BIANCA SFORZA 



splashing about in the water, and holding out his 

 little hands to his sister as she bent down to caress 

 him. " It really," adds the writer, " was the prettiest 

 picture imaginable." * 



A month later, on the 26th of May 1495, Lodovico 

 was solemnly proclaimed Duke of Milan. Bianca was 

 present at this ceremony, which took place on the 

 piazza in front of the Duomo, and which Beatrice 

 describes in her letters as " the grandest pageant and 

 noblest solemnity in the world." The conclusion of 

 peace with France, in the following autumn, left the 

 Duke of Milan without a rival in Italy. His triumph 

 seemed complete, and the Christmas festival was kept 

 with great rejoicing at Milan. Galeazzo di San 

 Severino laid down his command, and claimed the 

 fulfilment of Lodovico's promise to let him have 

 Bianca to wife. The Duke still hesitated, partly on 

 account of her delicate health, and partly out of reluct- 

 ance to part from the daughter whom he held as the 

 apple of his eye, saying that he could not love her 

 more dearly if she had been Beatrice's child. By the 

 end of June, however, his consent was finally given, and 

 Messer Galeaz led his bride home in triumph to his house 

 in the Via de' Bossi. But the fatigue and excitement 

 of the wedding festivities were too great a strain for 

 Bianca's frail health. She fell seriously ill a few days after 

 1 Archivio di Stato> Milano> Potenze Sovrane, Sforza, 1495. 



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