Geno e la Runa Bianca del Girifalco dOro (Italian Edition)
The bride and bridegroom met at the Church of S. Sigtsmondo, outside the town, and from thence they made a triumphal entry into Cremona as husband and wife. Among the crowds gathered in the city to welcome them were some of the principal inhabitants of the March of Ancona, who had been invited to Cremona at Francesco's express orders. Doubtless the gay doings in which they now shared were sufficient to compensate them for all former dis- appointments. When Francesco became Duke of Milan he replaced the church in which he had been married by a new and more imposing building.
Here, just a century later , the Cremonese painter, Giulio Campi, finished his altar-piece in which Francesco and Bianca appear in the act of being pre- sented to the Virgin by S. Sigismondo, Thus, at a time when not only Francesco and Bianca but their descendants had ceased to reign in Milan, the memory of their wedding day lived on in the traditions of Cremona.
At the date of her wedding Bianca Maria Visconti was only seventeen, while Sforza was a hardened soldier of forty, who had seen several years of fighting before his wife's birth. Sulta di curioali Ulttrarit iiudilt a rart. Disftiua iiy Bologna, The alliance had been throughout a matter of politics, yet contrary to all appearances, it proved entirely happy. Bianca was K well-educated, tactTuI and good woman. In the words of Sabadino's panegyric: She threw berscir heart and soul into her husband's interests, and on more than one occasion he profited by her advice.
Her great liber- ality and her kindly manners added to the popularity which she naturally possessed in Milan as the last of the Visconti. Hence, in spite of Francesco's occasional infidelities, Sabadino can speak without exaggeration of the "inexhaustible matri- monial love " which existed between Bianca and her husband.
The years which followed Francesco's marriage were marked by a determined onslaught upon the March of Ancona from the combined forces of Milan, Naples and the Papacy. Filippo Maria Visconti seldom showed favour to any one without repenting of his action, and the fact that he had wedded his daughter to Francesco Sforza was enough to produce this fresh outborst of hostility. At the same time Eneenius IV. In his desire to ncpwr the March be even renounced his traditional Angevin sympathies and consented to invest Alfonso's son witli the Neapolitan Kingdom in return for aid against Sforza.
For the next six years he rarely left the March. As Lord of the March Francesco came in contact with two remarkable personalities who stand out prominently among the Italian princes of the century. Sigismondo Malatesta, the brilliant and unscrupulous Lord of Rimini, was first Sforza's ally and afterwards his bitter enemy. Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, whom Francesco first knew as an opponent, became his most loyal supporter and his life-long friend. Both Sigismondo and Federico combined the functions of an inde- pendent ruler with those of a condoCttere.
Both were dis- tinguished by a passion for every form of art which bore fruit in those two marvels of the Renaissance, the Malatesta temple at Rimini and the Ducal Palace at Urbino. Yet here the resemblance between them ended. In the variety and bril- liancy of his gifts Sigismondo outshone not only Federico but Sforza. Nevertheless, his rashness, his inconsistencies and his utter want of faith accorded ill with Francesco's patience and caution.
Perpetual friction marked the period of their alliance and they parted in mutual hatred and contempt. Federico, on the other hand, was a man after Francesco's own heart. With his intellectual and artistic tastes went the practical ability and sound common-sense that made for success both as a soldier and as a ruler.
If Federico, the condottiere, drew his inspiration from Sforza, Federico, the despot, had no small share in the development of the future Duke of Milan. The alliance between Francesco and Malatesta dates from Sigismondo's marriage with Francesco's daughter Polissena, which took place only a few weeks before the wedding at Cremona. For the next two years Francesco I.
Sforza's numerical inferiority prevented I him from risking a tattle in the open field. He therefore I divided his troops among some dozen cities, placing each fbr- I tress in charge of one of his captains. By this means he hoped r to form a nucleus for the recovery of the entire province, I when the opportunity arose. The weakness of this plan lay I in the reliance which it placed upon the loyalty of Sforza's I- captains.
When Alfonso of Aragon himself laid e to the town Sigismondo's loyalty was strained to brcak- 1 ing-point. Ljjuckily for Francesco, the Duke of Milan did not wish to see I'liim entirely cnished, and when the situation seemed most Tdesperate he persuaded Alfonso to withdraw from the March. His military llalents speedily made themselves felt, and before the end of 1 he had done much to recover his lost ground. Throughout the year Sforza's star was in the ascen- Kdaot. This tacit recognition of his s Visconti's heir filled Sforza with hope, and in the touma- 9it which followed the christening the Visconti viper was u-tered for the first time with the Sforza lion.
Later in the ar the elder Piccinino was recalled to Milan to confer with s Duke. During his absence Francesco won a great victory r his son at Montolmo, which at length forced Eugenius IV. Two days before this tieaty NiccoI6 Piccinino died in Milan, thus freeing Sforza from his most formidable opponent and at Ihe same time paving the way for his alliance with Federico da Montefeltro. Personal friendship for Piccinino had hitherto kept Federico in the opposite camp, but he now threw himself unreservedly into Sforza's cause. The immediate result of this alliance was the acquisition of Pesaro, a possession which re- mained to the House of Sforza long after the March of Ancona had been lost.
