Galeazzo Maria Sforza (24 January 1444-26 December 1476) was the Duke of Milan from 20 March 1466 to 26 December 1476, succeeding Francesco I Sforza and preceding Gian Galeazzo Sforza.
Biography[]
Galeazzo Maria Sforza was born in Fermo, Lombardy on 24 January 1444, the son of Francesco I Sforza and Bianca Maria Visconti. At the death of his father in 1466, he was commanding forces against Charles the Bold of Burgundy as an ally of King Louis XI of France, and he was called home to succeed his father as Duke of Milan. His ruthless character pushed him to evict his mother from the regency, and he patronized the Renaissance arts in his city. Sforza was a womanizer who passed his women on to his courtiers after he grew tired of them; he was also known for his sadism and grotesque executions, and for raping the wives and daughters of his nobles. On 26 December 1476, the day after Christmas (and the day of Santo Stefano), Sforza was assassinated at a church by several conspirators. Giovanni Andrea Lampugnani knelt to kiss his ring, and he proceeded to draw a knife from his boot and stab Sforza in the abdomen; Gerolamo Olgiati finished him off with another stab, and he was dead within seconds.