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Eleonora Degli Albizzi
Eleonora degli Albizzi (1543 – 19 March 1634) was a mistress of Cosimo I de' Medici, the Grand Duke of Tuscany. She had an illegitimate son with him, Don Giovanni de' Medici. History She was the daughter of an ancient Florentine family of moderate means, daughter of Luigi degli Albizzi and Nannina Soderini. With the consent of her father, by 1565, at the age of about 23–24 years, she became the mistress of the Granduke, who was a widower since the death of Eleonora of Toledo in 1562. In 1566, Albizzi had a daughter with the Duke. She soon died as an infant. In 1567 she had a son, Giovanni. Rumors began to circulate that Cosimo wish to legitimize his union to Eleonora. Tradition holds that his long-time chamberlain Sforza Almeni of Perugia shared the Duke's desires with Francesco I, the legitimate heir who was increasingly the dominant force in the government. Francesco, likely worried about the entry of potential heirs and a mother-in-law, scolded his father about those plans ...
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House Of Medici
The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Mugello region of Tuscany, and prospered gradually until it was able to fund the Medici Bank. This bank was the largest in Europe during the 15th century and facilitated the Medicis' rise to political power in Florence, although they officially remained citizens rather than monarchs until the 16th century. The Medici produced four popes of the Catholic Church—Pope Leo X (1513–1521), Pope Clement VII (1523–1534), Pope Pius IV (1559–1565) and Pope Leo XI (1605)—and two queens of France— Catherine de' Medici (1547–1559) and Marie de' Medici (1600–1610). In 1532, the family acquired the hereditary title Duke of Florence. In 1569, the duchy was elevated to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany after territorial expansion. The Medici ruled ...
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Don Giovanni De' Medici
Don Giovanni de' Medici (13 May 1567, in Florence – 19 July 1621, in Murano) was an Italian military commander, diplomat and architect. Medici was born the illegitimate son of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Eleonora degli Albizzi. Medici was later legitimated by his father. He was born 5 years after the death of his brother, Giovanni, and was given the same name. He moved to Spain where he began his military career. In 1598 he was a Grandee of Spain and Florentine ambassador in Madrid. In 1600 he was Master of the Field for the Imperial army, but his most important appointment was as Commander-in-Chief of the army of the Republic of Venice (1616–1617). He married Livia del Vernazza, with whom he had two sons; Gianfrancesco Maria (1619–1689) and another that was born posthumously but died as an infant. Giovanni was also a painter and an architect, and collaborated with Matteo Nigetti Matteo Nigetti (ca. 1560/1570 – 1648) was an Italian arc ...
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Cosimo I De' Medici
Cosimo I de' Medici (12 June 1519 – 21 April 1574) was the second Duke of Florence from 1537 until 1569, when he became the first Grand Duke of Tuscany, a title he held until his death. Life Rise to power Cosimo was born in Florence on 12 June 1519, the son of the famous condottiere Ludovico de' Medici (known as Giovanni delle Bande Nere) and his wife Maria Salviati, herself a granddaughter of Lorenzo the Magnificent. He was the grandson of Caterina Sforza, the Countess of Forlì and Lady of Imola. Cosimo came to power in 1537 at age 17, just after the 26-year-old Duke of Florence, Alessandro de' Medici, was assassinated. Cosimo was from a different branch of the Medici family, descended from Giovanni il Popolano, the great-grandson of Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici, founder of the Medici Bank. It was necessary to search for a successor outside of the "senior" branch of the Medici family descended from Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici, since the only male child of Alessandro, ...
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Albizzi
The Albizzi family () was a Florentine family originally based in Arezzo, who were rivals of the Medici and Alberti families. They were at the centre of Florentine oligarchy from 1382, in the reaction that followed the Ciompi revolt, to the rise of the Medici in 1434. They were active members of the Arte della Lana, Florence's wool guild. The Guilds played a central role in the governance of the Republic of Florence during the medieval period and guild members constituted Florence's political and economic oligarchy. The most famous and influential members of the family were Maso and his son Rinaldo degli Albizzi (1370–1442) who countered the rise of Cosimo de' Medici, exiling him in 1433. Luca, another son of Maso, was head of the Florentine galleys; his diary is an important source for historians. Luca was a loyal friend to Cosimo de' Medici. As a result, Luca was permitted to stay in Florence when the rest of his clan, including his brother, were exiled under the Medici reg ...
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Eleonora Of Toledo
Eleanor of Toledo (Italian: ''Eleonora di Toledo'', 11 January 1522 – 17 December 1562), born Doña Leonor Álvarez de Toledo y Osorio, was a Spanish noblewoman and Duchess of Florence as the first wife of Cosimo I de' Medici. A keen businesswoman, she financed many of her husband's political campaigns and important buildings like the Pitti Palace. She ruled as regent of Florence during his frequent absences: Eleanor ruled during Cosimo's military campaigns in Genoa in 1541 and 1543, his illness from 1544 to 1545, and again at times when the war for the conquest of Siena (1551–1554). She founded many Jesuit churches. She is credited with being the first modern first lady or consort. Childhood Eleanor was born in Alba de Tormes, Salamanca, Spain, on 11 January 1522. She was the second daughter of Pedro Álvarez de Toledo, Viceroy of Naples, and Maria Osorio, 2nd Marquise of Villafranca. Her father was the lieutenant-governor of Emperor Charles V and the uncle of the Duke of ...
