Sforza meaning

At this time Bianca's uncle, Ludovico Sforza, was invested with the duchy of Milan in return for the substantial dowry which his niece brought to the king.

The Correggio family never managed to keep possession of it for long, and in 1346 they sold it to the Visconti (who constructed a citadel, La Rocchetta, in 1356, of which some remains exist on the east bank of the river, while the later ate du Pont may be seen on the west bank), and from them it passed to the Sforza.

In his school the great condottieri Braccio da Montone and Sforza Attendolo were formed; and henceforth the battles of Italy were fought by Italian generals commanding native troops.

In the hands of able captains, like Francesco Sforza or Piccinino, these mercenary troops became moving despotisms, draining the country of its wealth, and always eager to fasten and found tyrannies upon the provinces they had been summoned to defend.

Son of Attendolo Sforza, this Francesco received the hand of Filippos natural daughter, Bianca, as a reward for past service and a pledge of future support.