Lavinia della Rovere

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Lavinia della Rovere , also: Lavinia Feltria della Rovere (born January 16, 1558 in Pesaro , † June 7, 1632 in Castellone ), Princess of Urbino , was the wife of Alfonso Felice d'Avalos d'Aquino d'Aragona (1564– 1593) and thereby became the Principessa di Francavilla, Marchesa del Vasto and of Pescara etc. Lavinia left behind a large number of descendants in Italy, but also in Germany and Austria, who through them are connected to the leading dynasties of the Renaissance in Italy .

origin

Ancestral coat of arms of the della Rovere family.

Lavinia came from the House of Della Rovere , which rose from humble beginnings in the city of Savona ( Liguria region , Italy ) to the front row of Italian princely houses. This is primarily thanks to the special ability of two members of the family: One was Francesco della Rovere (1414–1484): first a monk, then a cardinal and finally ruled as Pope Sixtus IV from 1471 to 1484. The Sistine Chapel and in Rome commemorates him the Ponte Sisto . The other was his nephew, Giuliano della Rovere (1443-1513), who ruled from 1503 to 1513 as Pope Julius II . He was one of the most famous popes of the Renaissance and was called "il Papa Terribile" because of his warlike tendencies.

Lavinia itself is descended from Giovanni della Rovere (1457–1501). He was a nephew of Pope Sixtus IV and a brother of Pope Julius II , a condottiere who was raised to Lord of Senigallia in 1474 , Prefect of the City of Rome in 1475 and Duca (Duke) of Sora and Arce. Through his marriage to Giovanna da Montefeltro (* 1463 in Urbino ; † 1514 ibid), a sister of Guidobaldo I da Montefeltro Duke of Urbino (r. 1482–1508), he came into brotherhood with important Italian princely houses such as the Gonzaga , the Este and the Sforza .

Portrait of Guidobaldo II della Rovere by Agnolo Bronzino .

Isabella was a daughter of Guidobaldo II della Rovere (1514–1574), 5th Duke of Urbino (ruled 1538–1574), Count of Montefeltro , Count of Massa Trabaria, permanent papal vicar (governor) in Urbino, Cagli, Gubbio and Assisi , as well as Lord of Mondavio , of Senigallia etc. Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece 1561, Captain General of the Catholic Church 1553 to 1557, Governor General of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Venice 1546, Custodian of the Conclave of 1555 and Captain General of the Spanish troops in Italy.

Lavinias mother was the second wife of her father, Vittoria Farnese (1521-1602), Princess of Parma and Piacenza , a daughter of Pier Luigi II. Farnese (1503-1547), who - thanks to his father - Pope Paul III. - was made Duca (Duke) of Castro in 1537 , Margrave of Novara (in Piedmont) in 1538 and 1st Duke of Parma and Piacenza of his house in 1545 .

Life

Palazzo Ducale in the evening with a fountain in the foreground

childhood

Lavinia was born in Pesaro in 1554 in the Palazzo Ducale there, which goes back to the Malatesta and the Sforza , who were former lords of Pesaro. Lavinia thus had the opportunity to use the "bath" of Lucrezia Borgia (1480–1519), the daughter of Pope Alexander VI , which still exists today . (Rodrigo Borgia) (ruled 1492–1503), who lived in this palace from 1493 to 1497 as the wife of Giovanni Sforza , Lord of Pesaro (ruled 1483–1500 and 1503–1510). However, the palazzo owes its later shape to Isabella's grandfather, Francesco Maria I della Rovere , Duke of Urbino (r. 1508–1538), who preferred Pesaro as his residence over the traditional capital of the duchy - Urbino - and therefore preferred the Palazzo in Pesaro from the Architects Girolamo Genga and his son Bartolomeo Genga expanded and expanded.

However, Lavinia grew up mainly in the Palazzo Ducale in Urbino, since her father Guidobaldo II della Rovere preferred this city as his residence. In her childhood she therefore experienced the work to adapt the Palazzo Ducale, which was neglected by her grandfather Francesco Maria I., as her father was inspired by the architects Filippo Terzi (* 1520 in Bologna; † 1597 in Setúbal) - he later worked mainly in Portugal - With the help of the sculptor Federico Brandani (* 1520 in Urbino; ​​† 1575 there) the second floor was expanded, new halls were built and decorated and the medieval loopholes removed.

Palazzo Ducale in Urbino, facade

Her father was papal governor of Fano at the time , but soon rose to become captain general of the church and prefect of Rome, which brought Lavinia long stays in Rome. Lavinia grew up with her three siblings, with whom she developed a sincere friendship and whose spouse she treated as an extended family.

