Isabella de' Medici
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Isabella Romola de' Medici (31 August 1542 – 16 July 1576) was the daughter of
Biography
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Isabella_de_medici.jpg/220px-Isabella_de_medici.jpg)
Isabella was born in
In 1553, at age 11 Isabella was betrothed to 12-year-old Paolo Giordano Orsini, in line for the Duchy of Bracciano in southern Tuscany, a liaison Isabella's father felt necessary to secure his southern border and his relationship with the ancient Roman Orsini family.[4] The two married in 1558, in a semi-private ceremony, at Villa di Castello.[5] Paolo left the following day. Concerned by the spending habits of his new son-in-law, Cosimo decided to keep his daughter and her 50,000 scudi dowry in Florence, giving her greater freedom and control over her own affairs than was customary for Florentine women of the time.[6]
Following her mother's death, she acted as first lady of Florence for a time, displaying the de' Medici aptitude for politics. She suffered several miscarriages and remained childless until her late twenties. Her daughter Francesca Eleonora (known as Nora), was born in 1571[7] and eventually married her cousin Alessandro Sforza. Her son Virginio was born in 1572 and eventually inherited his father's dukedom.
Isabella's free-spirited personality created rumours with regard to the nature of her relationship with Troilo Orsini, Paolo Giordano's cousin, who was charged with looking after her while her husband tended to military duties.
On 16 July 1576 Isabella died unexpectedly at the
Issue
After several miscarriages, by her husband Isabella had two daughters and a son:[13][14]
- Francesca Eleonora Orsini (d. 1634). She married Alessandro Sforza, Duke of Segni.
- Isabella Orsini (1571 - 1572).
- Virginio Orsini (1572 - 1615). II Duke of Bracciano.
Art
Various paintings are extant, by Alessandro Allori (see above). Another painting with a right profile, also attributed to Allori, is owned by the Carnegie Museum of Art and has been uncovered and refurbished in 2014, having had a Victorian era face painted over.[15][16]
Ancestry
Ancestors of Isabella de' Medici | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Notes
- ^ Murphy, 24-28
- ^ Murphy, 40-44
- ^ One ambassador wrote about the teen-age Isabella: "Her liveliness never leaves her, it is born within her." Murphy, 47
- ^ Murphy, 54
- ^ Murphy, 54
- ^ Murphy, 67-68
- ^ Langdon, 148
- ^ Murphy 2008, 324
- ^ Murphy 2008, 324–325
- ^ Murphy 2008, 316–324
- ^ Murphy 2008, 328–333
- ^ Mori
- ^ "ORSINI, Paolo Giordano in "Dizionario Biografico"". www.treccani.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2022-12-22.
- ^ "MEDICI, Isabella de' in "Dizionario Biografico"". www.treccani.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2022-12-22.
- ^ Faked, Forgotten, Found: The Restoration of Isabella de Medici, CMOA.org, Vimeo video 7m19s, 2014
- ^ Carnegie Museum of Art
References
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- Langdon, Gabrielle. Medici Women: Portraits of Power, Love, and Betrayal in the Court of Duke Cosimo I. University of Toronto Press, 2006.
- Mori, Elisabetta (2011): L'onore perduto di Isabella de' Medici. Garzanti. ISBN 978881174119-0
- Murphy, Caroline P. Murder of a Medici Princess. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-19-531439-7
- Reiss, Sheryl; Wilkins, David. Beyond Isabella: Secular women patrons of art in Renaissance Italy. Truman State University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-943549-88-4