Battista

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 mem ...

(14466 or 7 July 1472) was the second wife of

Federico da Montefeltro Federico da Montefeltro, also known as Federico III da Montefeltro KG (7 June 1422 – 10 September 1482), was one of the most successful mercenary captains (''condottieri'') of the Italian Renaissance, and lord of Urbino from 1444 (as Duke fr ...

, and Countess of Urbino.

Biography

Battista was the first legitimate child born to

Alessandro Sforza 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 family. Biography He was born in Cotignola in 1409, an illegitimate son of the famous condotti ...

, lord of Pesaro, and Costanza da Varano (14281447), the eldest daughter of Piergentile Varano (d. 1433), Lord of Camerino, and Elisabetta Malatesta. In 1447, Costanza died after giving birth to her second child, a son called Costanzo (d. 1483), when Battista was 18 months old. After the death of their mother Battista and Costanzo, together with their illegitimate half-sisters Ginevra (14401507) and Antonia (14451500), moved to the court of their paternal uncle

Francesco Sforza Francesco I Sforza (; 23 July 1401 – 8 March 1466) was an Italian condottiero who founded the Sforza dynasty in the duchy of Milan, ruling as its (fourth) duke from 1450 until his death. In the 1420s, he participated in the War of L'A ...

and his wife

Bianca Maria Visconti Bianca Maria Visconti (31 March 1425 – 28 October 1468) was Duchess of Milan from 1450 to 1468 by marriage to Francesco I Sforza. She was regent of Marche during the absence of her spouse in 1448. She served as Regent of the Duchy of Milan duri ...

where they were brought up alongside their cousins. Battista and her cousin Ippolita Maria received a

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

education and the former was fluent in Greek and Latin, giving her first Latin public speech at the age of four. She was said to be very skilled in Latin rhetoric and even gave an

oration Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech deliver ...

before

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 poet

Giovanni Santi Giovanni Santi (c. 1435 – 1 August 1494) was an Italian people, Italian Painting, painter, Italian Renaissance interior design, decorator, and the father of Raphael. He was born in 1435 at Colbordolo in the Duchy of Urbino. He studied under Pie ...

described Battista as "a maiden with every grace and virtue rare endowed". Her uncle Francesco Sforza arranged for her marriage to

, Duke of Urbino, who was twenty-four years older than her. The wedding took place on 8 February 1460, when Battista was fourteen years old, and she acted as regent during her husband's absences from Urbino. Their marriage was a happy one and they were described by a contemporary, Baldi, as "two souls in one body". Federico called Battista "the delight of both my public and my private hours." Moreover, he spoke with her about political issues and she accompanied him to almost all official events outside of Urbino. Carrying on the Sforza family's tradition of humanist education for women, she educated her daughters similarly to the education she had received from her aunt Bianca Maria. Similarly, Battista's granddaughter

Vittoria Colonna Vittoria Colonna (April 149225 February 1547), marchioness of Pescara, was an Italian noblewoman and poet. As an educated, married noblewoman whose husband was in captivity, Colonna was able to develop relationships within the intellectual circl ...

, daughter of

Agnese Agnese is a given name and a variant of Agnes. Its name day is 21 January in Italy. People with the name Agnese include: *Agnese Allegrini (born 1982), Italian badminton player *Agnese Bonfantini (born 1999), Italian football player * Agnese Kokl ...

, was a famous poet. After giving birth to six daughters, Battista gave birth to their first son and heir

Guidobaldo da Montefeltro Guidobaldo (Guido Ubaldo) da Montefeltro (25 January 1472 – 10 April 1508), also known as Guidobaldo I, was an Italian condottiero and the Duke of Urbino from 1482 to 1508. Biography Born in Gubbio, he succeeded his father Federico da Montefel ...

on 24 January 1472. However, three months after the birth of their son, Battista, having never fully recovered from her last pregnancy and labour, fell ill and died in July 1472.

References

External links

''The Gubbio Studiolo and its conservation, volumes 1 & 2''
from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Battista Sforza (see index) {{Authority control House of Sforza 15th-century Italian women 1446 births 1472 deaths Duchesses of Urbino

Biography

See also

References

Further reading

External links