Duchy of Milan

{{Short description|Former duchy in Italy (1395–1447; 1450–1796)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}} {{Infobox country | conventional_long_name = Duchy of Milan | common_name = Milan | native_name = {{native name|la|Ducatus Mediolani}} {{native name|it|Ducato di Milano}} {{native name|lmo|Ducaa de Milan}} | era = Early modern | government_type = [[Principality|Princely]] [[hereditary monarchy]] | capital = [[Milan]] | title_leader = [[Duke of Milan|Duke]] | leader1 = [[Gian Galeazzo Visconti]] (first) | year_leader1 = 1395–1402 | leader2 = [[Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis II]] (last) | year_leader2 = 1792–1796 | event_start = [[Holy Roman Empire|Imperial]] diploma of [[Wenceslaus, King of the Romans|Wenceslaus of Bohemia]] | year_start = 1395 | date_start = 1 May | year_end = 1796 | life_span = 1395–1447 1450–1796 | event1 = [[Ambrosian Republic]] | date_event1 = 1447–1450 | event2 = [[Ancien Régime in France|French]] occupation | date_event2 = 1499–1512, 1515–1521 and 1524–1525 | event3 = Protectorate of the [[Old Swiss Confederacy|Swiss Confederacy]] | date_event3 = 1512–1515 | event4 = Habsburg rule | date_event4 = 1535–1796 | event5 = Spanish rule | date_event5 = 1556–1707 | event6 = Austrian rule | date_event6 = 1707–1796 | date_end = 15 November | event_end = Annexation to the [[Transpadane Republic]] | p1 = Lordship of Milan{{!}}'''1395:''' Lordship of Milan | flag_p1 = Flag of the Lordship of Milan (XIII century-1395).svg | p2 = Golden Ambrosian Republic{{!}}'''1450:''' Golden Ambrosian Republic | flag_p2 = Flag of the Golden Ambrosian Republic.svg | s1 = Golden Ambrosian Republic{{!}}'''1447:''' Golden Ambrosian Republic | flag_s1 = Flag of the Golden Ambrosian Republic.svg | s2 = Old Swiss Confederacy{{!}}'''1500:''' Old Swiss Confederacy | flag_s2 = Early Swiss cross.svg | s3 = Transpadane Republic{{!}}'''1796:''' Transpadane Republic | flag_s3 = Flag of France.svg | image_flag = Flag of the Duchy of Milan (1450).svg | flag = Flag of Milan#Gallery | flag_type = | image_coat = Coat of arms of the Duchy of Milan (Sforza period).svg | coa_size = 130px | symbol_type = Coat of arms (1395–1535) | image_map = [[File:Italy in 1499.png|250px|The Italian Peninsula in 1499]] | image_map2 = Ducato di Milano, 1402.svg | image_map_caption = Duchy of Milan in 1499 | image_map2_caption = The Duchy of Milan in its period of greatest expansion, between the end of the 14th century and the beginning of the 15th century. | common_languages = [[Lombard language|Lombard]] [[Italian language|Italian]] | religion = [[Roman Catholicism]] | currency = [[Milanese scudo]], [[lira]] and [[soldo]] | today = [[Italy]] [[Switzerland]] | demonym = Milanese | area_km2 = | area_rank = | GDP_PPP = | GDP_PPP_year = | HDI = | HDI_year = | population_estimate = 1,328,000 (1600)<ref>Paolo Malanima, "The Economy of Renaissance Italy", 1st edition 2022, p. 99.</ref> }}

