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Ginevra Sforza (also: Genevra Sforza de' Bentivoglio)
Born
ca. 1441
unknown, probably near Pesaro
Died
17 May 1507(1507-05-17) (aged 66–67)
Busseto, Parma
Known for
Illegitimate daughter of Alessandro Sforza, lord of Pesaro; "fecundissima" wife of Giovanni II Bentivoglio; and "first lady" of Renaissance-era Bologna for over 50 years
Ginevra Sforza (ca. 1441 – 17 May 1507) became the wife of Sante Bentivoglio and then of Giovanni II Bentivoglio, both de facto signori (or unofficial leaders, or 'lords') of Bologna. She had 18 children and served the Bentivoglio family by fulfilling the gendered role demanded of her by society.
For the past 500+ years in Bolognese historiography, Ginevra had been known as a terrible woman who destroyed her family and the city of Bologna--but after academic research was conducted about her life in 15th c. materials that had been dispersed among dozens of Italian archives and libraries, an entirely different and positive story results. Elizabeth Louise Bernhardt conducted this research into Genevra's life and published a book about her with Amsterdam University Press (released February 2023). https://www.aup.nl/en/book/9789463726849/genevra-sforza-and-the-bentivoglio
Because Ginevra signed her name in her own hand as "Genevra," Bernhardt uses the "Genevra" form of the spelling of her name in the manuscript, and this divergent spelling helps distinguish the historical 'Genevra' from the fictitious 'Ginevra' character that had been created from legends told about her posthumously.
The chapters of Bernhardt's book are: Introduction; 1. Genevra Sforza de' Bentivoglio: Lost and Found in Renaissance Italy (ca. 1441-1507); 2. Twice Bentivoglio: Genevra Sforza on the Marriage Market (1446-1454 and 1463-1464); 3. Genevra Sforza and Bentivoglio Family Strategies: Creating and Extending Kinship on a Massive Scale; 4. Genevra Sforza in Her Own Words: Patron and Client Relationships from Her Correspondence; 5. The Wheel of Fortune: Genevra Sforza and the Fall of the Bentivoglio (1506-1507); 6. Making and Dispelling Fake History: Genevra Sforza and Her 'Black Legends' (1506-present).
The book also includes an enormous family tree for an enormous family: around the year 1500 a document shows that 175 people lived in Palazzo Bentivoglio, the family home on the old Strà San Donato (where the Teatro Comunale on Via Zamboni stands today) in Bologna. Many of the 175 listed were family members but many more made up the Bentivoglio domestic servant staff.
GinevraSforza (ca. 1441 – 17 May 1507) became the wife of Sante Bentivoglio and then of Giovanni II Bentivoglio, both de facto signori (or unofficial...
Giovanni Sforza d'Aragona (5 July 1466 – 27 July 1510) was an Italian condottiero, lord of Pesaro and Gradara from 1483 until his death. He is best known...
established in Bologna. In 1454 he married GinevraSforza, then fourteen years old, the daughter of Alessandro Sforza, lord of Pesaro, establishing his family's...
kneeling, are the two donor husband and wife, Giovanni II Bentivoglio and GinevraSforza. In the foreground, at the feet of the throne, are their eleven children...
contemporaries for her great skill in healing and she became a close friend of GinevraSforza, the wife of Bologna's ruler Giovanni II Bentivoglio. As a result of...
church under a papal legate. On 2 May 1464 he married Sante's widow GinevraSforza. In 1464 he obtained by Pope Paul II the privilege to be considered...
Alessandro Sforza (21 October 1409 – 3 April 1473) was an Italian condottiero and lord of Pesaro, the first of the Pesaro line of the Sforza family. He...
son of Giovanni II Bentivoglio, lord of Bologna, and GinevraSforza, daughter of Alessandro Sforza, lord of Pesaro. Ermes was born in Bologna. In 1492...
illegitimate half-sisters Ginevra (1440–1507) and Antonia (1445–1500), moved to the court of their paternal uncle Francesco Sforza and his wife Bianca Maria...
Cecilia Gallerani, a mistress of Ludovico Sforza ("Il Moro"), Duke of Milan; Leonardo was painter to the Sforza court in Milan at the time of its execution...
1512. He was the only son of Giovanni Sforza, Lord of Pesaro, and his third wife, Ginevra Tiepolo. Giovanni Sforza had been the first husband of Lucrezia...
Polissena Sforza (1428 – June 1, 1449) was an Italian noblewoman and wife of the Lord of Rimini. She was the daughter of the condottiero Francesco Sforza, the...
marriages for her that advanced their own political position including Giovanni Sforza, Lord of Pesaro and Gradara, Count of Cotignola; Alfonso of Aragon, Duke...
marriage at the age of fourteen to Alessandro Sforza, lord of Pesaro, Sveva became known as Sveva Sforza. Some years later, Alessandro, himself carrying...
Romagna and the Marche alongside Francesco Sforza. In the meantime, in 1434 he married his niece Ginevra d'Este, Niccolò III's legitimate daughter by...
had his teacher Domenico da Piacenza. In honour of Alessandro Sforza's daughter, Ginevra, Guglielmo composed a bassadanza in due. In 1465 he moved to Milan...
Mercanti. The domain of the cruel Cesare Borgia is opposed by Caterina Sforza, who gives the assignment to the beautiful Geneva to assassinate him. But...
Northern Italian town of Forlì to Giovanni de' Medici il Popolano and Caterina Sforza, one of the most famous women of the Italian Renaissance. From an early...
career in the city, but then spent much time in the service of Ludovico Sforza in Milan. Later, he worked in Florence and Milan again, as well as briefly...
and in 1485 he moved to Milan, where he was the court poet of Ludovico Sforza, the patron of Leonardo da Vinci. He wrote eulogistic sonnets addressed...
The Annunciation The Baptism of Christ ✻ The Madonna of the Carnation Ginevra de' Benci Benois Madonna The Adoration of the Magi Saint Jerome in the...
personal friend. Until the 20th century it was thought to show Ludovico Sforza, a Duke of Milan and employer of Leonardo. During a 1904–1905 restoration...
families of Italy inspired the Italian Renaissance, such as the Visconti and Sforza in Milan, the Este in Ferrara, the Borgia and Della Rovere in Rome, and...
Games houses the tombs of Sigismondo Pandolfo's first wives, Ginevra d'Este and Polissena Sforza, encircled by 61 figures of young angels playing and dancing...
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