Dukes of Milan What if Duke Francesco Sforza I annexed Genoa to the Duchy of Milan in 1461? (1461 - 1813), Dukes of Monferrato (1602 - 1707), Grand Dukes of Tuscany (1801-1813)
1447 - 1468: Francesco I (House of Sforza) [1]
1468 - 1473: Alessandro I (House of Sforza) [2]
1473 - 1498: Cosimo (House of Sforza) [3]
1498 - 1530: Francesco II (House of Sforza) [4]
1530 - 1561: Alessandro II (House of Sforza) [5]
1561 - 1562: Sigsimund (House of Jagiellion) [6]
1562 - 1587: Isabella I (House of Trastámara) [7]
1587 - 1619: Saverio (House of Habsburg) [8]
1619 - 1640: Federigo I (House of Habsburg) [9]
1640 - 1672: Federigo II (House of Habsburg) [10]
1672 - 1695: Elisabetta II (House of Habsburg) [11]
1695 - 1701: Carlo (House of Habsburg) [12]
1701 - 1707: Francesco III (House of Habsburg) [13]
1707 - 1708: Federigo III (House of Habsburg) [14]
1708 - 1721: Matteo (House of della Pietra) [15]
1721 - 1747: Andrea (House of della Pietra) [16]
1741 - 1779: Celestino (House of della Pietra) [17]
1779 - 1813: Federigo IV (House of della Pietra) [18]
United Duchy of Milan and Tuscany (1813 - 1904)
1813 - 1832: Leonardo I (House of della Pietra) [19]
1832 - 1869: Federigo V (House of della Pietra) [20]
1869 - 1880: Alessandro III (House of della Pietra) [21]
1880 - 1901: Leonardo II (House of della Pietra) [22]
1901 - 1904: Paolo (House of della Pietra) [23]
Kingdom of Italy (1904 - )
1904 - 1930: Paolo (House of della Pietra)/1904 - 1930: Maria Pia (House of Bourbon-Naples) [23]
[1] Duke Francesco on the urging of a small number of Genoan citizens, led by Spinette Campofregoso, decides to invade Genoa following unrest and a revolt in 1461. Duke Francesco himself easily defeats the Genoan forces arrayed against him and the city is soon taken. Following discussions with his son Galeazzo Maria Sfroza, Spinette Campofregoso and his advisors, he chooses to declare himself Doge and annex Genoa into Milan. This action will heavily split the Genoan population but Genoa would remain a hotbed of unrest for the rest of Francesco's reign. Following the conquest of Genoa, Francesco set about securing Milan diplomatically. Among his greatest achievements was wedding his son Galeazzo Maria Sforza to Nannina de'Medici, sister of Cosimo the Magnificent.
[2] After the premature death of Galeazzo in 1466 with his heir only 2 years old, the brother of Francesco, Alessandro was asked to take the throne until the young duke came of age.
However, Alessandro himself died 5 years into his reign leaving the 7 year old Duke with no remaining family and rioting exploding onto the streets of Milan and Genoa.
[3] The start of Cosimo's reign was a chaotic one with the cities of Milan and Genoa rioting, however the Archbishop of Milan, Stefano Nardini was able to restore order and became the young Duke's Regent. While Nardini was successful in restoring order to the terrafirma of the Duchy, the island of Corsica, a Genoa territory was lost due to an invasion by the French, however this was part and parcel to the islands of Corsica and Sardinia, constant invasion by Spanish, French, Italian, Barbary Pirates, and occasionally the Ottomans. Once he was an adult, Cosimo was able to restore Milanese control over Corsica and was able to maneuver his former Regent into becoming a compromise candidate during the Papal conclave of 1481, making him the brief Pope Celestine VI (died 1484). It was during Cosimo's reign that the Italian Renaissance began in earnest in Florence, which would eventually rock the world. Ironically enough Cosimo married a Medici who bore him four children, including his heir Francesco II.