The '''Duchy of Milan''' ({{langx|it|Ducato di Milano}}; {{langx|lmo|Ducaa de Milan}}) was a state in [[Northern Italy]], created in 1395 by [[Gian Galeazzo Visconti]], then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important [[Visconti of Milan|Visconti family]], which had been ruling the city since 1277.<ref>{{harvp|Black|2009|pages=68–72}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title= Storia di Milano: dal 1201 al 1225|url=http://www.storiadimilano.it/cron/dal1201al1225.htm|access-date=1 July 2020|website=www.storiadimilano.it}}</ref> At that time, it included twenty-six towns and the wide rural area of the middle [[Padan Plain]] east of the [[Montferrat|hills of Montferrat]]. During much of its existence, it was wedged between [[House of Savoy|Savoy]] to the west, [[Republic of Venice]] to the east, the [[Old Swiss Confederacy|Swiss Confederacy]] to the north, and separated from the Mediterranean by the [[Republic of Genoa]] to the south. The duchy was at its largest at the beginning of the 15th century, at which time it included almost all of what is now [[Lombardy]] and parts of what are now [[Piedmont]], Veneto, [[Tuscany]], and [[Emilia-Romagna]].<ref name=":0" />

Under the [[House of Sforza]], Milan experienced a period of great prosperity with the introduction of the silk industry, becoming one of the wealthiest states during the [[Renaissance]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Milan – History|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Milan-Italy|access-date=17 December 2020|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> From the late 15th century, the Duchy of Milan was contested between the forces of the [[Habsburg Monarchy]] and the [[Kingdom of France]]. It was ruled by [[Habsburg Spain]] from 1556 and it passed to [[Austrian monarchy|Habsburg Austria]] in 1707 during the [[War of the Spanish Succession]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Storia di Milano ::: dal 1701 al 1725|url=http://www.storiadimilano.it/cron/dal1701al1725.htm|access-date=1 July 2020|website=www.storiadimilano.it}}</ref> The duchy remained an Austrian possession until 1796 when a French army under [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon Bonaparte]] captured it in the [[War of the First Coalition]], and it ceased to exist a year later as a result of the [[Treaty of Campo Formio]], when Austria ceded it to the new [[Cisalpine Republic]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Storia di Milano ::: dal 1776 al 1800|url=http://www.storiadimilano.it/cron/dal1776al1800.htm|access-date=1 July 2020|website=www.storiadimilano.it}}</ref>

After the defeat of Napoleonic France, the [[Congress of Vienna]] of 1815 restored many other Italian States which he had dissolved, but not the Duchy of Milan. Instead, its former territory became part of the [[Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia]], with the [[Emperor of Austria]] as its king. In 1859, Lombardy was ceded to the [[Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia]], which became the new [[Kingdom of Italy]] in 1861.

==History== {{further|History of Milan}}

=== Background === {{Main|Lordship of Milan}} [[File:Visconti XIV century.svg|thumb|left|upright|The Viscontis' dominions in the 14th century, before the foundation of the Duchy of Milan]] The fate of the city of Milan was intertwined since the [[13th century]] with that of the [[Visconti of Milan|Visconti family]], who resumed the policy of territorial expansionism inherited from the city's municipality. One of the first Visconti exponents to lead the Lombard city was [[Ottone Visconti]], elected [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milan|archbishop]] in 1262 and who defeated the [[Della Torre|Della Torre family]] in the [[Battle of Desio]] in 1277.<ref>{{Cite web |title=I Visconti, Signori di Milano |url=https://www.storico.org/umanesimo_rinascimento/visconti.html |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=www.storico.org}}</ref>

