Francesco II Sforza also known as Francesco Maria Sforza, was the last Duke of Milan from 1521 until his death.

He was the son of Ludovico Sforza

Ludovico Sforza

Ludovico Sforza , was Duke of Milan from 1489 until his death. A member of the Sforza family, he was the fourth son of Francesco Sforza. He was famed as a patron of Leonardo da Vinci and other artists, and presided over the final and most productive stage of the Milanese Renaissance...

 and Beatrice d'Este

Beatrice d'Este

Beatrice d'Este , duchess of Milan, one of the most beautiful and accomplished princesses of the Italian Renaissance, was the daughter of Ercole I d'Este and younger sister of Isabella d'Este and Alfonso d'Este....

. When Ludovico was ousted from Milan in the course of the Italian Wars

Italian Wars

The Italian Wars, often referred to as the Great Italian Wars or the Great Wars of Italy and sometimes as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a series of conflicts from 1494 to 1559 that involved, at various times, most of the city-states of Italy, the Papal States, most of the major states of Western...

, he brought Francesco with him to the court of the Emperor Maximilian I, who had married a Sforza, Francesco's cousin Bianca Maria

Bianca Maria Sforza

Bianca Maria Sforza was Holy Roman Empress as the second wife of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor. She was the eldest legitimate daughter of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan, by his second wife, Bona of Savoy....

. Francesco was assigned to an ecclesiastical career. His father was imprisoned in Loches by Louis XII, and died in 1508, but when Charles V

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...

 re-conquered Milan from the French (1525), Francesco was appointed its duke, the last of the family to hold that title.

He returned to his state, depleted by twenty years of combat, promoting a cultural and economic recovery. In 1526 he adhered to the second Holy League with Francis I of France

Francis I of France

Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...

, Pope Clement VII

Pope Clement VII

Clement VII , born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici, was a cardinal from 1513 to 1523 and was Pope from 1523 to 1534.-Early life:...

 and the Republic of Florence

Republic of Florence

The Republic of Florence , or the Florentine Republic, was a city-state that was centered on the city of Florence, located in modern Tuscany, Italy. The republic was founded in 1115, when the Florentine people rebelled against the Margraviate of Tuscany upon Margravine Matilda's death. The...

, and was besieged in the Castello Sforzesco

Castello Sforzesco

Castello Sforzesco is a castle in Milan, Italy, that used to be the seat and residence of the Duchy of Milan and one of the biggest citadels in Europe and now houses several of the city's museums and art collections.-History:...

On May 4, 1534 he married Christina of Denmark

Christina of Denmark

Christina of Denmark was a Danish princess who became Duchess-consort of Milan, then Duchess-consort of Lorraine...

, daughter of Christian II of Denmark and Norway and Isabella of Burgundy

Isabella of Burgundy

Isabella of Austria , Archduchess of Austria and Infanta of Castile and Aragon, was Queen of Denmark, Sweden and Norway as the wife of King Christian II...

.

He fought at the Battle of Bicocca

Battle of Bicocca

The Battle of Bicocca or La Bicocca was fought on April 27, 1522, during the Italian War of 1521–26. A combined French and Venetian force under Odet de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec, was decisively defeated by a Spanish-Imperial and Papal army under the overall command of Prospero Colonna...

, and joined the League of Cognac against Charles V. His childless death in 1535 sparked the Italian War of 1535

Italian War of 1535

The Italian War of 1536-1538 between Charles V and Francis I of France began with the death of Francesco Maria Sforza, the duke of Milan. When Charles' son Philip inherited the duchy, Francis invaded Italy, capturing Turin, but failed to take Milan...

. His half-brother Giovanni Paolo

Giovanni Paolo I Sforza

Giovanni Paolo I Sforza was an Italian condottiero, the first in the Sforza family line of the Marquesses of Caravaggio....

reclaimed briefly the Duchy of Milan after his death, but died in the same year under mysterious circumstances.

Footnotes