Battista was the first legitimate child born to
Alessandro Sforza, lord of Pesaro, and
Costanza da Varano (14281447), the eldest daughter of Piergentile Varano (d. 1433), Lord of Camerino, and Elisabetta Malatesta. In 1447, Costanza died after giving birth to her second child, a son called Costanzo (d. 1483), when Battista was 18 months old. After the death of their mother Battista and Costanzo, together with their illegitimate half-sisters
Ginevra (14401507) and Antonia (14451500), moved to the court of their paternal uncle
Francesco Sforza and his wife
Bianca Maria Visconti where they were brought up alongside their cousins. Battista and her cousin
Ippolita Maria received a
humanist education and the former was fluent in Greek and Latin, giving her first Latin public speech at the age of four. She was said to be very skilled in Latin rhetoric and even gave an
oration before
Pope Pius II. The poet
Giovanni Santi described Battista as "a maiden with every grace and virtue rare endowed". Her uncle Francesco Sforza arranged for her marriage to
Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, who was 24 years older than she was. The wedding took place on 8 February 1460, when Battista was 14 years old. Their marriage was a happy one and they were described by a contemporary, Baldi, as "two souls in one body". Federico called Battista "the delight of both my public and my private hours." Moreover, he spoke with her about political issues and she accompanied him to almost all official events outside of Urbino. She acted as regent during her husband's absences from Urbino. Carrying on the Sforza family's tradition of humanist education for women, she educated her daughters similarly to the education she had received from her aunt Bianca Maria. Similarly, Battista's granddaughter
Vittoria Colonna, daughter of
Agnese, was a famous poet. After giving birth to six daughters, Battista gave birth to their first son and heir
Guidobaldo da Montefeltro on 24 January 1472. However, three months after the birth of their son, Battista, having never fully recovered from her last pregnancy and labour, fell ill and died in July 1472. == See also ==