Pesaro belonged to Galeazzo Malatesta, from whose feeble grasp his cousin Sigismondo had long been trying to wrest it. Now Federico, who acted as Galeazzo's champion and adviser, proposed that he should sell the city to Alessandro Sforza on condition that he should marry Malatesta's grand- daughter, Costanza Varano. According to the humanist Filelfo, who, as a native of Tolontino, was well versed tn the affairs of the March, the scheme originated through Federico's discovery of a romantic attachment between Alessandro and Costanza. This accomplished young lady and her brother Rodolfo had alone survived the massacre of the Varani at Camerino in Since then she had lived with her grand- father in Pesaro, and Alessandro probably first met her at Gradara, when, as a girl of fourteen, she recited an oration to welcome the arrival of Francesco Sforza and his bride.
For two years Alessandro nourished what he fell to be a hopeless passion, until Federico of Urbino, liaving discovered his secret, asked him what he would give if he could make Costanza his bride. Thereupon the kind-hearted Duke promised to do everything in his power to favour Sforza's suit' With his help the trans- action was speedily made. Francesco Sforza furnished the necessary funds, and in December, , the wedding took place. Soon afterwards Alessandro and Costanza entered Pesaro to enjoy a period of married life that proved all too brief for their devotion.
It seemed for the moment that his difficulties were overcome, and that he would ' be able to rule his dominions in peace. Instead of this, the Pesaro episode provoked a storm in the March before which Francesco was at length forced to succumb. Sigis- mondo Malatesta's alliance with Sforza had been prompted by the sole desire to obtain Pesaro for himself. Eager for vengeance, Sigismondo turned to Sforza's. Yet Sigismondo's knowledge of the country and local infiuence achieved what numerical strength alone could not do. One by one Francesco's towns fell away until, in October. Sigismondo won his final triumph with the conquest of Roccacontrada.
The fortress was held to be impregnable, and its loss deprived Sforza of his only free communica- tion with Urbino and Tuscany. Hence Sigismondo returned ' in delight to Rimini, where he ordered Pisanello to cast his well-known medal in honour of the victory. One side of the medal shows Sigismondo on horseback, pointing to the Mala- testa device which figures on the fortress of Roccacontrada in the background. He had every rcEison to be proud of his achievement. When the rebellion of Fermo in November left Jesi alone in Sforza hands, it was clear that his defeat beneath the walls of Roccacontrada had dealt the final blow to 'Francesco's power in the March.
While the March of Ancona was slipping from Francesco's grasp, events in Lombardy were drawing him steadily towards Milan.
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Filippo Maria made Sforza's troubles in his own dominions the occasion for an attack upon Bianca's dowry towns of Pontremoli and Cremona. When the Venetian forces, under Micheletto Altendolo, after defeating the Milanese at Casalmaggiorc, crossed the Adda and ravaged the country up to the walls of Milan, Visconti realised his mistake. He sent piteous appeals to Francesco Sforza begging him to overlook the past and to come to the aid of his old and blind father-in-law. Sforza should be made Captain-General of the Milanese forces, with a large salary and with general powers of government through- out the Duchy.
Bianca's eagerness to reconcile her husband with her father ; Alfonso's desire to help his Milanese ally ; the death of Francesco's im- placable foe, Eugenius IV. Sad at heart Francesco went to Pesaro to make his final preparations for leaving the province which was no longer his. Here he found Alessandro plunged in grief at the loss of his beloved Costanza, who had died a month earlier in giving birth to a son.
From Pesaro Francesco and Bianca set out for Lombardy, halting on their way at Cotignola, which was now Francesco's sole pos- session in Central Italy. Here news reached them which made the loss of the March of Ancona appear but a small matter. Therefore, if you receive orders to pause on your journey, do not appear to understand them, but pursue your way.
Once he had arrived, they insisted, half the game would he won. The few momentous days in August, , were probably the last that any Sforza ruler spent in Cotignola. Nevertheless, I this cradle of tlieir race was not forgotten by Francesco and 'Otio, L.. Donmtnti difhmatia tralli dagli oreUei Uilaiuii, vol. Frequent letters passed between Cotignola and the Dukes of Milan, enabling the citizens to share in the events of ihe Milanese Court and dealing with the various crises that disturbed the little community. The inhabitants repaid these marks of favour by a devotion which stood the test of adversity.
On the collapse of Sforza rule in Milan in , a Venetian force was sent to taite possession of Cotignola. Great was the surprise of the Venetian captain when his demand for a peaceful surrender was met with the bold reply: Forgetting their internal enmities, the citizens rose as one man and drove the enemy from their gates. Only after the rebellion had been crushed with a heavy hand did the citizens acquiesce in the hard fate that severed them from their native rulers.
Francesco Sforza 's rule in the March suggests two questions. What, in the first place, was the nature of his authority? Secondly, what were the causes of his failure? When a town fell beneath his yoke, the fyrannis was simply imposed upon the, municipal constitution without any attempt to overthrow or supersede it. The normal municipal constitution comprised a Getieral Council or Credenza, only summoned on rare occasions, and a magistracy of five, composed of a Consul and four Priors, one from each quarter of the city, upon whom fell the real work of administration.
Geno e la Runa bianca del Girifalco d'oro : Moony Witcher :
On the surrender of a town to Sforza his commissaries treated with this magistracy as to the terms of the capitulations, which were drawn up on the principle of pro- tection in return for tribute. The functions of the despot were carefully defined from those of the municipality. Although the capitulations usually contained the proviso that the dues of ttie despot should be fixed, this boon was easier to secure on paper than in practice. Sforza's constant need of money often forced him to demand the tribute in advance and aLso to make special calls upon the pockets of his subjects.
The town might grumble and petition against these unexpected burdens, but if the money were not forthcoming, a Treasury ofHcial installed himself at the best inn and remained diere at the expense of the Commune until the required sum was paid. Another stipulation of the municipality was that the fortifica- tions should be kept up by the despot Yet when a fortress was built as a punishment for rebellion its cost fell upon the inhabitants, and materials for the Girifalco at Fermo were I collected throughout the March with promises of payment I which were too often not fulfilled.
