Aftermath
Off the battlefields, important dynastic and political changes occurred: Francesco Sforza entered the service of Visconti and married his daughter, Bianca Maria Visconti, while Florence took a new turn under Cosimo de' Medici. After Visconti died in 1447, Francesco Sforza, backed by Lorenzo de' Medici, entered Milan in triumph (May 1450). Two coalitions now formed: Sforza Milan allied with Medici Florence on the one hand, faced Venice and the Aragonese Kingdom of Naples on the other. The main theater of war remained Lombardy, where both sides joined in the Peace of Lodi (May 1454), a compromise peace that formed the basis for a general accord among the four contenders, Venice, Milan, Florence and Naples, under the blessings of Pope Nicholas V, representing the fifth power in Italy. The peace of Lodi is often marked as the emergence of a consciously expressed European political principle of balance of power.
Read more about this topic: Wars In Lombardy
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“The aftermath of joy is not usually more joy.”
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