Bona Sforza was one of the most remarkable women of Renaissance Europe. Born into one of Italy’s leading ruling families and connected to figures such as Lucrezia Borgia through the tangled politics of Italian dynasties, she became queen consort of Poland and grand duchess of Lithuania.

More than a royal bride, she brought to Poland the administrative, financial and cultural ideas of Renaissance Italy. She understood how wealth, land and government could be used to strengthen a dynasty.

Although never a reigning monarch, Bona became one of the most politically influential women ever to sit on the Polish throne. Admirers praised her intelligence and determination. Critics condemned her as ambitious, overbearing and dangerously powerful. That tension lies at the heart of her story.

The debate over Bona’s legacy raises a question that still resonates today: why are women who wield power effectively so often judged differently from men who do the same?

Training for greatness

Bona Sforza, born in 1494, was the daughter of the Duke of Milan. She arrived in Poland in 1518 as a royal bride of Sigismund I. Contemporary observers praised her intelligence, learning and virtue, qualities they described as “rare among maidens”.

Bona grew up in Bari, Italy. Her mother, Duchess Isabella of Aragon, ruled the duchy of Bari in her own right. She exercised authority with confidence. Isabella........

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