With the appearance of a despot the Podesti came to be regarded as the connecting-link between the city and its lord, and the right of appointing him, which belonged nominally to the municipality, fell practically into Sforza's hands. The normal plan was for Sforza to appoint the Podesta from three men chosen by the town, yet he did not scruple to rejectvall three candidates if it suited his purpose. Although Sforza used the office of Podesta a.
The Podesta who failed to pass the scrutiny to which he was subjected at the end of his annual term of office met with prompt dismissal. Com- mercial regulations were framed in the interest of the consumer. Severe penalties attended the export of grain, and as pro- visions grew scarce every effort was made to keep down I prices. The archives of one town alone contain socDc thirty letters from Francesco. Its worst feature was the cotutant drain which it made upon the resources of the March.
Vet the rule of the Papacy was quite as burdensome, and Slbrza, whose lack of funds once forced him to pawn his very clothes to a Jew at Ancona, at least shared the poverty of his nb ect3.
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The Italian despot derived his authority from three main sources. Nominally, he ruled by right of a legal title bestowed on him by Pope or Emperor. Practically fak power depended upon a judicious mixture of force and popular consent. In Sforza's case no one of these elements waa altogether lacking, yet all three contained a flaw which in the end proved fatal.
The legal title alone was always the least eflectivc, and it only became valuable as the seal and crown of the other two. The armed forces under Sforza's control might well be considered sufficient to hold the March against all enemies. Yet these belonged to Sforza tiic condotlu'rt, not to Sforza the dopot They were paid for by supplies from Florence and Venice, and must needs be used in their interests. When Sforza was figfaHng in Lombardy and Tuscany, he could not leave an adeqiale force lo defend his own dominions.
With regard to the third element of popular consent, Sforza stood at enormous disadvantage as compared with the native lords. He had, indeed, been wel- comed by the inhabitants of the March, yet it has been proved times without number in Italian history that popular consent vj in order to be permanent must rest upon an hereditary basis. Camerino invited Sfnrza's protection after the massacre of the Varani, but in a year's time it rebelled against him, and the city knew no peace until Rodolfo Varano was recalled to the Signoria in In the same way the vagaries of Tolentino were due to the local family of Maurtizi, who, as soldiers of fortune, passed from one camp to another, and almost invariably carried with them the sympathies of their native town.
The contrast between the loyalty of Colignola and the fickleness of Francesco's dominions in the March is the measure of the value of popular consent unfortified by hereditary ties. It is not without significance that the town which showed most affection for Sforza was that which remained longest under his rule. Jesi, where the citizens petitioned vainly against the sale of their town to the Papacy in , had been the first place in the March to acknowledge Sforza, and it had also served as his headquarters during subsequent campaigns.
This goes far towards proving that if Sforza could have lived for some time in the March, he might have won the personal affection that was not his by hereditary right. Yet residence in the province was made impossible, both by Sforza's profession as a condottiere and by the fact that his true interest centred in Lombardy. His rule in the March of Ancona could only be an episode, a study in the art of despotism whereby Sforza gained experience, to be used on a larger scale and under more favourable conditions. Fih'ppo Maria Visconti, characteristic to the last, preferred to sacrifice the Duchy to the evils of a disputed succession rather than to commit himself to any one party before his death.
Hence the numerous clainiants to Milan gathered like vultures round the dying prince, in the hope that if they could not carry off the prize in its entirety they might at least contrive to divide the spoils. Only a day or two before Filippo Maria's death, they took possession of Asti and proceeded to proclaim the Duke of Orleans as the true heir to Milan. Other claimants through tlie female line were Albert and Sigismund of Hapsbuig, the great-grandchildren of Bemabi Visconti.
Bracceschi and Sforzcschi contended for the appointment of Filippo Maria's successor, as, in former ytars, they had striven for the control of his armies. At the moment of the Ehikc's death the Bracceschi were in possession of the field. Profiting by the inevitable reaction which followed on Visconti's recon- ciliation with Francesco Sforza, they so poisoned the Duke's mind against his son-in-law that he sent orders to Francesco. The Bracceschi, who regarded Alfonso as their candidate, acted upon their advantage with the utmost promptitude.
During the night of 13th August, almost before Filippo Maria had breathed his last, Aragonese troops were introduced into the Castello, the captains in Visconti's service were persuaded to swear fealty to Alfonso, and by daybreak the banners of Aragon floated above the castle walls. Sforza's adherents might well feel that their cause was hopeless. The triumph of Alfonso was, however, short-lived. Public opinion in Milan was not merely divided as to whether the King of Naples or Francesco Sforza should succeed to the throne of the Visconti. Many of the most thoughtful and in- tlucntial citizens were considering the possibility of having no Duke at all.
Learned bodies in Milan, notably the College of Jurisprudence, were led by their new-bom enthusiasm for the classics to contr;ist the justice and stability of the rule of law with the caprices of the Visconti. Venice was then at the height of her power and I prosperity. Hence the mercantile classes of Milan were , anxious to copy her form of government in the hope of acbiev- 1 ing a like success.
The ranks of this floating population were further swelled by a crowd of peasants who had fled into the city to escape the ravages of the Venetian troops. One and all were prepared to play their part in any disturbance that might arise. Filippo Maria's life in the Castcllo had been so completely cut off from the outside world that hi.