In the first half of the following century, his nephews and great-grandsons who came to govern Milan: [[Matteo I Visconti|Matteo I]], [[Galeazzo I Visconti|Galeazzo I]], [[Azzone Visconti|Azzone]] and the Archbishop [[Giovanni Visconti (archbishop of Milan)|Giovanni]], expanding the area of Visconti influence over the surrounding regions. An equal policy of enlargement and consolidation was pursued in the second half of the century by their successors: [[Matteo II Visconti|Matteo II]], [[Bernabò Visconti|Bernabò]] and [[Gian Galeazzo Visconti|Gian Galeazzo]]. After a period marked by tensions between the various members of the powerful family, Gian Galeazzo Visconti, nephew of Bernabò, came to power with a coup in 1385 and gradually unified the vast family domains scattered across [[Northern Italy]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=I Visconti, storia e segreti dei signori di Milano |url=https://www.connessioniculturali.com/tour-virtuali/visconti/ |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=Connessioni Culturali |language=it-IT}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ducato di Milano: origini e storia dei Visconti e degli Sforza {{!}} Studenti.it |url=https://www.studenti.it/ducato-milano-origini-storia-visconti-sforza.html |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=www.studenti.it |language=it}}</ref> It is said that the territories subject to his dominion earned Gian Galeazzo in one year, in addition to the ordinary income of 1,200,000 [[gold florins]], another 800,000 in extraordinary subsidies.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1300: dalla signoria milanese dei Visconti agli Sforza |url=https://www.skuola.net/storia-moderna/1300-visconti-sforza.html |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=Skuola.net - Portale per Studenti: Materiali, Appunti e Notizie |language=it}}</ref>

===Visconti rule (1395–1447)=== [[File:Bellinzona Tschachtlan.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The 1422 [[Battle of Arbedo]] for control over [[Bellinzona]]]] {{further|Florentine–Milanese Wars}} The duchy was officially established on 11 May 1395, when [[Gian Galeazzo Visconti]], the ''Dominus Generalis'' of Milan, obtained the title of [[Duke of Milan]] by means of a diploma signed in [[Prague]] by [[Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia|Wenceslaus of Bohemia]]. The nomination was ratified and celebrated in Milan on 5 September 1395. Gian Galeazzo Visconti also obtained the ''license'' to quarter the Visconti's [[biscione]] with the imperial eagle in the new ducal flag.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gian Galeazzo Visconti e la nascita del Ducato di Milano |url=https://naviglireloading.eu/gian-galeazzo-visconti-e-la-nascita-del-ducato-di-milano/ |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=Navigli Reloading |language=it-IT}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=GIAN GALEAZZO Visconti, duca di Milano - Treccani |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/gian-galeazzo-visconti-duca-di-milano_(Enciclopedia-Italiana)/,%20https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/gian-galeazzo-visconti-duca-di-milano_(Enciclopedia-Italiana)/ |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=Treccani |language=it}}</ref>

The duchy, as defined in the diploma of 1395, included the territory surrounding Milan, between the Adda and Ticino rivers,<ref>{{harvp|Black|2009|page=69}}</ref> but the dominions of Gian Galeazzo Visconti extended beyond, including 26 towns and spanned from [[Piedmont]] to [[Veneto]] and from present-day [[Canton of Ticino]] to [[Umbria]].<ref>{{harvp|Bueno de Mesquita|1941|pages=174–301}}</ref><ref name="CHK">{{cite book|title=The English cyclopedia: geography |first=Charles |last=Knight |year=1855 |place=London}}</ref> Milan thus became one of the five major states of the Italian peninsula in the 15th century. The House of Visconti had been expanding their dominions for nearly a century, under the reigns of [[Azzone Visconti]], [[Luchino Visconti (died 1349)|Luchino Visconti]], [[Giovanni Visconti (archbishop)|Giovanni Visconti]], [[Bernabò Visconti]] and Gian Galeazzo Visconti: during the rule of Azzone Visconti, the [[Ossola]] in Piedmont had been conquered in 1331, followed by [[Bergamo]] and [[Pavia]] (Lombardy) and [[Novara]] (Piedmont) in 1332, [[Pontremoli]] (Tuscany) in 1333, [[Vercelli]] (Piedmont) and [[Cremona]] (Lombardy) in 1334, the Lombard cities of [[Como]], [[Crema, Lombardy|Crema]], [[Lodi, Lombardy|Lodi]] and the [[Valtellina]] in 1335, [[Bormio]] (Lombardy) and [[Piacenza]] (Emilia) in 1336, and [[Brescia]] and the [[Val Camonica]] in 1337.<ref>{{Cite web|title=VISCONTI|url=https://www.archiviodistatomilano.beniculturali.it/getFile.php?id=990|access-date=3 July 2020|archive-date=9 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220409022430/https://www.archiviodistatomilano.beniculturali.it/getFile.php?id=990|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The brothers Luchino and Giovanni Visconti added [[Bellinzona]] (present-day Switzerland in 1342, [[Parma]] (Emilia) in 1346 and several territories in southwestern Piedmont in 1347: [[Tortona]], [[Alessandria]], [[Asti]], and [[Mondovì]]. Bernabò conquered [[Reggio Emilia]] in 1371 and [[Riva del Garda]] in 1380, and Gian Galeazzo greatly expanded Milan's dominions, first eastwards, with the conquest of the Venetian cities of [[Verona]] (1387), [[Vicenza]] (1387), [[Feltre]] (1388), [[Belluno]] (1388) and [[Padua]] (briefly, from 1388 to 1390), and later southwards, conquering [[Lucca]], [[Pisa]] and [[Siena]] in Tuscany in 1399, [[Perugia]] in Umbria in 1400, [[Bologna]] in Emilia in 1402, and [[Assisi]] in Umbria also in 1402.{{sfnp|Chamberlin|1965|p=196}}

