Milan was ruled by dukes from the 14th century to 1814, after which it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia by the Congress of Vienna.

List of dukes of Milan House of Visconti

In 1395, Gian Galeazzo Visconti was titled Duke of Milan by King Wenceslaus, who sold the title under the payment of circa 100,000 florins. 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 13953 September 1402 (1) Isabella of France4 children(2) Caterina Visconti2 children2 illegitimate children Giovanni Maria 3 September 140216 May 1412 Antonia Malatesta of CesenaChildless Son of Gian Galeazzo Visconti(primogeniture) Filippo Maria 16 May 141213 August 1447 (1) Beatrice of TendaChildless(2) Mary of SavoyChildless1 illegitimate child Son of Gian Galeazzo Visconti(blood proximity)

House of Sforza (1st rule)

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 Golden Ambrosian Republic. 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 14508 March 1466 (1) Polissena Ruffo1 daughter(2) A Jacopo Caldora's daughterChildless(3) Bianca Maria Visconti8 childrenGiovanna d'Acquapendente7 illegitimate children Galeazzo Maria 8 March 146626 December 1476 Bona of Savoy4 childrenLucrezia Landriani4 illegitimate childrenLucia Marliani2 illegitimate children Son of Francesco I Sforza(primogeniture) Gian Galeazzo 26 December 147621 October 1494 Isabella of Aragon3 children Son of Galeazzo Maria(primogeniture) Ludovico 21 October 149417 September 1499 Beatrice d'Este2 childrenBernardina de Corradis2 legitimized childrenCecilia Gallerani1 legitimized childLucrezia Crivelli2 legitimized children Son of Francesco I Sforza(blood proximity)

House of Valois (1st rule)

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.

Duke Arms Tenure Marriage(s)Issue Succession right(s) Louis XII(Luigi XII) 6 October 149920 June 1512 (1) Joan of FranceChildless(2) Anne of Brittany2 Daughters(3) Mary of EnglandChildless

House of Sforza (2nd rule) Ludovico Sforza was captured on February 1500, 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.

Duke Arms Tenure Marriage(s)Issue Succession right(s) Massimiliano 16 June 15125 October 1515 Never married Son of Ludovico Sforza(primogeniture)

House of Valois (2nd rule) 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.

Duke Arms Tenure Marriage(s)Issue Succession right(s) Francis I(Francesco I) 11 October 151520 November 1521 (1) Claude of France7 children(2) Eleanor of AustriaChildless

House of Sforza (3rd rule) 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. 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. For the third time and last time, the Sforza were restored to power.

Duke Arms Tenure Marriage(s)Issue Succession right(s) Francesco II 4 April 152224 October 1535 Christina of DenmarkChildless Son of Ludovico Sforza(blood proximity)

House of Habsburg

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.

House of Habsburg-Spain

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 154013 September 1598 (1) Maria Manuela of Portugal1 child(2) Queen Mary I of EnglandChildless(3) Elisabeth of Valois2 children(4) Anna of Austria5 children Title given by Emperor Charles V Philip II(Filippo II) 13 September 159831 March 1621 Margaret of Austria8 children Son of Philip I(blood proximity) Philip III(Filippo III) 31 March 162117 September 1665 (1) Elisabeth of France8 children(2) Mariana of Austria5 childrenMaría Calderón1 legitimized child Son of Philip II(primogeniture) Charles I(Carlo I) 17 September 16651 November 1700 (1) Marie Louise d’OrléansChildless(2) Maria Anna of NeuburgChildless Son of Philip III(blood proximity)

House of Bourbon-Anjou

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. 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.

Duke Arms Tenure Marriage(s)Issue Succession right(s) Philip V(Filippo V) 1 November 17007 March 1714 (1) Maria Luisa of Savoy4 children(2) Elisabeth Farnese6 children

House of Habsburg-Austria (then Habsburg-Lorraine)

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. 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) 7 March 171420 October 1740 Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick4 children Maria Theresa(Maria Teresa) 20 October 174029 November 1780 Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor15 children Joseph I(Giuseppe I) 29 November 178020 February 1790 (1) Isabella of Parma2 children(2) Maria Josepha of BavariaChildless Leopold I(Leopoldo I) 20 February 17901 March 1792 Maria Luisa of Spain16 children Francis II(Francesco II) 1 March 179215 May 1796 (1) Elisabeth of Württemberg1 child(2) Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily11 children(3) Maria Ludovika of Austria-EsteChildless(4) Caroline Augusta of BavariaChildless Interregnum :Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars 11 April 18147 April 1815

See also List of governors of the Duchy of Milan List of mayors of Milan List of consorts of Milan Timeline of Milan

References

Bibliography