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Sforza Almeni
The House of Sforza () was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. They acquired the Duchy of Milan following the extinction of the Visconti family in the mid-15th century, Sforza rule ending in Milan with the death of the last member of the family's main branch in 1535. History The first son of Muzio Attendolo Sforza, Francesco I Sforza, married Bianca Maria (1425–1468) in 1441. She was the daughter and only heir of the last Duke of Milan, ( Filippo Maria Visconti). He thus acquired the title of Duke of Milan (1450–1466), ruled Milan for 16 years, and made the Sforzas the heirs of the house of Visconti. The family also held the seigniory of Pesaro, starting with Muzio Attendolo's second son, Alessandro (1409–1473). The Sforza held Pesaro until 1512, after the death of Costanzo II Sforza. Muzio's third son, Bosio (1411–1476), founded the branch of Santa Fiora, who held the title of count of Cotignola; the Sforza ruled the small county of Santa ...
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Francesco I De' Medici, Grand Duke Of Tuscany
Francesco I (25 March 1541 – 19 October 1587) was the second Grand Duke of Tuscany, ruling from 1574 until his death in 1587. He was a member of the House of Medici. Biography Born in Florence, Francesco was the son of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Eleanor of Toledo. He served as regent for his father Cosimo after he retired from his governing duties in 1564. Marriage to Joanna of Austria On 18 December 1565, Francesco married Joanna of Austria, youngest daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I and his wife Anne of Bohemia and Hungary. By all reports, it was not a happy marriage. Joanna was homesick for her native Austria, and Francesco was neither charming nor faithful. In 1578, Joanna died at the age of thirty-one, after falling down a flight of stairs while pregnant with their eighth child. Bianca Cappello Soon after Grand Duchess Joanna had died, Francesco went on to marry his Venetian mistress, Bianca Cappello, after aptly disposing of her ...
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Filippo Strozzi The Younger
Filippo Strozzi the Younger (January 4, 1489 – December 18, 1538) was a Florentine banker, and the most famous member of the Strozzi family in the Renaissance. He is best remembered as a tragic hero and defender of the lost Florentine republic against the Medici dukes – yet this is almost entirely a nineteenth-century fiction of nationalist historians and dramatists. He had been one of the staunchest supporters of the House of Medici in Florence and Rome. Biography Born in Florence as Giambattista Strozzi, he was rechristened by his mother with the name of his father Filippo Strozzi the Elder, who had died two years after the child's birth. From the late fifteenth century, Medici power rendered the Florentine nobility, including the various branches of the Strozzi family, more courtiers than citizens. Filippo the Younger was merely rich until 1515, when he entered the service of Pope Leo X as depositor general of the Apostolic Chamber. From here he built a financial empir ...
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Camilla Martelli
Camilla Martelli ( – 30 May 1590) was first the lover and then the second wife of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. She was the mother of Virginia de' Medici, future Duchess of Modena. Biography Born into one of the most important families of the Florentine patricians, Camilla was the daughter of Antonio Martelli and Fiammetta Soderini. After the death of Cosimo's first wife Eleonora of Toledo and after the end of his relationship with Eleonora degli Albizzi, Camilla became Cosimo's lover despite being 26 years his junior. Camilla stood by him during his middle age, when because of his poor health he retired to private life in the villa di Castello, abdicating in favour of his son Francesco I de' Medici. Camilla had a daughter with Cosimo in 1568, Virginia, but she was always resented by the children from Cosimo's first marriage. Despite their opposition, Cosimo married Camilla in 1570, at the explicit order of Pope Pius V. However, the marriage was morganatic, ...
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Fuligno
Foligno (; Southern Umbrian: ''Fuligno'') is an ancient town of Italy in the province of Perugia in east central Umbria, on the Topino river where it leaves the Apennines and enters the wide plain of the Clitunno river system. It is located south-east of Perugia, north-north-west of Trevi and south of Spello. While Foligno is an active bishopric, one of its civil parishes, San Giovanni Profiamma, is the historical site of the former bishopric of Foro Flaminio, which remains a Latin Catholic titular see. Foligno railway station forms part of the main line from Rome to Ancona, and is the junction for Perugia; it is thus an important rail centre, with repair and maintenance yards for the trains of central Italy, and was therefore subjected to severe Allied aerial bombing in World War II, responsible for its relatively modern aspect, although it retains some medieval monuments. Of its Roman past no significant trace remains, with the exception of the regular street plan of the ...
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1543 Births
__NOTOC__ Year 1543 ( MDXLIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. It is one of the years sometimes referred to as an "Annus mirabilis" because of its significant publications in science, considered the start of the scientific revolution. Events January–June * February 11 – King Henry VIII of England allies with Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, against France. * February 21 – Battle of Wayna Daga: A joint Ethiopian-Portuguese force of 8,500, under Emperor Gelawdewos of Ethiopia, defeats Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi's army of over 14,000, ending the Ethiopian–Adal war. * March ** King Gustav Vasa's troops crush the forces of Swedish peasant rebel Nils Dacke in battle, ending the uprising. Dacke escapes, but is captured and killed in the summer. ** Consolidating Act of Welsh Union: The Parliament of England establishes counties and regularises parliamentary representation in Wales. * April &nd ...
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1634 Deaths
Events January–March * January 12– After suspecting that he will be dismissed, Albrecht von Wallenstein, supreme commander of the Holy Roman Empire's Army, demands that his colonels sign a declaration of personal loyalty. * January 14– France's ''Compagnie normande'' obtains a one-year monopoly on trade with the African kingdoms in Guinea. * January 19– Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine abdicates in favor of his brother Nicholas Francis, Duke of Lorraine, Nicholas II, who is only able to hold the throne for 75 days. * January 24– Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, signs a classified order dismissing Albrecht von Wallenstein, the supreme commander of the Imperial Army. * February 18– Emperor Ferdinand II's dismissal of Commander Wallenstein for high treason, and the order for his capture, dead or alive, is made public. * February 25– Rebel Scots and Irish soldiers assassinate Kingdom of Bohemia, Bohemian military leader Albrecht von ...
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