Bergonzio Botta

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Bergonzio Botta (c. 1454 – 5 January 1504) was a Milanese official who rose to power under Ludovico Sforza. He served as master of ceremonies from at least 1489 and became treasurer from 1494 to 1499. After the French invasion of 1499, he sided with the French.

Botta is best known for an early public act: in 1489 he organized a banquet in Tortona for the wedding of Duke Gian Galeazzo Sforza and Isabella of Aragon, where the courses were accompanied by dances. This event is often seen as an early ballet, with the dances planned around a single theme.

He came from a noble family in Pavia; his father was Giovanni and his brother Giacomo was Milan’s ambassador to the Holy See. A papal envoy notes Botta was a protégé of Ludovico Sforza by 1489.

In the ducal administration, Botta helped run finances and eventually became master of general revenue. After Ludovico became duke, he pushed unpopular tax policies and collected funds in 1493–1494. Some chroniclers blamed him for financial troubles, while others defended Ludovico.

In 1499, as a French army approached Milan and Ludovico fled, Botta took refuge in the Castello Sforzesco. He favored setting up a republic to buy time and was likely involved in negotiations that led to Milan’s surrender to the French on 17 September. He left the castle the next day.

When Ascanio Sforza took power in February 1500, Botta was accused of plotting his assassination. A mob attacked his palace, but his guards stopped the looting. He was arrested on 24 February 1500 and fined a large amount, but he later regained favor when the French governor returned in April.

In 1502 he helped with a failed French attack on Bellinzona. That year he arranged his daughter Apollonia’s marriage to Filippo Borromeo, with a dowry of 24,000 imperial lire. Botta died in Milan on 5 January 1504. His wealth and status are shown by his daughter's dowry and by his ability to maintain an armed following.

His widow, Madonna Daria Botta, hosted King Louis XII of France in 1515 and was later taken to France by him as a hostage in 1516. Botta also founded and endowed a college at the University of Pavia.