View source for Filippo Maria Visconti

{{short description|Duke of Milan (1392–1447)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{about|the 15th-century Duke of Milan|the 18th-century Archbishop of Milan|Filippo Maria Visconti (bishop)}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=March 2013}}
{{infobox royal
| name         = Filippo Maria Visconti
| image        = Pisanello - Codex Vallardi 2484.jpg
| caption      = '' Portrait of Filippo Maria Visconti '' preparatory drawing by [[Pisanello]] for the commemorative medal of the Duke
| succession   = [[Duke of Milan]]
| reign        = 16 May 1412 - 13 August 1447
| predecessor  = [[Gian Maria Visconti|Gian Maria]]
| successor    = [[Ambrosian Republic]]
| house        = [[Visconti of Milan|Visconti]]
| father       = [[Gian Galeazzo Visconti]]
| mother       = [[Caterina Visconti]]
| spouse       = [[Beatrice Lascaris di Tenda|Beatrice Cane]]<br/>[[Marie of Savoy (1411–1469)|Marie of Savoy]]
| issue        = [[Bianca Maria Visconti|Bianca Maria, Duchess of Milan]] (illegitimate)<br/>Caterina (illegitimate)
| birth_date   = 3 September 1392
| birth_place  = [[Milan]]
| death_date   = {{death date and age|1447|8|13|1392|9|3|df=yes}}
| death_place  = Milan
}}

'''Filippo Maria Visconti''' (3 September 1392 – 13 August 1447) was the Duke of [[Duchy of Milan|Milan]] from 1412 until his death in 1447. Contemporary accounts described him as paranoid, yet politically shrewd.

In the 1420s, he engaged in conflict with [[Romagna]], [[Republic of Florence|Florence]], and [[Republic of Venice|Venice]] during the [[Wars in Lombardy]], but was eventually compelled to surrender under pressure from [[Pope Martin V]]. He later returned to war, which ended with another peace agreement.

Visconti married twice; his second marriage, in 1428, was to [[Marie of Savoy, Duchess of Milan|Marie of Savoy]], daughter of his ally [[Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy]]. At his death in 1447, Visconti was the last male of the Visconti line. He was succeeded by [[Francesco I Sforza|Francesco Sforza]], who had married his illegitimate daughter, [[Bianca Maria Visconti]], born to [[Agnese del Maino]].

==Biography==
[[Image:Borgognone fresk.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Gian Galeazzo Visconti, with his three sons, presents a model of the [[Certosa di Pavia]] to the Virgin (Certosa di Pavia).]]
Filippo Maria Visconti was born on 3 September 1392, the son of [[Gian Galeazzo Visconti]] and [[Caterina Visconti]].{{sfn|Rondinini|1997}} When his father died of plague in 1402, his elder brother Gian Maria became Duke of Milan, with their mother Caterina acting in support of her son. Gian Maria, however, came under the influence of his advisers and came to regard his mother as a threat. On 18 August 1404, he had her imprisoned at Monza, where she died on 17 October 1404; her death was rumored to have been caused by poison.   

Following the assassination of Gian Maria on 16 May 1412, and of the ''condottiero'' Facino Cane, Filippo Maria allied himself with Cane's widow, [[Beatrice Lascaris di Tenda|Beatrice Cane]]. Through this alliance, he gained access to her late husband's wealth and armies,{{sfn|Black|2009|p=74}} enabling him to consolidate his authority in Milan. Filippo Maria succeeded his brother as [[Duke of Milan]] and established his rule over [[Pavia]].

As the son of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, who had earlier usurped power by deposing and killing his uncle and father-in-law Bernabò Visconti, Filippo Maria's succession was contested. Opposition came from his uncle [[Estorre Visconti]]{{efn|Capponi refers to Estorre Visconti as Filippo's cousin.{{sfn|Capponi|2015|p=13}}}}{{sfn|Capponi|2015|p=13}} and cousin Giacomo (Giancarlo) Visconti, an illegitimate son and legitimate grandson of Bernabò. With the support of the Milanese population, they briefly assumed control of Milan following Gian Maria's death, but on 16 June 1412 Filippo Maria retook the city.{{sfn|Black|2009|p=74}}

That same year, he confiscated properties of the Scotti family, including [[Agazzano Castle]]. Filippo Maria had married Beatrice Lascaris di Tenda, Countess of [[Biandrate]] and widow of [[Facino Cane]]. The marriage brought him a dowry of 500,000 [[Florin|florins]],{{sfn|Hayes|1911}} but when Beatrice became active in state affairs, he accused her of adultery and had her executed at the Castle of [[Binasco]] in 1418.

