Maddalena de' Medici (25 July 1473–2 December 1519) was a daughter of

Lorenzo de' Medici Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici (), known as Lorenzo the Magnificent (; 1 January 1449 – 9 April 1492), was an Italian statesman, the ''de facto'' ruler of the Florentine Republic, and the most powerful patron of Renaissance culture in Italy. Lore ...

. Born in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, she was educated with her siblings to the humanistic cultures by figures such as

Angelo Poliziano Agnolo (or Angelo) Ambrogini (; 14 July 1454 – 24 September 1494), commonly known as Angelo Poliziano () or simply Poliziano, anglicized as Politian, was an Italian classical scholar and poet of the Florentine Renaissance. His scholars ...

. In February 1487 she was engaged to be married to

Franceschetto Cybo Franceschetto Cybo (baptized Francesco) (c. 1450 – 25 July 1519) was an Italian nobleman, noteworthy for being the illegitimate son of Pope Innocent VIII (Giovanni Battista Cybo). Later naturalized by his father into becoming his legitimate he ...

, son of

Pope Innocent VIII Pope Innocent VIII (; ; 1432 – 25 July 1492), born Giovanni Battista Cybo (or Cibo), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1484 to his death, in July 1492. Son of the viceroy of Naples, Cybo spent his ea ...

. They were married in January 1488, and she brought a dowry of 4000

ducats The ducat ( ) coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages to the 19th century. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wide inter ...

. This marriage brought closer connections for her family and the Vatican, helping her brother

Giovanni Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...

get appointed as a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

. She used her influence with her father, her brother

Piero Piero is an Italian language, Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: *Piero Angela (1928–2022), Italian television host *Piero Barucci (born 1933), Italian academic and politician *Piero Cassano (born 1948), Italian keyboardist ...

, and the pope to help friends and poorer people get aid and positions within the church and governments. In 1488 she bought a thermal bath resort in

Stigliano Stigliano ( Lucano: , Latin: ''Stilianum'') is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Matera, in the Basilicata region of southern Italy. The name is likely of Byzantine origin, stemming from " Stylianos", a Greek name with a Latin ending. H ...

. She had it renovated into a profitable resort. Maddalena lived in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

after the election of her brother Giovanni as

Pope Leo X Pope Leo X (; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political and banking Med ...

in 1513. Shortly after his election, Pope Leo made her son Innocenzo a Cardinal. Maddalena received Roman citizenship and a pension from her brother in 1515. She worked to get all of her children married to noble families. She continued in her role of patron, negotiating with Pope Leo and her nephew,

Lorenzo Lorenzo may refer to: People * Lorenzo (name) Places Peru * San Lorenzo Island (Peru), sometimes referred to as the island of Lorenzo United States * Lorenzo, Illinois * Lorenzo, Texas * San Lorenzo, California, formerly Lorenzo * Lorenzo State ...

to get clients protection, funds, and release from prison and exile. She died in Rome, and was buried in

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initiall ...

by order of her cousin,

Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII (; ; born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the most unfortunate o ...

Children

Franceschetto and Maddalena had eight children, three sons and five daughters: * Lucrezia Cybo (1489–1492) * Clarice Cybo (1490–1492) born deformed, died as a child *

Innocenzo Cybo Innocenzo Cibo (25 August 1491 – 13 April 1550) was an Italian cardinal and archbishop. Family and education From the Genoese family Cibo, in 1488 the Cybo family purchased Florentine citizenship for a considerable sum of money I ...

(1491–1550), Cardinal * Eleonora Cybo (1499 - 1557), Benedictine nun *

Lorenzo Cybo Lorenzo Cybo, also spelt Cibo, (20 July 1500 – 14 March 1549) was an Italian general, who was duke of Ferentillo, and co-owner marquis of Massa and lord of Carrara. Family Born at Sampierdarena (in what is modern Genoa), he was the son of F ...

(1500–1549) Duke of Ferentillo, married

Ricciarda Malaspina Ricciarda Malaspina (3 or 6 March 1497 – 13 or 16 June 1553) was an Italian noblewoman, who was marquise of Massa and lady of Carrara from 1519 to 1546, and again from May 1547 until her death in 1553. She was ultimately succeeded by her younge ...

and founded the

Cybo Malaspina The House of Cybo, Cibo or Cibei of Italy was an old and influential aristocratic family from Genoa of Greek origin that ruled the Duchy of Massa and Carrara. History They came to the city in the 12th century. In 1528 the Cybos formed the 17th ...

family * Caterina Cybo (1501–1557), married Giovanni Maria da Varano,

Duke of Camerino Duke of Camerino is a title of nobility, originally in Papal peerage. It was created on 1503 by Apostolic authority of Pope Alexander VI and cardinal council over the ancient Marquissate of Camerino, which was part of the Dukedom of Spoleto. ...

* Ippolita Cybo (1503–1503) * Giovanni Battista Cybo (1505–1550)

Ancestry

References

External links

Maddalena de' Medici - kleio.org
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Medici, Maddalena 1473 births 1528 deaths 15th-century Italian women Maddalena di Lorenzo Cybo family 16th-century Italian women Nobility from the Republic of Florence