===Ambrosian Republic (1447–1450)=== {{Main|Golden Ambrosian Republic}} [[File:BartholomaeusColleoni1566-69.png|thumb|left|upright|[[Bartolomeo Colleoni]] the condottiere of the Golden Ambrosian Republic notably at the [[battle of Bosco Marengo]]]]

When the last Visconti duke, [[Filippo Maria Visconti|Filippo Maria]], died in 1447 without a male heir, the Milanese declared the so-called [[Golden Ambrosian Republic]], which soon faced revolts and attacks from its neighbors.<ref>Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini (Pope Pius II), ''The Commentaries of Pius II'' (Northampton, Massachusetts, 1936–37) pp. 46, 52.</ref> In 1450 mercenary captain [[Francesco I Sforza|Francesco Sforza]], having previously married Filippo Maria Visconti's illegitimate daughter Bianca Maria, conquered the city and restored the duchy, founding the [[House of Sforza]].<ref>Cecilia M. Ady, ''A History of Milan under the Sforza'', ed. [[Edward Armstrong (historian)|Edward Armstrong]] (London, 1907) pp. 56–60.</ref>

===First Sforza's rule (1450–1499)=== [[File:Map of Lombardy after the Peace of Lodi (1454) 2008 - Touring Club Italiano GR Lombardia@0045.tif|thumb|left|Map of Lombardy after the Peace of Lodi]] The [[Venetian republic]] had not abandoned its desire to expand into [[Lombardy]] and therefore entered into an alliance with [[Alfonso V of Aragon]], [[King of Naples]], and with Emperor [[Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick III]], against [[Francesco I Sforza]] and his allies. The [[fall of Constantinople]], conquered by the [[Ottoman Turks]], however, endangered the structure of the Venetian possessions in the [[Aegean Sea]] and after 4 years of war the [[Peace of Lodi]] was signed in 1454. With this document Francesco Sforza and Alfonso of Aragon were recognized respectively as Duke of Milan and King of Naples, the Republic of Venice extended its dominion up to the [[Adda (river)|Adda]] and the Holy Italian League against the Turks was concluded.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Francésco I Sforza duca di Milano - Treccani |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/francesco-i-sforza-duca-di-milano/,%20https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/francesco-i-sforza-duca-di-milano/ |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=Treccani |language=it}}</ref>

