(1389-1464)
De Facto Ruler of Florence
1434-1464
Husband of Contessina de' Bardi (1390-1473), mar 1415, daughter of Alessandro de' Bardi, Conte de Vernio & Emilia Pannocchieschi.
His lover was:
1. Maddalena, a Circassian slave.
" . . . Carlo, the provost of S. Stefano in Prato, was the son of Cosimo de' Medici and a Circassian slave, Maddalena. . . ." (Women on the Margins)
"Cosimo really did meet and fall in love with the young and beautiful slave Maddalena, that he bought in Rome. According to an unofficial biography of Cosimo, this woman from the Caucasus stole Cosimo’s heart away immediately. It wasn’t all lust and passion. The two had a common interest in art. Such was Cosimo’s obsession with this mystery woman that he brought her back to Florence and gave her a son, Carlo. He was raised by the Contessina alongside her legitimate sons. Carlo went on to become an important religious figure, while his mother was forgotten by Cosimo and history. . . ." (Love from Tuscany)
" . . . There were precedents for slave mistresses in the Medici family. Cosimo the Elder, Alessandro's great-great-great-grandfather, had a son with an enslaved Circassian woman named Maddalena. (Circassia is a region on the north-east coast of the Black Sea, now part of Russia.) Born around 1428, the child was christened Carlo. He was brought up with Cosimo's legitimate heirs and had a career in the Church. He held important papal offices in Tuscany, and helped pave the way for later Medici sons to become cardinals. . . ." (The Black Prince of Florence: 17)
"(D)uring Cosimo's three years in Rome one of the bank's agents bought him a young Caucasian slave girl whom he had purchased in Venice, where she had been adjudged "a sound virgin, free from disease and aged about twenty-one." The girl was employed as Cosimo's household servant, and he called her Maddalena. . . Most of the slaves were young and female, and were employed as household servants. As was customary with servants of the time in Italy, they usually shared the family dinner table and were looked upon as minor members of the family, with whom they often remained for life. . . By all accounts, Cosimo de' Medici was not a promiscuous man, yet he certainly formed an attachment to his slave girl in Rome, who bore him a son called Carlo. This offspring would later be brought up with his two sons in Florence, an arrangement that was not regarded as exceptional at the time. . . The slave girl Maddalena appears to have been brought back to Florence, and judging by Cosimo's catasto {tax} returns was still working for (or being looked after by) the family as late as 1457." (The Medicis' Slaves)
"It has been suggested that Carlo's Circassian mother, who later took the name of Maddalena, was at the age of 22 when she was bought allegedly by Cosimo de' Medici's agent from Milan, Giovanni Portinari (c.1363–1436), at the Rialto, Venice in the summer of 1427. Note that since the late 13th century, the Venetian and Genoese merchants and consuls established trade outposts on the Black Sea's eastern coast; brought the Roman Catholic Church to Circassia; and often concluded trade agreements with different representatives of Adyghe nobility. These Italian traders were also actively engaged in the trade of Circassian beauties, selling Adyghe and Abkhazian slaves in the cities of Genoa and Venice. Similar to Carlo, Zacharias de' Ghisolfi, the ruler of Matrega (an ancient town in present-day Krasnodar Krai, Russia), was the product of a Circassian-Genoese marriage. Additionally, the Genoese traveler Giorgio Interiano's work La vita et sito de' Zichi, chiamiti Ciarcassi: historia notabile was among the first Italian accounts on the life and customs of Adyghes." (Wikipedia)
" . . . For three years, Cosimo served as bank manager of the Rome branch. Here a slave girl, Maddalena, became his mistress. The relationship resulted in the birth of a son. . . ." (Great Leaders, Great Tyrants?: 197)
"Born at Florence, he was the illegitimate son of Cosimo de' Medici (the Elder) and a slave-woman named Maddalena, who was said to have been purchased in Venice. It is widely accepted that Maddalena was a Circassian, as hinted by Carlo's "intense blue eyes" and other "marked Circassian features" as well. However, it has been once suggested that his mother might have been a black African, only because of the apparently dusky features depicted in Mantegna's portrait of Carlo. Yet, he has blue eyes in the same portrait, and is depicted with standard Italian skin-pigmentation in a painting by Filippo Lippi." (Wikipedia)
"In the Eternal City, Cosimo settled in Tivoli. Deprived of stout Contessina's domestic skills, he asked an agent in the bank's Venice branch to find him a slave. The keeping of slaves had been permitted since the late 1300s after the plague had struck down men and women, old and young alike, of course, but the slaves brought in to solve the shortage---from the Slavic countries, Greece, North Africa---were almost young women. She is 'a sound virgin, free from disease and aged about twenty-one,' Cosimo's agent told him. Quite an advertisement. Himself a devotee of the Virgin, Cosimo called the girl Maddalena, after a more ambitious Mary, and some time later she bore him a child, Carlo, with marked Circassian features. We do not know how much embarrassment this caused, but clearly being a manifest adulterer was not as much of a problem as being a manifest usurer. No question of restitution here. Cosimo brought up Carlo in his own household together with the legitimate sons, Piero and Giovanni, and later used his influence to get the boy into the Church and have him become bishop of Prato. This was standard practice. It was considered appropriate for the fruits of carnal sin to take vows of celibacy. . . ." (Medici Money: Banking, Metaphysics and Art in Fifteenth Century Florence: 63) (1416-1469)
Signore di Firenze
1464-1469
Also known as:
Piero di Cosimo de' Medici
--" . . . He was succeeded by his only surviving son Piero, who was inferior to him in every way, and did not inherit his popularity. He was surnamed 'il Gottoso,' from his bad health, and showed little talent as a politician. Indeed, he would have been more suited to the quiet life of a merchant, than that of a great ruler and patron of the arts; and the five years of his nominal rule were chiefly spent in retirement, in the Villa Careggi . . . ." (The Most Illustrious Ladies of the Italian Renaissance: 50)
--" . . . Piero was plagued throughout his life with disfiguring illnesses, including gout (from which his nickname is derived), eczema, and arthritis. Despite his painful physical existence, most sources credit him with having been a kind, honorable man who was respected by his peers. Piero may have been physically impaired but he was by all accounts an intelligent, sincere, and effective ruler. He was a scrupulous businessman and a gifted diplomat. . . ." (The Late Medieval Age of Crisis and Renewal, 1300-1500: 48)
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Lorenzo I de' Medici
the Magnificent
@Wikipedia
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(1449-1492)
Lord of Florence
1469-1492
Duca di Urbino
2. Clarice Orsini, mar 1469, daughter of Giacomo Orsini, Signore di Monterotondo & Bracciano & Maddalena Orsini.  |
Lorenzo the Magnificent
@Google
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Lustful Lorenzo's Lovers.
"At the summit of authority, quite atypically, princes were expected to have mistresses. . . But such flagrant adultery, even in the years of Lorenzo de' Medici's primacy (c. 1478-92_, would have been unthinkable in middle-class and patrician Florence. Reportedly lustful ('libidinoso e tutto venero'), Lorenzo kept discrete trysts in the Florentine countryside, where he conducted a long affair with a Florentine bourgeoisie, the wife of Donato Benci, Bartolomea de' Masi, who used to receive him at night in her villa. But his earlier love for Lucrezia Donati, another married woman of the Florentine ruling class, though celebrated in verse, was concealed by the camouflaging of her name and the claims of platonic love. . . . " (Strong Words: Writing and Social Strain in the Italian Renaissance: 103)
His lovers were:
Also known as:
Bartolommea Benci Nasi.
Wife of: Donato Benci.
"Guicciardini gave credence to the report that the fatal illness of Lorenzo was brought on by the exposure to which Lorenzo subjected himself in following up his love intrigue with Bartolommea de' Nasi, the wife of Donato Benci, a lady who was neither young nor beautiful but of much distinction in manner and intelligence. In order to save the reputation of the lady, who lived near her villa in the country during the winter months, Lorenzo, then a widower, visited her regularly after nightfall and returned to Florence in the morning. He was accompanied on these occasions by a portion of that body-guard, with some of whom he was always surrounded after the conspiracy of the Pazzi. Two of them having complained of their hard service, the lady contrived o get them sent away in disgrace on distant embassies. 'A mad thing'..., says Guicciardini, 'was it, if we consider that a man of such greatness, reputation, and prudence---of forty years of age---should e so captivated by a lady, not beautiful and full of years, as to be brought to do things which would have misbecome any boy.'" (Edinburgh Review, Or, Critical Journal, Volume 145: 134)
" . . . The fraternal household of Piero and Lorenzo Nasi also had a more intimate link with Lorenzo de' Medici. According to Francesco Guicciardini, Bartolommea di Lorenzo Nasi was Lorenzo il Magnifico's mistress for many years, despite her marriage to Donato Benci and despite the fact that she was 'neither younger nor beautiful. (Changing Patrons: Social Identity and the Visual Arts in Renaissance Florence: 20)
"Lorenzo's different reactions to the deaths of his mother and his wife can be explained largely by the degree of his affection for the two women. Lorenzo had always been deeply attached to his mother, but he was never particularly fond of his wife. At the time of Clarice's death, Lorenzo was an estranged husband with a Florentine mistress, Bartolommea Benci Nasi. . . ." (Lucrezia Tornabuoni De' Medici and the Medici Family in the Fifteenth Century: 143)  |
Lucrezia Donati
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2) Lucrezia Donati.