Thereupon the advocates of liberty seized their opportunity. Thanks to their aid, the Aragonese troops were driven from Milan. A few days later Niccolo Guama, one of the friends who had written to urge Sforza's coming, sent hira the following news: The has raised the banner of S. Ambrose," ' Ambrosian Republic had entered upon its career amid enthusiasm and with some degree of triumph.
Yet icultics which lay before it were enormous. Francesco Ftldfo read the signs of the times aright when he wrote of the vdiemcnt stonns and tempests " which were impending upon il horizon. Theoreti- I cally the supreme authority in Milan was the Council of Nine Hundred, composed of a hundred and fifty representatives from each gate and to which all lawyers and soldiers above a certain rank had right of entrance.
Yet it had been rarely summoned by the Visconti, and it had never been called upon to frame laws but only to accept or reject the measures which were laid before it It was clear that such a body was altogether unsuitable for carrying on the work of government. Hence a committee of 1 twenty-four, known as the Captains and Defenders of the Liberty of Milan, was elected on 14th August to " rule, govern and de- fend the city in peace and war" until January, Although the Council of Nine Hundred was summoned four days later to confirm the election, this committee was as much outside the ordinary constitution as had been the ducal authority.
Nevertheless, the Captains and Defenders became henceforth the true rulers of Milan. The list of the first twenty-four, which contains representatives of the leading families in Milan and 3 large proportion of distinguished lawyers, shows that the revolu- tion had been primarily an aristocratic rather than a democratic movement, and that the fortunes of the Republic rested with those citizens who would be most likely to prove capable of governing.
Apart from this new committee, the constitution of Milan remained practically unchanged. The Council also elected a new Vicar of Provision who, with his twelve colleagues, formed a sort of town council for the regulation of the markets and for the general administration of the city. Six nobles were chosen as Magistrates of the Revenues, in place of Filippo Maria's Finance Committee, At the same time another body of twenty- four was created to manage the property of the Republic and to exercise the functions of the former Ducal Councillors.
So far all had gone well, and within the walls of Milan the success of the infant Republic seemed complete. These cities soon made it clear that they had no intention of submitting to the Ambrosian Republic. Pavia rejected all overtures on the part of her ancient rival and pro- claimed her independence. Lodi and Piacenza called in the Venetians, while Alessandria, Novara and Como alone remained loyal to Milan, The defection of the subject-towns was a serious blow to the Ambrosian Republic, especially in the matter of , finance.
In the first burst of republican enthusiasm, the twenty- four Captains had burned the books relating to taxation, de- claring that the day of heavy burdens was at an end, and that henceforth it would be only necessary to contribute to the treasure of S. Ambrose, and to the maintenance of the army. When the Republic further lost the greater part of the tribute due from the subject- towns, it found itself in possession of something like one-fourth of the revenues enjoyed by the Duke, while tliere was no corresponding diminu- tion of expenses.
To remedy the difficulty thirty citizens were elected to assess a new tax on all within the dominions of the Republic "to the amount that should seem to them Just". Meanwhile every effort had been made to end the war with Venice, On the occupation of Lodi and Piacenza, the Am- brosian Republic, with pathetic narvety, sent ambassadors to Venice begging the ancient Republic not to harm her new sister but to further the cause of liberty by accepting her offers of friendship.
The Venetians, as might be expected, treated these proposals of peace with derision, for they saw in the change of government an opportunity for adding the greater part of the Milanese to their own dominions. Hence Milan must needs collect an army and prepare to renew the conflict to the best of her ability. Under these circumstances her thoughts turned ' PeluBO, F,, pp, It was expressly stipulated that Francesco should not attempt to keep for himself any of the jj cities which he might conquer, with the exception of Biescia.
This, however, should form his share of the spoils unless Verona were also conquered, in which case he would keep the latter city, giving up Brescia to Milan. The news that Milan had declared itself a Republic could not but be mortifying to Francesco Sforza. It seemed as though he had sacrificed his hold on the March of Ancona for a chimera, and that tlie prize which he had believed to be within his grasp was as far off as ever.
As was his custom at the critical moments of his career, he turned for advice to Cosimo dei Medici, who urged him to go boldly on his way regardless of the new difficulties which lay between him and his goal. Without a moment's delay Francesco threw himself into pre- parations for war. His wife and children were left at Cronona, Francesco and Jacopo Piccinino were persuaded to bury their former enmity and to accept posts of command in Sforza's army.
Bartolomeo CoUeone was also taken into the serviceof the Republic Finally, on 13th September, a decree was proclaimed in Milan ordering all those who loved their present state of liberty and who were capable of bearing arms to join Francesco Sforza in the field. It was the usual condottiere difficulty in a peculiarly acute form. From a military point of view, the welfare of the , Republic demanded absolute confidence in Sforza as a general, yet for political reasons this confidence was impossible, as few could doubt that he would play for his own hand if an op- portunity presented itself.
Hardly had the war begun before an event occurred which revealed to the full the difficulties of the situation. The fortress was in the hands of a certain Matteo di Bologna, popularly known as II Bolognino, who, owing to the influence of Bianca's mother, Agnese del Maino, was prepared to yield it to Sforza. On the mere rumour of the offer, ambassadors from Milan were sent to protest against its acceptance, as a contra- j Tcntion of Sforza's recent treaty with the Ambroiiian Republic. Yet if Sforza refused, Pavia would yield to Venice, and its ar- senal, powder magazines and treasure, which might have aided the cause of Milan, would be placed at the disposal of the enemy.
