ABSTRACT
For almost twenty-three years Ippolita Maria Sforza, daughter-in-law of King Ferrante and daughter of Duke Francesco Sforza, acted as the physical embodiment of the friendship between Milan and Naples. Yet from her arrival in 1465 to her death in 1489, the new bride strained this amicitia as often as she strengthened it. Ippolita Maria's marriage to Alfonso of Calabria did not prove a happy one and, although she is an often overlooked figure, her personal difficulties cannot be easily disentangled from the turbulent diplomatic relations of the period. She was, moreover, an active participant in this political and matrimonial game. She took advantage of her position to support Sforza interests and to intervene, both privately and publicly, for figures such as Lorenzo de' Medici on whose behalf she signed the treaty of 1480 reconciling Florence with Naples.
