Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Cosimo I de' Medici (June 12, 1519 – April 21, 1574) was Duke of Florence from 1537 to 1574, reigning as the first Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1569.
Marriage and family
In 1539, Cosimo married the Spanish noblewoman Eleanor of Toledo (1522 – 1562), the daughter of Don Pedro Álvarez de Toledo, the Spanish viceroy of Naples and third cousin to Emperor Charles V himself. The couple had a long and peaceful married life. Surprisingly for the era, Cosimo was faithful to his wife throughout their married life. The example of a traditional couple served to strengthen his various reforms and separate their association with the former Duke. Eleanor was a political adviser to her husband and often ruled Florence in his absence. She provided the Medici with the Pitti Palace and was a patron of the new Jesuit order. The Duchess died with her sons Giovanni and Garzia in 1562, when she was only forty; all three of them were struck down by malaria while traveling to Pisa.
With Eleanor, Cosimo fathered eleven children:
- Maria (3 April 1540 – 19 November 1557), engaged to Alfonso di Ercole II d'Este, but died before the marriage
- Francesco (25 March 1541 – 19 October 1587), Cosimo's successor as Grand Duke of Tuscany
- Isabella (31 August 1542 – 16 July 1576), murdered by her husband Paolo Giordano I Orsini because of infidelity
- Giovanni (28 September 1543 – 20 November 1562), who became Bishop of Pisa and a cardinal
- Lucrezia (7 June 1545 – 21 April 1561), who married Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara and Modena, in 1560
- Pietro (Pedricco) (10 August 1546 – 10 June 1547), who died in infancy
- Garzia (5 July 1547 – 12 December 1562), who died of malaria at age 15
- Antonio (1 July 1548 – July 1548), who died in infancy
- Ferdinando (30 July 1549 – 17 February 1609), Francesco's successor as Grand Duke of Tuscany
- Anna (19 March 1553 – 6 August 1553), who died in infancy
- Pietro (3 June 1554 – 25 April 1604), who murdered his wife Eleonora di Garzia di Toledo because of infidelity
Before his first marriage, Cosimo fathered an illegitimate daughter with an unknown woman:
- Bia de' Medici (ca. 1536 – March 1, 1542)
After Eleanor's death in 1562, Cosimo fathered two children with his mistress Eleonora degli Albizzi:
- an unnamed daughter (born and died 1566) who died before baptism
- Giovanni (1567 – 1621), later legitimized by his father
In 1570, Cosimo married Camilla Martelli (died 1590) and fathered one child with her:
- Virginia (29 May 1568 – 15 January 1615), who married Cesare d'Este, Duke of Modena