[4] Francesco II oversaw a period of peace for most of the reign as the peoples of Genoa finally accepted his family's rule. Francesco also gave troops to Cesare Borgia as the man tried to conquer the Romagna, mostly to keep his attentions away from his lands. As a result, Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia) got Francesco to marry his daughter Lucrezia, having threatened the pious Duke with ex-communication. The two had a loving marriage and Francesco abdicated in 1530 and was succeeded by his and Lucrezia's eldest son Alessandro
[5] He continued politics of his father and thank to smart political maneuvers kept his realms out of trouble, while strenghtening his powers. His family life was most unfortunate though, he lost his wife, all his sons and brothers to the plague of 1550-1551. Depressed and unwilling to take another wife, as his heir he designated the youngest son of his aunt Isabella, the Queen of Poland Lithuania, prince Sigsimund Jagiellon. Since 1553, the prince resided in Milan, being prepared to inherit his future posessions.
[6] Sigsimund was invested as Duke in late 1561 after the death of Alessandro II and in early 1562 a Riot broke out after Sigsimund sent several thousand men to his father King Jan of Poland Lithuania. During the Riot, Sigsimund was pulled from his horse and brutally hacked to death by the rioters. The Riot continued throughout much of Spring 1562 before it was finally put down by the returning Milanese troops from Poland. Sigsimund was succeeded by his Aunt Isabella, wife of Charles I of Spain (OTL Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor) who was also an Aunt of Alessandro II
[7] Queen Isabella, grand daughter of Alessandro I was welcomed with parades and open arms and married a Genoan lord to give her heirs, royal Genoan blood, she gave most of his power, to the heads of the royal merchants, who knew more of the land, altough her new Spanish language never became popular in the region, some of her new foreign cultures did, she divorced Charles I of Spain after two years on the throne, where he went wither her cousin Isabella of Portugal. She was succeeded by her son, Saverio.
[8] Saverio reigned over a turbulent period of Italian history due to events in Naples, namely the extinction of his Neapolitan Trastámara cousins. As a result the succession of the Neapolitan crown became contested between several candidates, most notably the French Kings, the Spanish Kings, and himself. This started what became known as the Italian Wars, a century of on again off again war. The reason that the great powers were unable to put their entire attention to the matter was due to the Thirty Years War that had broken out in Germany due to the Protestant Reformation. Saverio proved himself an able commander and general, but the problem was that the Duchy of Milan while able to defend itself against France lacked the means to truly control Naples, not to mention that if France and Spain ever worked in concert they could overwhelm the Duchy. Thankfully the French and Spanish had a long history of fighting each other and they both wanted Naples, so Saverio was able to play them off each other, and their allies in Italy, which did allow him to seize the Duchy of Monferrato with French support when they tried to ally with Spain. Saverio died at age 49 during a small outbreak of smallpox and was succeeded by his son, Federigo.
[9] Federigo's reign saw the restoration of the Habsburg Family Concordat when he moved Milan from France's sphere back into the Imperial-Spanish sphere. The end of his reign witnessed the beginning of the War of French Dissolution when the Burgundian Habsburgs pressed their claim on the French throne with the support of the senior Imperial and Spanish branches after the death of François IV.
[10] The reign of Federigo II saw the House of Habsburg become simultaneously ascendant in Europe while at the same time it's position became even more precarious. While the branches of the family now ruled over the Holy Roman Empire, France, Spain, and Milan, rule over the HRE was nominal at best, France chafed under Frederic I, and the Spanish Habsburgs only had a single male heir in the form of the extremely deformed Prince Carlos. Much to their horror (but no one's surprise) Carlos died before his father, Philip IV who failed to name an heir, plunging Europe into the War of the Spanish Succession. While Federigo had some claim to the Spanish throne, he supported his nephew Prince Charles of France (Frederic I's second son) in exchange for the island of Sardinia. The war concluded in 1668 with the Treaty of Madrid (1668) that resulted in the crowing of Prince Charles as Carlos II of Spain, seemingly a Habsburg victory but one that proved that the family's grip on power in Europe was tenuous at best.
[11]Federigo II sired 11 healthy daughters, and one son who did not survive infancy. He issued the Pragmatic Sanction to allow his eldest Elisabetta to succeed on her own right, though he married her to the second son of Carlos II of Spain, Carlos, the next eligible male on the line right after Carlos II of Spain and the first son, Felipe of Asturias. Issued her own Pragmatic Sanction allowing her husband Carlos to succeed before their sons. Unfortunately, Felipe was accidentally castrated during a bullfight (though he survived) causing concern among non-Habsburg monarchs over the succession of Spain and Milan.
[12] Husband of Elisabetta, he was old and not in good shape when he suceeded the throne. His reign saw France expend much money fighting England, and, in 1705, Civil War. This strengthed the non-French Habsburgs, but all sides lost money.
