10/04/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/04/2025 10:15
At the beginning of his visit to Italy, President Gitanas Nausėda honored the memory of Bona Sforza, Grand Duchess of Lithuania, in Bari and discussed a program dedicated to commemorating her in Italy.
The President visited the Pontifical Basilica of Saint Nicholas, where Bona Sforza, Grand Duchess of Lithuania, is buried. He paid tribute to her at the magnificent Renaissance tomb, marked with her coat of arms featuring the Vytis, the emblem of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Seeking to restore the name of Bona Sforza to Italy's historical memory, the President met with representatives of the Apulia region, the Municipality of Bari and the Bari Castle Museum to discuss a program for presenting Bona Sforza and commemorating her in Italy.
Bona Sforza, Duchess of Bari and Rosano and Grand Duchess of Lithuania, is one of the most prominent historical figures linking Lithuania and Italy. In 1518, she married Sigismund the Old (Žygimantas Jogailaitis), ruler of Lithuania and Poland, and became the Grand Duchess of Lithuania and Queen of Poland. For seven years of her reign, she resided in Vilnius, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Renowned for her education and intellect, Bona Sforza arrived in Lithuania with a large entourage of Italian architects, jurists and artists, leaving a lasting mark on the country's history. She distinguished herself as a skilled politician and farsighted stateswoman, a talented diplomat, an active reformer of governance and the economy, a patron of towns and trade, and a promoter of Renaissance culture and art.