Vittoria Farnese
Vittoria Farnese (* 1521 in Rome , † September 13, 1602 in Pesaro ), also Vittoria Farnese della Rovere, was a princess of Parma and Piacenza and granddaughter of Pope Paul III. Through her marriage to Guidobaldo II. Della Rovere, she became Duchess of Urbino , Countess of Montefeltro etc. and mother of the last Duke of Urbino from the house of della Rovere , Francesco Maria II. Della Rovere .
origin
Vittoria came from the ancient Italian noble family of the Farnese, who with Pietro Signore di Farnese e Latera , both in what is now the province of Viterbo in the Lazio region , appear in a document at the end of the 11th century and subsequently acquired extensive land holdings. By Alessandro Farnese, who as Pope Paul III. ruled from 1534 to 1549, the family entered the stage of world politics ( reform of the church by the Council of Trento , counter-reformation after the appearance of the reformer Martin Luther , confirmation of the Jesuit order , dispute with King Henry VIII over the divorce from Catherine of Aragon , Separation of the Anglican Church etc.) Through his descendants, the Dukes of Parma and Piacenza, the House of Farnese remained an essential factor in Italian politics until the beginning of the 18th century.
Vittoria's father was Pier Luigi II Farnese (1503-1547), the 1537 gonfaloniere of the Catholic Church , that is, commander in chief of the armed forces of the Papal States, and Duke of Castro , Lord of Nepi and Ronciglione , 1538 Margrave of Novara (in Piedmont) and 1545 became the first Duke of Parma and Piacenza . He owed this brilliant rise primarily to the fact that he was the illegitimate son of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, who later became Pope Paul III.
Vittoria's mother was Gerolama Orsini (approx. 1503–1569) from the well-known Roman noble family of Orsini. She was a daughter of Ludovico Orsini, Count of Pitigliano and Giulia Conti from the house of the Counts of Segni , from which Pope Innocent III, among others . (Lotario dei Conti di Segni) came from.
Life
childhood
According to some authors, Vittoria was born in Rome in 1521, according to Emilio Nasalli Rocca, however, in the ancestral countries of the Farnese, probably in the fort of Valentano in the province of Viterbo , which had been in the possession of the Farnese since 1328. She was the only daughter of her parents.
Her father Pier Luigi was only nineteen at the time and was in the service of the Republic of Venice at the beginning of his military career . At the same time, her grandfather, Alessandro Farnese, cardinal since 1493 , tried in vain to be elected Pope as his successor after the death of Pope Leo X (Giovanni de ' Medici ) - whom he himself had crowned Pope as Dean of the Cardinal Deacons .
Vittoria grew up in the castles of the Farnese - Rocca di Valentano, Gradoli (built by Antonio da Sangallo ) and in the Palazzo Farnese in Rome, built by her grandfather from 1514 . Through her mother, Gerolama Orsini, she received a comprehensive upbringing, which was based on humanistic models in keeping with the times. Her father Pier Luigi Farnese, in contrast, offered her a completely different role model, as his behavior was based on the work of Niccolò Machiavelli " Il Principe " or Cesare Borgia than on the cultivated idyll at the court of the Dukes of Urbino, like her Baldassare Castiglione describes in his work " Il Libro del Cortegiano ". He became the epitome of the daring, sometimes heroic, but also wild, violent and amoral Condottieres who unscrupulously pursued his goals.
As a child, Vittoria 1527 was the example of the sack of Rome , that is the sack of Rome by German mercenaries and Spanish mercenaries of Emperor Charles V , the split experience of Italian families by politics. This is because her father, as one of the commanders of the imperial army, attacked the Ponte Sisto with his soldiers and made the Palazzo Farnese his headquarters to prevent its looting . At the same time, however, her uncle, Ranuccio Farnese (1509–1529), Bishop of Corneto and Montefiascone, was defending Pope Clement VII, who had fled to Castel Sant'Angelo, with a handful of soldiers from the Swiss Guard against the attackers.
Election of her grandfather as Pope
A major turning point in the life of her family was the election of her grandfather Cardinal Alessandro Farnese on October 13, 1534 as Pope Paul III. This event was celebrated with great festivities in the parents' castle, the Rocca di Valentano . The positive consequences of this choice for the family were not long in coming.
As one of the first acts, Vittoria's grandfather elevated her eldest brother, Alessandro Farnese at the young age of 14 to cardinal (later Vice Chancellor of the Catholic Church) and also her sixteen-year-old cousin, Guido Ascanio Sforza (1518–1564), who later became "Gran Cardinale" named Latin (titular) Patriarch of Alexandria . This was a son of her aunt Costanza Farnese with Bosio II. Sforza, 4th Count of Santa Fiora . In 1544 her brother Ranuccio Farnese, then only fourteen, was appointed Archbishop of Naples and in 1545, at the age of 15, cardinal. He later became Cardinal Bishop of Sabina .