Hence the Council of Nine Hundred reluctantly. Bolognino, to Francesco owed his good fortune, remained in charge and was adopted into the family of the Attendoli his servicer His more substantial reward was the Angelo, near Lodi, which remained in the pos- of the Counts Attended! Sforza had, indeed, every cause to be grateful to the man by whose means he had become lord of this second capital of tlie Milanese. The Castello with its jewels and treasures of every description, its plentiful supply of weapons and ammunition, its walls covered with frescoes and its mag- nificent library, filled him with wonder and admiration.
In all Italy, he declared, from the Alps to Messina, he had not seen its equal. Pavia was peculiarly valuable to Sforza owing to the command of the Po which the city possessed through her fleet. Although most of the ships were in bad repair, Francesco was able to launcli a few at once, while he ordered fresh vessels to be prepared in the arsenal for future use.
Not only would the fleet serve to guard Cremona, but it would aid in the undertaking upon which all efforts were now to be concentrated, namely, the siege of Piacenza. Early in October Sforza's armies were planted round the city, while four ships from Pavia guarded the Po and so prevented the Venetians from relieving Piacenza by water. The river, swollen by autumn rains, formed an easy route for the pro- visions coming from Pavia, and not even a feint of the Venetians in the direction of Milan could make Sforza relax his hold on the beleaguered city.
Piacenza, however, with a newly stored harvest was well stocked with supplies, and when, in December, there seemed no immediate prospect of surrender Sforza decided to take the city by storm. Such an undertaking was almost un- heard-of at that date, for in tlie use of artillery Sforza was in ad- vance of his time. By means of his cannon he contrived to make a breach in the walls, which were held to be well-nigh im- pregnable, and thus to gain possession of the city.
The sack which followed left Piacenza in ruins, and it has been spoken of as a blot on Sforza's name. Hence it would have been hard for Francesco to act otherwise, and he at least did his best to provide places of refuge for women and children by guarding the hospitals and monasteries. During the siege of Piacenza. CoUeone had been engaged on the Western frontiers of the Duchy against the French garrison from Asti which was skirmishing in the district round Alessan- dria.
On learning that the inhabitants of Tortona had pro- claimed Sforza as their lord, Colleone attacked the town and succeeded in making himself master of it This incident was the cause of far greater rejoicing in Milan than was the re- capture of Piacenza from Venice. In January, , the original Captains of the Republic went out of office, and those who were elected to take their place re- presented rather those Guclphic nobles who were allied with the merchant class than the Ghibelline aristocracy who were prominent in the early days of the Republic.
From the Guelphs sprung the greater part of the opposition to Sforza, and thus the change of government resulted in renewed efforts after peace. By means of the Piccinini brothers, who were always ready to intrigue against Sforza even when they were fighting under his banner, a secret conference was held between ambassadors from M i! Venice, how- ever, had the smallest opinion of the Ambrosian Republic, and she would not consent to relinquish any of her conquests. Nevertheless, such was the hatred and fear of Sforza that the Council of Nine Hundred was persuaded to agree to peace 00 the terms which Venice might dictate.
To such men as Giorgio Lampugnano and Teodoro Bossi peace under such humiliating conditions appeared in the Hght of a national dis- grace. They contrived to infuse the populace with their senti- ments, and the mob surrounded the Court of Arengo, where the Council of Nine Hundred were sitting, shouting " Guerral Guerra! Sforza was allowed to prepare for a ' fresh campaign, but it was made clear from the tirst that it would be conducted according to the ideas of the Republic and not according to those of the Captain-General.
In all the wars between Milan and Venice the river system of Lombardy played an important part. Both powers jxis- sessed fleets which struggled with one another for the command , of the Po, and more esjiecially for the command of the three ' towns of Piacenza, Cremona and Casalmaggiore, which guarded the river at different jroints. Besides this, the rivers running northward from the Po divided the country into distinct blocks.
The land campaigns of the Lombard wars usually took tlie form of a contest for the possession of one among these strips of country. At the beginning of the struggle with Visconti the frontiers of Venice did not go beyond the Mincio. Now her influence extended not only to the strip between the Mincio and the Oglio but to that between the Oglio and the Adda, I while the possession of Lodi on the western bank of the Adda brought her into the district bctwc-en the Adda and the Ticino, in which Milan itself lay.
Milan's great object in the cam- paign of was to wrest the command of the Adda from Venice. In Sforza's opinion this could best be done by trans- ferring the war into the district between the Oglio and the Mincio. He proposed to attack the Venetian fleet which was threatening Cremona and to strike from thence to Biescia. By this means the Venetians would be drawn off from the Adda, and Lodi would be isolated. The Ambrosian "Republic, how- ever, favoured the simpler plan of besieging Lodi.
In the words of a certain Broccardo Persico, an intimate of the Piccinini and one of Sforza's bitterest foes, "the Milanese fostered in their bosom a great serpent who daily increased his own fortune at their expense". Hence Francesco must needs concentrate his forces on Lodi, conscious all the while that he was wasting time which could be em- ployed to far greater advantage elsewhere. Meanwhile the Venetian fleet under Andrea Quirini was making a determined effort against the bridge at Cremona. When some of the enemy contrived to plant the banner of S.
Mark on the bridge, it seemed that both it and Cremona itself must betaken. Sending post-haste for reinforcetnents which she knew to be in the neighbourhood, she repulsed the enemy with their aid. At the same time she wrote to warn her husband, and in tlie face of such imminent danger he was at last allowed to move on the Venetian fleet. At the head of his troops, thankful to be delivered from the tedium of a siege, Francesco made a dash for Cremona, to find that the Venetian fleet had moved ofl' and had entrenched itself behind stakes in a narrow branch of the Po at Casalmaggiore.