Although he was reported to suffer from low self-esteem, Filippo Maria proved to be a capable [[politician]]. By employing prominent ''[[condottieri]]'' such as [[Francesco Bussone da Carmagnola]], [[Niccolò Piccinino]]—whose forces fought at the [[Battle of Anghiari (1440)|Battle of Anghiari]] in 1440—and later [[Francesco Sforza]], he was able to recover much of the Lombard territory of his father's duchy.{{sfn|Hayes|1911}}

After the death of [[Giorgio Ordelaffi]], lord of [[Forlì]], Filippo Maria assumed guardianship of his heir Tebaldo Ordelaffi. He used this position to attempt expansion into [[Romagna]] in 1423, provoking conflict with [[Republic of Florence|Florence]]. In 1425, [[Republic of Venice|Venice]], persuaded by Carmagnola, intervened on Florence's side and the war spread to Lombardy. In March 1426 Carmagnola incited riots in [[Brescia]], which he had earlier captured for Milan. After a prolonged campaign, Venice conquered Brescia, extending its mainland territory to [[Lake Garda]]. Filippo Maria sought support from the Holy Roman Emperor, but was forced to accept peace terms imposed by [[Pope Martin V]], which favoured Venice. Dissatisfied, he soon resumed hostilities, but was defeated at [[Maclodio]] on 12 October 1427. A more durable peace was later signed at [[Ferrara]], mediated by [[Niccolò III d'Este, Marquis of Ferrara]].

In 1428, Filippo Maria married his second wife, [[Marie of Savoy, Duchess of Milan|Marie of Savoy]], daughter of [[Amadeus VIII of Savoy]], an ally.{{sfn|Wilkins|Wilkins|1996|p=107}} With Visconti's support, Amadeus later reigned as Antipope Felix V from November 1439 to April 1449.

Filippo Maria also patronised scholarship. He invited the humanist [[Gasparino Barzizza]] to Milan, where Barzizza founded a school and served as court [[orator]].

Filippo Maria died on 13 August 1447.{{sfn|Ianziti|2016|p=240}} He was the last of the male line of the Visconti family. After a brief republican experiment known as the [[Ambrosian republic]], the duchy passed to Francesco Sforza (1401–1466).{{sfn|Hayes|1911}} Sforza had married Filippo Maria's only child, [[Bianca Maria Visconti]] (1425–1468),{{sfn|Marina|2013|p=379}} born of his mistress [[Agnese del Maino]] (1401–1465).
[[Image:Viscontisforzatarot.jpg|thumb|right|[[Visconti-Sforza tarot deck]].]]

==Art==
The oldest surviving [[Tarot|tarot decks]], known at the time as ''[[Trionfi (cards)|carte da trionfi]]'', were likely commissioned by Filippo Maria Visconti.<ref name="Trionfi.com">{{cite web |title=Oldest Tarot Cards. Origin of Tarot. Research of the history of Tarot |url=http://trionfi.com/0/b/ |work=trionfi.com |date=2005-04-17 |access-date=2016-07-26}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Montechino Italian Castle Piacenza|Montechino Castle]]
* [[Wars in Lombardy]]
* [[Vincenzo Bellini]]'s 1833 opera ''[[Beatrice di Tenda]]''

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{Cite book |last=Black |first=Jane |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_KYIuoFXq84C&dq=gian+carlo+visconti+estorre&pg=PA74 |title=Absolutism in Renaissance Milan: Plenitude of Power under the Visconti and the Sforza, 1329-1535 |year=2009 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-160988-6 }}
*{{Cite book |last=Capponi |first=Niccolo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NU9fBwAAQBAJ&dq=%22estorre+visconti%22+1412+giovanni&pg=PA13 |title=The Day the Renaissance Was Saved: The Battle of Anghiari and da Vinci's Lost Masterpiece |year=2015 |publisher=Melville House |isbn=978-1-61219-461-5 }}
*{{cite book |chapter=Pier Candido Decembrio and the Suetonian Path to Princely Biography |first=Gary |last=Ianziti |title=Portraying the Prince in the Renaissance: The Humanist Depiction of Rulers in Historiographical and Biographical Texts |editor-first1=Johannes |editor-last1=Helmrath |editor-first2=Maike |editor-last2=Priesterjahn |editor-first3=Patrick |editor-last3=Baker |editor-first4=Ronny |editor-last4=Kaiser |publisher=De Gruyter |year=2016 |isbn=9783110473377 }}
*{{cite journal |title=The Langobard Revival of Matteo il Magno Visconti, Lord of Milan |first=Areli |last=Marina |journal=I Tatti Studies in the Italian Renaissance |volume=16| issue = 1/2 September |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2013 |pages=377–414 |doi=10.1086/673405 |s2cid=194035594 }}
*{{cite book |title=The Search for a Patron in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance |first1=David G. |last1=Wilkins |first2=Rebecca L. |last2=Wilkins |publisher=E. Mellen Press |year=1996 }}
*{{EB1911|wstitle=Visconti|display=Visconti s.v. Filippo Maria|volume=28|page=129|first=Carlton Joseph Huntley|last=Hayes|author-link=Carlton J. H. Hayes}}
*{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/filippo-maria-visconti-duca-di-milano_%28Dizionario-Biografico%29/ |encyclopedia=Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani  |title=FILIPPO MARIA Visconti, duca di Milano |first=Gigliola Soldi |last=Rondinini |year=1997  |language=it }}

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{{S-bef|before=[[Gian Maria Visconti]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Duke of Milan]]|years=1412–1447}}
{{s-vac|reason=[[Ambrosian Republic]]|next=[[Francesco I Sforza]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Visconti of Milan}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Visconti, Filippo Maria}}
[[Category:1392 births]]
[[Category:1447 deaths]]
[[Category:15th-century dukes of Milan]]
[[Category:House of Visconti|Filippo Maria]]
[[Category:Burials at Milan Cathedral]]