| Duke of Milan | |
| Creation Date: | 5 September 1395 |
| Extinction Date: | 9 June 1815 |
Milan was ruled by dukes from the 13th century to 1814, after which it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia by the Congress of Vienna.
In 1395, Gian Galeazzo Visconti was titled Duke of Milan by King Wenceslaus,[1] who sold the title under the payment of circa 100,000 florins.[2] Since that moment, all the following rulers of Milan were styled as dukes.
| Duke | Arms | Tenure | Marriage(s) Issue | Succession right(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gian Galeazzo | 5 September 1395 3 September 1402 | (1) Isabella of France 4 children (2) Caterina Visconti 2 children 2 illegitimate children | ||||
| Giovanni Maria | 3 September 1402 16 May 1412 | Antonia Malatesta of Cesena Childless | Son of Gian Galeazzo Visconti (primogeniture) | |||
| Filippo Maria | 16 May 1412 13 August 1447 | (1) Beatrice of Tenda Childless (2) Mary of Savoy Childless 1 illegitimate child | Son of Gian Galeazzo Visconti (brotherhood) | |||
After the death of Filippo Maria in 1447, the main line of Visconti went extinct. Benefited by political chaos, a cabal of wealthy citizens, academics and clerics declared the Duchy dissolved and proclaimed the oligarchical Golden Ambrosian Republic.[3] The republic was never recognized and the neighboring states of Venice and Savoy tried to expand their fiefdoms in Lombardy, as well as France. Taking advantage of the state's weakness and the resurgent Guelph-Ghibelline conflict, the commander-in-chief of the Milanese forces, Francesco I Sforza, defected from Milan to Venice in 1448, and two years later, after several side switches and cunning strategies, Sforza entered the city during Annunciation. He was then declared the new Duke of Milan by the City Council, using as a claim his marriage with Bianca Maria Visconti, illegitimate daughter of Filippo Maria.
| Duke | Arms | Tenure | Marriage(s) Issue | Succession right(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Francesco I | 25 March 1450 8 March 1466 | (1) Polissena Ruffo 1 daughter (2) A Jacopo Caldora's daughter Childless (3) Bianca Maria Visconti 8 children Giovanna d'Acquapendente 7 illegitimate children | ||||
| Galeazzo Maria | 8 March 1466 26 December 1476 | Bona of Savoy 4 children Lucrezia Landriani 4 illegitimate children Lucia Marliani 2 illegitimate children | Son of Francesco I Sforza (primogeniture) | |||
| Gian Galeazzo | 26 December 1476 21 October 1494 | Isabella of Aragon 3 children | Son of Galeazzo Maria (primogeniture) | |||
| Ludovico | 21 October 1494 17 September 1499 | Beatrice d'Este 2 children Bernardina de Corradis 2 legitimized children Cecilia Gallerani 1 legitimized child Lucrezia Crivelli 2 legitimized children | Son of Francesco I Sforza (blood proximity) | |||
In 1494, Ludovico Sforza usurped the throne of Milan, after probably poisoning his nephew Gian Galeazzo. After the threats of the Venetians, Ludovico solicited French king Charles VIII to descend into Italy, starting the First Italian War. After Ludovico's betrayal and alliance with the League of Venice in 1495, the French were defeated in the Battle of Fornovo and were unable to expand in Italy. Charles VIII's top general and cousin, Louis II, Duke of Orléans (future Louis XII), was humiliated and due to his personal hate toward Ludovico Sforza, started to claim the Duchy of Milan for himself, quoting his paternal descendance from Valentina Visconti and Gian Galeazzo's last will. After Louis XII's ascension to the French Throne in 1499, he started the Second Italian War to conquer Milan and Naples. With French armies near Pavia, Ludovico and his loyalists left Milan on 17 September 1499 to flee toward Germany. This left Louis XII as the only Duke of Milan, entering the city on 6 October 1499.
