Ferdinando II de' Medici
Ferdinando II | |
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Pitti Palace, Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany | |
Died | 23 May 1670 (aged 59) Pitti Palace, Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany |
Spouse | |
Roman Catholicism | |
Signature |
Ferdinando II de' Medici (14 July 1610 – 23 May 1670) was
Reign
Ferdinando was only 10 years of age when his father Cosimo II died. Because he had not yet reached maturity, his mother Maria Maddalena and paternal grandmother,
With his wife, Vittoria, he had two surviving children:
The first calamity of Ferdinando's reign was an outbreak of the plague that swept through Florence in 1630 and took 10% of the population with it.[9] Unlike the Tuscan nobility, Ferdinando and his brothers stayed in the city to try to ameliorate the general suffering, traveling through the city on foot to help and encourage his subjects.[10]
Tuscany participated in the
Ferdinando died on 23 May 1670 of
Ferdinando and science
Ferdinando was obsessed with new technology and had several hygrometers, barometers, thermometers and telescopes installed in the Palazzo Pitti.[14] In 1654, influenced by Galileo Galilei, he is reported to have invented the sealed-glass thermometer by sealing the glass tip of a tube filled to a certain height with colored alcohol. Small glass bubbles filled with air at varying pressures hovered trapped within the liquid, changing positions as the temperature rose or fell. Marked off with 360 divisions, like the gradations or "degrees" of a circle, this type of device was called a "spirit thermometer", because it was filled with "spirit of wine" (distilled alcohol), or a "Florentine thermometer".[15] In 1657, Leopoldo de' Medici, the grand duke's youngest brother, established the Accademia del Cimento. It was set up to attract scientists from all over Tuscany to Florence for mutual study.[16]
Ferdinand, like his father before him, was a patron, ally, and friend of Galileo Galilei. Galileo dedicated his Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems to him. This work led to Galileo's second set of hearings before the Inquisition. Ferdinand attempted to keep the concerns of the Holy See from leading to a full-fledged hearing and kept Galileo in Florence until December 1632, when the Roman Inquisitors finally threatened to bring Galileo to Rome in chains if he would not come voluntarily. In June 1633, the Roman Inquisition convicted the astronomer for "vehement suspicion of heresy" and sentenced him to imprisonment for life. After this was commuted to house arrest, Ferdinando came to visit the elderly scientist at his villa, where he lived out the remainder of his life.[10]
Styles of Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany | ||
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Reference style His Highness | | |
Spoken style | Your Highness |
Issue
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The family of Ferdinand II, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1622-1623), from left to right: Mattias, Gian Carlo, Francesco and the Grand Duke Ferninand with the cross of Saint Etienne; the Duchess-mother Marie-Antoinette of Austria, Marie-Christine, Marguerite, Anne and the young Leopold, Musée Ingres Bourdelle.
From his unhappy marriage to
- Cosimo, Grand-Prince of Tuscany (19 December 1639 – 21 December 1639)
- A nameless daughter who died at birth (1640)
- Cosimo III, (14 August 1642 – 31 October 1723), Grand Duke of Toscany following his father's death, married to Marguerite Louise d'Orléans, with issue
- Francesco Maria (12 November 1660 – 3 February 1711), Duke of Rovere and Montefeltro, married to Eleonora Luisa Gonzaga, without issue
Ancestry
Ancestors of Ferdinando II de' Medici | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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See also
Citations
- ^ "HISTORICAL FIGURE FERDINANDO II DE' MEDICI". Archived from the original on 9 April 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
- ^ Strathern, p 381
- ^ Hale, p. 178
- ^ Treccani (IT)
- ^ Treccani (IT)
- ^ Strathern, p. 375
- ^ Acton, p. 30
- ^ I Medici Visti da Dietro: Ferdinando II (1610–1670) e Giovan Gastone (o Giangastone) de' Medici (1671–1737) (IT)
- ^ Hale, p. 179
- ^ a b Historical Figure Ferdinando II De' Medici
- ^ a b Hale, p.180
- ^ Hale, p. 181
- ^ Acton, p. 108
- ^ Acton, p. 27
- ^ Bolton, Henry C. (1900). Evolution of the Thermometer, 1592–1743 (Ferdinand, p. 33). Chemical Publishing Co.
- ^ Acton, p. 38
References
- ISBN 0-333-29315-0
- ISBN 978-0-09-952297-3
- ISBN 1-84212-456-0
External links
- Media related to Ferdinando II, Grand Duke of Tuscany at Wikimedia Commons
- Liedtke, Walter A. (1984). Flemish paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 0870993569. (see index, v.1, for information about Ferdinando as a patron of the arts)
- HISTORICAL FIGURE FERDINANDO II DE' MEDICI Archived 9 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine
- Treccani (IT)
- I MEDICI VISTI DA DIETRO: Ferdinando II (1610–1670) e Giovan Gastone (o Giangastone) de' Medici (1671–1737) (IT)