Emperor Charles V - interested in close relationships with the Holy See - also showed his appreciation. He transferred the city of Novara , which was raised to a margraviate , to Pier Luigi Farnese, the son of the new Pope, who had been in imperial military service for years , while he procured the rich Archdiocese of Monreale in Sicily, Vittoria's brother, the young Cardinal Alessandro Farnese .
Pier Luigi hurried to take possession of Novara by force without waiting for the formalities. Despite the irritation caused by his father, the latter appointed him in the consistory of January 31, 1537 as gonfalonier of the Catholic Church and thus as commander-in-chief of the army of the Papal States . In possession of the new supreme power, he waged war against the rebellious Perugia, smashed the "state" of Colonna in the south of Rome, but, as the Florentine historian Benedetto Varchi (* 1503, † 1565) writes, allowed himself to be excessively and also to sexual violence carried away against women and men. He is said to have done violence to the young Bishop of Fano under threat with a dagger.
Pope Paul III strove to raise his family to the rank of secular princes, therefore merged the inherited and meanwhile expanded possessions of the House of Farnese and created the Duchy of Castro in Latium, that of the Tyrrhenian Sea , with the bull "Videlicet Immeriti" of October 31, 1537 extended beyond Lake Bolsena to the Marta and Foira rivers and to Lake Mezzano and also included the Duchy of Latera and the County of Ronciglione . In the same year, he transferred this duchy to his son Pier Luigi.
As a result, the center of life from Vittoria also shifted to the newly created duchy for a few years. During her stay, its capital, Castro in Latium - previously a small town - was developed into a residential town by the famous architect Antonio da Sangallo the Younger (* 1483, † 1546) on behalf of her father , including the castle, the ducal palace and his own Mint were established.
Marriage policy
The tried and tested method of gaining power and higher social position through strategic marital relationships was naturally also pursued by the Farnese family with particular intensity, so that Vittoria came to the first ruling houses in Europe as a brother-in-law.
Vittoria's brother Ottavio Farnese , who was only fourteen years old , was married to Margaret of Austria , the sixteen-year-old widow of Alessandro de 'Medici , Duke of Florence , on November 4, 1538 . As a result, the Farnese family came into relatives with the ruling emperor, because Margarete was an illegitimate daughter of Emperor Charles V with Johanna van der Gheynst , a Flemish maid. Her brother Orazio Farnese , since 1447 second Duke of Castro, 1547–1551 Prefect of Rome, married Diane de France , the illegitimate daughter of King Henry II of France, raised by Diana of Poitiers , on February 14, 1553 at the age of twenty in Paris .
Since her grandfather was elected Pope, the family's efforts to find the highest possible husband for Vittoria have intensified. As Emilio Nasalli Rocca points out, a never-ending line of marriage candidates passed her by. For her hand requested among others: Alessandro de 'Medici , Duke in Florence , a Duke of Vendome and the Duke of Lorraine, Claude de Lorraine, duc d'Aumale . The application by Charles de Valois-Angoulême, duc d'Orléans , who was a younger son of the French King Francis I, was very emphatic . However, this offer did not materialize because it was linked to unacceptable conditions: transfer of the duchies of Parma and Piacenza as dowry to the bridegroom. This was not only politically possible because of the sure objection of the emperor, but also in practice, since these duchies were the basis of the rule of their own house.
Spanish and Italian candidates also appeared, such as Pimentel, Duque de Benavente, Alfonso d´Avalos, Marchese di Pescara, the Marchese del Vasto from the same house, Fabrizio and Vespasiano Colonna , Giacomo Appiani di Piombino and Vespasiano Gonzaga Prince of Sabbioneta . Among the greatest were Charles III. Duke of Savoy , his son Emanuel Philibert of Savoy and Sigismund II August , King of Poland , from the House of the Jagiellonians .
Duchess of Urbino
However, Vittoria was not destined to become Queen of Poland. Many years had passed due to the initiation, examination and rejection of the numerous marriage projects, so that, after all other alternatives had not come about, she got married very late for the time, at the age of twenty-six. The choice finally fell on a respected Italian prince, art lover and famous condottiere, Guidobaldo II. Della Rovere , the fifth Duke of Urbino. The wedding took place on January 26, 1548 in Rome and remained so far in line with expectations, as well as her husband's family owed its rise of patronage papal kinsman: Guidobaldo great uncle, Pope Julius II. , And his great-great uncle, Pope Sixtus IV. As Morgengabe Guidobaldo transferred Gradara Castle to his wife, which she managed until the end of her life. This gift was not without symbolism, as the fortress was said to be the place where the famous tragedy of adulterous love between Paolo Malatesta and Francesca da Rimini (Francesca da Polenta) (1255–1285), the woman, described by Dante in the Divine Comedy his brother Gianciotto Malatesta, took place.