" . . . At one point Alessandra Strozzi complained that while her own exiled son count not return to the city, despite the goo word put in on his behalf by the king of Naples, Niccolo Ardinghelli, cuckolded husband of 'Lorenzo's lady,' Lucrezia Donati, magically gained approval on short notice from the Signoria. 'Perhaps,' she concluded bitterly, 'it is better to have a pretty wife than the prayers of a king.' Such blatant favoritism tended to confirm suspicions that the Medici were beginning to see themselves as royalty rather than as citizens." (Magnifico: The Brilliant Life and Violent Times of Lorenzo de' Medici: 79)
(1453-1478)
Duke of Florence
1469-1478.
"He was co-ruler of Florence in the 15th century, the “golden boy” – a handsome, athletic, renowned patron of the arts. His illegitimate son by his mistress Fioretta Gorini, Giulio di Giuliano de Medici,became Pope Clement VII. He was assassinated by a rival clan on 26 April, 1478, in the Duomo of Florence, killed by a sword wound to the head and was stabbed 19 times. He was 25 years old." (Book Haven)
" . . . Giuliano, the Prince of Youth, had been immensely popular and the outpouring of grief was genuine. His sunny disposition, athleticism, and good looks had appealed even to those who resented the Medici hegemony; Poliziano concludes his account of the Pazzi conspiracy with a tribute to his friend: 'He was very mild, very kind, very respectful of his brother, and of great strength and virtue. These virtues and others made him beloved by the people and his own family during his lifetime, and they rendered most painful and bitter to us as all the memory of his loss.'" (Magnifico: 327)
" . . . Giuliano de' Medici's mistress and the mother of his posthumous son, Giulio. Giulio would grow up to become Pope Clement VII and exact an unexpected revenge oh his predecessor, Sixtus IV." (Simonetta, p. xv)
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Giuliano de' Medici Duke of Florence |
His lovers were:
1) Antonietta del Cittadino.
Natural offspring:
a. Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici (1478-1534), Pope Clement VII 1523-1534.
"One ray of light pierced these dark days. Shortly after Giuliano's murder, his mother, Lucrezia, received the surprising information that Giuliano had recently fathered an illegitimate son. Lucrezia sought out the baby and brought him to the Via Larga palace, where Lorenzo happily agreed to raise him as his own. The child, christened Giulio after his father, grew into a clever if somewhat dour man. Following his cousin Giovanni into the Church, he would ultimately ascend St. Peter's throne as Pope Clement VII." (Magnifico: 327)
Also known as:
Floretta Grini.
Daughter of a tradesman
"A young girl named Fioretta Gorini, daughter of a tradesman, also went into mourning, for she had replaced the fair Simonetta in Giuliano's affections and a few months before his death had borne her lover a son. While concealing his amour and its result from his family, the young father had taken some of his friends into his confidence, and they now undertook to intercede for the mother and the baby. Lorenzo was genuinely pleased that Giuliano had left an heir. He sought out Fioretta and persuaded her, without much difficulty, to let him have the rearing of the child." (Lorenzo the Magnificent: 181)
"Julian de Medicis, was a posthumous bastard of Julian de Medicis, duke of Florence, assassinated by the orders of Sixtus the Fourth, in the conspiracy of the Pazzi, and of a young girl named Floretta Gorini. His uncle, Laurent de Medicis, having escaped the daggers of the assassins, had taken him to his own house with his mother, whom he made his mistress. . . ." (A Complete History of the Popes of Rome, Vol 2: 192)
(1472-1503)
Lord of Florence
1492-1494
Husband of: Alfonsina Orsini (1472-1520), mar 1488, daughter of Roberto Orsini, Conte di Tagliacozzo & Caterina Sanseverino
Duc de Nemours
(1479-1516)
Lord of Florence
1513-1516
Duke of Nemours
1515-1516
Vicar of Soragna; Roman Noble 1513; Perpetual Governor of Parma, Piacenza, Reggio Emilia & Modena; Captain-General of the Holy Roman Church.
Husband of:
Filiberta di Savoia (1498-1524), Marquise de Gez 1515; Signora di Fossano 1515; Signora di Malaval 1516; Signora di Malaval, Bridiers, Thors, Fletz & Chasey; Signora de Poncin & Cerdon 1521
A womaniser, not a fighter.
"A womaniser, not a fighter, he spent much time and enjoyed life at the court of Urbino, where even an apartment at the Palazzo there was named after him. In fact, it was at Urbino where he met the only mistress with whom he is known for certain to have had a relationship. Pacifica Brandano...gave birth to Giuliano's only child, a son Ippolito, in 1511. Little else is know about Pacifica, and little more about any father-son relationship with Ippolito." (
Mona Lisa: Leonardo's Earlier Version: 120)
His lovers were:
1) Isabella Gualanda
Lover in 1491?
". . . Isabella Gualanda . . . was actually born in Naples in 1491. Her father, Ranieri Gualanda, originally from Pisa, was a general courtier to Alfonso of Aragon, Duke of Calabria. Some historians link her father's Tuscan origin as sufficient to qualify her as Leonardo's 'Florentine woman', but this is stretching credibility. . . Isabella's mother, Bianca, was a cousin of Cecilia Gallerani. . . Sadly, Isabella was orphaned as a baby, and from 1492 she was brought up under the protection of the Aragonese court in Naples. By 1514, then widowed and a mother, she was possibly in Rome, and connected to the social circle of Vittoria Colonna, that also included Costanza d'Avalos, the Duchess of Francavilla, and other intellectual emigres from Naples. There are reports extolling her wit and beauty. Nonetheless, there is no evidence that she had anything to do with Giuliano de' Medici. . . . " (
Mona Lisa: Leonardo's Earlier Version: 53)
2) Pacifica Brandino (d.1511)
Lover in 1510.
Also known as:
Pacifica Brandani.
Natural offspring:
1. Ippolito de' Medici (1511-1535)
Governor of Florence 1524-1527; Cardinal 1529; Archbishop of Avignon 1529.
"Pacifica Brandano . . . a heretofore unknown woman from Urbino, had a relationship of some sort with Giuliano, at least as far back as 1510 when he was still in exile and staying from time-to-time at the court of Urbino. This is known because their son, Ippolito, the only known child of Giuliano, was born in 1511. . . . " (
Mona Lisa: Leonardo's Earlier Version: 57)
"In reality, she was actually the only known mistress of Giuliano de' Medici. There may have been others, some writers claim 'may others!', but as has been discussed, there is no evidence for this. . . It is believed that Pacifica died shortly after giving birth to Ippolito and very little else is known of her. Furthermore, Giuliano seems to have taken little interest in his illegitimate son either. . . ." (
Mona Lisa: Leonardo's Earlier Version: 57)
"The second bastard child in the Medici family in 1519, Ippolito de' Medici, was the son of Giuliano, duke of Nemours (the brother of Cardinal Giovanni/Pope Leo), and Pacifica Brandani, a gentlewoman of Urbino. Baptised on 19 April 1511 in Urbino, he was probably born earlier that year. He was older than Alessandro and his mother was of higher social status. Of the two illegitimate Medici offspring, he was the senior." (
The Black Prince of Florence: 19)
(1492-1519)
Lord of Florence
1516-1519
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Alessandro de' Medici
Duke of Florence
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(1510-1537)
1st Duke of Tuscany
1531-1537
Duke of Urbino
1519-1537
Also known as:Alessandro di Giulio de' Medici
Alessandro I of Florence
(Alessandro de Medici @ PBS Frontline)
Son of: Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici (a.k.a. Pope Clement VII) & Simonetta da Collavecchio.
