Bianca Maria Visconti

Bianca Maria Visconti
Duchess of Milan
Bianca Maria Visconti in a portrait by Bonifacio Bembo, Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan
Spouse(s)	Francesco I Sforza
Issue Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan Ippolita Maria Sforza, Duchess of Calabria Filippo Maria Sforza, Count of Corsica Sforza Maria Sforza, Duke of Bari Francesco Galeazzo Maria Sforza Ludovico Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan Ascanio Maria Sforza Elisabetta Maria Sforza, Margravine of Montferrato Ottaviano Maria Sforza, Count of Lugano
Noble family	Visconti
Father	Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan
Mother	Agnese del Maino
Born	31 March 1425 Settimo Pavese, Lombardy, Italy
Died	28 October 1468 (aged 43) Cremona

Bianca Maria Visconti (31 March 1425 – 28 October 1468) was Duchess of Milan from 1450 to 1468.

Born near Settimo Pavese, Bianca Maria was the illegitimate daughter of Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan and last of the Visconti rulers, and Agnese del Maino, the only person the shy, secluded Filippo ever loved. Agnese was the daughter of Ambrogio del Maino, a Milanese nobleman and ducal questore. Agnese served as Lady-in-Waiting to Filippo's wife, Beatrice di Tenda. The couple had a second daughter, called Caterina Maria or Lucia Maria, also born in Settimo in 1426, but she died shortly after her birth.

Bianca's paternal grandparents were Gian Galeazzo Visconti and Caterina Visconti.

When she was six months old, Bianca Maria and her mother were sent to a castle in Abbiate, where a rich residence had been established for the two of them. The Duke spent much of his time in Abbiategrasso, where he was impressed by Bianca Maria's strong character.

Bianca Maria spent her childhood and adolescence in Abbiategrasso, where she received a humanist education. The Ducal library contained a wide variety of works: Latin classics, narrative texts in Provençal and French, scientific and didactical works, as well as texts in Italian and volgare, mainly by Tuscan authors. Both Bianca and her father were passionate hunters and lovers of horses.

In 1430, at the age of six, Bianca Maria was betrothed to the condottiero Francesco I Sforza, a man twenty-four years older than she. In that year the condotta (contract) between Milan and Sforza came to an end, and the betrothal was a move to keep the powerful general tied with Milan. It has also been suggested that Visconti enticed Sforza with the promise of appointing him as legitimate heir to the duchy. Sforza probably also accepted because of the rich dowry, which included territories in the areas of Cremona, Castellazzo di Bollate and Bosco Frugarolo. The contract was signed on February 23, 1432, in the castle of Porta Giovia, the Visconti residence in Milan. Bianca Maria's official spokesperson was her godfather, Andrea Visconti, general of the Humiliates order. The presence of Bianca Maria and her mother at the ceremony is not certain; according to some sources, she visited Milan for the first time when she was already of marrying age.