But just a few months later, the rapid rise of the Farnese seemed in great danger. Vittoria's father, probably with the knowledge of his political opponent Ferrante I Gonzaga , viceroy of Milan and representative of Emperor Charles V in Italy, was murdered in the Palazzo Farnese in Piacenza on September 10, 1547 by conspirators under the direction of Giovanni Anguissola Body thrown into the moat. This because of his harsh government methods and because of the violence with which he enforced his demands. For the reformer Johannes Calvin he was a “gruesome monster”, for the conspirators a bloodthirsty tyrant, for Uberto Folieta he was a friend and protector of the people against the tyranny of the great.
This stroke of fate was exacerbated by the fact that the whereabouts of the duchy in the hands of the Farnese and thus the status of the family suddenly appeared completely uncertain, as Emperor Charles V saw the duchy as part of his domain and occupied Piacenza with his troops. Pope Paul III saw it, however, as part of the Papal States, therefore declared in the consistory , the plenary assembly of the cardinals, that Ottavio Farnese , a younger brother of Vittoria , was Duke of Parma through the investiture he himself granted as a feudal man of the Church. At the same time he appointed him gonfaloniere of the church and sent Camillo Orsini as a legate to Parma to take possession of the city for the Holy See .
Ottavio said the dispute between Emperor Charles V and Pope Paul III. to be able to undermine by taking possession of Parma on his own initiative and by force. The attempt failed, however, which forced him to negotiate with the emperor's representative, Ferrante I. Gonzaga . It was only years later that he succeeded in taking possession of the duchy.
The next blow for Vittoria followed almost two years later with the death of Pope Paul III, to whom the family owed their rise, on November 10, 1549. His death, it was said, was due to concerns about the impending loss of the Duchy of Parma been accelerated. Only a decision by the new Pope, Julius III, who was friends with the family . , secured the Duchy of Parma to stay with the House of Farnese in 1551, so that Vittoria's brother could make his solemn entry as the second Duke of Parma and soon afterwards also occupy Piacenza.
Vittoria himself followed these developments from Urbino , the city that her husband Guidubaldo II. Della Rovere, unlike his father, preferred as the capital of the duchy over Pesaro . Nevertheless, the initials of Duke Guidobaldo II can still be found in the courtyard of the Palazzo Ducale in Pesaro.
At Vittoria's court in the Palazzo Ducale in Urbino , there was still an echo of the cultural heyday and patronage that had reigned under her husband's predecessors, Federico da Montefeltro , Guidobaldo da Montefeltro and Francesco Maria I della Rovere . In Urbino, Vittoria continued the role of her predecessors, Elisabetta Gonzaga , the wife of Federico da Montefeltro, and her mother-in-law, Eleonora Gonzaga della Rovere , as patrons. Among the artists supported was Titian , one of the main masters of the Italian High Renaissance , who had already painted the portraits of her in-laws there and created the famous Venus de Urbino . Battista Franco (1498–1561), Venetian and representative of Roman Mannerism, worked on the adaptation of the living quarters in the Palazzo Ducale after Vittoria moved into Urbino, created the frescoes in the palace chapel and designed the ornate ducal tableware in terracotta, including the Brothers Vittorias and even Emperor Charles V provided a complete service. Girolamo Genga was employed and promoted as a painter, architect and sculptor in the re-adaptation of the Palazzo Ducale.
This adaptation was necessary because Vittoria's father-in-law, Duke Francesco Maria I, preferred and expanded Pesaro as the ducal residence, while the Palazzo Ducale in Urbino was neglected. Her husband Guidubaldo therefore had the second floor completed in Urbino, probably with the help of Vittoria, with the removal of the loopholes in the upper part of the building and its medieval character. The architect Filippo Terzi and the sculptor Federico Brandani built and decorated some halls above the south-facing terraces.
Terzi also created a kind of ideal city in the sense of the Renaissance in the small town of Barchi (province of Pesaro and Urbino), probably not without Vittoria's involvement, through fortifications, streets, and public and private buildings .
Music was also of great importance at Vittoria's court. The most important representative was the Flemish musician and composer Leonardo Meldert (1535–1594), a pupil of the great Orlando di Lasso , who went to Italy after working at the court of the dukes of Bavaria , found promotion and acceptance in the Duchy of Urbino and there from 1571 to In 1574 music at court shaped like church music. With the death of Guidubaldo in 1574, the music in the Palazzo Ducale also fell silent, as Leonardo Meldert and with him the entire court orchestra of Gudobaldo's son and successor, Francesco Maria II, were dismissed for reasons of economy.