"Between 1494 and 1512, the Medici family was expelled from Florence as part of an ongoing effort to establish a republican form of government there. Alessandro was born in Urbino, Italy, the son of an African woman named Simonetta, a de' Medici household slave. What historians can't decide is who Alessandro's father was: Lorenzo or Giulio de' Medici. Lorenzo was the Duke of Nemours and ruler of Urbino, while Giulio was a cardinal who would go on to become Pope Clement VII. Most scholars give the nod to Lorenzo, though some seem to savor the titillation of speculating that this black man was the son of a Roman Catholic Pope, because Giulio (who became Pope Clement VII in 1523) took pains to protect and support Alessandro's troubled and controversial rule, providing fodder for rumors that he was Alessandro's father. But Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici's bloodline was the more impressive: He was the grandson of Lorenzo 'The Magnificent,' the ruler to whom Niccolo Machiavelli dedicated his classic work The Prince in 1513. Taking the lead in raising Alessandro, Lorenzo freed Simonetta on the promise that she give up her rights to their illegitimate son. (In Florence at the time of Alessandro's birth, the slave status of children followed the father, while in much of the rest of Italy slave status followed the mother, just as it did in the United States.) When Lorenzo died, Alessandro was only 8, but his other potential father, future Pope Clement VII, made sure he and his cousin Ippolito had a regent in place to secure their line of the family's claim to future rule." (The Root)
Son of a Moorish slave woman?
"'Hail! Alessandro of Colle Vecchio'. . . The graffito reference was to the duke's birth: his mother was a peasant woman (actually a freed slave . . .) living in the village of Colle Vecchio, near Rome. Remarkably, it was his mother's peasant status, rather than her Moorish or slave birth, which seems to have stoked the contempt of his critics. Based on Florentine usage of the term 'slave' in the sixteenth century, I will argue that Alessandro's mother was a black African. The libel was directed at her status as a peasant who had previously been a slave, not at her 'race.' Thus, Alessandro was being mocked not as the possessor of inferior African blood but as a royal impostor, the offspring of a peasant or ex-slave ruling over a noble city."
Son of a Medici Pope?
" . . . Alessandro was born in Urbino, Italy, the son of an African woman named Simonetta, a de' Medici household slave. What historians can't decide is who Alessandro's father was: Lorenzo or Giulio de' Medici. Lorenzo was the Duke of Nemours and ruler of Urbino, while Giulio was a cardinal who would go on to become Pope Clement VII. Most scholars give the nod to Lorenzo, though some seem to savor the titillation of speculating that this black man was the son of a Roman Catholic Pope, because Giulio (who became Pope Clement VII in 1523) took pains to protect and support Alessandro's troubled and controversial rule, providing fodder for rumors that he was Alessandro's father. . . ." (The Root)
Son of Lorenzo de' Medici?
" . . . But Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici's bloodline was the more impressive: He was the grandson of Lorenzo 'The Magnificent,' the ruler to whom Niccolo Machiavelli dedicated his classic work The Prince in 1513. Taking the lead in raising Alessandro, Lorenzo freed Simonetta on the promise that she give up her rights to their illegitimate son. (In Florence at the time of Alessandro's birth, the slave status of children followed the father, while in much of the rest of Italy slave status followed the mother, just as it did in the United States.) When Lorenzo died, Alessandro was only 8, but his other potential father, future Pope Clement VII, made sure he and his cousin Ippolito had a regent in place to secure their line of the family's claim to future rule." (The Root)
"Alessandro de' Medici was born at Urbino in 1511 of an illustrious line on his father's side. The identity of his father remains a subject of dispute among historians; to a lesser extent his mother's ethnic origin is also disputed. Nonetheless, he was unexpectedly made Duke of Florence at the age of nineteen in 1529, by virtue of an agreement (the Treaty of Barcelona) between Pope Clement VII and the Emperor Charles V; then murdered in 1537, at the age of twenty-six, in a tyrannicide committed by his enigmatic cousin, Lorenzino de' Medici, assisted by a hired assassin. . . ." (Black Africans in Renaissance Europe: 303)
The first black head of state of the Western world.
"This week’s Famous Friday is one of those prominent multiracial people from the 1500s! Alessandro de’ Medici was believed to be the child of a famous Florentine banking family heir Lorenzo de’ Medici and an Afro-European woman named Simunetta. Some believe that Simunetta da Collevecchio was a slave to Alessandro’s grandmother Alfonsina Orsini de’ Medici who lived in Naples, Italy. His nickname was “Il Moro”, which means “the Moor”, due to his dark features. In 1532, at only 19 years old, Alessandro became the Duke of Florence. Many believe that made him the first “black” head of state in the Western World. I assume that means he may have been the first multiracial head of state. That is a pretty cool accomplishment, especially for a teenager, but many do not believe that he was a great leader." (Project Race)
Husband of: Margareta von Osterreich (1522-1586), Natural daughter of Karl V of Germany
" . . . To sustain himself as duke and to gain the support of the emperor, Alessandro married Margherita, the illegitimate daughter of Emperor Charles V. He and Margherita had no children, but Alessandro's own illegitimate children included the Admiral Giulio (d.1600), Porzia and Giulia, wife of Bernardetto de' Medici, the brother of Pope Leo XI." (Papal Genealogy: 74)
His lovers were:
" . . . [O]thers accused him of 'using his power to sexually exploit the citizenry,'Valdes writes, including allegations that he frequented brothels, seduced his subjects' wives and daughters, and nun, Alessandro's reputation as a tyrant, like his fate, was sealed." (The Root)
" . . . [O]thers accused him of 'using his power to sexually exploit the citizenry,'Valdes writes, including allegations that he frequented brothels, seduced his subjects' wives and daughters, and nun, Alessandro's reputation as a tyrant, like his fate, was sealed." (The Root) 1) Ricciarda Malaspina (1497-1553)
Marchesa di Massa 1519; Signora di Carrara 1519
Wife of:
Natural offspring:
"Alessandro de' Medici had most of the usual assets of a Renaissance ruler: a palace, a bride, advisers, artists. Sometime after his return to Florence, he found himself a mistress. Six or seven years Alessandro's elder, Taddea Malaspina was the widow of Count Giambattista Boiardo da Scandiano. She had survuved an unhappy marriate. Scared of her husband, at the age of twenty-one Taddea had fled to a convent and begged her mother's relatives to let her stay there. The following year, however, her husband had died, and Taddea had been able to return to her family. One of four sisters, Taddea was well connected and well off. Her father Alberico Antonio, marquis of Massa, had left her a dowry of 6,000 ducats. Her mother, Lucrezia, was a member of the Este family of Ferrara and cousin to Isabella d'Este, marchiopness of Mantua. A few miles up the Tuscan coast from the marble quarries of Carrara, their great fortress of Mssa -- the Rocca -- nestled in the cliffs, overlooking the sea. Besides palatial accommodation for the city;s rulers, it afforded defence against attacks on the coast." (The Black Prince of Florence: 88)
Alessandro de' Medici ruled Florence for five years briefly before his assassination in 1537. It is generally accepted that he was the son of a black kitchen maid named Simonetta and the seventeen-year-old Giulio de' Medici, who was to become Pope Clement VII. His lineage was carefully hidden in most portraits, though his enemies frequently referred to him as 'il Moro', the Moor. Ippolito Malaspina was a real figure and a genuine patron of Caravaggio in Malta; his coat of arms can be seen on the artist's St. Jerome, which remains in the co-cathedral in Valletta, for which Malaspina commissioned it. The Malaspina family was at one time powerful in Tuscan politics; an ancestor of Ippolito receives a mention in both Dante's Purgatorio and Boccaccio's Decameron. The aristocratic Malaspina dynasty disappeared in the eighteenth century. In the time of the Medici, however, the Malaspina clan had a visible and important presence in Florence. The favourite mistress of Alessandro de' Medici was Taddea Malaspina. The depiction of Alessandro by Pontormo, which is now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, was originally his gift to her. In turn, she bore Alessandro's only children." (The Garden of Evil: 532-533)
"Indeed, there is still another portrait to consider. Alessandro is shown sketching the head of a woman, perhaps that of his lover, the (merry) widow, Taddea Malaspina, mother of at least two of his illegitimate children, Giulio and Giulia. Resident of Palazzo Pazzi, she was also, according to Vasari, recipient of the painting. . . ." (Remembering Masculinity in Early Modern Florence: 96)
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Maria Salviati w/ Giulia de' Medici |
"Pontormo (called by the name of his birthplace) was esteemed by the Medicis for his ability to capture the individuality of his sitters, while emphasizing their aristocratic demeanor. Maria Salviati was the wife of famous military leader Giovanni delle Bande Nere de' Medici (d. 1526) and the mother of Cosimo I (1519-1574), grand duke of Tuscany. The little girl holding her hand here is probably Giulia, a Medici relative who was left in Maria's care after the murder of the child's father, Duke Alessandro de' Medici (1511-1537). As Alessandro was born of a liaison between a Medici cardinal and a servant who, tradition has it, was African, this formal portrait may be the first of a girl of African ancestry in European art. The child was painted over sometime during the 19th century but was rediscovered during a 1937 cleaning of the work."