Ludovico Sforza was captured on February 1500,[4] dying in prison in 1508. His son Massimiliano became the Sforza claimant to the Milanese Throne, which he finally re-gained in January 1513, six months after the Swiss army's entrance in Milan.
After their defeat in the Battle of Marignano in 1515, the Swiss retired from Milan and Massimiliano was imprisoned by the returning French troops. He waived his rights to Milan for the sum of 30,000 ducats and continued to live in France.[5]
By November 1521, the French situation had deteriorated considerably. Emperor Charles V, Henry VIII of England, and Pope Leo X signed an alliance against Francis on 28 November.[6] Odet de Foix, Viscount of Lautrec, the French governor of Milan, was tasked with resisting the Imperial and Papal forces; he was outmatched by Prospero Colonna, however, and by late November had been forced out of Milan and had retreated to a ring of towns around the Adda River.[7] For the third time and last time, the Sforza were restored to power.
In 1535, after the death of the heirless Francesco II Sforza, Emperor Charles V annexed the Duchy as a vacant imperial state in order to avoid other claims by the French or the collateral branches of Sforza.
In 1540, the Duchy was secretly given as a gift to Charles V's son Philip, Prince of Asturias. This was made official at the abdication of Charles V in 1555. In 1556, Philip became Philip II of Spain and Milan entered in personal union with the Spanish Crown.
| Duke | Arms | Tenure | Marriage(s) Issue | Succession right(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philip I (Filippo I) | 11 October 1540 13 September 1598 | (1) Maria Manuela of Portugal 1 child (2) Queen Mary I of England Childless (3) Elisabeth of Valois 2 children (4) Anna of Austria 5 children | Title given by Emperor Charles V | |||
| Philip II (Filippo II) | 13 September 1598 31 March 1621 | Margaret of Austria 8 children | Son of Philip I (blood proximity) | |||
| Philip III (Filippo III) | 31 March 1621 17 September 1665 | (1) Elisabeth of France 8 children (2) Mariana of Austria 5 children María Calderón 1 legitimized child | Son of Philip II (primogeniture) | |||
| Charles I (Carlo I) | 17 September 1665 1 November 1700 | (1) Marie Louise d’Orléans Childless (2) Maria Anna of Neuburg Childless | Son of Philip III (blood proximity) | |||
In September 1700, Charles became ill; by 28 September he was no longer able to eat and Portocarrero persuaded him to alter his Will in favour of Louis XIV's grandson, Philip of Anjou.[8] When Charles died on 1 November 1700, the throne was offered to Philip, who was proclaimed King of Spain on 16 November 1700. This was accepted by Britain and the Dutch Republic, among others. Disputes over division of territories and commercial rights led to the War of the Spanish Succession in 1701.[9]
After the Treaty of Rastatt of 1714, Emperor Charles VI officially gained the Duchy of Milan, a possession considered vital to the security of Austria's southern border.[10] Since that moment, Milan was a permanent possession of the Austrian branch of the Habsburg dynasty.
| Duke | Arms | Tenure | Marriage(s) Issue | Succession right(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles II (Carlo II) | 80px | 7 March 1714 20 October 1740 | Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick 4 children | ||
| Maria Theresa (Maria Teresa) | 80px | 20 October 1740 29 November 1780 | Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor 15 children | ||
| Joseph I (Giuseppe I) | 80px | 29 November 1780 20 February 1790 | (1) Isabella of Parma 2 children (2) Maria Josepha of Bavaria Childless | ||
| Leopold I (Leopoldo I) | 80px | 20 February 1790 1 March 1792 | Maria Luisa of Spain 16 children | ||
| Francis II (Francesco II) | 1 March 1792 15 May 1796 | (1) Elisabeth of Württemberg 1 child (2) Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily 11 children (3) Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este Childless (4) Caroline Augusta of Bavaria Childless | |||
| Interregnum : Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars | |||||
| 11 April 1814 7 April 1815 | |||||
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