The political balance achieved with the Peace of Lodi lasted until the death of [[Lorenzo de' Medici]], ruler of [[Republic of Florence|the Florentine Republic]], and the incursion of [[Charles VIII of France|King Charles VIII of France]] into Italy in 1494, except for some Swiss incursions which resulted in the Peace of Lucerne.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-04-08 |title=Francesco Sforza {{!}} Renaissance Ruler of Milan {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Francesco-Sforza-duke-of-Milan-1401-1466 |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> [[Galeazzo Maria Sforza|Galeazzo Maria]], son of Francesco Sforza, due to his government considered by many to be tyrannical, was murdered in a conspiracy. His son, [[Gian Galeazzo Sforza|Gian Galeazzo]], governed under the regency of his mother [[Bona of Savoy]], until his uncle, [[Ludovico il Moro]] usurped the throne of the duchy. Ludovico il Moro, son of Francesco Sforza, managed to obtain the guardianship of his nephew Gian Galeazzo and confine him to the [[Visconti Castle (Pavia)|Visconti Castle of Pavia]], where in 1494 he died in such mysterious circumstances that many suspicions gathered around Ludovico himself.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Galeazzo Marìa Sforza duca di Milano - Treccani |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/galeazzo-maria-sforza-duca-di-milano/,%20https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/galeazzo-maria-sforza-duca-di-milano/ |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=Treccani |language=it}}</ref>[[File:LuzSchiCrev.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The [[battle of Crevola]] 1487 securing the [[Ossola|Val d'Ossola]]]]

Relations between Ludovico and [[Ferdinand II of Aragon]] therefore deteriorated: Gian Galeazzo had in fact married a niece of the King of Naples, who took the side of the legitimate heir. Ludovico il Moro responded by encouraging King Charles VIII of France to reclaim the Kingdom of Naples, as until 1442 the Neapolitan throne had belonged to Charles ancestors, the [[Capetian House of Anjou]]. In 1494, Charles VIII conquered Naples, upsetting the balance between the various Italian states and starting the [[Italian Wars]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ludovico Sforza detto il Moro: ascesa e caduta di un principe del Rinascimento |url=https://www.studenti.it/ludovico-il-moro-principe-del-rinascimento.html |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=Studenti.it |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ludovico Sforza duca di Milano, detto il Moro - Treccani |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/ludovico-sforza-duca-di-milano-detto-il-moro/,%20https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/ludovico-sforza-duca-di-milano-detto-il-moro/ |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=Treccani |language=it}}</ref>

===First French rule (1499–1512)=== In 1495, Charles VIII was expelled from the Peninsula by a League composed of many Italian states, the Holy Roman Empire, the Spanish Empire and the [[Kingdom of England]]. Only three years later, in 1498, the Duke of Orléans, who had become King of France under the name of [[Louis XII]], asserted his claims on the Duchy of Milan: one of his ancestors, [[Louis I, Duke of Orléans|Louis of Orleans]], had in fact married [[Valentina Visconti, Duchess of Orléans|Valentina Visconti]], daughter of Duke Gian Galeazzo, in 1389, whose marriage contract established that, in the event of the extinction of the Visconti dynasty, the title of Duke of Milan would go to Valentina's descendants. Louis XII, claiming to be the legitimate heir of the Viscontis, invaded the Milanese state in 1499, driving out Ludovico il Moro. The former Sforza ruler tried in vain to counter the transalpine troops, even asking the Emperor for help, but only managed to briefly recapture the capital and a few other lands. Defeated and taken prisoner in [[Novara]] in 1500, he was deported to [[Kingdom of France|France]], to the Castle of [[Loches]], where he died on 27 May 1508.<ref>{{Cite web |title=VISCONTI, Valentina, duchessa d'Orleans - Treccani |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/visconti-valentina-duchessa-d-orleans_(Dizionario-Biografico)/,%20https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/visconti-valentina-duchessa-d-orleans_(Dizionario-Biografico)/ |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=Treccani |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Luigi XII re di Francia, detto il Padre del popolo - Treccani |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/luigi-xii-re-di-francia-detto-il-padre-del-popolo/,%20https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/luigi-xii-re-di-francia-detto-il-padre-del-popolo/ |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=Treccani |language=it}}</ref>