2. Giulia di Alessandro de' Medici.
" . . . Alessandro is shown sketching the head of a woman, perhaps that of his lover, the (merry) widow, Taddea Malaspina, mother of at least two of his illegitimate children, Giulio and Giulia. . . ." (Levy: 95)
"Alessandro had two illegitimate children, Giulia and Giulio. The identity of the mother is uncertain. Gabrielle Langdon argues that she was Taddea Malaspina, an attractive young widow, resident for a time in Florence at the Pazzi palace with her sister Ricciarda. Alessandro is known to have spent many evenings at the palace. . . ." (Black Africans in Renaissance Europe:321)
"Alessandro's children, Giulio and Giulia, were raised by Alessandro's successor, Cosimo de' Medici. Giulia became Princess of Ottojano, and Giulio became First Admiral of the Knights of San Stephano, founded to fight the Turks. Through their offspring, according to Mario Valdes, 'The greatest majority of the noble houses of Italy can today trace their ancestry back to Alessandro de' Medici,' a black man, and 'so can a number of other princely families in Europe,' including the Habsburgs." (The Root)
"Alessandro's children, Giulio and Giulia, were raised by Alessandro's successor, Cosimo de' Medici. Giulia became Princess of Ottojano, and Giulio became First Admiral of the Knights of San Stephano, founded to fight the Turks. Through their offspring, according to Mario Valdes, 'The greatest majority of the noble houses of Italy can today trace their ancestry back to Alessandro de' Medici,' a black man, and 'so can a number of other princely families in Europe,' including the Habsburgs." (The Root)
Wife of: Leonardo Ginori.
"It was the eve of Epiphany, 1537, a night of the most dazzling moonlight. Alessandro de' Medici, duke of Florence, had an assignation. His cousin Lorenzino, little Lorenzo, had promised him the favours of Caterina de' Ginori. Alessandro's enemies called Lorenzino his pimp. Caterina, it is said, was beautiful and virtuous. She was married, but tonight her husband was many miles to the south in Naples on business. Lorenzino had assured Alessandro, lord of the city, that Caterina could be persuaded. After dinner that night, Lorenzino had explained his plan. Caterina lived on the narrow street just behind the Palazzo Medici. Alessandro should make excuses to his friends and head for the privacy of Lorenzino's palace apartment rather than his own. Lorenzino would bring Caterina in discreetly, by the back door, to protect her reputation. Clad in a cloak of fine Neapolitan silk, lined with sable, the Duke headed out with four friends. In public he usually wore a doublet lined with fine chain mail to protect himself from any enemy quick with a knife. But there was no need for such precautions on a short walk to meet the pretty Caterina. Arriving in the Piazza di San Marco, just a few minutes from his home, Alessandro dismissed all his companions except one. His servant l'Unghero was to keep watch on the comings and goings at Lorenzino's from the Sostegni house across the road. L'Unghero, lazy and familiar with the Duke's womanising, expected a long wait. He decided not to watch but to take himself off to sleep. There was a warm fire burning in Lorenzino's chamber. Alessandro too off his sword and threw himself down on the bed. He too had decided to take a nap. . . ." (The Black Prince of Florence: the Spectacular Life and Treacherous World of Alessandro de' Medici: 4)
" . . . The roving eyes of that tyrannical and licentious Prince were often directed towards the purest as well as the highest among the Florentine ladies, and not content with robbing them of honour, he publicly boasted of his success. But his kinsman, Lorenzino, who shared and assisted his pleasures, meditated, under the cloak of that base office, the means of procuring the supreme power for himself. Alessandro had been captivated by Lorenzino's still young and handsome aunt, the wife of Leonardo Ginori, but had long sought her favour in vain, when Lorenzino pretended that he had procured him an assignation. Blinded by lust, Duke Alessandro suffered himself to be lured into a dark and secret chamber, where, as he lay expecting the promised fair one, he was set upon by Lorenzino and a hired assassin, and stabbed to the heart (January 6th, 1537). . . ." (1521-1598: 83-83)
"On the evening of 5 January 1537 Alessandro I de' Medici dined with his cousin Lorenzino, son of Pierfrancesco de' Medici. For some time that two had been companions in debauched nocturnal escapades. Lorenzino had informed his friend that finally the beautiful Caterina, the wife of Leonardo Ginori, had agreed to meet the Duke in the privacy of a chamber. . . The meeting with Caterina Ginori was in fact merely a pretext through Lorenzino put into action his dastardly and carefully prepared plan. Consequently, he flung himself upon the unwitting Alessandro and struck him a - probably mortal - blow with a short, double-edged sword. . . ." (Mediateca di Palazzo Medici Riccardi)
" . . . Lorenzino had become jealous of the power that had been given to an illegitimate member of the Medici clan. On the night of January 5, 1537, when Alessandro was returning from a nighttime visit with the wife of Leonardo Ginori, with whom the duke was enamored, Lorenzino lured Alessandro to his home and there in hand-to-hand combat killed him. The assassination brought Florence into a state of turmoil. Lorenzino claimed that he wanted to return Florence to its old republican form of government. . . ." (Papal Genealogy: 74) (1519-1574)
Grand Duke of Tuscany
1569-1574
Duke of Florence
1537-1569
"Cosimo the First was a tyrant; truculent, cruel, energetic,ruthless. He was feared and was hated; but he was capable and crafty, and raised himself to the position of the most powerful prince of Italy. . . ." (The Nineteenth Century,Vol. 29: 572)
Cosimo's spouses & children.
"Cosimo de' Medici was quite remarkable for a Renaissance potentate in that he wanted a wife who was not only a politically advantageous match but one with whom he could fall in love as well. . . Their marriage consummated shortly after her arrival in Florence on 29 June, Eleonora willingly responded to her new husband's ardour. There seems little question that this was one royal couple who actually fell in love, apparently remaining so throughout their married life. . . ." (Isabella de'Medici: The Glorious Life and Tragic End of a Renaissance Princess: 16) Duchess of Florence
" . . . The new duke demonstrated an independent streak early in his term by making a choice of wife which displeased Pope Paul III Farnese (1468-1549, r.1534-1549). The pope had wanted to marry his granddaughter Vittoria (152-1602) to Cosimo. The duke instead chose Leonor (1522-62), the second daughter of Pedro Alvarez de Toledo (1484-1553), the viceroy of Naples. Rather than choosing the eldest, with the largest dowry, Cosimo selected the prettier and smarter girl, who became Duchess Eleonora di Toledo in 1539. By all accounts, their marriage wa marked by mutual affection and respect. The match did not provide the cachet which Alessandro's marriage had, yet it came with Spanish approval and provided a very large social step up for the duke. Emperor Charles saw the profit in a family alliance between Naples and Florence, which would keep Cosimo from marrying into potentially inimical, and certainly stronger, families (like the Farnese). The political and familial relationship ensured a presence for the Medici at the Spanish court and supported Cosimo's territorial ambitions, which complemented Spanish desires to limit the French presence in the Italian peninsula. Eleonora, nicknamed la Fecundissima (the most fertile one), gave birth to eleven live children, increasing the importance of the connection. . . ." (Jesuit Foundations and Medici Power, 1532-1621: 25)
"What Cosimo loved in Eleonora, other than her beauty, was not always readily apparent to those aside their immediate circle. Eleonora's upbringing in Spain, a world marked by rigid ceremony, ensured her determination to keep her private and public personae very separate. She probably spoke better Italian than she claimed, but she made it very clear to those around her that Spanish was her language and it was she who should be accommodated, and not the other way around. In fact, aside from her husband, she was not particularly keen on Italians, or anyone who was not Spanish. 'She has no affection for anyone from any other nation,' commented a Spanish Jesuit. . . ." (Isabella de'Medici: The Glorious Life and Tragic End of a Renaissance Princess: 16) Camilla de' Martelli.
Daughter of: Antonio di Domenico de' Martelli & Madonna Fiammetta.