Micheletto Attendolo, who, with the Venetian land forces, was only seven miles off, hoped to ejiclose Sforza between the army and the fleet Yet he had not reckoned upon the efficiency of Sforza's artillery, which wrought havoc among the Venetian ships from the northern bank of the Po before iVticheletto could bring up his troops. Worse still, the ships found the way of escape barred by the Milanese fleet. The stakes behind which the Venetians had posted themselves only permitted the exit of one vessel at a time. Hence each ship in turn fell a prey to the enemy, until Quirini was forced to withdraw into Casalmaggiore, burning tiie vessels that had not been already destroyed or captured to prevent them from falling into Sforza's hands.
Thus Venice lost her whole fleet of seventy vessels, and on i8th July the bells of Milan were pealing at the news of this great victory. Success, however, only made the Ambrosian Republic more self-confident and, if anything, more suspicious of Sforza. Earlier in the year Francesco had driven the Venetians from the greater part of the district known as the Ghiarad'adda which lay along the eastern shores of the Adda, north of Lodi.
Yet Caravaggio, one of the most important towns in the district, was still in the hands of the enemy. This being so, the rulers of Milan would hear not a word in favour of a diversion on Brescia. They were determined to tie Sforza down to the Ghiarad'adda, until the taking of Lodi and Caravaggio made it possible to end the war.
By the end of July Sforza had sat down before Caravaggio. Various skirmishes took place between the two armies, yet nothing occurred to break the siege until on 1 5th September Micheletto, fearing every moment that Caravaggio would yield, determined on a general attack. The Venetians approached from an unexpected quarter, and Sforza was so ' completely taken by surprise that he did not have time to put f on his full armour.
Encouraged by his example the men threw themselves into the battle, and in two hours a victory had been won which Corio describes as "great and memorable, not only in our own times but in the ages to come ". Mark in the Cathedral, it seemed to the enthusiastic citizens for all the world " like a triumph of ancient Rome ".
Yet in the midst of the general rejoicing there was little sign of gratitude towards the conqueror. The Cap- tains and Defenders of Liberty were more than ever determined on peace, and Sforza was ordered to proceed without delay to Lodi. Even the Milanese commissaries saw that it was a moment in which to follow up their victory by carrying the war into the enemy's country, and thus Sforza was at length permitted to cross the Oglio.
Yet while Francesco mustered his forces round Brescia, his enemies, headed by the Piccininiand Erasmo Trivulzio. The I'iccinini, who had come to Milan after Caravaggio, obtained permission not to return to Sforza's camp but to proceed instead to Lodi, while peace negotiations were once more opened by means of the Milanese merchants in Venice. At the same time Brescia was secretly encouraged to hold out until the approach- ing peace should end the siege.
When, after the discovery of this treachery on the part of Milan, Sforza was approached by the Venetians with offers of alliance, it is hardly surprising that he consented to listen to them. The Venetians, on their side, saw that Sforza aione prevented them from gaining all that they desired of Milanese territory, and thus they turned a deaf ear to the proposals of the Republic while they did their utmost to win Sforza for themselves. Francesco should receive thirteen thousand ducats a month from Venice until he had made him- self master of the whole Duchy of Milan if he would agree to hand over Crema and the Ghiarad'adda to the Venetians as their share of the spoils.
Sforza's action in making a separate treaty with the enemy while he was in the service of the Ambrosian Republic is one which it may be impossible to justify, but for which it is never- theless easy to find excuses. However much the Ambrosian Republic might fear Sforza politically, they made a fata] mis- take in not trusting to his ability and good faith as a soldier. The danger to the Republic would arise when in her joy at the i successful termination of the war Milan might proclaim the ail J too willing Sforza as their lord.
But so long as Sforza was fitting Venice his interests were those of his employers, and he sought only to carry on the war in the way most conducive to success. In this he found himself hampered at every turn by those who should have helped him. It might seem at first sight as if Sforza's alliance with Venice had undone his former labours, and that he would now have to reconquer the places which he had won for the Ambrosian Republic during the last year.
Yet Pavia and Cremona were not alone in regarding Sforza rather than Milan as their sovereign. On the news of Francesco's alliance with Venice Piacenza at once offered herself to him, and before the year was out Novara, Tortona, Ales. Thus, from the point of view of the prosperity and peace of Lombardy, Sforza's action finds ample justification.
If he aimed at depriving Milan of her liberty, he would also preserve the autonomy of the Duchy and save it from being split up among a number of petty republics, a prey to their own quarrels and to the aggres- sions of their more powerful neighbours. Meanwhile events within Milan were making it daily more apparent that the Ambrosian Republic was doomed to failure. The would-be rulers of a large territory had shown themselves unable to enforce their authority within the walls of one city.
During the year the garrison of the Castello, having plundered the houses in the neighbourhood until they were led deserted, stole the materials of the ruined fortress and sold them in the city for their own profit, finding an extensive pur- chaser in the Fabbrica del Duomo. Thieves made raids on the country round and carried off provisions and cattle in the name of the Government.
The mob frequently took the law into their own hands and ransacked the houses of those who were suspected of disloyalty to the Republic.
Edicts were published assigning the most severe puni. The workmen who neglected their task of fortifying the Porta Ticincse, for example, were threatened with the gallows, but in the end the Republic only endeavoured to bring home to them the error of their ways by rewarding their more industrious companions. Hand-in-hand with this weakness went suspicion. Not only did the heads of the Republic live in constant fear of intrigues against the Government, but they also suspected their own ofBcials of wishing to undermine their authority.