[13] Because of Felipe's castration, the throne of Spain was technically promised to Carlo's son Francesco in 1707; however, the Habsburgs were apprehensive about Milan becoming a Spanish domain. The French had wanted Milan as a way to offset the costs of their civil war, while the Austrians wanted to shore up their influence in Italy. As a result, a compromise was drawn up by the Habsburgs upon Felipe's death: Francesco would surrender Milan to his brother Federigo in exchange for the Spanish throne while the Duchy of Monferrato was transferred to the Dauphin of France.
[14] Called "The Winter Duke" because he ruled only from November to February, when he died from plague, that hit city of Milan that year.
[15] Son of The Winter Duke's fourth daughter who had married the Lord of Castello della Pietra, he was one of the few that survived the plague. He managed to prevent invasion and stay neutral throught a strategic marriage. Due to not being prepared for the role he let councillors run things mostly. He died of illness.
[16] The third son of Mateo, Andrea was not expected to inherit Castello della Pietra, let alone the Duchy of Milan and went on an adventure to Asia in 1703, thus sparing him from the Plague of 1707 that devastated much of the Duchy and killed his mother and elder brothers. He was already married to the daughter of a Christian Japanese daimyo, Shimazu Nodoka, when he received word in 1709 in Nagasaki that his father remarried, and that he was heir to the Milanese throne. During his time as heir, and eventually the Duke, he sparked an innovative artistic and literary movement in Milan, mainly influenced by Japanese art and manga. Just as his father did, he let his councillors handle most of the Duchy's affairs, and named them the Senate in 1740. Died at the age of 63 to pneumonia.
[17] Much more active in the affairs of the state, Celestino was viewed with some suspicion in certain quarters due to his half-Japanese heritage and his mother's continued adherence to Buddhism. Despite this Celestino saw opportunity with the decline of both the Ottomans and Venice's trading Empires, he refurbished and expanded the much neglected Milanese navy, making it the finest fleet of the Italies and established several trading posts along the coasts of Africa, hoping to one day open trade with India and China (once Milan could afford to of course). He also supported his uncle Alessandro della Pietra the Archbishop of Milan in his bid to become Pope in 1758, a bid that succeeded, making his uncle the Pope Christopher I. An unexpected bonus emerged when his son's wife, Bianca Medici became the heir to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany when her brother predeceased her father, meaning that his grandson would one day unite the two most powerful northern Italian states under della Pietra rule. Celestino died in 1779 of a heart attack, leaving his son Federigo with the Duchy.
[18] Federigo IV inherited the Duchy of Milan in the same year that his wife Bianca became Grand Duchess of Tuscany and thier son Leonardo became Grand Duke of Tuscany upon his mother's death in 1801. Federigo IV made diplomatic overtures to his cousin King Carlos V of Spain and the two made a deal that if Carlos V of Spain had no male heirs by the end of his reign then he will name Federigo's son Leonardo as his .
[19] Leonardo united his father's and mother's duchy in 1813, with the
Royal house of della Pietra, becoming one of the powerful families in Europe.
Carlos V of Spain, had a son born in 1817, while at the age of 53, with his fourth wife, Catherine, 19. Leonardo, gave his cousin his blessings.
In 1830, Leonardo saw his Duchy fight off an invasion from King Xavier I of France and a strengthen alliance with Spain.
[20] Federigo V saw off two further invasions by France and married Princess Charlotte of Great Britain (daughter of George IV of Great Britain) and their marriage would one of love and loss as Charlotte died in childbirth in 1845 and thier only child is stillborn. Federigo spends almost the entirety of his reign following this in depression, allowing the Milanese Senate to gain near complete control of his government until an impassioned plea from his brother in 1867 sees him shake off his twenty two year depression to wrest all power in Milan back to the Duke, before naming his younger brother Alessandro as his heir.
