Carlo V acquired Milan in 1535 following the death of Francesco II Sforza, the last Sforza duke, who left no heir. Rather than grant the duchy to a new Italian lord, Carlo absorbed it directly into Habsburg dominion — a decision that would keep Milan under Spanish control for the next 170 years. The trillina was the smallest unit of account in Milanese copper-billon coinage, and its long emission across two decades reflects the administrative continuity the Habsburgs deliberately maintained, preserving local monetary denominations to ease the transition from Sforza to imperial rule.
Carlo V acquired Milan in 1535 following the death of Francesco II Sforza, the last Sforza duke, who left no heir. Rather than grant the duchy to a new Italian lord, Carlo absorbed it directly into Habsburg dominion — a decision that would keep Milan under Spanish control for the next 170 years. The trillina was the smallest unit of account in Milanese copper-billon coinage, and its long emission across two decades reflects the administrative continuity the Habsburgs deliberately maintained, preserving local monetary denominations to ease the transition from Sforza to imperial rule.