Francesco Maria II della Rovere (20 February 1549 – 23 April 1631) was the last

Duke of Urbino The Duchy of Urbino was an independent duchy in early modern central Italy, corresponding to the northern half of the modern region of Marche. It was directly annexed by the Papal States in 1625. It was bordered by the Adriatic Sea in the eas ...

Biography

Born at

Pesaro Pesaro () is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Marche, capital of the Province of Pesaro e Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the Marche ...

, Francesco Maria was the son of Guidobaldo II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, Count of

Montefeltro Montefeltro is a historical and geographical region in Marche, which was historically part of Romagna. It gave its name to the Montefeltro family, who ruled in the area during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Regions of Italy Overview Mo ...

and Vittoria Farnese , Princess of

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

. He was raised between 1565 and 1568 at the Royal court of

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

. While there he met a Spanish girl and informed his father of his intention to marry her . ''History of the popes; their church and state (Volume III)''
by Leopold von Ranke (

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial ...

Library, 2009) But his father would not allow it and demanded he return to Urbino. In 1570 Francesco Maria married Lucrezia d'Este, a daughter of

Ercole II d'Este Ercole II d'Este (5 April 1508 – 3 October 1559) was Duke of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio from 1534 to 1559. He was the eldest son of Alfonso I d'Este and Lucrezia Borgia. Biography Through his mother, Ercole was a grandson of Pope Alexan ...

. His father died only a few years later, in 1574, and Francesco Maria succeeded his father as Duke of Urbino. By 1580 the family estate was in crisis and Francesco Maria was forced to sell his family's titles – the

Duchy of Sora The Duchy of Sora was a semi-independent state in Italy, created in 1443 by King Alfonso I of Naples and dissolved in 1796. It occupied the south-eastern part of what is today Lazio, bordering what is now Abruzzo. Its capital was first Sora, an ...

and Arce – for 100,000

scudi The ''scudo'' (pl. ''scudi'') was the name for a number of coins used in various states in the Italian peninsula until the 19th century. The name, like that of the French écu and the Spanish and Portuguese escudo, was derived from the Latin '' ...

Giacomo Boncompagni Giacomo Boncompagni (also ''Jacopo Boncompagni''; 8 May 1548 – 18 August 1612) was an Italian feudal lord of the 16th century, the illegitimate son of Pope Gregory XIII (Ugo Boncompagni). He was also Duke of Sora, Aquino, Arce and Arpino, and ...

. Francesco Maria's marriage, though, remained childless and Francesco Maria needed a male heir. Without one, his family's remaining titles would lapse on his death and his entire estate would be acquired, by default, by the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from ...

. So in 1599, after the death of first wife Lucrezia, he married his cousin Livia della Rovere, 36 years his junior.Note: ''Daughter of the illegitimate son of his Cardinal uncle, Giulio Feltrio della Rovere.'' On 16 May 1605 their long-expected and only child Federico Ubaldo was born. Federico Ubaldo married Claudia de' Medici in 1621 and was made Duke by his father. However, Federico died in 1623 from an epileptic attack, leaving only a daughter,

Vittoria Della Rovere Vittoria della Rovere (7 February 1622 – 5 March 1694) was Grand Duchess of Tuscany as the wife of Grand Duke Ferdinando II. She had four children with her husband, two of whom would survive infancy: the future Cosimo III, Tuscany's longest ...

, wife of

Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany Ferdinando II de' Medici (14 July 1610 – 23 May 1670) was grand duke of Tuscany from 1621 to 1670. He was the eldest son of Cosimo II de' Medici and Maria Maddalena of Austria. He was remembered by his contemporaries as a man of culture a ...

; their child was

Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo III de' Medici (14 August 1642 – 31 October 1723) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1670 until his death in 1723, the sixth and penultimate from the House of Medici. He reigned from 1670 to 1723, and was the elder son of Grand Duke Ferdinan ...

; none of Cosimo III's children had heirs. The aging Francesco Maria took up the title of Duke again, but as there was no more hope for a male heir, he gave his Duchy to

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII ( la, Urbanus VIII; it, Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death in July 1644. As po ...

in 1625. The Pope's nephew

Taddeo Barberini Taddeo Barberini (1603–1647) was an Italian nobleman of the House of Barberini who became Prince of Palestrina and Gonfalonier of the Church; commander of the Papal Army. He was a nephew of Pope Urban VIII and brother of Cardinals Frances ...

took control of the duchy which was annexed to the

after Francesco's death at Urbania in 1631. The last member of the della Rovere family, Vittoria, inherited the Duke's art collection and had it transferred to

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

to the

Uffizi Gallery The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museum ...

Marriages

# Lucrezia d'Este on 19 January 1570, daughter of Ercole II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara and

Renée of France Renée of France (25 October 1510 – 12 June 1574), was Duchess of Ferrara from 31 October 1534 until 3 October 1559 by marriage to Ercole II d'Este, grandson of Pope Alexander VI. She was the younger surviving child of Louis XII of France ...

. # Livia della Rovere on 29 April 1599, daughter of Ippolito della Rovere and Isabella Vitelli dei Signori dell'Amatrice.

Issue

# Federico Ubaldo della Rovere (16 May 1605 – 28 June 1623) son of Livia della Rovere, was

and the father of

Vittoria della Rovere Vittoria della Rovere (7 February 1622 – 5 March 1694) was Grand Duchess of Tuscany as the wife of Grand Duke Ferdinando II. She had four children with her husband, two of whom would survive infancy: the future Cosimo III, Tuscany's longest ...

Gallery

File:Double portrait of Guidobaldo II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, and his son, Francesco Maria II.JPG, Francesco Maria with the father Guidobaldo II della Rovere File:Federico barocci, ritratto di francesco maria II della rovere, 1572, 01.jpg, Francesco Maria II, portrait by Federico Barocci, 1572, Uffizi File:Francesco-Maria-II-della-Rovere.jpg, Francesco Maria II, portrait by Federico Barocci File:Portrait of Francesco I de Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1541-1587).jpg, Francesco Maria II, portrait by Federico Barocci (workshop) File:Ritratto di Francesco Maria II della Rovere (1549-1631), scuola di Federico Barocci. 1585 circa.jpg, Francesco Maria II, portrait by Federico Barocci (workshop), 1585 circa File:Giovanni bandini e bottega, busto di francesco maria II della rovere, 1590 ca, restaurato dal foggini nel 1691.JPG, Bust of Francesco Maria II by Giovanni Bandini File:Portrait of Maddalena Osuna Giron, traditionally identified as Lucrezia d'Este - Casa Santi.jpg, Lucrezia d'Este, 1st wife File:Livia Della Rovere duchess of Urbino.jpg, Livia della Rovere, 2nd wife

References and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Della Rovere, Francesco Maria 2 1549 births 1631 deaths Francesco Maria 2 People from Pesaro Francesco Maria 2 Francesco Maria 2 16th-century Italian nobility 17th-century Italian nobility