Maria Salviati
Maria Salviati (born July 17, 1499 in Florence , † December 12, 1543 in the Villa Medici of Castello near Florence) was a member of the patriciate of Florence. She married Giovanni dalle Bande Nere in 1516 and in 1519 became the mother of Cosimo I , the future first Grand Duke of Tuscany.
Origin and family
Maria Salviatis father was the influential Florentine banker and politician Jacopo Salviati (1461-1533), who was one of the priores of the Signoria from 1499 to 1518 and who in 1514 accompanied the highest office of gonfaloniere . His marriage to Lucrezia de 'Medici (1470–1553), the eldest daughter of Lorenzo il Magnifico , in Florence on September 10, 1486 , served above all to strengthen the political and economic alliance of their families.
Jacopo and Lucrezia Salviati had a total of ten children. Two of her sons, Giovanni (1490–1553) and Bernardo (1508–1568), embarked on an ecclesiastical career, and both achieved the dignity of cardinals. Another daughter of the Salviatis, Francesca, married Ottaviano de 'Medici in 1533 and became the mother of the future Pope Leo XI.
Maria Salviati was also on her mother's side the niece of Piero de 'Medici (the former city lord of Florence), Pope Leo X and Giuliano di Lorenzo de' Medici , Duke of Nemours.
Life
Despite the difficult political years in Florence, Maria Salviati experienced a sheltered childhood in her parents' house. In 1509 they decided to take in the orphaned eleven year old Giovanni de 'Medici. Giovanni, who later became the famous Condottiere Giovanni dalle Bande Nere, was the son of Giovanni de 'Medici (1467-1498), called il Popolano , a member of the younger line of the Medici, and Caterina Sforza (1463-1509).
Maria is described as a smart, personable, and good-looking girl. She soon felt affection for her foster brother and her parents decided to marry her to Giovanni. Although the personal wishes of the partners were taken into account, the aim of the Salviatis with this marriage was to establish a political and economic union of their house with the younger Medici line, which, unlike the older line, had not used up their wealth. Lucrezia, who came from the older Medici line, hoped that her daughter's marriage would help reconcile the two Medici lines. Finally, in 1515, the engagement of Maria and Giovanni took place and on November 15, 1516 they were married in Florence.
From 1515 Giovanni served as an officer in the papal army. Leo X and his brother Giuliano restored the rule of the Medici in Florence in 1516 with the help of Spanish infantry . Maria had to learn to marry a man who, because of his job, stayed away from home most of the time. Giovanni was fond of his wife, he always treated her politely and with respect, but still preferred to spend his freedom in the field with his soldiers or with various companions.
On June 12, 1519, Maria gave birth to her son, who was named after his ancestor Cosimo de 'Medici and who later became the first Grand Duke of Tuscany. After Giovanni returned from a campaign and saw Maria at the window with his son Cosimo, he called to her to throw the baby to him. Maria initially protested, then obeyed her husband and threw the child down for him. Giovanni caught his son unharmed, to the relief of everyone present.
Clement VII , Pope and head of the Medici since 1523, paid off Giovanni's debts. This then had to undertake to lead the Pope's upcoming campaigns. Maria was the first to recognize that Giovanni should be kept away from politics and was therefore sent into the field more and more often. She suffered from the constant separations, was often worried sick and always in fear that her husband would be wounded or killed. Maria was firmly convinced that the Pope would consciously accept Giovanni's death in favor of his illegitimate son Alessandro .
On February 14, 1525 Giovanni dalle Bande Nere was badly wounded in the Battle of Pavia. He was now unable to act and the Pope immediately stopped paying the “black crowds” . Maria therefore feared that the well-trained soldiers would scatter, join other condottieri or end up as muggers. She decided to settle the outstanding wages from her own assets and arranged for further payments to be made through Florentine banks, mainly through the Salviati banking house. Maria's financial reserves were soon exhausted, however, and she traveled to Rome to ask Clement VII to pay her the 6,000 ducats in arrears.
The Pope granted Mary's request. She immediately used the money to pay the outstanding wages and to buy new weapons and equipment. So her husband could fall back on a war-ready army after his recovery.
Giovanni dalle Bande Nere died on November 30, 1526 as a result of serious injuries sustained in a battle against the imperial troops of the Connétables of Bourbon near Governolo . Maria now saw her most important task in protecting her seven-year-old son Cosimo, who, alongside Katharina and Lorenzino de 'Medici, had a legitimate claim to the political legacy of the Medici, from assassination attempts by the Pope. She therefore left Florence with her son and then lived unnoticed by the Florentine public at Trebbio Castle in Mugello . After Alessandro's death, to whom Clement VII had transferred the rule of Florence, Cosimo returned to Florence in 1537 and there, within a few months, consolidated his rule over the Duchy of Tuscany .
Maria stayed in the background during her son's reign. She died on December 29, 1543 in the Villa Medici of Castello and was buried at the side of her husband in San Lorenzo in Florence .
literature
- Marcel Brion: The Medici. A Florentine family . 9th edition. Heyne, Munich 1991, ISBN 3-453-55023-4 .
- Franco Cesati: The Medici. The story of a European dynasty . La Mandragora, 1999, ISBN 88-85957-39-0 .
- James Cleugh: The Medici. Power and splendor of a European family . Bechtermünz Verlag im Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 1996, ISBN 3-86047-155-4 (licensed edition).
- Klaus Schelle: The Sforza. Peasants, condottieri, dukes. History of a Renaissance Family . Seewald, Stuttgart 1980, ISBN 3-512-00577-2 .
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Salviati, Maria |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Mother of Cosimo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 17, 1499 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Florence |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 12, 1543 |
| Place of death | Villa Medici of Castello |