=== Second Sforza's rule (1512–1515) === [[Louis XII]] remained Duke of Milan until 1512, when the [[Old Swiss Confederacy|Swiss army]] expelled the [[Kingdom of France|French]] from Lombardy and placed [[Maximilian Sforza]], son of Ludovico il Moro, on the Milanese throne. Between 1512 and 1515, the [[Old Swiss Confederacy|Swiss cantons]] ''de facto'' controlled the duchy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Massimiliano Sforza duca di Milano - Treccani |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/massimiliano-sforza-duca-di-milano/,%20https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/massimiliano-sforza-duca-di-milano/ |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=Treccani |language=it}}</ref>

=== Second French rule (1515–1521) === Under the reign of [[Francis I of France|King Francis I]], the [[French Crown]] managed to re-establish its sovereignty over the Milanese duchy. In 1515, after the bloody [[Battle of Marignano]], which saw the defeat of the Swiss army, the French sovereign deposed Maximilian and installed himself on the ducal throne. Despite the defeat, the Swiss managed to retain the territories along the road that leads from the [[Gotthard Pass]] to the gates of [[Como]] (today's [[Canton of Ticino]]). The [[Treaty of Noyon]] of 1516 confirmed the possession of the Duchy of Milan to the French. Francis I governed the duchy until 1521 when [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V, King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor]], conquered it after the [[Battle of Vaprio d'Adda]] and raised Maximilian's young brother, [[Francesco II Sforza]], to the ducal throne.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Francésco II Sforza duca di Milano - Treccani |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/francesco-ii-sforza-duca-di-milano/,%20https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/francesco-ii-sforza-duca-di-milano/ |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=Treccani |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Francis I - Charles V, Rivalry, Italy {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Francis-I-king-of-France/Rivalry-with-Charles-V |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

The French briefly retook the city in late 1524 but lost it again after their decisive defeat in the [[Battle of Pavia]] on 24 February 1525, which left the forces of Emperor Charles V in a strong position within the Italian peninsula. Francesco II Sforza then joined the [[Republic of Venice]], the [[Florentine Republic]], [[Pope Clement VII]] and the [[Kingdom of France]] in the [[League of Cognac]] against Charles.

Shortly thereafter the [[War of the League of Cognac]] broke out. Fighting erupted in Lombardy between League forces and Imperial forces under Antonio de Leyva, Alfonso del Guasto and [[Charles III, Duke of Bourbon]]. At the outset, the Imperial forces besieged Sforza in the castle of Milan. Although League forces attempted to relieve Milan, the Duke of Bourbon arrived with reinforcements on July 5. The League relief army attempted to break the siege lines but failed and on 24 July 1526 the citadel fell to the Imperial forces.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rickard |first1=J |title=Second Hapsburg-Valois War or War of the League of Cognac (1526-30) |url=http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_second_hapsburg_valois.html |website=Military History Encyclopedia on the Web |publisher=J Rickard |access-date=18 March 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Dupuy |first1=R. Ernest |last2=Dupuy |first2=Trevor N. |title=The Harper Encyclopedia of Military History - From 3500 B.C. to the Present |date=1993 |publisher=HarperCollins Publishers |isbn=0-06-270056-1 |page=518 |edition=Fourth}}</ref>

An attempt was made to siege Milan by League forces two months later by Francesco Maria, Duke of Urbino. However by that time, additional reinforcements from Spain and Germany had joined Bourbon’s army and Urbino was forced to lift the siege. Milan continued to be held throughout the war by Imperial forces and was returned to Sforza and the Milanese only after both side sought peace and agreed to negotiations which resulted in the [[Treaty of Cambrai]] whereby France officially abandoned their claims to their Italian territories, including Milan and Naples.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rickard |first1=J |title=Second Hapsburg-Valois War or War of the League of Cognac (1526-30) |url=http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_second_hapsburg_valois.html |website=Military History Encyclopedia on the Web |publisher=J Rickard |access-date=18 March 2025}}</ref>

