Cecilia Gallerani was the youngest mistress of the Duke of Milan Ludovico Sforza, a very powerful and equally cruel ruler. Just like Leonardo da Vinci, she lived at the court in Milan and regularly organised salons there: private gatherings where writers, poets, philosophers and artists met each other, and those interested in their work, to present their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stoat is a symbol of Ludovico Sforza, and is used by him as a symbol of purity and moderation. Sforza was nicknamed Ermellino Bianco (the white stoat). In addition, the little animal was chosen because of a clever play on Cecilia's surname: her family name Gallerani is similar to the Ancient Greek word for stoat (gal\u00e9a).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite her youth (16 years of age), Cecilia Gallerani managed to hold her own remarkably well at the Milanese court. She must therefore have been a very strong and intelligent young woman.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":384,"template":"","categorie":[10,13],"class_list":["post-166","werk","type-werk","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","categorie-brons","categorie-monumentaal"],"yoast_head":"\n