Family policy

Lavinia’s father was naturally interested in further developing the position of his family, which had only recently risen to princely rank, by choosing the highest possible spouses for his children. Little did he know, however, that his house would already go out with his son in the male line.

The Lavinias siblings, as well as they themselves, were therefore used in this sense as a means of dynastic politics.

Lavinia's eldest sister, Virginia Feltria della Rovere (* 1544; † 1571 in Naples ), from her father's first marriage to Giulia Varano Principessa di Camerino (1524–1547), was therefore married to Don Federico Borromeo (* 1536 in the castle of Arona ; † November 19, 1562 in Rome), 8th Conte di Arona, married from 1562 to Duca (Duke) of Camerino and 1st Principe of Oria . This was a nephew of Pope Pius IV (reigned 1559–1565) (Giovanni Angelo Medici - not related to the famous Medici family from Florence ) and a brother of the Archbishop of Milan , cardinal and later saint of the Catholic Church Karl Borromeo ( * 1538; † 1584). He was u. a. also a descendant of the Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach , Johann the Alchemist (1406–1464).

In 1564, Virginia Feltria was married to Don Fernando Orsini (* 1538 in Gravina , † 1589 in Rome), 7th Duca (Duke) of Gravina (in Apulia in the province of Bari ). Gravina belonged to the Orsini as a county since 1386 and was raised to duchy in 1436.

Lavinias full brother Francesco Maria II. Della Rovere (1549-1631) was the last Duke of Urbino (reigned 1574-1631) from the house of della Rovere. At the instigation of his father, he was married to Lucrezia d'Este, Princess of Ferrara (* 1535 in Ferrara; † February 15, 1597 ibid) on January 18, 1570 . She was a daughter of Ercole II. D'Este (1508–1559), Duke of Ferrara , Modena and Reggio (r. 1534–1559) and Renée de France (1510–1574). Lucrezia d'Este was a granddaughter of Lucrezia Borgia on her father's side and a great-granddaughter of Pope Alexander VI. (Rodrigo Borgia) as well as a granddaughter of Louis XII on the mother's side . King of France (ruled 1498–1515) and Anne de Bretagne . As a widower, Francesco Maria II della Rovere married his second cousin, Livia della Rovere (1583–1641), a daughter of Ippolito della Rovere, Marchese di San Lorenzo in Campo and Isabella Vitelli from the house of the Signori dell ' Amatrice (in the province of Rieti in the Lazio region ).

Francesco Maria II (painting by Federico Barocci , 1572)

Lavinia's sister, Isabella della Rovere (* 1554 in Pesaro; † July 6, 1619 in Naples), Princess of Urbino, was born in 1565 with Don Niccolo Bernardino Sanseverino († November 21, 1606 in Naples ), 6th Principe di Bisignano (in the Province of Cosenza in Calabria , owned by the family since 1461), 7. Duca di San Marco, 2. Duca di San Pietro in Galatina (in the Province of Lecce in Apulia), Duca di Corigliano (in the Province of Cosenza in Calabria), 10 Conte di Tricarico (in the Basilicata region) e di Chiaramonte (Chiaramonte Gulfi in the Province of Ragusa in Sicily ), 6. Conte di Altomonte (in the Province of Cosenza in Calabria, Conte di Soleto (in the Province of Lecce in Apulia etc. etc .)). Through his mother, Irene Kastriota Scanderbeg, Isabella's husband was also a descendant of the Albanian freedom hero Gjergj Kastrioti ( German  Georg Kastriota , * 1405; † January 17, 1468 in Lezha ), called Skanderbeg .

Lavinia thus had - thanks to her father's extensive marriage policy - a wide-ranging brotherhood that reached beyond Italy, France and Germany to Albania.

Naturally, she was also used for the dynastic politics of her father, who she - to secure his interests in the Kingdom of Naples - in 1583 with Alfonso Felice d'Avalos d'Aquino d'Aragona (1564–1593) was an Italian nobleman from the originally Spanish House Avalos , which had become one of the most important families in the Kingdom of Naples. Alfonso therefore had an impressive list of titles: he was 3rd Principe di Francavilla, 5th Marchese di Pescara (capital of the Province of Pescara , on the Adriatic Sea ), 4th Marchese del Vasto (in the Province of Chieti , on the Adriatic Sea), Conte di Monteodorisio (neighboring municipality of Vasto).

The life of Lavinias played during their ten-year marriage (1583-1593) therefore mainly on the numerous estates of her husband in the central Italian provinces of Chieti and Pescara, with stays in Rome or in the Kingdom of Naples, which was then ruled by the Spanish line of the House of Austria was administered by mostly Spanish viceroys, a welcome change.

