Tiziano - Venere di Urbino - Google Art Project

Guidobaldo II della Rovere (2 April 1514 – 28 September 1574) was an Italian

condottiero ''Condottieri'' (; singular ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian captains in command of mercenary companies during the Middle Ages and of multinational armies during the early modern period. They notably served popes and other Europe ...

, who succeeded his father

Francesco Maria I della Rovere Francesco Maria I della Rovere (25 March 1490 – 20 October 1538) was an Italian condottiero, who was Duke of Urbino from 1508 to 1516 and, after retaking the throne from Lorenzo II de' Medici, from 1521 to 1538. Biography He was born ...

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 ...

from 1538 until his death in 1574. He was a member of the House of La Rovere. Guidobaldo was an important patron of the arts in general, and of

Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...

in particular, commissioning his own portrait, and buying Titian's ''

Venus of Urbino The ''Venus of Urbino'' (also known as ''Reclining Venus'') is an oil painting by the Italian painter Titian, which seems to have been begun in 1532 or 1534, and was perhaps completed in 1534, but not sold until 1538. It depicts a nude young wom ...

''.

Early life

Guidobaldo was the son of

and Eleonora Gonzaga. In 1535, despite a papal ban, he married

Giulia da Varano Giulia da Varano, also known after her marriage as ''Giulia da Varano della Rovere'' (24 March 1523 – 18 February 1547), was an Italian noblewoman and member of the Da Varano family. She was the ruling Duchess of Camerino during 1527–1539 (un ...

, daughter of the duke of

Camerino Camerino is a town in the province of Macerata, Marche, central-eastern Italy. It is located in the Apennines bordering Umbria, between the valleys of the rivers Potenza and Chienti, about from Ancona. Camerino is home to the University of Cam ...

and

Caterina Cybo Caterina Cybo (13 September 1501 – 17 February 1557) was an Italian ruler. She was regent of the Duchy of Camerino between 1527 and 1535 during the minority of her daughter Giulia da Varano Giulia da Varano, also known after her marriage as ' ...

. In response to his marriage with Giulia, Pope Paul III excommunicated Guidobaldo, his bride, Giulia, his mother-in-law, Caterina Cybo, in 1535. Upon his installation as duke of Camerino, Paul III placed the duchy under interdict. Upon the assassination of his father, Guidobaldo became duke of

Urbino Urbino ( ; ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of ...

in 1538.

Career

In 1546, he received a ''condotta'' as military leader (''Governatore'') by the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

, for which his father had been a valiant commander during the

Italian Wars The Italian Wars, also known as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a series of conflicts covering the period 1494 to 1559, fought mostly in the Italian peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and the Mediterranean Sea. The pr ...

. After the 1547 death of Giulia da Varano, in 1548 he married

Vittoria Farnese Vittoria Farnese (not to be confused with Vittoria Farnese, Duchess of Urbino) (29 April 1618 – 10 August 1649) was an Italian noblewoman. She was born in Parma, the daughter of Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma and Margherita Aldobrandini, niece ...

- the daughter of

Pier Luigi Farnese, Duke of Parma Pier Luigi Farnese (19 November 1503 – 10 September 1547) was the first Duke of Castro from 1537 to 1545 and the first Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1545 to 1547. Born in Rome, Pier Luigi was the illegitimate son of Cardinal Alessandro Farne ...

and

Gerolama Orsini Gerolama Orsini (1504–1569) sometimes Girolama Orsini was the Duchess of Parma as the wife of Pier Luigi Farnese, Duke of Parma. She served as Regent (Governor) of the Ducky of Castro in the name of her son Orazio, Duke of Castro betwee ...

, daughter of Lodovico Orsini and wife and first cousin Giulia Conti. Later he was made Papal governor of

Fano Fano is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy. It is a beach resort southeast of Pesaro, located where the ''Via Flaminia'' reaches the Adriatic Sea. It is the third city in the region by popula ...

, receiving also the title of '' capitano generale'' (commander-in-chief) of 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 fro ...

, as well as that of Prefect of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. In 1559, he was hired by the

King of Spain , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

, helping

Bernardo Sanseverino Bernardo is a given name and less frequently an Italian, Portuguese and Spanish surname. Possibly from the Germanic "Bernhard". Given name People * Bernardo the Japanese (died 1557), early Japanese Christian convert and disciple of Saint Fra ...

(who had married Isabella, one of Guidobaldo's daughters) in the war against the Ottoman Turks. On 1 January 1573, a revolt rose against Guidobaldo in Urbino, due to the excessive tax burden that he was exerting over his state. He reacted by bloodily suppressing the riot.

Personal life

His additional children included: *

Francesco Maria II Francesco Maria II della Rovere (20 February 1549 – 23 April 1631) was the last Duke of Urbino. Biography Born at Pesaro, Francesco Maria was the son of Guidobaldo II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, Count of Montefeltro and Vittoria Farnese ...

, who succeeded him as Duke of Urbino. * Isabella, wife of Niccolò Bernardino Sanseverino, 6° Prince of Bisignano. * Lavinia, married

Alfonso Félix de Ávalos Aquino y Gonzaga, Marquis del Vasto Alfonso Félix de Ávalos Aquino y Gonzaga, 8th Marquis of Pescara, 4th Marquis of Vasto (Ischia 1564 – Rome, 2 December 1593), was an Italian noble in the service of the King of Spain. Alfonso Félix was the eldest son of Francesco Ferdinando ...

. After falling ill during a voyage to

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

and

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, ...

, he died in the latter town in 1574.

Ancestry

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Della Rovere, Guidobaldo 2 1514 births 1574 deaths Guidobaldo 2 People from Urbino Guidobaldo 2 16th-century condottieri 16th-century Italian nobility Captains General of the Church