Her husband, Duke Guidubaldo II, died in 1577 as one of the most respected princes of his time, Vittoria outlived him by many years. The rest of her life at the court of Urbino took place on a calm course. As can be seen from the still existing correspondence with her husband, she possessed great human qualities, which she demonstrated not only to her husband, but also to her sisters-in-law Diana of France and Margaret of Austria, with whom she was cordially connected. Vittoria avoided the excessive cost of the traditionally monumental expenditures for the fame of the House of Farnese and instead devoted himself to charity and the promotion of religious institutions and was therefore revered by the population. She died in old age on September 13, 1602 in the Palazzo Ducale in Pesaro and was buried there at the side of her husband in the church of San Ubaldo. A few years after her death, the della Rovere family died out with their son Francesco Maria II and thus disappeared from history. Her own family, the Farneses, on the other hand, was able to maintain its European status into the 18th century.
Marriage and offspring
Vittoria Farnese married in Rome on January 26, 1548 as his second wife Guidobaldo II della Rovere, fifth Duke of Urbino, Count of Montefeltro and Count of Massa Trabaria.
Children from this connection were:
- Francesco Maria II. Della Rovere (February 20, 1549 - April 23, 1631), Duke of Urbino, 6th Duke of Sora and Arce
- ⚭ January 19, 1570 Lucrezia d´Este (* December 16, 1535; † February 12, 1598), Principessa di Ferrara , Modena and Reggio , daughter of Duke Ercole II. D'Este and Renée de France
- ⚭ 2.) April 26, 1599 Livia della Rovere (* 1583; † 1641), daughter of Ippolito della Rovere, 1st Marchese di San Lorenzo in Campo
- Isabella della Rovere (* 1550 - 6 July 1619)
- ⚭ 1565 Niccoló Bernardino Sanseverino (* 1541; † 1606), 6th Principe di Bisignano , 2nd Duke of San Pietro in Galatina, 7th Duke of San Marco
- Lavinia Feltria della Rovere (January 16, 1558 - June 7, 1632), Principessa di Urbino
- ⚭ June 5, 1583 Alfonso Felice d'Avalos d´Aquino d´Aragona, 3rd Principe di Francavilla, Marchese del Vasto e di Pescara , Conte di Monteodorisio
Individual evidence
- ^ Emilio Nasalli Rocca: I Farnese. dall'Oglio editore 1969.
- ^ Emilio Nasalli Rocca, op cit. P. 65.
- ^ Benedetto Varchi: Storia fiorentina.
- ^ Emilio Nasalli Rocca, op. Cit. Pp. 111-112.
- ↑ Dante Alighieri: Divine Comedy. Inferno, Canto 5 (1308-1321)
- ↑ The shine of the Farnese. Art and passion for collecting in the Renaissance. Prestel-Verlag, Munich / New York, 1995, ISBN 3-7913-1626-5 , p. 33.
- ↑ Paolo Dal Poggetto: Guida alla Galleria Nazionale delle Marche nel Palazzo Ducale di Urbino. Gebart, Roma 2006.
- ↑ P. Zampetti: Il Palazzo Ducale di Urbino e la Galleria Nazionale delle Marche. Roma 1963.
- ↑ Marco De Santi: Il Vicariato di Barchi e la piccola città ideal disegnata da Filippo Terzi. Sta in Rivista della società pesarese di studi storici, 19-2002. Pesaro 2002, pp. 49-62.
- ^ Franco Piperno: L'immagine del Duca. Musica e spettacolo alla corte di Guidubaldo II Della Rovere duca di Urbino. Olschki, Firenze 2001.
- ↑ a b Emilio Nasalli Rocca, op. Cit. P. 113.
- ↑ giraitalia.it
- ↑ This date is given in the articles in the Italian and French Wikipedia. It is different in www.genealogy.euweb.cz/utaly/farnese2.html ( 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. , given as the date of the marriage of June 29, 1547.
- ↑ sardimpex.com ( 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.
literature
- Edoardo del Vecchio: I Farnese. Istituto di studi romani editore, Roma 1972.
- Emilio Nasalli Rocca: I Farnese. Dall'Oglio, 1969.
- Stendhal: Origin and Size of the Farnese Family. In: Ders .: 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 | Farnese, Vittoria |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Farnese della Rovere, Vittoria |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Duchess of Urbino (1548–1574) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1521 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Rome |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 13, 1602 |
| Place of death | Pesaro |