Margherita de' Medici

Margherita de' Medici
Cosimo II de' Medici
Mother	Maria Magdalena of Austria

Margherita de' Medici (31 May 1612 – 6 February 1679) was

. Margherita was regent of Piacenza in 1635, and regent of the entire duchy from 1646 until 1648 during the minority of her son.

Life

She was the fourth of eight children and the second daughter born to

Margherita became engaged to

.

Duchess of Parma

The marriage took place on 11 October 1628 in Florence. The wedding celebrations were accompanied by much spectacle and pageantry, including the performance of Marco da Gagliano's opera La Flora, composed especially for the occasion. To welcome the couple back to Parma, Mercury and Mars, with music by Claudio Monteverdi and text by Claudio Achillini was performed in the Teatro Farnese.

The years in which the couple ruled over Parma were marked by the

and the contrast between the splendour of the court and the tax burden to which they had subjected their subjects. The tax money was used to improve Odoardo's armies. The Duke also had a pro-French policy.

According to portraiture and the sources of the time, Margherita was a beautiful woman, as well as amiable and well-educated. Unlike his predecessors, the duke was very devoted and loyal to her and there were never any sources that claimed Odoardo had illegitimate children. ^{[citation needed]}

Regency

On 11 September 1646, Odoardo died. Their eldest son, Ranuccio was not yet old enough to rule the Duchy alone so his mother, Margherita acted as regent until her son was old enough to govern alone two years later. She served in co-regency with her former brother-in-law, her son‘s uncle, Francesco Maria Farnese. In 1648, her son was declared of legal majority and thus ended her regency.

Margherita outlived at least four of her children. She died in Parma on 6 February 1679.

Issue

1. Caterina Farnese (2 October 1629) died at birth.
2. Isabella d'Este, (3) Maria d'Este
   .
3. Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands
   died unmarried.
4. Onorato Farnese (24 January 1636 – 2 November 1656) died unmarried.
5. Caterina Farnese (3 September 1637 – 24 April 1684) a nun^[2]
6. Maria Maddalena Farnese (15 July 1638 – 11 March 1693) died unmarried.
7. Pietro Farnese (4 April 1639 – 4 March 1677) died unmarried.
8. Ottavio Farnese (5 January 1641 – 4 August 1641) died in infancy.

Ancestry

References