[21] Alessandro III's brief reign would see the rise of Italian nationalism as a real force in Italian politics, while sentiment towards uniting the Italian peninsula had existed for centuries, it was two events that occurred in Alessandro's reign that brought it to the forefront. The first was the extinction of the Austrian Habsburgs due to the arrest and eventual death of Joseph III 'the Mad'. His removal from power was the final nail in the coffin of the moribund HRE. The other was France's monarchy being overthrown by it's people in a republican revolution due to it's excess and tyrannical behavior under Xavier II. This meant that the two major foreign players in Italian politics were gone, and for Milan meant that the neigbouring Duchy of Savoy, a French possession was easily annexed due to the chaos in Paris and the French Republic having to fight against the Spanish led 'Intervention' in support of the monarch. By the time Alessandro died of a stroke, it was clear that Europe was going to change and change dramatically.
[22] Leonardo's reign was full of drastic change across Italy, Europe and all of the planet. In Italy, Leonardo led campaigns south conquering the outdated city-states, stopping just short of the Pope in Rome due to the King of Naples intervention in the war. Austria balkanized into several different nations including Hungary, Bohemia, Croatia-Slavonia, and Transylvania. The French and Spanish were involved in the Revolutionaries' War, that ending with the French Republic installing a similar and puppeted government in Spain. The Wars of German Dominance raged in the former HRE, with the verious German Minors fighting without the constraints of an Emperor. Bavaria conquered much of Southern Germany forming the South German Confederation, while the North was split between Hanover and Brandenburg. The massive instability in Europe saw the freedom of most of their colonies, and the rising power of the already freed North and South American countries, with them eventually surpassing all the European countries except Great Britain, which stayed out of conflict.
[23] It was left to Leonardo's son, Paolo to begin the complex process of bringing the rest of Italy under a single government. The first step was relatively simple, he waited for Francis III of Naples to pass away, leaving his wife Maria Pia as Queen of Naples. The other was to negotiate with Pope Celestine IX in order to dissolve the Papal States. This was accomplished in 1904, leaving the Pope with the Leonine City portion of Rome and Paolo was crowned King of Italy along side his wife in a dual monarchy. Paolo's reign as King saw the dramatic changes in Europe continue as the former HRE settled into three states, the south ruled by Bavaria, the west by Hanover, the east by Brandenburg. To the east the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth enacted republican reforms that caused Russia to try and invade twice, and be repelled both times. While the Ottoman Empire breathed it's last and collapsed into several, smaller countries, the French Republic averted two attempts at a Habsburg restoration and one attempt at dictatorship. Spain fell into a violent civil war in 1920 that was still on-going when Paolo died and Maria Pia abdicated in favor of their son, ______.
1447 - 1468: Francesco I (House of Sforza) [1]
1468 - 1473: Alessandro I (House of Sforza) [2]
1473 - 1498: Cosimo (House of Sforza) [3]
1498 - 1530: Francesco II (House of Sforza) [4]
1530 - 1561: Alessandro II (House of Sforza) [5]
1561 - 1562: Sigsimund (House of Jagiellion) [6]
1562 - 1587: Isabella I (House of Trastámara) [7]
1587 - 1619: Saverio (House of Habsburg) [8]
1619 - 1640: Federigo I (House of Habsburg) [9]
1640 - 1672: Federigo II (House of Habsburg) [10]
1672 - 1695: Elisabetta II (House of Habsburg) [11]
1695 - 1701: Carlo (House of Habsburg) [12]
1701 - 1707: Francesco III (House of Habsburg) [13]
1707 - 1708: Federigo III (House of Habsburg) [14]
1708 - 1721: Matteo (House of della Pietra) [15]
1721 - 1747: Andrea (House of della Pietra) [16]
1741 - 1779: Celestino (House of della Pietra) [17]
1779 - 1813: Federigo IV (House of della Pietra) [18]
United Duchy of Milan and Tuscany (1813 - 1904)
1813 - 1832: Leonardo I (House of della Pietra) [19]
1832 - 1869: Federigo V (House of della Pietra) [20]
1869 - 1880: Alessandro III (House of della Pietra) [21]
1880 - 1901: Leonardo II (House of della Pietra) [22]
1901 - 1904: Paolo (House of della Pietra) [23]
Kingdom of Italy (1904 - )
1904 - 1930: Paolo (House of della Pietra)/1904 - 1930: Maria Pia (House of Bourbon-Naples) [23]
[1] Duke Francesco on the urging of a small number of Genoan citizens, led by Spinette Campofregoso, decides to invade Genoa following unrest and a revolt in 1461. Duke Francesco himself easily defeats the Genoan forces arrayed against him and the city is soon taken. Following discussions with his son Galeazzo Maria Sfroza, Spinette Campofregoso and his advisors, he chooses to declare himself Doge and annex Genoa into Milan. This action will heavily split the Genoan population but Genoa would remain a hotbed of unrest for the rest of Francesco's reign. Following the conquest of Genoa, Francesco set about securing Milan diplomatically. Among his greatest achievements was wedding his son Galeazzo Maria Sforza to Nannina de'Medici, sister of Cosimo the Magnificent.
