page_title: Isabella of Aragon, Duchess of Milan
section_title: Duchess of Bari
hierarchical_section_title: Isabella of Aragon, Duchess of Milan / Life / Duchess of Bari
caption_attribution_description: Italiano: Castello di Bari. English: Bari, Apulia, Italy. Castle.
context_page_description: Isabella of Aragon, also known as Isabella of Naples, was Duchess of Milan by marriage to Gian Galeazzo Sforza and suo jure Duchess of Bari. Her life was characterised by the political crises surrounding the Italian Wars. Isabella often found herself torn between her native Kingdom of Naples and her marital home of the Duchy of Milan, causing her to suffer personal and political difficulties. After a difficult marriage and lack of support in Milan, she received the Duchy of Bari. This change in circumstances gave Isabella the opportunity to form her own court as well as build up political support and security against the ongoing wars. These reforms along with her interest in arts and literature, resulted in Bari undergoing revival and refurbishment. During this period, she also concentrated on the education of her daughter Bona, who became Queen of Poland.
context_section_description: After the collapse of the Sforzas in Milan and her family in Naples, Isabella was granted the title of suo jure Duchess of Bari, Princess of Rossano and Lady of Ostuni, which Louis had denied to her son. She ruled there from 1500 until her death twenty-four years later. Ironically, Isabella now appeared as a usurper herself as Bari should have passed to Maximilian, the son of Ludovico and Beatrice. Her acquisition of the Duchy appears to be a form of compensation for her previous struggles.
  Isabella's life in Bari was one of splendour. She lived in Castello Normanno-Svevo and spent her spare time working on music and literature. She summoned the writer Amedeo Cornale to her court, which witnessed the printing of Bari's first book. Her administration greatly benefited the Duchy, which entered into a period of revival, refurbishment and cultural florescence, which it had not enjoyed under the earlier administration of Isabella's Aragonese relatives.
  Keeping in mind her previous life experiences, Isabella made it her priority to enhance the castle's defences, ensuring that it was up to date with the form of warfare that had harmed Milan and Naples. This emphasis on security turned out to be well placed. In July 1502, Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba distributed a small portion of his forces to Bari, under Isabella's protection. This led to the French considering an attack on Isabella's Duchy, some argued it would be an advantageous way of conducting war against the Spanish. However, this was avoided when ideas of chivalry were taken into consideration. Whilst Isabella may have avoided danger on the count of her gender, it was a reminder that her hold on Bari was far from secure and her gender may not always excuse her.
  Aside from building up defences, the situation in Milan had taught Isabella that political security was also essential; her will needed to be upheld at all times, never weakened or undermined. Therefore, she introduced more vigorous surveillance of public officials, ensuring that their notorious corruption was combated.        
  Although it may appear that Isabella had finally found fortune, these later years were also plagued with family tragedies. In 1501, her elder daughter and namesake of her mother, Ippolita died around the age of eight. In 1512, her nephew, Rodrigo, whom Isabella had fostered since 1506, died aged twelve. Eleven years after young Ippolita's death, Francesco followed his sister to the grave. Isabella then dedicated herself to raising her sole surviving child, Bona. Under Isabella's direction, Bona received a humanist education, which included the teaching of statecraft. This education prepared Bona for her future role as Queen consort of Poland.
  Initially, Isabella desired for Bona to wed her cousin, Maximilian Sforza, in the hope of uniting their two rival branches of the family. However, Sforza control over the duchy proved too weak at this point and the French took it over once again in the aftermath of the Battle of Marignano in 1515.
  In the same year, Barbara Zápolya, wife of Sigismund I the Old died. The marriage had not produced male issue and so it was expected that the Polish king would remarry. Zápolya came from an anti-Habsburg family, something Emperor Maximilian was conscious of. In order to eliminate anti-Habsburg sentiments within Poland, the Emperor requested that Sigismund marry a bride selected by him. Bona was on the list of selected candidates. As the other candidates were ruled out for various reasons, Sigismund consented to marrying Bona in the spring of 1517. Isabella raised extra taxes in Bari to pay for the wedding.
  Like her mother, Bona was known for her energetic personality; she was not afraid to openly disagree with her husband and acted as a patron to artists. However, unlike Isabella, Bona was able to build up her own political faction in her marital homeland. In her final years, Isabella saw her daughter become a mother to four of her six children, amongst them were Isabella and Anna Jagiellon. Not giving up on uniting the rival branches of the Sforza family, I
caption: Castello Normanno-Svevo, Isabella's residence during her tenure as Duchess of Bari
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