  ludovico maria sforza (also known as ludovico il moro;"il moro" literally means "the moor", an epithet said to have been given to ludovico because of his dark complexion. some scholars have posited that the name moro came from ludovico's coat of arms, which contained the mulberry tree, "mora" in italian. in modern italian "moro" is also a synonym for "bruno", the masculine equivalent of "brunette" ("mora" in italian). 27 july 1452 â 27 may 1508), was duke of milan from 1489 until 1500. a member of the sforza family, he was the second son of francesco i sforza. he was famed as a patron of leonardo da vinci and other artists, and presided over the final and most productive stage of the milanese renaissance. he is probably best known as the man who commissioned the last supper. ==early life==  ludovico sforza was born on july 27, 1452, at vigevano, in what is now lombardy. he was the second son of francesco i sforza and bianca maria visconti and, as such, was not expected to become ruler of milan. nevertheless, his mother, bianca, prudently saw to it that his education was not restricted to the classical languages. under the tutelage of the humanist francesco filelfo, ludovico received instruction in the beauties of painting, sculpture, and letters, but he was also taught the methods of government and warfare. he later helped leonardo paint with pastels. ==regent of milan== when their father francesco died in 1466 (the last supper was painted next to his burial place in santa maria delle grazie), he was succeeded by the dissolute galeazzo maria, ludovico's older brother. galeazzo maria ruled until his assassination in 1476, leaving his throne to his seven-year-old son, gian galeazzo sforza, ludovico's nephew. a bitter struggle for the regency with the boy's mother, bona of savoy, followed; ludovico emerged as victor in 1481 and seized control of
1452_births 1508_deaths 15th-century_Italian_people 16th-century_Italian_nobility Burials_at_Milan_Cathedral Dukes_of_Milan House_of_Sforza People_from_Vigevano