[2] After the premature death of Galeazzo in 1466 with his heir only 2 years old, the brother of Francesco, Alessandro was asked to take the throne until the young duke came of age.
However, Alessandro himself died 5 years into his reign leaving the 7 year old Duke with no remaining family and rioting exploding onto the streets of Milan and Genoa.
[3] The start of Cosimo's reign was a chaotic one with the cities of Milan and Genoa rioting, however the Archbishop of Milan, Stefano Nardini was able to restore order and became the young Duke's Regent. While Nardini was successful in restoring order to the terrafirma of the Duchy, the island of Corsica, a Genoa territory was lost due to an invasion by the French, however this was part and parcel to the islands of Corsica and Sardinia, constant invasion by Spanish, French, Italian, Barbary Pirates, and occasionally the Ottomans. Once he was an adult, Cosimo was able to restore Milanese control over Corsica and was able to maneuver his former Regent into becoming a compromise candidate during the Papal conclave of 1481, making him the brief Pope Celestine VI (died 1484). It was during Cosimo's reign that the Italian Renaissance began in earnest in Florence, which would eventually rock the world. Ironically enough Cosimo married a Medici who bore him four children, including his heir Francesco II.
[4] Francesco II oversaw a period of peace for most of the reign as the peoples of Genoa finally accepted his family's rule. Francesco also gave troops to Cesare Borgia as the man tried to conquer the Romagna, mostly to keep his attentions away from his lands. As a result, Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia) got Francesco to marry his daughter Lucrezia, having threatened the pious Duke with ex-communication. The two had a loving marriage and Francesco abdicated in 1530 and was succeeded by his and Lucrezia's eldest son Alessandro
[5] He continued politics of his father and thank to smart political maneuvers kept his realms out of trouble, while strenghtening his powers. His family life was most unfortunate though, he lost his wife, all his sons and brothers to the plague of 1550-1551. Depressed and unwilling to take another wife, as his heir he designated the youngest son of his aunt Isabella, the Queen of Poland Lithuania, prince Sigsimund Jagiellon. Since 1553, the prince resided in Milan, being prepared to inherit his future posessions.
[6] Sigsimund was invested as Duke in late 1561 after the death of Alessandro II and in early 1562 a Riot broke out after Sigsimund sent several thousand men to his father King Jan of Poland Lithuania. During the Riot, Sigsimund was pulled from his horse and brutally hacked to death by the rioters. The Riot continued throughout much of Spring 1562 before it was finally put down by the returning Milanese troops from Poland. Sigsimund was succeeded by his Aunt Isabella, wife of Charles I of Spain (OTL Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor) who was also an Aunt of Alessandro II
[7] Queen Isabella, grand daughter of Alessandro I was welcomed with parades and open arms and married a Genoan lord to give her heirs, royal Genoan blood, she gave most of his power, to the heads of the royal merchants, who knew more of the land, altough her new Spanish language never became popular in the region, some of her new foreign cultures did, she divorced Charles I of Spain after two years on the throne, where he went wither her cousin Isabella of Portugal. She was succeeded by her son, Saverio.
[8] Saverio reigned over a turbulent period of Italian history due to events in Naples, namely the extinction of his Neapolitan Trastámara cousins. As a result the succession of the Neapolitan crown became contested between several candidates, most notably the French Kings, the Spanish Kings, and himself. This started what became known as the Italian Wars, a century of on again off again war. The reason that the great powers were unable to put their entire attention to the matter was due to the Thirty Years War that had broken out in Germany due to the Protestant Reformation. Saverio proved himself an able commander and general, but the problem was that the Duchy of Milan while able to defend itself against France lacked the means to truly control Naples, not to mention that if France and Spain ever worked in concert they could overwhelm the Duchy. Thankfully the French and Spanish had a long history of fighting each other and they both wanted Naples, so Saverio was able to play them off each other, and their allies in Italy, which did allow him to seize the Duchy of Monferrato with French support when they tried to ally with Spain. Saverio died at age 49 during a small outbreak of smallpox and was succeeded by his son, Federigo.
