Duchy of Milan: Map & History
The Duchy of Milan was a state in Northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti family, which had ruled the city since 1277.
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The Duchy of Milan was a state in Northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti family, which had ruled the city since 1277. At that time, it included twenty-six towns and the wide rural area of the middle Padan Plain east of the hills of Montferrat. During much of its existence, it was wedged between Savoy to the west, Republic of Venice to the east, the Swiss Confederacy to the north, and separated from the Mediterranean by the Republic of Genoa to the south. The duchy was at its largest at the beginning of the 15th century, at which time it included almost all of what is now Lombardy and parts of what are now Piedmont, Veneto, Tuscany, and Emilia-Romagna.
Modern Countries Once Part of Duchy of Milan
At its mapped extent, Duchy of Milan covered territory in 2 present-day countries. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Duchy of Milan's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Duchy of Milan in Depth
History
The fate of the city of Milan was intertwined since the 13th century with that of the Visconti family, who resumed the policy of territorial expansionism inherited from the city's municipality. One of the first Visconti exponents to lead the Lombard city was Ottone Visconti, elected archbishop in 1262 and who defeated the Della Torre family in the Battle of Desio in 1277.
In the first half of the following century, his nephews and great-grandsons who came to govern Milan: Matteo I, Galeazzo I, Azzone and the Archbishop Giovanni, expanding the area of Visconti influence over the surrounding regions. An equal policy of enlargement and consolidation was pursued in the second half of the century by their successors: Matteo II, Bernabò and Gian Galeazzo.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Duchy of Milan (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Duchy of Milan Map Over Time
Dated world maps on which Duchy of Milan appears, with the other states of the time.
Duchy of Milan Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 42,919 km² in 1425 CE.
Duchy of Milan: Frequently Asked Questions
When did Duchy of Milan exist?
Duchy of Milan is dated to 1402 CE – 1539 CE, in the High & Late Middle Ages era.
What was the capital of Duchy of Milan?
The capital of Duchy of Milan was Milan.
How large was Duchy of Milan at its peak?
At its peak in 1425 AD Duchy of Milan covered about 42,919 km².
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