Cosimo III. de 'Medici

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Cosimo III, Grand Duke of Tuscany
The grave of Cosimo III. in the princely chapel

Cosimo III. de 'Medici (born August 14, 1642 in the Palazzo Pitti in Florence ; † October 31, 1723 ibid) from the Medici family ruled as the successor to his father Ferdinando II from May 23, 1670 to October 31, 1723 as the penultimate Grand Duke of the Tuscany of his house.

Life

That of Cosimo III. donated tomb of St. Franz Xaver

Cosimo was considered extremely pious - he donated a. a. the elaborate grave monument for St. Francis Xavier in the Basílica do Bom Jesus in Old Goa - but was unable to direct the fate of the country in times of increased European competition in trade and increased clerical influence. While Cosimo fled more and more into religion, his mother Vittoria della Rovere (1623–1694) de facto took over the business of government.

On June 20, 1661, Cosimo Marguerite Louise d'Orléans (1645-1721), the daughter of Duke Gaston d'Orléans , a cousin of King Louis XIV of France, married. Despite having three children, the marriage was problematic and divorced in 1675. Apparently the boring Cosimo was unbearable to his extremely fun-loving wife. When he asked for reconciliation after the divorce in 1681 and asked her to return to Florence (she now lived in a French monastery), she wrote to him in a letter: “Not an hour or a day goes by without my asking someone to hang you up. .. We will both go to hell soon, and I will be tortured to meet you there. "

Cosimo was not only concerned about the well-being of the clergy, for whom he was collecting more and more taxes, but also about the impending extinction of his family. Both sons immediately began to be interested in their own sex, and their daughters-in-law, one wallflower, the other a tyrant, were not suited to reverse these inclinations, which were fatal for the Medici family. So Cosimo asked his brother, Cardinal Francesco Maria , who was now almost 50 , to give up his ecclesiastical dignity and take a wife. The chosen one, the 21-year-old Eleonore Gonzaga, was so appalled by the deterioration in her husband's health that she became addicted to alcohol and resisted his approaches throughout her life.

Cosimo now tried to achieve that after his death his daughter should become ruler of the Grand Duchy. The great powers refused, however. Only Emperor Karl VI. was ready to agree if he could take over the inheritance in the Grand Duchy after the childless death of Anna Maria Louisa.

Grand Duke Cosimo received the title of "Royal Highness" from the Emperor in March 1691.

progeny

Cosimo's marriage to Marguerite Louise d'Orléans had the following children:

Web links

Commons : Cosimo III.  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bernd Dreher: The Florentine Marriage . In: Stadtmuseum Düsseldorf: Anna Maria Luisa Medici. Electress of the Palatinate. Article in the exhibition catalog, Verlag R. Meyer, Düsseldorf 1988, p. 158
predecessor Office successor
Ferdinando II. Grand Duke of Tuscany
1670–1723 		Gian Gastone
personal data
SURNAME Medici, Cosimo III. de '
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Grand Duke of Tuscany
DATE OF BIRTH August 14, 1642
PLACE OF BIRTH Florence
DATE OF DEATH October 31, 1723
Place of death Florence