Isabella of Aragon (1470 – 1524), also known as Isabella of Naples. Duchess of Milan (by marriage) and suo jure Duchess of Bari.
A member of the Neapolitan branch of the House of Trastamara, 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 disastrous marriage and lack of support in Milan, she received the Duchy of Bari as her personal property. 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.
She was the second child of Alfonso, Duke of Calabria (who became King of Naples in 1494) and his wife, Ippolita Maria Sforza.
The only daughter from her parents' marriage, Isabella had two brothers: the elder was Prince Ferdinand (who would succeed their father to throne in 1495 but died one year later in October 1496) and the younger was Prince Piero (who was Lieutenant General of Apulia and Prince of Rossano, but died young of an infection following leg surgery on 17 February 1491). The siblings were raised alongside their cousins, the children of Eleanor of Naples, who included Isabella and Beatrice d'Este. Isabella had a particularly close relationship with the latter, developing into something of a sisterhood.
In 1480 she married her first cousin Gian Galeazzo Sforza, heir of the Duchy of Milan. They had four children: Francesco (1491-1512), Ippolita (1493-1501), Bona (1494, 1557, who became queen of Poland) and Bianca (1495-1497).
Isabella's appearance is somewhat disputed, due to the scarcity of her certain portraits. Some contemporaries describe her as particularly ugly.
She has also been suggested as the subject of da Vinci's Mona Lisa.
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| Lunette of Isabella of Aragon in the house of the Atellani, Milan. One of the few certain portraits. | |
Here are some possible portraits of Isabella. For more information, see here.
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| Lady with a Flea Fur, by Bernardino Luini |
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| Portrait of a Lady, by Ambrogio de Predis |
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| Virgin and Child, by Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio |
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| Madonna Litta, attributed to Leonardo da Vinci |
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| Possible portraits of Isabella and her husband Gian Galeazzo |
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