Background
Born in Avigliana, Turin, Bona was a daughter of Louis, Duke of Savoy and Anne de Lusignan of Cyprus.
Duke of Milan Duchess of Milan
Born in Avigliana, Turin, Bona was a daughter of Louis, Duke of Savoy and Anne de Lusignan of Cyprus.
She was one of nineteen children. Her many siblings included: Amadeus IX of Savoy, Philip II, Duke of Savoy, Louis of Savoy, Count of Geneva, Marguerite of Savoy and Charlotte of Savoy, who married King Louis XI. An alliance between the Sforza and the royal house of France had been rumoured from as early as 1460, and "in June 1464 Bona of Savoy was officially offered to Galeazzo by letters from the King of France and the Duke of Savoy." The union produced four children:
Hermes Maria Sforza (10 May 1470 – 18 September 1503), Marquis of Tortona. Anna Maria Sforza (21 July 1476 – 30 November 1497), married Alfonso I d"Este, later Duke of Ferrara.
She died in childbirth.
Bona"s husband was assassinated, on 26 December 1476 at the age of 32 by three young noblemen on the porch of the cathedral church of San Stefano in Milan. Galeazzo was succeeded after his 10-year reign by his 7-year-old son Gian Galeazzo Sforza (1469–1494) under the regency of Bona.
In order to obtain his re-admission, Ludovico, took advantage of the rivalry between Tassino (the favourite of Bona) and Simonetta. The fall and execution of Simonetta followed.
Consequently, Bona was obliged to leave Milan and Ludovico was left to rule unchallenged.
Bona of Savoy commissioned the Sforza Book of Hours manuscript, which was painted in about 1490 by a famous court artist, Giovan Pietro Birago. She used the book, which contained devotional texts and is considered to be one of the most outstanding treasures of the Italian Renaissance.