Physical appearance & personal qualities." . . . The other sister Camilla was about twenty-four years of age, fair, beautiful and of a lofty spirit; of singular modesty and good feeling, and with 'a pair of eyes like two brilliant stars.'. . . . ." (Napier, 1847, p. 242)
First encounter." . . . Wandering one morning in the unfinished building she accidentally met the Duke who being struck with her beauty and manners next morning made a visit to the house of Martelli, and from hour to hour becoming more entangled he ultimately succeeded, and she sunk a half-reluctant victim to ambition if not a willing one to love. When in Rome for his coronation, Cosimo acknowledged this amongst other errors to the pope, who unhesitatingly urged him to do justice and avoid future sin by an immediate marriage, and this was accomplished on his return to Florence. . . ." (Napier, 1847, p. 242)
Personal & family background." . . . She was the youngest of the two daughters, the only children, of Messer Antonio di Domenico de' Martelli, and his wife, Madonna Fiammetta, the daughter of Messer Niccolo de' Soderini, a descendant of that earlier Niccolo, the self-seeking and unscrupulous adviser of Don Piero de' Medici. . . ." (Staley, 2006, p. 125)
" . . . Cosimo replaced her (that is, Eleonora degli Albizzi) by Camilla Martelli, whom, in 1570, after she had presented him with a bastard daughter, Donna Virginia (he acknowledged the child to be his), he married, much in the way in which Louis the Fourteenth afterwards married Madame de Maitenon. . . ." (The Nineteenth Century,Vol. 29, p. 572)
"Shortly afterwards the more consolable father, having given in marriage to a scion of the noble family of Panciatici his mistress, Eleonora degli Albizzi, whom her noble father had sold to him, asked another noble father of Florence for his daughter, the beautiful Camilla Martelli, to be her successor. The honour was of course gratefully accepted by the proud patrician, and Camilla Martelli became the mother of Virginia de' Medici in 1568. But soon afterwards the lady began to be troubled with scruples of conscience, and consulted his Holiness, Pius V, upon the subject, who counselled patience! meaning that that she should wait and see whether the sovereign might bot be included to marry her. And accordingly as it happened, that state reasons made it desirable for Cosmo to conciliate the pontiff, he decided on gaining his heart entirely by marrying 'La Martelli' in 1570, and by giving up to the Church his subject Carnesecchi, to be burned as a heretic." (A Decade of Italian Women: 227) Snapshots of some of Cosimo I's children marriages.
"Pietro de; Medici, a fifth of Cosimo's sons, had rendered himself notorious in Spain and Italy by forming a secret society for the most revolting debaucheries. Yet he married the noble Eleonora di Toledo, related by blood to Cosimo's first wife. Neglected and outraged by her husband, she proved unfaithful, and Pietro hewed her in pieces with his own hands at Caffaggiolo. . . ." (The Universal Anthology, Vol 12: 188)
"Isabella de' Medici, daughter of Cosimo, was married to the Duke of Bracciano. Educated in the empoisoned atmosphere of Florence, she, like Eleonora di Toledo, yielded herself to fashionable profligacy, and was strangled by her husband at Ceretto. Both of these murders took place in 1576. Isabella's death . . . opened the way for the Duke of Bracciano's marriage with Vittoria Accoramboni, which had been prepared by the assassination of her first husband, and which led to her own murder at Padua. . . ." (The Universal Anthology, Vol 12: 188)
" . . . Another of Cosimo's daughters, Lucrezia de' Medici, became Duchess of Ferrara, fell under a suspicion of infidelity, and was possibly removed by poison in 1561. . . ." (The Universal Anthology, Vol 12: 188)
"The last of his sons whom I have to mention, Don Giovanni, married a dissolute woman of low birth called Livia, and disgraced the name of Medici by the unprincely follies of his life. . . ." (The Universal Anthology, Vol 12: 188)
Cosimo I's lovers were:
1) Eleonora degli Albizzi (1543-1634).
Lover in 1565-1567.
Daughter of: Luigi di Messer Maso degli Albizzi & Nannina Soderini.
Wife of: Carlo Panciati
Natural offspring:
a. Giovanni di Cosimo de' Medici (1563-1621)
"Grand Duke Cosimo I was still full of strength and vigour in the year 1568. He saw it in by taming a young demoiselle from the Albizzi family who was yet again named Eleanor. But as she was a bit too bold and played some tricks on him, he married her to a gentleman who had murdered or killed one of his domestic servants and who, on account of the wedding, allowed him to return to Florence, providing as dowry a sum of forty thousand Florentine scudi that Cosimo had confiscated from him, but that the other had loaned him when he was undertaking the war against Siena. The Medici carried out many of these confiscations. This prince had a son from this demoiselle that he named Giovanni. This woman fell in love with Don Pietro de' Medici, who wanted to take her to Spain. This family, as I have said more than once, was made for villainy. . . ." (Journey to Italy: 641)
" . . . The woman who became his chief mistress during 1565 was yet another. Eleonora degli Albizzi was, in the words of a contemporary commentator, 'reduced, by the Duke, to his will while she was still at a tender age, and a virgin...taken secretly without the knowledge of her father to his villas.' Eleonora was actually about twenty-one when she began a relationship with Cosimo, so although a quarter of a century younger that the duke, she was hardly the fanciulla (child) so described... Eleonora's tenure as Cosimo's mistress lasted about two years. She quickly became pregnant by him, delivering a baby girl in May 1566. . . ." (Murder of a Medici Princess: 192)
Eleonora's character/persona."...Messer Luigi was left with Eleanora, the pride of her father's heart, the joy of his home. As beautiful as any girl in Florence, she was just sixteen, highly accomplished, full of spirits, and endowed with some of that pride and haughty bearing which had distinguished her forbears. She had, in short, all the makings of a successful woman of the world." (The Tragedies of the Medici: 118)
"...[I]n 1566, he appointed the other Eleanora to the position of his mistress, this arrangement being entered into with the consent of the father of the young lady. She bore him, in 1567, one son, Don Giovanni, and Cosimo, then getting tired of her married her to one Carlo Panciatichi. . . ." (The Nineteenth Century,Vol. 29: 572)
2) Florentine Lady.
Natural offspring:
a. Bianca di Cosimo de' Medici (1537-1543), a.k.a. Bia de' Medici.
". . . (O)n 1 March 1542, Cosimo's first child, his illegitimate daughter Bia, died, aged about six years old. While he might have discarded her unknown mother long ago, Bia had been very precious to Cosimo. She was the firstborn to a man who was instinctively paternal and for whom children, the closest ties of blood, mattered more than anything. . . ." (Murphy, 2008, p. 17)
4) Unnamed mistress.
Natural offspring:
a. Giovanni di Cosimo de' Medici (1567-1621)
 |
Francesco I de' Medici |
Grand Duke of Tuscany
1574-1587
 |
Johanna of Austria
Grand Duchess of Tuscany
@Wikipedia |
Husband of:
" . . . To marry a Duke of Milan had been a great descent to her imperial pride, but when to this was added her husband's neglect and indifference, and her contempt and horror of the loose morals of a court which treated her with open scorn, she was indeed to be pities. Poor Giovanna had no charm of beauty to attract; her manners were reserved and haughty, and, unfortunately for her, she had not at that time given birth to an heir to the Duchy. . ." (The Most Illustrious Ladies of the Italian Renaissance: 211)  |
Bianca Cappello Grand Duchess of Tuscany |
2. Bianca Cappello (1548-1587), mar 1578Grand Duchess of Tuscany.
Daughter of: Bartolomeo Cappello, a patrician of Venice, & Pellegrina Morosini.
Husband of:
1. Pietro Bonaventuri (d.1572), mar 1563, a young Florentine clerk in the firm of Salviati.
"Francesco, who reigned from 1564 till 1587, brought disgrace upon his line by marrying the infamous Bianca Capello, after authorizing the murder of her previous husband. Bianca, though incapable of bearing children, flattered her besotted paramour before this marriage by pretending to have borne a son. In reality, she had secured the cooperation of three women on the point of childbirth; and when one of these was delivered of a boy, she presented this infant to Francesco, who christened him Antonio de' Madidi. Of the three mothers who served this nefarious action, Bianca contrived to assassinate two, but not before one of the victims to her dread of exposure made full confession at the point of death. The third escaped. Another woman, who had superintended the affair, was shot between Florence and Bologna in the valleys of the Apennines. Yet after the manifestation of Bianca's imposture, the Duke continued to recognized Antonio as belonging to the Medicean family; and his successor was obliged to compel this young man to assume the Cross of Malta, in order to exclude his posterity from the line of princes." (The Universal Anthology, Vol 12: 186)
"The reserved and quiet Francesco de' Medici, had another overwhelming passion, which inevitably made him even more unpopular with the Florentine people. A passion which involved a beautiful dame and Venetian adventuress called Bianca Capello. This woman was already in love with a modest man, named Salviati, who came to Venice as a representative of the pawnshop of the Florentines, and had left the flooding city to escape his family who strongly opposed his marriage to Bianca. . . ." (www.tuscany.travel)
His lover was:
Italian aristocrat & royal mistress
Also known as:
la Maladetta Bianca.
Daughter of: Bartolomeo Cappello, a patrician of Venice, & Pellegrina Morosini.
Wife of: Pietro Bonaventuri, a young Florentine clerk in the firm of Salviati, mar 1563.
Making first contact with the new beauty.
