Then, on the 3rd of December of
this year, 1498, he drew up a deed by which he granted his beautiful
villa of the Sforzesca, with the spacious farms and fertile lands which
had been his pride and pleasure in past days, to the prior and convent
of Santa Maria delle Grazie, in perpetuity. In the preamble to the deed
of gift, the duke expresses his great love for this church, "where our
dead children repose, and our most dear wife Beatrice d'Este sleeps,
where, God willing, we ourselves hope to rest until the day of
resurrection," and ends with a devout prayer "that God and the Blessed
Virgin, the Dominican saints, Peter Martyr, Thomas Aquinas, and Dominic,
St. Vincent, St. Katharine of Siena, and all the saints, will hear the
prayers offered at these altars by the brothers of the order, and
forgive our failings, increase our merit, preserve our sons, give peace
and tranquillity to our subjects, receive the soul of our dearly loved
Beatrice into rest eternal, and finally place us, when this life is
over, among the holy monarchs and princes of His kingdom." This deed,
signed and sealed by Lodovico's own hand, and beautifully illuminated by
Antonio da Monza, or some miniaturist of his school, is preserved,
together with the former privileges granted to the community during the
lifetime of Duke Giangaleazzo, in the collection of the Marchese d'Adda.
Each leaf is elaborately decorated with Lodovico's favourite mottoes and
devices and other ornaments, while on the first page is a miniature of
the duke in black cap and mantle, in the act of presenting the act of
donation to the Dominican prior. After the French conquest of Milan,
Louis XII. annulled this deed of gift, although the friars escaped
further spoliation owing to the protection of the powerful Borromeo
family, and, after a long dispute, their possession of the Sforzesca was
eventually confirmed by Emperor Charles V. An inscription was placed
over the gates of the Sforzesca in honour of Lodovico Sforza and his
wife, and the domain remained the property of the convent until the
general confiscation of Church lands by Napoleon in 1798. Now Lodovico's
foundation has become national property, the remnants of his spacious
buildings are used as government schools.

On the same day, December 3, 1498, Lodovico made his will, a curious and
interesting document, which is still preserved in the Milanese archives,
and opens with these sentences:

"The holy Fathers teach us that ac