At the same time three lieutenants were chosen to act as a check upon the new captain. Such multiplication of officials imposed additional burdens on Uie Republic and stood in the way of efficiency, while it could not prevent a strong man from becoming powerful. Meanwhile the Republic must seek to replenish its exchequer by means of fines and confiscations and by instituting a State lottery. In March, , for example, a scheme for a University at Milan was mooted and an elaborate list of professors was drawn up.
Vet, in those troublous times, the professors could have found few pupils, and there was certainly no money forthcoming for their salaries. The whole movement sprang less from any love of learning than from the desire to injure the University of Pavia and to prevent Milan from being in any way dependent upon the rival city.
Edicts for the enforcement of morality and of religious observances are prominent in the statute books of the time. Instead of providing for the defence of Milan, the Re- public passed decrees forbidding barbers to shave on Saints' days. An officer of public health was appointed to whom cases of illness e reported by the head of each parish ; priests were forbidden to bury without a written license, and persons coming from in- fected places were not allowed to enter the city. Thanks to tiiesc measures, Milan was practically free from plague during the whole career of the Ambrosian Republic.
Hence 3 special clause was added to the BfTecc that if a baibei were actually shaving a customer at this hour, be ihould be allowed to liaish. The tendency to oust the Ghibellines from power, which was first seen in the elections of January, , became more marked as time went on, until, in 1 , the new magistracy was drawn almost entirely from the middle classes who looked to the Guelphic nobles for support, A certain notary, Giovanni Appiani, and Giovanni Ossona, whom Corio describes as a "low tradesman," became prominent in public affairs.
These men found a leader in Carlo Gonzaga, who had from the first done much to widen the breach in the Government, by throwing himself hotly on the side of the Guelphs. Soon after the alliance between Sforza and Venice, Milan had witnessed a wave of popular feeling in Francesco's favour, which had only been subdued by an eloquent plea for y I liberty on the part of Giorgio Lampugnano. Nothing would better further his ambitions than to substitute for the original leaders of the Republic a class of men whom ignorance of the art of government would render subservient to his will.
Unless something were done to check him, the Republic would speedily be transformed into the worst kind of tyranny tfl which even Sforza's triumph would be preferable. Such was tlw opinion of Lampugnano and his Ghibelline friends who gatheretj in the house of Vitaliano Borromeo to discuss the situation They thereupon decided to open negotiations with Sforza with a view to placing Milan in his hands. They therefore had recourse to a stratagem of which Giorgio Lampugnano and Teodoro fiossi were the victims. The leaders of the Ambrosian Re- public, although they refused to submit to the Emperor, had from the first been anxious to secure his protection and support.
They had bardly started on their way to Como before they were captured and thrown into prison in the Castle of Monza, Lampugnano was beheaded without any form of trial, and his head was carried on a pike to Milan to be exhibited on the Piazza of the Broletto. The details of the conspiracy and the names of his accomplices were extracted from Bossi by means of torture, and there followed a massacre of the leading Ghibeliines in Milan. Some, such as Vitaliano Borromeo, contrived to escape, but a con- siderable number of heads joined that of Lampugnano on the Piazza of the Broletto, in order that all might see the iate of those who intrigued against the Republic, JEnems Sylvius Piccolomini, who was in Milan during the greater part of the republican period in order to further the interests of his roaster Frederick III.
He was indeed the hero and martyr of the Ambrosian Republic. He had shown himself since then as active in promoting the best interests of the Republic as he had been originally in bringing it into existence. Remember that all those who have sought glory in the conflict of political passions have perished miserably. From this time Milan began to lose confidence in the Captains and Defenders, who, for their part, sought to counteract the general feeling of insecurity and unrest by violent measures of repression.
The responsibility for this reign of terror has usually been laid on the shoulders of Ossona and Appiano, yet it is probable that they were more deluded than guilty, and that the real blame rests with men of higher rank, and more especially with Ambrogio Trivulzio, whose signature " Ambrosius " figures on many edicts of the period. The Trivulzio Palace in Porta Romana formed a centre for Sforza 's enemies, just as the houses of the Pusterla in Porta Ticinese became the rallying-place of his friends, Just fifty years later a Sforza Duke, flying before an invading army led by the most distinguished member of the House of Trivulzio, had good cause to remember this ancient rivalry.
The twenty-four Captains and Defenders who were now elected for two months should have gone out of office in April Hence the refusal of the party in power to allow the elections to take place only intensified the general discontent. When, at the beginning of June, the elections could no longer be deferred, they resulted in the triumph of the opposite faction, and Ghibelline names such as Castiglione and Pusterla appear in the list of successful candidates. On the last day of July the mob attacked the Captains and Defenders of Liberty while they were deliberating upon the elections of the morrow, and cut to pieces a certain Galeotto Toscano who failed to make his escape.
The extremists were restored to power, and their first edict forbade all on pain of death to mention the name of either Francesco Sforza or his wife except in disrespect. These last acts of violence disgusted even Carlo Gonzaga, For some time he had been conscious that his influence in Milan was on the wane. Now when the newly elected Captains were exulting over the wanton murder of his personal friend Toscano, he determined to abandon the Ambrosian Republic to its fate.
On nth September Gonzaga. In the midst of the ne- gotiations with the Venetians, for instance, Lodi opened her gates to Piccinino and Sforza lost a city through a siege which he had himself conducted. In the same way Parma held per- sistently to that attitude of neutrality towards the Ambrosian Republic which Sforza had once made it his object to secure. It was only after Lionello d'Este's refusal to accept the signoria that the town eventually yielded to Alessandro Sforza.