"After the tragedy of his two son's death, Cosimo resigned his power into the hands of Francesco; and this young prince was not long in satisfying his curiosity with regard to the new beauty. This wife of his Spanish tutor, Marchesa Mondragone, made the acquaintance of Bianca and her mother-in-law, as it was suggested that her husband would try to obtain a pardon for Pietro. She arranged a meeting between Duke Francesco and Bianca at the Casino Mediceo, in the Piazzo of San Marco, not far from the house of the Bonaventuri. The girl was not troubled by any shyness and at once appealed to him for protection against the Republic of Venice and her own family, who had offered a great reward to any one who should arrest or kill herself, or her husband Pietro Bonaventuri. Francesco was ready to promise anything, for he was captivated by the ripe charms of this Venetian girl of sixteen, with her ruddy golden hair." (The Most Illustrious Ladies of the Italian Renaissance: 208)  |
Casino Mediceo di San Marco Site of First Meeting |
From the Duke's mistress to Duchess of Florence.
" . . . But the most remarkable, and perhaps the most disgraceful event of Francesco's reign, was his marriage with Bianca Capello. Bianca, daughter of a Venetian Noble, had eloped with a Florentine lover of inferior station, whom she afterwards married. Accident threw her in the way of Francesco, who, becoming enamoured of her extraordinary beauty, openly entertained her as his mistress, and assassinated her husband. The Prince was already married to Joanna of Austria, but had been disappointed of male issue from that union. The mistress, who is accused by contemporaries of having employed numerous charlatans, astrologers, and an infidel sorceress to frame charms and philtres, to preserve her lover's attachment, presented him with a suppositious boy, and put to death all the agents who were privy to her imposture. Joanna died brokenhearted, son after the accession of Francesco, and the first care of the new Duke was to despatch a splendid Embassy to Venice with a request that Bianca might be declared a daughter of the Republic. The Signory granted assent to this application with no little joy, and the sole obstacle to his legitimate union being thus removed, Francesco openly avowed his marriage with Bianca. The Cappelli, who had rejected their outcast child when in poverty, were among the foremost to revive connection with her after her splendid union; they assisted at her second nuptials, which the Grand Duke celebrated with extraordinary pomp, and at her subsequent Coronation, for which the assent of the Holy See had been obtained." (Encyclopaedia Metropolitana: 500)
From mistress & wife of a commoner to wife of a Prince.
" . . . A daughter of one of the most illustrious patrician families of Venice, flourished in the sixteenth century. She became the mistress, and subsequently wife, of Pietro Bonaventura, son of the grand duke Cosimo Medici, to whom she was married privately in Florence. The grand duke of Tuscany having seen, became enamoured of Biancha (sic); and Bonaventura was opportunely assassinated in 1574, she became first his mistress, and afterwards his consort in 1579. The grand duke, with his wife Bianca, dining in 1585 at the house of the cardinal Ferdinand de Medici, who was heir to the duchy, both were shortly after seized with violent convulsions and died. The cardinal was suspected of having contrived this catastrophe." (Comprehensive Dictionary of the World: 501)
Physical appearance & personal qualities.
" . . . [T]he fame of Bianca's beauty reached the ears of Francesco . . . and he felt a strong desire to see the fair heroine... [P]ortraits and medals as remain to us of the Capello do not confirm the enthusiasm of her contemporaries, for we see a coarse, bold face, with a mass of red hair and an insolent smile of triumph. . . When Montaigne saw her at the court of Florence, he describes her as 'handsome according to the taste of the Italians, having a cheerful and plump face, with considerable stoutness of person. . . .'" (The Most Illustrious Ladies of the Italian Renaissance: 207)
Contemporaries' assessment of Bianca's beauty.
"Meantime the story of their flight had spread through Italy, for a price had been set upon the head of Bonaventuri, and it soon became known that they were in Florence. This, and the fame of Bianca's beauty, reached the ears of Francesco, the eldest son of the Grand Duke Cosimo, and he felt a strong desire to see the fair heroine. It is most difficult to form any idea of the attractions of bygone beauties, for taste changes from one age to another, while no description, and but rarely even a portrait, can recall the charm of a living woman. But such portraits and medals remain to us of the Capello do not confirm the enthusiasm of her contemporaries, for we see a coarse, bold face, with a mass of red hair and an insolent smile of triumph; but this, of course, was at a much later period of her history. When Montaigne saw her at the court of Florence, he describes her as 'handsome according to the taste of the Italians, having a cheerful and plump face, with considerable stoutness of person. . . ." (The Most Illustrious Ladies of the Italian Renaissance: 207)
Personal & family background.
"Bianca was the daughter of Bartolommeo Capello, of a noble Venetian family, and large fortune. She was born in 1548, when the earlier glory of the Renaissance in Italy was passing somewhat into decadence, with the increase of wealth and luxury. Unfortunately for the young girl, she lost her mother at an early age, and would not appear to have been carefully trained, for one chronicle tells us that 'her habits of life were more free than is the custom with noble Venetian damsels.' We are also tol dthat her home life was made very unhappy by an unkind stepmother." (The Most Illustrious Ladies of the Italian Renaissance: 204) Affair's benefits.
" . . . Meanwhile the Venetian favourite was loaded with wealth and favours; the palace in the Via Maggio, still known by her name, was given to her, and the famous Orti Oricelli, those Rucellai Gardens where the Platonic Academy, founded by the father of Lorenzo the Magnificent, held its meetings for the time at the invitation of the cultured Bernardo Rucellai. . . Henceforth this abode of culture and learning was to be profaned by the presence of Bianca, who gave the most sumptuous and dissipated entertainments in the beautiful gardens, to lighten the gloom of her royal lover." (The Most Illustrious Ladies of the Italian Renaissance: 209). "If anyone reaped the benefits of the affair between Francesco and the Blonde Bianca, it was Bianca's husband, who gained much money, benefits and a magnificent palace, and so he was nicknamed Cornidoro by the Florentines. . . ." (www.tuscany.travel) "In the 1570s and 1580s, Archduke Francesco de Medici (1541-1587) fumed that he would brook no interference in politics by women. His mistress Bianca Cappello tactfully made Francesco believe her ideas had originated in his own brilliant mind. The archduke sank so frequently into irretrievable pits of depression that Bianca effectively ran Tuscany with her friend Secretary of State Serguidi. Together they made most of the political decisions and appointments to important posts. Even after the archduke married his mistress in 1578, Bianca, now the archduchess of Tuscany, still remained seemingly in her woman's role in the background, quietly pulling all the strings." (Sex with Kings: 500 Years of Adultery, Power, Rivalry, and Revenge: 156) Bianca's Patronages.
"Pietro Bonaventuri had a post at court, and a large salary for him, and, freed from all clerkly duties, he threw himself recklessly into the wildest and most frivolous amusements of the young nobility. He engaged in several love intrigues, and more especially one which caused much scandal with a young and beautiful widow, Cassandra Bonciani, whose proud family, the Ricci, had already found means to compass the death of two of her lovers. . . ." (The Most Illustrious Ladies of the Italian Renaissance: 209) Natural Offspring.
"It is interesting to know that after the death of Francesco and his wife, their reputed son, Prince Antonio, then a boy of eleven, was unmolested, and lived to enjoy many peaceful years in the 'Casino Medici,' where he devoted his time to the cultivation of art and science. Pellegrina, the daughter of Bianca, was happily married some years before, to Count Ulisse Bentivoglio." (The Most Illustrious Ladies of the Italian Renaissance: 224) Affair's effects on other people and on society.
" . . . Opposite to her father's house, the Salviati, a great mercantile family of Florence, had established a bank and entrusted the care of it to one Pietro Buonaventuri, a Florentine youth of obscure extraction, whom they had engaged as a clerk. Buonaventuri, handsome, adventurous, and much addicted to intrigue, formed a connection with Bianca, who took him for one of the principals in the house. After their intercourse had for some time been carried on in secrecy, the effects of it became such as could not be concealed: on which account Bianca resolved to elope with her lover. She furnished herself with a casket of jewels, and leaving Florence by night, at length safely arrived with him at Florence, and was lodged in his father's house, where she was delivered of a daughter. She had been married to Buonaventuri on the road, at a village near Bologna. She lived for some time with her husband in obscurity, continually under apprehensions of being discovered by emissaries from Venice, where her elopement had excited much indignation in all her family. . . ." (A Universal Biography, Vol 5: 112)
Affair's end & aftermath.
"The legend of Francesco's and Bianca's mysterious death is well-known. The Duchess had engaged in fresh intrigues for palming off a spurious child upon her husband. These roused the suspicions of his brother, Cardinal Ferdinando de' Medici, heir presumptive to the crown. An angry correspondence followed, ending in the autumn of 1587 at the villa of Poggio a Cajano. Then the world was startled by the announcement that the Grand Duke had died of fever after a few days' illness. and that Bianca had almost immediately afterwards followed him to the grave. Ferdinand, on succeeding to the throne, refused her the interment suited to her rank, defaced her arms on public edifices, and for her name and titles in official documents to be substituted the words 'la pessima Bianca.'" (The Universal Anthology, Vol 12: 187)  |
| Ferdinando I de' Medici |
(1549-1609)
Grand Duke of Tuscany
1587-1609
His lovers were:
 |
Clelia Farnese
|
(1590-1621)
Grand Duke of Tuscany
1609-1621
(1610-1670)
Grand Duke of Tuscany
1621-1670
His lover was:
Bruto della Molara.
