Sforza Rule of Milan

Timeline

1. 1461–1466Milan · MilanIn the early 1460s Francesco continued consolidating Sforza hegemony: introducing land registration (catasto) to increase revenue, expanding the Sforza Castle and the Certosa di Pavia, and maintaining diplomatic balance with the Medici of Florence, the Papal States, and France. His mercenary system made Milan a major military power in Italy, but also caused friction with Venice and the Papal States over pay and territorial ambitions.
2. 1466Milan · MilanFrancesco Sforza died in Milan in March 1466, and his eldest son Galeazzo Maria Sforza smoothly succeeded with the support of nobles and mercenaries. The transfer of power saw no major civil unrest, showing that the Sforza system had transcended its founder's personal charisma and formed a hereditary ducal framework.
3. 1466–1470Milan · MilanGaleazzo Maria controlled the cities of Lombardy with a firm hand, strengthened taxation and court ceremony, and continued to patronize architecture and music. In the late 1460s Milan and Venice competed over territory and trade, while intervening through marriage alliances in the Papal-Florentine-Napoleonic triangle. Sforza mercenaries remained a key military resource contested by the Italian states.