[9] Federigo's reign saw the restoration of the Habsburg Family Concordat when he moved Milan from France's sphere back into the Imperial-Spanish sphere. The end of his reign witnessed the beginning of the War of French Dissolution when the Burgundian Habsburgs pressed their claim on the French throne with the support of the senior Imperial and Spanish branches after the death of François IV.
[10] The reign of Federigo II saw the House of Habsburg become simultaneously ascendant in Europe while at the same time it's position became even more precarious. While the branches of the family now ruled over the Holy Roman Empire, France, Spain, and Milan, rule over the HRE was nominal at best, France chafed under Frederic I, and the Spanish Habsburgs only had a single male heir in the form of the extremely deformed Prince Carlos. Much to their horror (but no one's surprise) Carlos died before his father, Philip IV who failed to name an heir, plunging Europe into the War of the Spanish Succession. While Federigo had some claim to the Spanish throne, he supported his nephew Prince Charles of France (Frederic I's second son) in exchange for the island of Sardinia. The war concluded in 1668 with the Treaty of Madrid (1668) that resulted in the crowing of Prince Charles as Carlos II of Spain, seemingly a Habsburg victory but one that proved that the family's grip on power in Europe was tenuous at best.
[11]Federigo II sired 11 healthy daughters, and one son who did not survive infancy. He issued the Pragmatic Sanction to allow his eldest Elisabetta to succeed on her own right, though he married her to the second son of Carlos II of Spain, Carlos, the next eligible male on the line right after Carlos II of Spain and the first son, Felipe of Asturias. Issued her own Pragmatic Sanction allowing her husband Carlos to succeed before their sons. Unfortunately, Felipe was accidentally castrated during a bullfight (though he survived) causing concern among non-Habsburg monarchs over the succession of Spain and Milan.
[12] Husband of Elisabetta, he was old and not in good shape when he suceeded the throne. His reign saw France expend much money fighting England, and, in 1705, Civil War. This strengthed the non-French Habsburgs, but all sides lost money.
[13] Because of Felipe's castration, the throne of Spain was technically promised to Carlo's son Francesco in 1707; however, the Habsburgs were apprehensive about Milan becoming a Spanish domain. The French had wanted Milan as a way to offset the costs of their civil war, while the Austrians wanted to shore up their influence in Italy. As a result, a compromise was drawn up by the Habsburgs upon Felipe's death: Francesco would surrender Milan to his brother Federigo in exchange for the Spanish throne while the Duchy of Monferrato was transferred to the Dauphin of France.
[14] Called "The Winter Duke" because he ruled only from November to February, when he died from plague, that hit city of Milan that year.
[15] Son of The Winter Duke's fourth daughter who had married the Lord of Castello della Pietra, he was one of the few that survived the plague. He managed to prevent invasion and stay neutral throught a strategic marriage. Due to not being prepared for the role he let councillors run things mostly. He died of illness.
[16] The third son of Mateo, Andrea was not expected to inherit Castello della Pietra, let alone the Duchy of Milan and went on an adventure to Asia in 1703, thus sparing him from the Plague of 1707 that devastated much of the Duchy and killed his mother and elder brothers. He was already married to the daughter of a Christian Japanese daimyo, Shimazu Nodoka, when he received word in 1709 in Nagasaki that his father remarried, and that he was heir to the Milanese throne. During his time as heir, and eventually the Duke, he sparked an innovative artistic and literary movement in Milan, mainly influenced by Japanese art and manga. Just as his father did, he let his councillors handle most of the Duchy's affairs, and named them the Senate in 1740. Died at the age of 63 to pneumonia.
[17] Much more active in the affairs of the state, Celestino was viewed with some suspicion in certain quarters due to his half-Japanese heritage and his mother's continued adherence to Buddhism. Despite this Celestino saw opportunity with the decline of both the Ottomans and Venice's trading Empires, he refurbished and expanded the much neglected Milanese navy, making it the finest fleet of the Italies and established several trading posts along the coasts of Africa, hoping to one day open trade with India and China (once Milan could afford to of course). He also supported his uncle Alessandro della Pietra the Archbishop of Milan in his bid to become Pope in 1758, a bid that succeeded, making his uncle the Pope Christopher I. An unexpected bonus emerged when his son's wife, Bianca Medici became the heir to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany when her brother predeceased her father, meaning that his grandson would one day unite the two most powerful northern Italian states under della Pietra rule. Celestino died in 1779 of a heart attack, leaving his son Federigo with the Duchy.