"Grand Duke Cosimo III ruled Tuscany for fifty-three years. While his governance was neither particularly good nor bad, it was affected by certain facets of his own character which are in some sense vital to understanding the nature of his son and successor, the last grand duke, Gian Gastone. Brought up by a pietistic mother, unhappily married to his father Grand Duke Ferdinand, who ruled Florenc from 1621-1670 and much preferred the embraces of his handsome young page Count Bruto della Molara, Cosimo became a narrow, serious-minded and zealous devot, better suited to an ecclesiastical than to a secular career. . . ." (Madness of Kings)
" . . . Together they had two children: Cosimo, in 1642, and Francesco Maria de' Medici, in 1660. The latter was the fruit of a brief reconciliation, as after the birth of Cosimo, the two became estranged; Vittoria caught Ferdinando in bed with a page, Count Bruto della Molera." (Wikipedia)
(1671-1737)
Grand Duke of Tuscany
1723-1737.
His lover was:
Giuliano Dami
" . . . Gastone's most important long-term intimate relationship was with his groom, Giuliano Dami (1683-1750). It was with Dami that Gian Gastone traveled to Hamburg, and it was with Dami, not his wife, that Gian Gastone returned permanently to Florence in 1708. Thereafter, Dami provided for the prince a coterie of most young boys called ruspanti after the coins they were paid for their services. . . ." (Handel as Orpheus: Voice and Desire in the Chamber Cantatas: 39)
MEDICI PRINCES
Giulio di Alessandro de' Medici
(1527-1600)
1st Knight of Order of St. Stephen 1562; Admiral of Order of St. Stephen 1563;
Ambassador to Mantua 1565; Ambassador to Rome 1471, 1573
Son of: Alessandro I de' Medici, Duke of Florence & Taddea Malaspina.
Husband of:
2) Lucrezia Gaetani, married 1561
His lover was:
Unnamed mistress.
Natural offspring:
1. Cosimo di Giulio de' Medici (1550-1630)
2. Giuliano di Giulio de' Medici
Son of: Giulio di Alessandro de' Medici & Unnamed mistress.
Husband of: Lucrezia Gaetani.
(1554-1604)
Also known as:Leonora Alvarez de Toledo y Colonna
Dianora.
Daughter of Garzia Alvarez de Toledo, 4th Marques de Villafranca & Vittoria d'Ascanio Colonna.
Personal & family background.
"This now almost-unknown second Eleonora di Toledo was the only daughter of Don Garzia di Toledo and Vittoria d'Ascanio Colonna, niece of Vittoria Colonna, the poet. 'Dianora' -- named to distinguish her from her aunt -- was born at the Florentine court in March 1553. That yar her father, Garzia (1514-78), son of Emperor Charles V's viceroy in Naples and brother-in-law and ally of Cosimo de' Medici, had assumed command of the castles of Valdichiana. His tour of duty successfully completed, he returned to Naples with Vittoria. The journey was considered too arduous for their newborn daughter, however, and she was left in the care of Duchess Eleonora. Sadly, Vittoria died a few months later. Lovingly raised and educated with her Medici cousins, Dianora became in effect, a menina -- one intended for courtly life -- in the Spanish tradition of courtly fostering, a custom intended to reinforce aristocratic hierarchy. She was totally integrated into the Medici family. After Lucrezia's wedding in 1558, Dianora, then five, was reported to be always by her side, suggesting that she was a comfort to her during her separation from her new husband, Alfonso d'Este. Eleonora di Toledo's death in 1562 left Dianora motherless again at the age of nine. Cosimo, charmed by her vivacity, ready ripostes, and physical vigour, adored her. As a woman, she delighted in arms and horsemanship. It is said that Cosimo would half-heartedly caution her to behave with 'Florentine' decorum, concluding 'yo were indeed born in Florence.' There is no record of an adolescent portrait of Dianora, who was betrothed at the age of fifteen to Pietro, her close contemporary in the Medici nursery. The numerous portraits of her as a young woman attest to her standing in the court as a well-loved member of the ducal family; no doubt they also pay tribute to her celebrated beauty and personal appeal. As she matured, Dianora became a close companion to the liberated Isabella. Isabella's biographies and archival searches have made it possible to piece together the extremely tragic life of her young cousin and sister-in-law, Dianora." (Medici Women: 175)
Pietro's father's mistress?
" . . . He had major obligations to the House of Toledo, from whom he got his first wife; he gave signs of his attachment to Don Garcia, his brother-in-law. He also had at his court of of his nieces from the House of Toledo, also named Elanor, who was very pretty and, says the author of my memoir, endowed di bellissimi costumi. I mention this expressly because of what comes next. this young demoiselle was loved by Cosimo, who enjoyed her to the point that she became pregnant. After he had noticed this, he summoned Paolo Giordano Orsini to his court, he told him of his lovely operation, they determined together that this should be hidden; they decided to marry her to Pietro de' Medici, his son. This lady gave birth in due course to a beautiful boy to whom was given the name Cosimo." (Journey to Italy: 639)
Leonora di Toledo's lovers were:
"Eleanor, who was beautiful, was quite put out with her husband's indifference. She was not lacking for admirers, she pricked up her ears to proposals, she especially loved Bernardino Antinori. Everyone whispered about this. A certain Alessandro Gaci, threatened by the Medici if he continued to see Eleanor, took up the Capuchin gard, for fear of worse. He must have been quite afraid . . . What a decision!" (Journey to Italy: 640)
Bernardino Antinori (1537-1576)
Courtier, poet & hero.
" In the second half of the 16th century, Bernardino Antinori had a relationship with Dianora di Toledo, wife of Pietro de' Medici and son of Cosimo I. Pietro, who was known at the time for his brutality and dishonesty, discovered the relationship between the Antinori and his wife, which he accused of adultery and strangled her with a dog leash in July 1576 at the Villa Medici at Cafaggiolo. Bernardino was then arrested and killed in prison, for this reason Pietro was later exiled in Spain by his father Cosimo I." (Wikipedia)
"Just before her death, an admirer with whom she had been infatuated, Bernardino Antinori (1537-76), a courtier, poet, Knight of S. Stefano, and hero of Lepanto, was murdered in his cell on Francesco de' Medici's order. The hot-headed Bernardino had composed love poetry to Dianora from prison in Elba, where he had been incarcerated for repeated brawling. Its Neopetrarchan mode echoes the conventions of the day and, paradoxically, Antinori's poetry also serves as a touchstone to reveal Petrarchism in her miniature portrait. . . ." (Medici Women: 177)
" . . . Bernardino Antinori, another soldier-writer, was not so lucky. Some time after his return to Florence he got embroiled in a passionate love affair with Eleonora de Toledo 'the younger', wife of Cosimo I de' Medici's son Pietro. Eleonora was allegedly murdered by her enraged husband, and Grand Duke Francesco I had Antinori strangled in prison soon after. . . ." (Capponi, 2007, p. 317)
"In 1576, the castle was the scene of the murder of a Medici wife. Neglected by her husband, Eleanora di Toledo, the wife of Pietro de' Medici, had been conducting an illicit love affair with Bernardino Antinori, a young nobleman. Their affair came to light when Antinori killed a fellow noble, Francesco Ginori, in self-defence. Antinori confessed to his crime and was banished to Elba by Eleanora's brother-in-law, Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. From Elba, Antinori recklessly sent love letters to Eleanora. These letters fell into the hands of the Grand Duke, who promptly had Antinori executed to preserve the family's honour. On July 11, 1576, Pietro the cuckolded husband summoned his wife to the castle, where he murdered her - it is thought with his sword. Reports of the murder were suppressed and it was reported she had died of a heart attack. Eleanora was buried with the full pomp and honours usually accorded a member of the Medici family in the Medici Chapel (the family mausoleum) at the Basilica di San Lorenzo. Her homicidal husband was sent from the Florentine court to the court of Spain until his own death in 1604." (Villa Medicea di Cafaggiolo)
2. Beatriz de Lara, mar 1593.
Pietro's real preferences? and friends?.
" . . . Pietro Medici did not show signs of affection for his wife; his tastes were otherwise. Here you have the name of one of the buggers who amused themselves communally. The author says if he named them all, it would get boring. After this admission, should we be astonished to find that this taste should have continued in Florence? . . . Here you have the honourable pederasts who were allied, in spite of Nature, to the Medici, via Pietro. I do not know whether he was both agent and patient, as Pontas puts it in his Dictionnaire des cas de conscience.