As part of the treaty, Charles also agreed to allow Sforza to be reinstated as the Duke of Milan until his death in exchange for concessions from Venice. Charles was also influenced by the fact that he did not want to clash with the Venetians, and he knew he didn't have the means to succeed, as the Venetians were concerned that Milan not fall into the hands of foreigners powers, given that they did not consider themselves "capable of occupying it nor proportionate to be able to hold it".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Francesco I di Valois - Treccani |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/francesco-i-di-valois_(Enciclopedia-dei-ragazzi)/,%20https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/francesco-i-di-valois_(Enciclopedia-dei-ragazzi)/ |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=Treccani |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-02-24 |title=Francesco I e la battaglia di Pavia |url=https://www.storicang.it/a/francesco-i-e-battaglia-di-pavia_16040 |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=www.storicang.it |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Cognac, Lega di - Treccani |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/lega-di-cognac/,%20https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/lega-di-cognac/ |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=Treccani |language=it}}</ref>

Francesco II Sforza died without heirs in 1535, opening a new question for the succession to the throne. In this period, to be precise in 1532, Francesco II Sforza requested and obtained from Pope Clement VII the elevation of [[Vigevano]], a city to which his family had always been deeply linked, to the capital of [[Vigevanasco]], after it had obtained in 1530 the title of city and bishopric according to the same methods.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vigevano |url=https://www.italia.it/en/lombardy/vigevano |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=Italia.it |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=FRANCESCO II Sforza, duca di Milano - Treccani |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/francesco-ii-sforza-duca-di-milano_(Dizionario-Biografico)/,%20https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/francesco-ii-sforza-duca-di-milano_(Dizionario-Biografico)/ |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=Treccani |language=it}}</ref>

===Spanish Habsburg rule (1556–1707)=== King Francis of France and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor both claimed the duchy by making war. The latter, claiming it as an imperial fief upon the extinction of the Sforza, obtained control of the duchy and installed his son [[Philip II of Spain|Philip II]] there with an imperial diploma signed in Brussels on 11 October 1540 and made public in 1554. Philip's possession of the duchy was finally recognized by King [[Henry II of France]] in 1559, with the [[Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis (1559)|Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis]]. The duchy, having lost all forms of independence, was then reduced to a regional state subjected to foreign domination.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Milano, dalla dominazione spagnola all'Illuminismo |url=https://www.baroque.it/storia-tra-seicento-e-settecento/italia/milano-dalla-spagna-all-austria.html |access-date=2024-06-17 |website=www.baroque.it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=L'epoca spagnola |url=https://www.melegnano.net/storia/pagina004so.htm |access-date=2024-06-17 |website=www.melegnano.net}}</ref>

Under the Spanish viceroys from 1535, Milan became one of the contributors to the Spanish king's army. At the time Lombardy had the most developed manufacturing and commercial economy anywhere in the world, making it a valuable tool for the Spanish military: an armory of paramount strategic importance.[43] In addition to resources, Milan also provided soldiers. During the Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659), Milan sent and paid for on average 4,000 soldiers per year (and over 100,000 in total) to the Spanish crown, with many of these men serving in the Low Countries against the Dutch States Army.[44]

===Austrian Habsburg rule (1714–1796)=== With the [[Treaty of Baden (1714)|Treaty of Baden]], which ended the [[War of the Spanish Succession]], the Duchy of Milan was ceded to the [[Habsburg monarchy|Austrian Habsburgs]]. During the 18th century, the surface area of the duchy—despite its unification in 1745 with the [[Duchy of Mantua]], which had strong autonomy from Milan—was further reduced, reaching a much smaller extension than present-day Lombardy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Settecento |url=https://www.divinamilano.it/settecento-a-milano/ |access-date=2024-06-17 |website=Divina Milano |language=it-IT}}</ref> The government of the Habsburgs of Austria was characterized by significant administrative reforms, which the sovereigns of the Austrian house—inspired by the principles of [[enlightened absolutism]]—also introduced in their Lombard territories: for example, the rearrangement of the [[Cadastre|land register]], the suppression of ecclesiastical censorship and the development of the silk industry.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MILANO NEL SETTECENTO: L'ASSOLUTISMO ILLUMINATO DI MARIA TERESA D'AUSTRIA |url=https://www.homolaicus.com/storia/moderna/monarchie_nazionali/milano_700.htm#google_vignette |access-date=2024-06-17 |website=www.homolaicus.com}}</ref>

