Bianca de' Medici (10 September 1445–1505) was a member of the de' Medici family, ''de facto'' rulers of

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

in the late 15th century. She was the daughter of Piero di Cosimo de' Medici, ''de facto'' ruler of the Florentine Republic, and sister of

Lorenzo de' Medici Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici (; 1 January 1449 – 8 April 1492) was an Italian statesman, banker, ''de facto'' ruler of the Florentine Republic and the most powerful and enthusiastic patron of Renaissance culture in Italy. Also known as Lorenzo ...

, who succeeded his father in that position. She married Guglielmo de' Pazzi, a member of the

Pazzi family The Pazzi were a noble Florentine family. Their main trade during the fifteenth century was banking. In the aftermath of the Pazzi conspiracy in 1478, members of the family were banished from Florence and their property was confiscated; the ...

. She was a musician, and played the organ for

Pope Pius II Pope Pius II ( la, Pius PP. II, it, Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini ( la, Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus, links=no; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August ...

and the future Pope Alexander VI in 1460; she was a landowner.

Life

Bianca was a daughter of Piero di Cosimo de' Medici and

Lucrezia Tornabuoni Lucrezia Tornabuoni (22 June 1427 – 25 March 1482) was an influential Italian political adviser and author during the 15th century. She was a member of one of the most powerful Italian families of the time and married Piero di Cosimo de' Medic ...

. In 1459, she married Guglielmo de' Pazzi, who was a childhood friend of her brother,

. This alliance was intended to help resolve the animosity between the families, but it was not successful in that regard as Machiavelli noted in his ''

Florentine Histories ''Florentine Histories'' ( it, Istorie fiorentine) is a historical account by Italian Renaissance political philosopher and writer Niccolò Machiavelli, first published posthumously in 1532. Background After the crisis of 1513, with arrests for ...

''. Their first child, Antonio, was born in 1460. The marriage agreement included a significant reduction in taxes imposed on the Pazzi family. In the aftermath of the Pazzi conspiracy of 1478, Bianca's marriage significantly softened Lorenzo's wrath towards Guglielmo, who was only put under house arrest for a time, while his male relatives were exiled or executed; his daughters were exempted from the marriage ban imposed on other Pazzi daughters. In 1460, Bianca was asked to play the organ for Pope Pius II and his entourage during a visit to Florence, as the pope was coming back from the Council of Mantua. Teodoro Montefeltro, the

Apostolic protonotary In the Roman Catholic Church, protonotary apostolic (PA; Latin: ''protonotarius apostolicus'') is the title for a member of the highest non-episcopal college of prelates in the Roman Curia or, outside Rome, an honorary prelate on whom the pop ...

travelling with the pope, praised the performance in a letter to

Barbara of Brandenburg, Marquise of Mantua Barbara of Brandenburg (1422 – 7 November 1481) was a Marchioness consort of Mantua, married in 1433 to Ludovico III Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua. She was referred to as a ''virago'' because of her strong character and forceful nature, and ser ...

. During the same papal visit, she performed a second concert for the future pope

Rodrigo Borgia Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...

at his request. Bianca often performed for local and visiting dignitaries, contributing to her families' reputation and influence. In 1475, Bianca asked her mother to purchase farmland from other relatives for her, as Lucrezia had more influence within the family. Though Bianca owned the property, it was managed by staff employed by her mother.

Issue

Bianca and Guglielmo had sixteen children, nine sons and seven daughters: * Antonio de' Pazzi (1460), died as an infant * Giovanna de' Pazzi, married Tommaso Monaldi in 1471 * Contessina de' Pazzi, married Giuliano Salviati in 1476 * Antonio de' Pazzi (1462-1528), ambassador and politician, ''Gonfaloniere di Giustizia'' in 1521, second Lord of Civitella * Alessandra de' Pazzi (1465), married Bartolomeo Buondelmonti in 1486 * Cosimo de' Pazzi (1466-1513), archbishop of Florence from 1508 until his death * Piero de' Pazzi (1468), died as an infant * Lorenzo Alessandro de' Pazzi, (1470-1535) merchant, patron of the arts and latinist * Cosa de' Pazzi, married Francesco di Luca Capponi * Renato de' Pazzi, goldsmith merchant * Lorenzo de' Pazzi, politician and ambassador * Luigia de' Pazzi, married Folco di Edoardo Portinari in 1494 * Maddalena de' Pazzi, married Ormanozzo Deti in 1497 * Alessandro de' Pazzi (1483-1530) ambassador, literate and greekist * Lucrezia de' Pazzi, married Cattani di Diacceto, and then a member of Martelli family (1500) * Giuliano de' Pazzi (1486-1517), doctor of law, abbot and canon of the Metropolitan of Florence

References

Sources

* * * * * {{Authority control 1445 births 1488 deaths 15th-century people of the Republic of Florence Italian women musicians House of Medici 15th-century Italian nobility 15th-century Italian women Medieval Italian women musicians 15th-century Italian musicians 15th-century women musicians