Battista Sforza
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Battista Sforza (1447-1472) was the Duchess of Urbino and second wife of Federico da Montefeltro. Battista was born to Costanza da Varano and Alessandro Sforza in 1447. She married Duke Federico in 1460 at the age of thirteen, and acted as regent during his absences from Urbino. Duke Federico called Battista "the delight of both my public and my private hours."
Battista received a humanist education and 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".
After giving birth to six daughters, Battista died a few months after the birth of her son Guidobaldo da Montefeltro in 1472. Carrying on the family's tradition of humanist education for women, Battista's granddaughter Vittoria Colonna was a famous poet.
