Visconti-Sforza

From Freepedia

The Visconti-Sforza were a noble family prominent in southern France and Italy in middle ages to the Rennaissance.

House of Visconti ruled Milan between 1277 and 1447.

Francesco Sforza (1401 - 1466), duke of Milan, was the founder of the Sforza dynasty. He inherited the position of the Visconti family after marring Bianca Maria Visconti. The Sforza family built the Castello Sforzesco in Milan.

Trivia

• The Visconti and Sforza women were among the most beautiful in history, if not in reality then at least in the multiple depictions in Italian renaissance art.

• The very first Tarot deck known to exist (though there are likely earlier decks that have not survived) was a wedding present for a son of this family.