[18] Federigo IV inherited the Duchy of Milan in the same year that his wife Bianca became Grand Duchess of Tuscany and thier son Leonardo became Grand Duke of Tuscany upon his mother's death in 1801. Federigo IV made diplomatic overtures to his cousin King Carlos V of Spain and the two made a deal that if Carlos V of Spain had no male heirs by the end of his reign then he will name Federigo's son Leonardo as his .
[19] Leonardo united his father's and mother's duchy in 1813, with the
Royal house of della Pietra, becoming one of the powerful families in Europe.
Carlos V of Spain, had a son born in 1817, while at the age of 53, with his fourth wife, Catherine, 19. Leonardo, gave his cousin his blessings.
In 1830, Leonardo saw his Duchy fight off an invasion from King Xavier I of France and a strengthen alliance with Spain.
[20] Federigo V saw off two further invasions by France and married Princess Charlotte of Great Britain (daughter of George IV of Great Britain) and their marriage would one of love and loss as Charlotte died in childbirth in 1845 and thier only child is stillborn. Federigo spends almost the entirety of his reign following this in depression, allowing the Milanese Senate to gain near complete control of his government until an impassioned plea from his brother in 1867 sees him shake off his twenty two year depression to wrest all power in Milan back to the Duke, before naming his younger brother Alessandro as his heir.
[21] Alessandro III's brief reign would see the rise of Italian nationalism as a real force in Italian politics, while sentiment towards uniting the Italian peninsula had existed for centuries, it was two events that occurred in Alessandro's reign that brought it to the forefront. The first was the extinction of the Austrian Habsburgs due to the arrest and eventual death of Joseph III 'the Mad'. His removal from power was the final nail in the coffin of the moribund HRE. The other was France's monarchy being overthrown by it's people in a republican revolution due to it's excess and tyrannical behavior under Xavier II. This meant that the two major foreign players in Italian politics were gone, and for Milan meant that the neigbouring Duchy of Savoy, a French possession was easily annexed due to the chaos in Paris and the French Republic having to fight against the Spanish led 'Intervention' in support of the monarch. By the time Alessandro died of a stroke, it was clear that Europe was going to change and change dramatically.
[22] Leonardo's reign was full of drastic change across Italy, Europe and all of the planet. In Italy, Leonardo led campaigns south conquering the outdated city-states, stopping just short of the Pope in Rome due to the King of Naples intervention in the war. Austria balkanized into several different nations including Hungary, Bohemia, Croatia-Slavonia, and Transylvania. The French and Spanish were involved in the Revolutionaries' War, that ending with the French Republic installing a similar and puppeted government in Spain. The Wars of German Dominance raged in the former HRE, with the verious German Minors fighting without the constraints of an Emperor. Bavaria conquered much of Southern Germany forming the South German Confederation, while the North was split between Hanover and Brandenburg. The massive instability in Europe saw the freedom of most of their colonies, and the rising power of the already freed North and South American countries, with them eventually surpassing all the European countries except Great Britain, which stayed out of conflict.
[23] It was left to Leonardo's son, Paolo to begin the complex process of bringing the rest of Italy under a single government. The first step was relatively simple, he waited for Francis III of Naples to pass away, leaving his wife Maria Pia as Queen of Naples. The other was to negotiate with Pope Celestine IX in order to dissolve the Papal States. This was accomplished in 1904, leaving the Pope with the Leonine City portion of Rome and Paolo was crowned King of Italy along side his wife in a dual monarchy. Paolo's reign as King saw the dramatic changes in Europe continue as the former HRE settled into three states, the south ruled by Bavaria, the west by Hanover, the east by Brandenburg. To the east the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth enacted republican reforms that caused Russia to try and invade twice, and be repelled both times. While the Ottoman Empire breathed it's last and collapsed into several, smaller countries, the French Republic averted two attempts at a Habsburg restoration and one attempt at dictatorship. Spain fell into a violent civil war in 1920 that was still on-going when Paolo died and Maria Pia abdicated in favor of their son, ______.
