House of Sforza
Bona Sforza, a member of the powerful Milanese House of Sforza, became in 1518 the second wife of Polish King Sigismund I the Old. Planning to give the Jagiellonian dynasty financial independence, she succeeded in taking over the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1536–1546. She is also commonly credited with the introduction of salads and vegetables in Polish cuisine (still sometimes called "włoszczyzna" "Italian").