The former claimants to the Duchy, moreover, realising that Sforza was a far more dangerous competitor than the Am- brosian Republic, placed themselves on the side of his foes. Thus in the spring of the widowed Duchess of Milan persuaded her brother Louis of Savoy to make war round Novara in alliance with the Republic. Hence Sforza must needs send an army under Colleone, whidi put an end to Louis's enterprise by a decisive victory at Borgo- manero.
Genoa and Lucca should be added to the possessions of France, Alessandria should fall to Montferrat, and the rest of the Duchy north of the Po and west of the Adda should be annexed by the Duke of Savoy. The treaty produced no tangible results, and it is not even certain whether the French King was privy to it, yet it shows the strength of Sforza's rivals and the reality of the French ambitions with regard to Italy. Another of Sforza's difficulties during this period concerned his relations with his captains. When Francesco announced his alliance witli Venice to the assembled troops and bade aU serve whom they would, the captains who remained loyal to Sforza did so with a view to furihering definite ambitions.
Roberto San Severino and his brothers clung to Sforza in order to maintain a hold on their fiefs in the Ghiarad'adda. Luigi dal Verme aimed at becoming Lord of Piacenza, and Sforxa was obliged to propitiate him by marrying his illegitimate son to Dal Vcrme's only daughter. Guglielmo of Montferrat was bribed to Francesco's side by the fief of Alessandria and by the cession of the Visconti claims upon Turin. Not many months later Sforza imprisoned Guglielmo of Montferrat tn the Castello of Pavia, having discovered that he was about to withdraw his troops from the camp in order to further his own interests round Alessandria.
Sforza aimed apparently at de- priving Milan of her captains at all costs. Having once more proved themselves "most gifted in the art of deception," the Piccinini returned to Milan, only three months after they had left the city for Sforza's camp. Sforza's disadvantages and difficulties were, however, more than compensated by the fact that he could now fight openly in his own interests. The treaty of October, , had assigned to Venice practically the whole district between the Oglio and the Adda. Hence during the war of Sforza left the Venetians to complete their conquests in that quarter, while he concentrated his efforts upon the adjoining block between the Adda and the Ticino.
Knowing that he could not take Milan by storm, Sforza pre- pared to make a ring fence round the city with his troops, in order that it might be starved into surrender. At the outset of the campaign Sforza obtained Abbiategrasso, from whence he proceeded to occupy the fertile districts of Seprio and Brianza, north of Milan, By this means the capital was de- prived both of her best granaries and of the water supply which came by a canal flowing from the Ticino at Abbiate- grasso.
During the year which followed Francesco never once relaxed his hold on the Milanese. As one by one the places which served as a means of getting supplies into Milan fell into Sforza's hands, the famine in the city became more acute. The success of the Ambrosian Republic with regard to Monza proved but an isolated incident in a long course of failure, When Gonzaga approached Sforza with the offer of Crema and Lodi, Milan's chances of being able to maintain herself as an independent State were already gone.
During the summer months Marignano, Vigevano, Tortona and Pizzighettone had one after the other made humble submission to the conqueror, while the Venetians only needed Crema to complete their share 4 56 MILAN: Hence Crema, left without support, was forced to surrender to Venice. Once more, when Sforza seemed on the eve oF success, fortune turned against him in a way that might well cause him to despair. For some time past Venice had begun to realise that her interests would be better served by bolstering up the weak Ambrosian Republic than by aiding a powerful soldier to de- stroy it.
The Venetian proweditore Marcello wrote from the seat of war to warn his Senate against Sforza, whose talents filled him with fear and admiration. Hence, when the acquisition of Crema gave to Venice all that she claimed by the treaty of October, , she was ready to listen to the overtures of the Ambrosian Republic. Pavia, although on the eastern bank of the Ticino, was left to Sforza, who but for this and for Cremona and Piacenza would hold only the strip of country which lay ferthest west, between the Ticino and the Sesia.
Geno e la Runa bianca del Girifalco d'oro
Sforza was given twenty days in which to ratify the peace. If he refused Venice would take arms in defence of her newly-found sister and ally. In short, Venice, having obtained her own share of the spoils, was prepared to make Sforza divide his with the Ambrosian Republic.
The news of the treaty was received in Milan with every i sign of rejoicing, It seemed to the distressed citizens that they bad come to the end of their troubles, for who could imagine fliat a condottuie, however powerful, would carry on a single- handed struggle against the combined forces of Milan and Venice?
So confident were they of peace that tliey used their remaining stores of grain in sowing the next season's crops. Hence the over-confidence of the inhabitants in exhausting their supplies served to hasten Sforza 's triumph. Before war began again Sforza set himself to make peace with Savoy, realising that the intervention of another power at this critical moment might prove fatal to his cause.
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Thanks to the apathy of Louis of Savoy the peace was secured at the cost of some castles round Novara and Alessandria which Sforza could well afford to lose. Malatesta contrived to get his troops across the river at Brivio, only to be driven back again by Sfoiza. Colleonc's scheme was succes-ifiilly carried out, and early in February Sforza learned in htt amp at Vimercate that Piccinino and Malatesta had joined atcea preparatory to marching on his rear.
Sforza's captains were for retiring to Pavia and Lodi in order to avoid an en- counlcr with the enemy. I'ranccsco had learned, however, from a aMnmJsiiary of the Republic, who had lately fallen into his hands, that Milan was reduced to the last extremity of want. Rather than abandon the fruits of the siei;e he determined at aQ costs to remain in the open field.
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