Gian Galeazzo Sforza

Gian Galeazzo Sforza
Duke of Milan
Gian Galeazzo Sforza, c.1483, by Giovanni Ambrogio de Predis
Spouse(s)	Isabella of Naples
Issue Francesco Sforza Ippolita Maria Sforza Bona, Queen of Poland Bianca Maria Sforza
Noble family	Sforza
Father	Galeazzo Maria Sforza
Mother	Bona of Savoy
Born	20 June 1469 Abbiategrasso
Died	21 October 1494 (aged 25)

Medal of Isabella of Naples

Gian Galeazzo Sforza (20 June 1469 – 21 October 1494), also known as Giovan Galeazzo Sforza, was the sixth Duke of Milan.

Early life

Born in Abbiategrasso, he was only seven years old when in 1476 his father, Galeazzo Maria Sforza, was assassinated and he became the Duke of Milan. His uncle, Ludovico Sforza, acted as regent to the young duke, but quickly wrested all power from him and became the de facto ruler of Milan. Ludovico later became the duke after Gian Galeazzo's death, which was widely viewed as suspicious.

Marriage and issue

In 1488, Gian Galeazzo married his cousin Princess Isabella of Naples. Together they had four children:

• Francesco Sforza (1491–1512)
• Ippolita Maria Sforza (1493-1501)
• Bona Sforza (1494–1557); married Sigismund I of Poland
• Bianca Maria Sforza (posthumously 1495–1496)

Death

Concerning Gian Galeazzo's death in 1494 at Pavia, the Italian historian Francesco Guicciardini had to say in his La Historia di Italia (The History of Italy):

The rumor was widespread that Giovan Galeazzo's death had been provoked by immoderate coitus; nevertheless, it was widely believed throughout Italy that he had died not through natural illness nor as a result of incontinence, but had been poisoned … one of the royal physicians … asserted that he had seen manifest signs of it. Nor was there anyone who doubted that if it had been poison, it had been administered through his uncle Ludovico Sforza's machinations …