Background and early career in the military A member of the
House of Sforza, Francesco Sforza was born in
Parma on 6 November 1562, the son of
Sforza Sforza of Santa Fiora, 1st Marquess of Castell'Arquato, 11th Count of
Santa Fiora (1520 -
Castell'Arquato, 21 October 1555), by his second wife Caterina de' Nobili (? - 12 December 1605), a grandniece of
Pope Julius III. He was the 2nd Marquess of Castell'Arquato, 1st Marquess of Varzi and 12th Count of Santa Fiora. He was the nephew of Cardinals
Guido Ascanio Sforza di Santa Fiora,
Roberto de' Nobili, and
Alessandro Sforza, and paternal grandson of
Costanza Farnese (daughter of
Alessandro Farnese, later Pope Paul III. He received a military education under
Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma and later at the
court of
Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. He also studied
Latin,
rhetoric,
mathematics,
philosophy, and
politics. He married a sister of Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. At age 18, he served in
Flanders under his cousin
Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma; he commanded Italian troops. In the
second papal conclave of 1590 he was a member of the Gregorian faction and threw his support to Niccolò Sfondrati, who was elected
Pope Gregory XIV. He also participated in the
papal conclave of 1591 that elected
Pope Innocent IX. In the
papal conclave of 1592, Sforza opposed
Philip II of Spain's candidate,
Giulio Antonio Santorio. Sforza'a brother-in-law and French ally,
Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany secretly engineered the election of Ippolito Aldobrandini as
Pope Clement VIII. From 20 July 1591 until 1597 he was
papal legate in
Romagna, where he was charged with ridding the province of
bandits, which he accomplished. He represented
Pope Clement VIII at the
baptism of his nephew
Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. He accompanied the pope to
Ferrara in 1598. He participated in the
first papal conclave of 1605, where he had been angered by Spain's exclusion of
Caesar Baronius. The conclave chose
Alessandro Ottaviano de' Medici, who had also been excluded after the fact, as
Pope Leo XI. He was also present at the
second papal conclave of 1605 that elected
Pope Paul V. Sforza crowned Pope Paul V in the
papal coronation held on 29 May 1605.
Issue By an unknown mistress he had: • Caterina Sforza (1587 - 1609), legitimized by
Pope Paul V on 5 July 1599, married firstly on 19 November 1601
Fabrizio Savelli of the Lords of Ariccia (? - 16 September 1605), 1st Prince of Albano, without issue, and married secondly on 2 August 1606 as his second wife
Federico I de' Rossi (18 May 1580 - 22 March 1632), 5th Marquess of San Secondo, without issue By Cecilia Pariseni-Mezangola he had: •
Sforza called Sforzino Sforza (1593 - Castell'Arquato, 5 February 1644), legitimized by
Pope Paul V on 5 July 1599, 2nd Marquess of Varzi in 1604, 1st Duke of Fiano in 1607 with
Papal Bull of Pope Paul V until 1621, 3rd Marquess of Castell'Arquato in 1624, married in 1606 Maria di Rodolfo Pio di Carpi, already Lady of Meldola, separated, without issue ==References==