Agnese del Maino

Agnese del Maino
A painting of Agnese del Maino and her daughter, Bianca Maria Visconti, by an unknown artist
Born	c.1411 Milan, Lombardy, Italy
Died	13 December 1465 (aged 54)
Known for	Mistress of Filippo Maria Visconti
Children	Bianca Maria Visconti Caterina Maria Visconti

Agnese del Maino (c. 1411 – 13 December 1465) was a Milanese noblewoman and the mistress of Filippo Maria Visconti, the last legitimate Duke of Milan of the Visconti dynasty. Agnese was the mother of Bianca Maria Visconti, who succeeded to the title of Duchess of Milan in 1450, despite her illegitimacy.

Agnese was born around 1411 in Milan. She was the daughter of Ambrogio del Maino, a Count Palantine and ducal questore or chief of police. Her mother's name and identity is unknown. Agnese had two brothers, Lancillotto del Maino and Andreotto del Maino, who were both courtiers and members of the ducal council. She became the mistress of Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan, the last Duke of Milan of the Visconti dynasty, whose wife Beatrice Lascaris di Tenda had been executed for adultery in 1418 and had produced no children. He was the son of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan by his second wife, Caterina Visconti. Blonde-haired Agnese was the only person the reclusive Duke ever truly loved.

On 31 March 1425 at Settimo Pavese, Agnese gave birth to Filippo's daughter, whom they named Bianca Maria. When the baby was six months old, Agnese and Bianca Maria were sent to the castle of Abbiategrasso, where lavish apartments were provided for mother and child. In 1426, Agnese bore the Duke a second daughter, Caterina Maria, but the child died shortly after her birth. Filippo, for reasons of state, married secondly, by proxy on 2 December 1427, and in person on 24 September 1428, Marie of Savoy (January 1411 – 22 February 1479), the daughter of Amadeus VIII of Savoy and Marie of Burgundy. The duke's second marriage was also childless, making Bianca Maria his sole heir to the duchy of Milan.

On 25 October 1441, Bianca Maria was married, in a magnificent ceremony at the Abbey of San Sigismondo in Cremona, to Francesco Sforza, a renowned Condottiero and member of the Condottieri Sforza family. Agnese was present at her daughter's wedding. The extravagant festivities, which lasted for days, offered a sumptuous banquet, a series of tournaments, a palio, painted carts featuring allegorical scenes, and an oversized cake that reproduced the Torrazzo, Cremona's most prominent tower. Bianca Maria's considerable dowry included the towns of Cremona and Pontremoli. The marriage produced eight children, among these were, Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, Cardinal Ascanio Sforza, and Ippolita Maria Sforza, Duchess of Calabria.