The House of Sforza was a prominent family in the Italian city of Milan, which rose to power during the Renaissance.
The House was founded by Giacomo Attendolo, a condottiero from Romagna who would pass his nickname of Sforza to his descendants. His son Francesco would become Duke of Milani in 1450 after the Visconti line's extinction. Francesco's successor was his son Galeazzo Maria, who was assassinated on 26 December 1476 in a Templar plot orchestrated by Rodrigo Borgia despite the Italian Assassin Giovanni Auditore's best efforts to save the Duke.[1] Galeazzo's brother Ascanio instead pursued an ecclesiastical career and later became cardinal.[2][3] While Galeazzo was succeeded in Milan by his brother Ludovico, he had also sired an illegitimate daughter, Caterina, who would later become Countess of Forlì and Imola, and an important ally to Giovanni's son Ezio.
A cadet branch of the family, descending from Muzio's second son Alessandro, had also been ruling Pesaro and Gradara. Alessandro's grandson Giovanni Sforza was Lucrezia Borgia's first husband before their marriage was annulled by the Pope, much to Giovanni's scorn.[4]
In 2012, four members of the family were included in a mnemonic set in Abstergo Industries' Project Legacy.[5]
Behind the scenes[]
The character Rocco Tiepolo, who features in Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy and in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood as a multiplayer character, wears a cape with the coat of arms of the Sforza family, indicating that he is either related or otherwise affiliated to them.
Appearances[]
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- Assassin's Creed II (first appearance)
- Assassin's Creed: Lineage
- Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
- Echoes of History (mentioned only)