The friends of Don Pietro were a certain Giannoro da Cepperello, a certain Alessandro, son of a captain named Martelli, and another Alessandro Martelli, and a young man, son of a certain Giovanni-Battista Martini, of whom there are still relatives in Florence, from noble houses. These are the ones that I have forgotten to specify; doubtless because the latter were worthiest of note. . . ." (Journey to Italy: 640)
Pietro's lovers were:
1) Antonia di Carvajal.
2) Eleonora degli Albizzi (1543-1634)
Daughter of: Messer Luigi di Messer Maso degli Albizzi
& Madonna Nannina.
Character/Persona: " . . . Messer Luigi was left with Eleanora, the pride of her father's heart, the joy of his home. As beautiful as any girl in Florence, she was just sixteen, highly accomplished, full of spirits, and endowed with some of that pride and haughty bearing which had distinguished her forbears. She had, in short, all the makings of a successful woman of the world." (Staley: 118)
3) Maria della Ribera. Physical appearance & personal qualities.
" . . . He was handsome, a fine rider, a talented musician. He sang melodiously, and played the harpsichord. . . ." (Wikipedia)
"It naturally distressed Cosimo deeaply that this lazy, insanely extravagant brother of his should have so much influence over his heir, the Grand Prince Ferdinando. Ferdinando had grown into a good looking young man, sprightly and amusing, intelligent, artistic and independent, with far more in common with his French mother than with his lugubrious father. By the age of fifteen he had already mastered the difficult art of ivory-turning and prodiced pieves of which any collector would have been proud. He was also a gifted musician, an excellent performer on the harsichord and a singer of unusual skill and charm. In later years he had a theatre built on the third floor of the Villa Pratolino. . . ." (The Rise and Fall of the House of Medici) Also known as:
Cecchino
Cecchino de' Massimi.
" . . . There was a long-standing association of castrati with homosexuality, and some had been the lovers of powerful men. Grand Prince Ferdinando de' Medici, himself an accomplished musician, met the castrato Domenico Cecchi ('Cecchino') at the Venetian carnival in 1687. So enamoured was Ferdinando of Cecchi that he neglected his wife and failed to produce an heir. Since his younger brother Gian Gastone showed similar lack of interest in the female sex, this marked the end of the House of Medici." (The Castrato and His Wife: 17) " . . . (S)ome had been the lovers of powerful men. Grand Prince Ferdinando de Medici, himself an accomplished musician, met the castrato Domenico Cecchi ('Cecchino') at the Venetian carnival in 1687. So enamoured was Ferdinando of Cecchi that he neglected his wife and failed to produce an heir...." (The Pig Man Arrives in Monte San Savino, p. 17) Italian opera singer.
Wife of: Jean-Baptiste Farinel (1655-?), the composer, mar 1689.
" . . . In addition to being Ferdinand's mistress, Vittoria was the wife of the composer Jean-Baptiste Farinel (b. 1655), whom she had married in 1689. Electress Sophie's particular interest in the rumored relationship arises from the fact that Farinel was a violinist and composer in the service of the Elector." (Handel as Orpheus: Voice and Desire in the Chamber Cantatas: 181)
" . . .[S]he was a fine woman, and had for some time been much in the good graces of his Serene Highness [the Grand Duke Cosimo III of Tuscany; she was his mistress]. But, from the natural restlessness of certain hearts, so little sensible was she of her exalted situation, that she conceived a design of transferring her affections to another person. Handel's youth and comeliness, joined with his fame and abilities in Music, had mad impressions on her heart. Tho' she had the art to conceal them for the present, she had not perhaps the power, certainly not the intention, to efface them." (Queering the Pitch: 164)
"The Venetian singer Vittoria Tarquini became one of the most celebrated singers of her time. Prince Ferdinando de' Medici became enraptured with her and eventually aroused the envy of his future wife, Violante Beatrice (the daughter of the dedicatee of this work, whom he was to marry the following November). The prince's affair with Tarquini also alienated his favorite castrato, Francesco de Castris (also known as Cecchino de' Massimi. . .). From 1699 Tarquini was in the employ of Gian Gastone de' Medici." (A New Chronology of Venetian Opera and Related Genres, 1660-1760: 185)
Francesco Maria de' Medici.
Duca di Rovere e Montefeltro
(1660-1711).
Governor of Sienna 1683; Cardinal 1686; Duca di Rovere e Montefeltro 1694
Son of: Ferdinando II de' Medici of Tuscany & Vittoria della Rovere.
Husband of: Eleonora Luisa Gonzaga of Guastalla mar 1709.
"...A strong influence in the lives of both Medici princes was their uncle, Cardinal Francesco Maria (1660-1711), only three years older that Ferdinand. His preference for pretty boys, who waited on him dressed as girls, may have presaged Gian Gastone's ruspanti. In 1709 Francesco Maria's brother Cosimo III, the princes' father, forced the cardinal to relinquish his vows and marry, with the hope that this liaison would produce the Medici heir that was not forthcoming from his sons and their wives, but (not surprisingly) this marriage too was barren." (Harris, 2001, p. 39)
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Francesco Maria de' Medici
Duca di Rovere e Montefeltro |
Francesco Maria de' Medici
Duca di Rovere e Montefeltro
(1660-1711).
Governor of Sienna 1683; Cardinal 1686; Duca di Rovere e Montefeltro 1694
Son of: Ferdinando II de' Medici of Tuscany & Vittoria della Rovere.
Husband of: Eleonora Luisa Gonzaga of Guastalla mar 1709.
"...A strong influence in the lives of both Medici princes was their uncle, Cardinal Francesco Maria (1660-1711), only three years older that Ferdinand. His preference for pretty boys, who waited on him dressed as girls, may have presaged Gian Gastone's ruspanti. In 1709 Francesco Maria's brother Cosimo III, the princes' father, forced the cardinal to relinquish his vows and marry, with the hope that this liaison would produce the Medici heir that was not forthcoming from his sons and their wives, but (not surprisingly) this marriage too was barren." (Harris, 2001, p. 39)
Gian Gastone de' Medici di Toscana (1671-1737)
 |
| Giuliano Dami |
" . . . Gastone's most important long-term intimate relationship was with his groom, Giuliano Dami (1683-1750). It was with Dami that Gian Gastone traveled to Hamburg, and it was with Dami, not his wife, that Gian Gastone returned permanently to Florence in 1708. Thereafter, Dami provided for the prince a coterie of most young boys called ruspanti after the coins they were paid for their services. . . ." (Harris: 39)
Giuliano de' Medici.
.Giuliano de' Medici's mistress and the mother of his posthumous son, Giulio. Giulio would grow up to become Pope Clement VII and exact an unexpected revenge oh his predecessor, Sixtus IV." (Simonetta, p. xv)  |
| Giulio di Medici |
1st Knight of Order of St. Stephen 1562
Admiral of Order of St. Stephen 1563
Ambassador to Mantua 1565
Ambassador to Rome 1471, 1573
Son of: Alessandro I de' Medici, Duke of Florence & Taddea Malaspina.
2) Lucrezia Gaetani, mar 1561
2. Giuliano di Giulio de' Medici
(1554-1604)
Also known as:
Piero de' Cosimo de' Medici.
Son of: Cosimo I de' Medici & Eleonora di Toledo.
Husband of:
1. Eleonora di Garzia di Toledo (1553-1576) mar 1571, a.k.a. Leonora Alvarez de Toledo y Colonna, Daughter of Garzia Alvarez de Toledo, 4th Marques de Villafranca & Vittoria Colonna.
Character/Persona: "...Messer Luigi was left with Eleanora, the pride of her father's heart, the joy of his home. As beautiful as any girl in Florence, she was just sixteen, highly accomplished, full of spirits, and endowed with some of that pride and haughty bearing which had distinguished her forbears. She had, in short, all the makings of a successful woman of the world." (Staley: 118)
His lovers were:
1) Antonia di Carvajal.
2) Maria della Ribera.
(1527-1600)
1st Knight of Order of St. Stephen 1562; Admiral of Order of St. Stephen 1563;
Ambassador to Mantua 1565; Ambassador to Rome 1471, 1573
Son of: Alessandro I de' Medici, Duke of Florence & Taddea Malaspina.
Husband of:
1) Angelica Malaspina
2) Lucrezia Gaetani, married 1561
His lover was:
Unnamed mistress.
Natural offspring:
1. Cosimo di Giulio de' Medici (1550-1630)
2. Giuliano di Giulio de' Medici
Cosimo di Giulio de' Medici.
Son of: Giulio di Alessandro de' Medici & Unnamed mistress.
Husband of: Lucrezia Gaetani.
References:
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