=== End of the Duchy === Following [[Napoleon Bonaparte]]'s victorious campaign in northern Italy in 1796, the duchy, entrusted to an interim government junta, was ceded to the [[French First Republic|French Republic]] by the Habsburgs with the [[Treaty of Campo Formio]] in 1797. Already in 1796, the French had established the vassal state of the [[Transpadane Republic]] on the territories of the Duchy of Milan, which merged with the [[Cispadane Republic]] in 1797 to form the [[Cisalpine Republic]], of which Milan became the capital.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Milano napoleonica |url=https://digilander.libero.it/mauroandreadisalvo/didattica/Milano%20napoleonica.htm |access-date=2024-06-17 |website=digilander.libero.it}}</ref> After the defeat of Napoleon, on the basis of the decisions taken by the [[Congress of Vienna]] on 9 June 1815, the Duchy of Milan was not restored but became part of the [[Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia]], a constituent land of the [[Austrian Empire]]. The kingdom ceased to exist when the remaining portion of it was annexed to the [[Kingdom of Italy]] in 1866.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011 |title=La Scuola per i 150 anni dell'Unità d'Italia − Gli austriaci − Il governo del Lombardo-Veneto |url=https://www.150anni.it/webi/index.php?s=32&wid=71 |access-date=17 June 2024 |website=150anni.it |language=it}}</ref>

==Historical coat of arms== <gallery class="center" perrow="3" caption="Coat of arms"> File:Coat of arms of the Duchy of Milan (Sforza period).svg|'''1395–1535''' (Under the Visconti and Sforza dynasties) File:Coat of Arms of the King of Spain as Monarch of Milan (1580-1700).svg|'''1580–1700''' (Under Spanish Habsburgs) File:Coat of Arms of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine as Monarch of Milan (1707-1796).svg|'''1707–1796''' (Under Austrian Habsburgs) </gallery>

==Rulers== {{main|List of dukes of Milan|List of governors of the Duchy of Milan}}

==See also== * [[Insubria]]

==References== {{reflist}}

==Sources== * {{Cite book |last=Black |first=Jane |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uhoUDAAAQBAJ |title=Absolutism in Renaissance Milan: Plenitude of Power Under the Visconti and the Sforza 1329-1535 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-19-956529-0 |location=Oxford; New York |oclc=368048357}} * {{Cite book |last=Bueno de Mesquita |first=Daniel Meredith |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IrE8AAAAIAAJ |title=Giangaleazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan (1351-1402): A Study in the Political Career of an Italian Despot |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=1941 |location=Cambridge}} * {{Cite book |last=Chamberlin |first=E. R. |url=https://archive.org/details/countofvirtuegia0000cham |title=The Count of Virtue, Giangaleazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan |date=1965 |publisher=[[Eyre & Spottiswoode]] |location=London |access-date=22 May 2023 |url-access=registration}}

==External links== * [http://www.aboutmilan.com/history-of-milan.html About Milan]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milan, Duchy Of}} [[Category:Duchy of Milan| ]] [[Category:1796 disestablishments in Italy]] [[Category:States and territories established in 1395]] [[Category:History of Milan|Duchy of Milan]] [[Category:House of Visconti]] [[Category:House of Sforza]] [[Category:House of Habsburg-Lorraine|*]] [[Category:Italian city-states]] [[Category:Italian states]] [[Category:1395 establishments in Europe]] [[Category:Former Christian states]] [[Category:Former monarchies of Europe]] [[Category:Former duchies]] [[Category:Spanish Empire in Italy]] [[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1796]]