Virginia de 'Medici

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Virginia de 'Medici

Virginia de 'Medici (born May 29, 1568 in Florence , Grand Duchy of Tuscany , † January 15, 1615 in Modena , Duchy of Modena and Reggio ) was an Italian noblewoman, member of the Medici family and by marriage Duchess of Modena and Reggio.

Life

Childhood and youth

Virginia was born in Florence on May 29, 1568 and was the daughter of Cosimo I de 'Medici , the Grand Duke of Tuscany, from his morganatic marriage to Camilla Martelli. Her paternal grandparents were the famous Condottiere Giovanni dalle Bande Nere and his wife Maria Salviati , who was herself the granddaughter of Lorenzo the Magnificent . Her maternal grandparents were Antonio Martelli and Fiammetta Soderini, both members of the most important families of the Florentine patriciate.

By the morganatic marriage of Cosimo to Camilla Martelli on March 29, 1570, advised by the Pope, Virginia, who had been born in 1568, was subsequently legitimized. She lived with her parents in the Villa di Castello in the summer and in Pisa in the winter . Cosimo's older children resented their father's second marriage and imprisoned Camilla in the Florentine convent of Murate after Cosimo's death in 1574.

Despite the controversy over her illegitimate birth and an unclear position in the grand-ducal house, Virginia's older brothers began negotiations with the Sforza family about the Virginia's marriage. In 1581 she was betrothed to Francesco Sforza , but the marriage did not take place as the groom instead embarked on a career in the Church and became a cardinal. It was then decided to arrange a marriage with a member of the House of Este in order to improve the relationship between the two families and to break the isolation of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany from the other Italian states. Virginia's half-brother, Cardinal Ferdinando , decided together with Cardinal Luigi d'Este to marry his nephew Cesare with Virgina. The second wife of Grand Duke Francesco I , Bianca Cappello , also played a major role in the marriage negotiations.

marriage

On February 6, 1586, Virginia married Cesare d'Este, the son of Alfonso, Margrave of Montecchio , in Florence. To celebrate this event, the comedy “L'Amico Fido” by Giovanni de 'Bardi , with the text by Alessandro Striggio and Cristofano Malvezzi , was performed. In Ferrara , the poet Torquato Tasso dedicated a cantata to the couple . Virginia and Cesare arrived in Ferrara in late February. They lived there in the Palazzo Diamanti, which had been given to them by Cardinal Luigi d'Este, Cesare's uncle, who would later bequeath all his possessions to him. The following year, after the death of her father-in-law, Virginia became Marquise of Montecchio.

After the legitimate main line of the Este family died out with the death of Duke Alfonso II on October 27, 1597, Cesare inherited all of the family's possessions. Consequently, Virginia became Duchess of Ferrara, Modena, and Reggio at the side of her husband. The rule over Ferrara was not to last long, however, as Pope Clement VIII did not recognize Cesare's claim to Ferrara (nominally papal fiefdom) due to dubious legitimacy (Cesare's father Alfonso was the illegitimate and later legitimized son of Alfonso I d'Este ). On January 15, 1598, the Duchy of Ferrara was officially dissolved and incorporated into the Papal States, although Cesare had tried to secure the support of the great European powers. Cesare had to move with his family to Modena, which became the new capital of the dynasty.

Insanity and death

In 1596 Virginia showed the first signs of mental illness, which would continue to suffer from it until her death. Nonetheless, she fulfilled her maternal duties and revealed herself to be a wise and forward-looking ruler when she took over the reign in January 1601, heavily pregnant while her husband was absent. During this time she resisted attempts by the Podestà and the judge of Modena to deprive her of government affairs. Nevertheless, Virginia was unable to control her unpredictable abundance of anger: When her confessor, the Jesuit Jerome Bondinari, claimed in March 1608 that she was possessed by the devil, the Duchess attacked him violently and beat him almost to death with a stick. An attempt was then made to cast the devil out of her, and it became clear that Virginia's insanity stemmed from the fact that she had been married against her will and that her husband's infidelities had made her condition worse. Attempts to cast out demons from her caused Virginia to go completely insane. She only came to her senses on her deathbed, blessed all her children and passed away peacefully. Her daughters Laura and Angela inherited the mental illness, however, and it occurred in both of them in adulthood.

Virginia died in Modena on January 15, 1615 at the age of 46. There were rumors that her husband poisoned her. The memorial service was celebrated on February 27th in Modena Cathedral by the Jesuit Agostino Mascardi. She was buried in the crypt of the House of Este in the Church of San Vincenzo in Modena.

progeny

Her marriage to Cesare d'Este had ten children, six sons and four daughters:

  • Giulia d'Este (* 1588; † 1645); died unmarried.
  • Alfonso III. d'Este , Duke of Modena (* 1591; † 1644), since 1628 Duke of Modena; ∞ Isabella of Savoy, with offspring.
  • Laura d'Este (* 1594; † 1630), twin sister of Luigi; ∞ Alessandro I. Pico, Duke of Mirandola, with offspring.
  • Luigi d'Este, Marquis of Montecchio and Scandiano (* 1594, † 1664), twin brother of Laura; General of the Imperial Army; died unmarried, with illegitimate offspring.
  • Caterina d'Este (* 1595; † 1618); died unmarried.
  • Angela d'Este (* 1597; † 1651); Nun named Sister Angela Caterina, later abbess of the Santa Chiara monastery in Carpi.
  • Ippolito d'Este (* 1599, † 1647), Knight of the Order of Malta and Commander of the Order of Knights of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem ; died unmarried.
  • Niccolo d'Este (* 1601; † 1640), commander of the Imperial Army; ∞ Sveva d'Avalos, no descendants.
  • Borso d'Este (* 1605, † 1657), Colonel in the Imperial Army, later General in the French Army; ∞ Ippolita d'Este (illegitimate daughter of his brother Luigi), with offspring.
  • Foresto d'Este (* 1606; † 1639), commander of the Imperial Army; died unmarried.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Vanna Arrighi:  MARTELLI, Camilla. In: Mario Caravale (ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 71:  Marsilli – Massimino da Salerno. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 2008.
  2. ↑ Georgia Arrivo: Scripture delle donne di casa Medici nei fondi dell'Archivio di Stato di Firenze .
  3. ↑ L'histoire de l'opéra baroque. In: Opéra Baroque. Retrieved April 15, 2020 (French).
  4. ↑ Giambatista Zuccala: Della Vita di Torquato Tasso . Milan 1819, p. 266-267 .
  5. ↑ a b ESTE DUCHI DI MODENA E REGGIO. Retrieved April 15, 2020 (Italian).
  6. ^ A b Grazia Biondi: Madama mi dispiace a dirvelo, vostra altezza è inspiritata "- Demoni ed esorcisti alla corte di Cesare d'Este .
  7. ^ Edgcumbe Staley: The Tragedies of the Medici: Eleanora degli Albizzi. In: historion.net. Retrieved April 15, 2020 .
  8. ↑ BURIAL PLACES OF SOVEREIGNS OF MODENA FROM A TO Z. Accessed April 15, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Medici, Virginia de '
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Member of the Medici family and Duchess of Modena and Reggio
DATE OF BIRTH May 29, 1568
PLACE OF BIRTH Florence
DATE OF DEATH January 15, 1615
Place of death Modena