Marriage and offspring

Lavinia della Rovere married in Pesaro on June 5, 1583 Alfonso Felice d'Avalos d'Aquino d'Aragona (1564–1593), 3rd Principe di Francavilla, 5th Marchese di Pescara, 4th Marchese del Vasto etc. Grande of Spain , Chamberlain in the Kingdom of Naples , Papal Assistant to the Throne and Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece .

Children:

  • Donna Isabella d'Avalos (born April 26, 1585 in Pesaro; † September 27, 1648), heiress of her father's goods, ⚭ December 6, 1597 in Fossombrone her cousin, Don Inigo d'Avalos d'Aquino d'Aragona (* um 1578; † November 20, 1632 in Vasto), 5th Principe di Francavilla; 6th Marchese di Pescara, 5th Marchese del Vasto, etc. Chamberlain of the Kingdom of Naples, 1605 Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece . He is the progenitor of the still flourishing house of the Dukes of Avalos.
  • Donna Caterina d'Avalos (born August 16, 1586 in Urbino; ​​† May 23, 1618 in Novellara ) ⚭ January 13, 1605 Camillo II Gonzaga (born May 25, 1581 in Novellara; † November 8, 1650 ibid) 5th Imperial Count by Novellara, Cortenuova and Bagnolo (r. 1589-1640, 1644-1650); Signore del canale delle acque di Novellara, Signore di San Tommaso, Santa Maria e San Giovanni;
    • Their daughter Lavinia Tecla Gonzaga (born October 14, 1607; † February 20, 1639) ⚭ December 1, 1628 in his third marriage to Wratislaw I. von Fürstenberg ad H. Mösskirch, (born January 31, 1584 in Prague; † July 10, 1631 in Vienna), President of the Imperial Court Council, Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, ⚭ October 7, 1635 Otto Friedrich Count of Harrach zu Rohrau (* September 2, 1610; † May 7, 1639). Lavinia Tecla left a large number of offspring in Europe, most of whom live in Germany and Austria.
    • Their younger son, Alfonso I Gonzaga, 7th Imperial Count of Novellara (1616–1678), was the immediate progenitor of his house, which died out in 1728. His descendants include Beatrice d'Este (1750–1828), the heiress of her house and the Duchy of Modena etc., who became the ancestor of the House of Austria-Este through her marriage to Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria (1754–1806) .
  • Don Ferrante Francesco d'Avalos (born September 9, 1587 in Casalmaggiore, † August 20, 1590)
  • Donna Maria d'Avalos (June 19, 1589; † 1689), nun in the monastery of Santa Katherina in Pesaro

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ [1]
  2. ^ Guida di Pesaro entro le mura
  3. ↑ Paolo Dal Poggetto: Guida alla Galleria Nazionale delle Marche nel Palazzo Ducale di Urbino, Gebart, Roma of 2006.
  4. ↑ P. Zampetti: Il Palazzo Ducale di Urbino e la Galleria Nazionale delle Marche. Roma 1963.
  5. ↑ Genealogia della Famiglia Borromeo con biografie (Italian)
  6. ↑ http://www.genealogy.euweb.cz/hohz/hohenz2.html#MF
  7. ^ Genealogical handbook of the nobility - Princely houses Volume XV, CA Starke Verlag, Limburg an der Lahn, ISBN 3-7980-0814-0 , p. 540.
  8. ↑ http://www.sardimpex.com/files/Avalos.hrm  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. P. 1 of 19@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.sardimpex.com  

literature

  • M. Frettoni:  Della Rovere, Lavinia Feltria. In: Massimiliano Pavan (ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 37:  Della Fratta – Della Volpaia. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 1989.
  • Edoardo del Vecchio: I Farnese. Istituto di studi romani editore, Roma 1972.
  • Emilio Nasalli Rocca: I Farnese. dall'Oglio editore 1969
  • Stendhal: Origin and Size of the Farnese Family. In: Stendhal: Italian Chronicles. Rütten & Loening, Berlin 1981
  • Christoph Vitali (ed.): The shine of the Farnese. Art and passion for collecting in the Renaissance. Prestel, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-7913-1626-5 .
  • Pompeo Conte Litta: Famiglie celebri italiane. Milano 1834

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Della Rovere, Lavinia
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Della Rovere, Lavinia Feltria
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Principessa di Francavilla (1583–1593)
DATE OF BIRTH January 16, 1558
PLACE OF BIRTH Pesaro
DATE OF DEATH June 7, 1632
Place of death Castellone