cotignola in 1409, an illegitimate son of the famous condottiero Muzio Attendolo Sforza. Alessandro collaborated actively with his brother

Francesco Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name " Francis", is the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Francesco * Francesco I (disambiguation), sev ...

in his military campaign, and with him he conquered

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, Alessandria and Pesaro. In 1435, at Fiordimonte, he won the battle in which the riotous

Niccolò Fortebraccio Niccolò Fortebraccio (1375–1435), also known as Niccolò della Stella, was an Italian condottiero. Born in Sant'Angelo in Vado, he was the son of Stella, sister of Braccio da Montone. His half-brother Oddo and his cousin Carlo were also condo ...

was killed. In 1442 at Assisi he commanded the troops besieged by

Pope Eugene IV Pope Eugene IV ( la, Eugenius IV; it, Eugenio IV; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 3 March 1431 to his death in February 1447. Condulmer was a Venetian, and ...

's condottiero

Francesco Piccinino 260px, Latin epitaph of Francesco Piccinino. Francesco Piccinino (c. 1407 – 16 October 1449) was an Italian condottiero. He was the adopted son of the condottiero Niccolò Piccinino, (1386-1444), making him the adopted brother of Jacopo P ...

. He was forced to leave the city, abandoning the city to ravages and massacres. In 1444 he obtained the lordship of Pesaro by Galeazzo Malatesta. Here he enlarged the Ducal Palace to conform it to the Renaissance standards. During the

Wars in Lombardy The Wars in Lombardy were a series of conflicts between the Republic of Venice and the Duchy of Milan and their respective allies, fought in four campaigns in a struggle for hegemony in Northern Italy that ravaged the economy of Lombardy and ...

in support of Francesco he presided

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...

and, in February 1446, he proclaimed himself lord of the city. After Francesco's conquest of the Duchy of Milan, the

Peace of Lodi Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

(1454) confirmed him in Parma. In 1464 he obtained by

Pope Pius II Pope Pius II ( la, Pius PP. II, it, Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini ( la, Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus, links=no; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August ...

the seigniory of

Gradara Gradara is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino ( PU), in the region of Marche in central Italy. It is 6 km from Gabicce Mare and Cattolica, 25 km from Rimini, 15 km from Pesaro and 33 km from Urbino. The a ...

, which he defended by the Malatesta attempts of reconquest. He died in 1473 from an attack of

apoplexy Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...

. His son

Costanzo Costanzo is an Italian given name, translated from the Latin name Constantius. It is also used as an, originally patronymic, surname. It may refer to: People with the surname Costanzo * Alessandra Costanzo *Alfredo Costanzo *Angelo Costanzo * Blak ...

succeeded him in Pesaro.

Family

He married Costanza Varano (1428–1447), the daughter of Pietro Gentile I da Varano, on 8 December 1444. She died while bearing Costanzo. The following year he married to Sveva da Montefeltro (1434–1478), daughter of

Guidantonio da Montefeltro Guidantonio da Montefeltro (1377 – February 1443) was count of Urbino in Italy from 1403 until his death. In 1403, at the death of his father Antonio, Guidantonio inherited the family lands in the region of Italy called the Marche. Later he aba ...

, count of

Urbino Urbino ( ; ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of F ...

. In 1457, fearing a possible conjure of the

Malatesta Malatesta may refer to: People Given name * Malatesta (I) da Verucchio (1212–1312), founder of the powerful Italian Malatesta family and a famous condottiero * Malatesta IV Baglioni (1491–1531), Italian condottiero and lord of Perugia, Bettona, ...

family to regain the seigniory of Pesaro, he obliged her to become a nun in a monastery in the city. By Costanza he had two children,

Battista Battista is a given name and surname which means Baptist in Italian. Given named * Battista Agnese (died 1564), cartographer from the Republic of Genoa, who worked in the Venetian Republic * Battista Dossi, also known as Battista de Luteri, It ...

(1446–1472), who became the wife of Federico III of Urbino, and

. He also had an illegitimate daughter, Ginevra (c. 1440–1507), known as a patron of the visual and literary arts. She married Sante Bentivoglio in 1454 and, after his death,

Giovanni II Bentivoglio Giovanni II Bentivoglio (12 February 144315 February 1508) was an Italian nobleman who ruled as tyrant of Bologna from 1463 until 1506. He had no formal position, but held power as the city's "first citizen." The Bentivoglio family ruled over Bo ...

, duke of

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sforza, Alessandro 1409 births 1473 deaths People from the Province of Ravenna

Alessandro Alessandro is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Alexander. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Alessandro * Alessandro Allori (1535–1607), Italian portrait painter * Alessandro Baricco ...

15th-century condottieri Lords of Pesaro