Succession Crises to the Throne of Fidenza

**The Throne of Fidenza and Milan** has been occupied for almost all of its history, save a small period of French occupation, by the House of Visconti and its successor house, the House of Visconti-Urbino. The House of Visconti-Urbino came about without conflict, after the agreement and settlement of the ruling house after the ascension of the already married Queen Maria, with her husband becoming known as co-monarch and King Ludovico III and his house being officially acknowledged as part of the ruling dynasty. This also added the Duchy of Urbino to the Royal Demesne. There have, nonetheless, on many different occasions been contests for the throne. It has become apparent over many generations of Kings and Queens that the House of Visconti grew too big and ambitious to sustain itself. Thus, conflicts of course escalated, and in some cases lead to civil war while in other cases came to a peaceful resolution.

## Early Succession Disputes

### **Disputes under Queen Isabella II (1520 - 1523)**

Queen Isabella II ascended the newly formed Milanese throne after the death of her childless brother, Ludovico I, the first King of Milan. Her succession was immediately disputed by her uncle, the aging Gian Galeazzo di Visconti, who declared himself King of Milan as Gian IV. Gian gained some popular support from Isabella's vassals, though his insurrection ended upon his death in 1521, having gained limited traction. His banner was picked up, however, by his son, who styled himself as Cosimo I. Cosimo, unlike his aged father, was a popular and well-known warrior, having fought many wars as a condottieri, which was a popular career for non-inheriting sons of House Visconti. Isabella, however, was cunning and well-educated. She was also not adverse to intrigue, and so the claim wars quickly became wars of plots and intrigue. The divisions under Isabella quite frankly split the nation in two. In the end, war would not come, when Isabella was murdered in 1523. She was succeeded by Cosimo, ending the strife. Gian IV was not recognised as a ruler.

### **Succession Crisis under Filippo II and French Occupation (1540 - 1553)**

Filippo ascended the throne upon the death of his father, Cosimo I. Filippo, being a child at the time and sickly, led to much controversy and intrigue within the House of Visconti. Many worried over the lack of adult male members in the house, with only a few scarce branches remaining. It soon became apparent that there was French meddling in the court of Milan, with a sudden influx of Frenchmen to Milan. Many Lombards in the court of King Filippo sniggered, *"The snake has been entangled by a flower".* This was in reference to the sigil of House Visconti, a blue snake, and the arms of the French monarchy, which depicted the Fleur-de-Lys. Eventually, with the Visconti court in shambles, the French Army merely walked into Milanese territory. King Filippo fled the court under cover of darkness, being harboured by the locals of a town named Fidenza (which the name for the larger Kingdom would later be taken from), before achieving safe passage to Naples, a Kingdom added to the Demesne by his father, Cosimo I. French troops were forbidden from advancing to Naples by the Pope, though he could do nothing for Milan.

King Filippo had little to do but bide his time in Naples. He knew that the Milanese Nobility would not stand foreign occupation for long, and hoped they would make a stand in his name. In the meantime, he attempted to assemble an army in the South. He managed to get the Medici of Tuscany to defect to his cause, joining him in his attempts. In return, he married Giovanna de' Medici to secure their loyalty. As he lingered in the south, tension in Milan continued to grow. The ineffective usurper King Louis, installed there by the French King, was unable to secure the territory and the wayward noble families of Italy. Louis ended up dragged into a French war against the Austrian Habsburgs, who contested their authority in Italy, which was gruelling on Milan. Administration was almost impossible for Louis, as he did not even speak any Italian. He lost any sort of popularity when he began a tyrannical hunt for fleeing Visconti family members, which got so out of hand that the Duke of Ferrara harboured many of House Visconti and shut his gates to the usurper King. Louis, already dealing with the war, did not bother to siege the castle. Louis' corruption and incompetence threw the Kingdom into anarchy, which led to French troops forcing into Milan and throwing Louis out.

In Louis I's place, another Valois was sat on the throne in Milan. Louis II was perhaps a better man than Louis I had been, though he had been thrown right in to the boiling pot of Milanese politics. The disastrous war against the Habsburgs continued to rage, and most of the territories around Milan were defecting to the legitimate King, Filippo II. The peasants of Milan also rose up on many different occasions. Louis II learned that the Italian people were proud and fiercely patriotic. Louis was taken captive for a one month period during his reign, at which time a butcher named Riccardo took power in Milan. "King" Riccardo began issuing decrees from the castle at Milan, though most of the Lords in the realm merely laughed at them. One Lord even commented, *"Is that how desperate we are to be rid of the French? We'll seat a peasant in Milan?"* Riccardo's "reign", however, would not last for long. The armies of the French King soon reentered Milan, captured the upstart peasant and put him to death on the steps of the Cathedral. Louis II was liberated from prison, and reinstated on the throne. He would only last another two months.

Eventually, the turmoil and chaos, as well as the prepared invasion of Filippo II to reclaim his lost birthright, finally broke Louis II. He succumbed to the pressure and abdicated, reportedly removing the crown from his head and throwing it down into a mob of peasants. He then bolted from the city on horseback, crossing back into French territory. What he was not expecting, however, was to be ambushed by a group of knights controlled by the French King and put to death for treason. By then, the seat of Milan was any man's game. All out war broke out on the streets of Milan over the discarded crown, with numerous peasants grabbing it and "crowning" themselves. One even managed to seize the crown and make his way inside the castle, barring the doors with items. There, he called himself "King of Italy" and proclaimed the beginning of a dynasty that would last an eternity. He ordered every man to offer him up a maiden so that he might wed, to which a large rock was thrown at his head. The crown was dented and flew to the floor amongst a pool of blood left by the peasant King.

