pregnant at that time, was very much affected by her husband's demise and the takeover of power by Ludovico. For almost six weeks, she retired with her two children to the Castello Visconteo in Pavia, where she avoided visitors. On 6 December 1494, Ludovico persuaded Isabella to move with her children to the Castello Sforzesco in Milan. Sforza then moved to La Roccheta with his family. During her stay in Milan, Isabella was under guard that prevented her from contacting the world. Despite her isolation, the Dowager Duchess lived a very lavish life. In February 1495 she gave birth to her youngest daughter, Bianca Maria (named after Isabella and Gian Galeazzo's grandmother Bianca Maria Visconti); ten months later, on 18 December, Isabella's father, King Alfonso II of Naples (who already abdicated in favor of his son on 23 January), died, and on 7 September 1496 her brother and new King Ferdinand II of Naples followed their father to the grave. Soon after, Isabella's eighteen-month-old daughter, Bianca Maria, also died. In 1496, Ludovico's two children also died: Leone and Bianca Giovanna, and the presence of Isabella and her children began to irritate the ruler of Milan. The Dowager Duchess then moved to the former Sforza Palace near the Milan Cathedral, leaving her son Francesco at Ludovico's court. In 1497, Beatrice d'Este, Isabella's one-time friend and rival died in childbirth, aged twenty-one. For Ludovico, the death of his wife was only the beginning of his misfortunes: in 1499, after an armed expedition of King Louis XII of France, Ludovico went into exile. However, any satisfaction that Isabella could have gained from witnessing the downfall of her rival was minimised; the Dowager Duchess petitioned Louis XII to name her son Duke of Bari, a title that belonged to the Sforza family. The French King, after seeing the popularity of Isabella's son was growing among the inhabitants of Milan, responded by taking the young boy to France, assuring Isabella that he planned to marry him with his daughter. In reality, Louis XII deceived Isabella by placing Francesco Maria in a monastery. She refused to give up hope for her son's return and petitioned the King of Romans Maximilian I to liberate him from France. However, this effort proved fruitless: she never saw her son again. This, along with the dethronement of her family in Naples, led to Isabella developing a deep hatred for the