Filippo II finally reentered his city on November 9th, 1553 with a large force of armoured knights. He was extremely shocked to see the fallout of the chaos which had consumed the city. He saw many dead and trampled peasants, with smoke filling the air from gunpowder (the guard fortress had been captured and their cannons fired across the city by some anarchists). He found the dead body of the upstart peasant in the castle. Upon picking up the dented crown, he wiped off the blood and placed it back upon his own head. He appeared on the balcony of the castle, alongside his knights. He proclaimed, *"May order once again return to this city, for the House of Visconti rules once more. May the example of his strife forever guide our nation, and prevent us making the same mistake. The usurper Kings are dead, the peasant Kings are deposed and the war is concluded".* His speech was met with cries of *"God Save the King!"* and *"Long Live King Filippo!".* After the chaos, the reunification of Italy and the declaration of the new Kingdom of Fidenza, to keep the nation completely unified forevermore, which it has stayed.

### **Succession Crisis of 1555**

Filippo II was almost constantly ill, though. He was cursed with poor physique and ill health all his life, and as a result his marriage to Giovanna de' Medici remained unconsummated. When he died childless in 1555, the nation was once again thrown into instability and conflict. By this point, the once minor House of Visconti had grown into a colossal dynasty with many dissident branches existing on their small pensions from the crown. When the crown became vacant, however, dozens of different Visconti men, great and small, flocked to the city of Milan to claim the Fidenzan crown. The local government and King Filippo II's council, however, shut the gates to all claimants. They spent many hours coming to agreement on a suitable heir to the throne, scouring different branches and relatives of the late King. They eventually settled on Francesco Edmondo di Visconti, son of the late Prince Donato. Prince Donato was the brother of Cosimo the Fair, King from 1523 - 1540 and the cousin of Queen Isabella II.

Francesco Edmondo was invited to the capital, where he'd have to be snuck in under cover of darkness to prevent an ambush by the now dozens of claimants and their guards attempting to gain entrance to the city. At dawn, on the 3rd of July 1555, the ascension of King Francesco III to the throne of Fidenza was declared. The disappointed claimants to the throne soon began to disperse, though this was not the end of tensions between the massive Visconti dynasty's many branches. Most of the conflict had stemmed from the main branch of the House of Visconti dying out with Isabella II, and the supremacy essentially becoming a free-for-all between her cousins and their respective branches. Nonetheless, the succession of Francesco III was secure. He would go on to be known by his subjects as Francesco the Magnificent, for his work in building up the power, prestige and wealth of Fidenza to new great heights. His reign is now considered one of the greatest periods in Fidenzan history. It would, however, pave the way for the Insurrection of 1580, with Francesco III further stripping away rights of nobles. Only his strength kept the nation unified under his reforms, and upon his death the tensions reached breaking point. The Insurrection, however, is not considered a succession crisis.

## Modern Succession Disputes

### **Ruling House Dispute (1605)**

Upon the abdication of King Emmanuele I in 1605, his already married sister Maria ascended to the throne. Though Maria was considered capable, intelligent and reliable, there was an immediate dispute over the dynasty of her children. By her marriage, they were legally members of the House of Urbino. Many traditionalists, however, refused to accept a member of the somewhat lowly House of Urbino to ascend to the throne in their own right. As a result, an agreement was drafted which paved the way for the creation of the House of Visconti-Urbino and for Maria's husband, Ludovico, to be granted the style of King and rule as co-monarch with her. As a result, if another King were to be named Ludovico, he would be Ludovico IV, as this King Ludovico is considered official in numbering. A new unofficial term was coined, being the Visconti Dynasty. This Visconti Dynasty would continue to rule in Fidenza, under the House of Visconti-Urbino, which recognised Prince Francesco's patrilineal descent from the House of Urbino, though allowed the Visconti to continue official rule in Fidenza. Many disliked the agreement, but it assured stability, and the House of Visconti-Urbino still rules in Fidenza today.

### **Crisis of 1678**

At first, the ascension of King Filippo III seemed clean and assured. Emmanuele II was childless at death, and so his brother Filippo ascended the throne. However, around a week after King Emmanuele's death, his widow was found to have been left pregnant. This created a massive crisis, which split King Filippo's court in two, with factions that supported the legitimacy of the as-of-yet unborn child of Emmanuele II, with others supporting the continuation of the reign of Filippo III. Many argued over the subject for hours on end, with some claiming that the ascension of a child ruler would break the nation apart back into squabbling duchies as Italy had been before the Visconti Conquest. Some openly supported the idea of fracturing Fidenza, arguing that without a unified nation there would be no King for the Dukes to pay taxes to. Others called this idea ludicrous, stating that Italy would just be mopped up by the other neighbouring powers without the Visconti Monarchy.

Nonetheless, the pregnancy of the now Dowager Queen was an issue. She attempted on three occasions to flee the capital, hoping to press her child's claim abroad and find the support of another King. She knew that Filippo would not voluntarily hand over his throne to the child, and she feared for the child's life at the hands of King Filippo's most trusted loyalists. She seemingly lost all control of her senses after Filippo ordered her to be placed into house arrest for her own safety and the safety of his niece or nephew. She would be heard screaming and crying from her chamber, asking for help and for solace. The guards had to resist the temptation to help their former Queen. Eventually, close to the end of her term, a physician had to be called in to deliver the child. Some King Filippo loyalists attempted to bribe the physician to kill the child, though when Filippo heard this he had them banished from court. Filippo was a kindly man, and had loved his brother. He would not, however, give up his throne for fear of what would happen to the monarchy in the hands of a newborn child. A posthumous son was born to the late King Emmanuele II and Dowager Queen Maria von Wettin.

By this point, civil war seemed inevitable.

[WIP]