Maria Salviati (17 July 1499 – 29 December 1543) was a Florentine noblewoman, the daughter of

Lucrezia di Lorenzo de' Medici Lucrezia or Lucrecia may refer to: *Lucrezia (given name): an Italian name, feminine of the Roman name Lucretius. The etymological origin of the name is debatable, but is thought to come from the Latin ''lucrum'', meaning "profit, wealth". Other s ...

and

Jacopo Salviati Jacopo Salviati (15 September 1461 – 6 September 1533) was a Florentine politician and son-in-law of Lorenzo de' Medici. On 10 September 1486 he married Lorenzo's daughter Lucrezia de' Medici, with whom he had ten children. The son of Giovan ...

. She married

Giovanni delle Bande Nere Lodovico de' Medici, also known as Giovanni delle Bande Nere (6 April 1498 – 30 November 1526) was an Italian ''condottiero''. He is known for leading the Black Bands and serving valiantly in military combat under his relatives, Pope Leo X and ...

and was the mother of

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 ...

. Her husband died 30 November 1526, leaving her a widow at the age of 27. Salviati never remarried; after her husband's death she adopted the somber garb of a

novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession A profession is a field of work that has ...

, which is how she is remembered today as numerous late portraits show her attired in black and white.For information on portraits of Maria Salviati see Carl Brandon Strehlke, ''Pontormo, Bronzino, and the Medici: The Transformation of the Renaissance Portrait in Florence'' (

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...

, 2004) cats. 30 and 46.

Life

Maria Salviati was born in

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 an ...

. She descended from two of Florence's most powerful banking families: the Salviati on her father's side, and the

de' 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 Muge ...

on her mother's. Her maternal grandfather was Lorenzo "il Magnifico". When her cousin,

Alessandro de' Medici Alessandro is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Alexander. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Alessandro * Alessandro Allori (1535–1607), Italian portrait painter * Alessandro Baricco ...

was assassinated in 1537, Maria used her family connections to get involved in the discussions to decide the next

Duke of Florence The ''Duca della Repubblica Fiorentina'', rendered in English as Duke of the Florentine Republic or Duke of the Republic of Florence, was a title created in 1532 by Pope Clement VII for the Medici family (his own family), which ruled the Republi ...

. She played a key role in getting her son,

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 ...

, elected.

Bia de' Medici

Maria set up residence at

Villa di Castello The Villa di Castello, near the hills bordering Florence, Tuscany, central Italy, was the country residence of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1519-1574). The gardens, filled with fountains, statuary, and a grotto, became famous thro ...

in northern Florence, there she would look after her grandchildren. Her son Cosimo had an illegitimate daughter called Bia de' Medici. Maria described her granddaughter as a very happy and talkative little girl, often having long conversations with her. Cosimo married

Eleonora di 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 business ...

in 1539. It was rumoured that Eleonora refused to tolerate Bia's presence in the palace after their marriage so Cosimo sent Bia off to live with Maria. Other sources say that Eleonora brought Bia up very lovingly. Bia shared a nursery with

Giulia de' Medici Giulia Romola di Alessandro de' Medici (c. 1535 – c. 1588) was the illegitimate, possibly multiracial, daughter of Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence and his mistress (lover), mistress Taddea Malaspina. Following her father's assassinat ...

an illegitimate daughter of

Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence Alessandro is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Alexander. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Alessandro * Alessandro Allori (1535–1607), Italian portrait painter * Alessandro Baricco ...

, the pair being close in age. Maria knew who Bia's mother was but she would never tell Bia or anyone else the name of the woman. Both Bia and her cousin Giulia contracted a virulent fever; Giulia recovered from the illness but Bia only worsened and eventually died on 1 March 1542 aged only five years. Maria and Cosimo were said to be very sad by her loss. Maria died one year after Bia on 29 December 1543.

Ancestors

Descendants

Salviati's descendants became crowned figureheads of Europe over the succeeding generations. Her grandson

Francesco I de' Medici 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' Medic ...

married Johanna of Austria; they were the parents of

Eleonora de' Medici Eleanor de' Medici (28 February 1567 – 9 September 1611) was a Duchess of Mantua by marriage to Vincenzo I Gonzaga. She served as regent of Mantua 1595, 1597 and 1601, when Vincenzo served in the Austrian campaign in Hungary, and in 1602, whe ...

, who married

Vincenzo I Gonzaga Vincenzo Ι Gonzaga (21 September 1562 – 9 February 1612) was ruler of the Duchy of Mantua and the Duchy of Montferrat from 1587 to 1612. Biography Vincenzo was the only son of Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, and Archduchess Eleanor of Aust ...

and was the mother of

Francesco IV Gonzaga Francesco IV Gonzaga (7 May 1586 – 22 December 1612), was Duke of Mantua and (as Francesco II) Duke of Montferrat between 9 February and 22 December 1612. Biography Born in Mantua, he was the eldest son of Duke Vincenzo I and Eleonora de' Medi ...

. Francesco and Johanna's other daughter was

Marie de' Medici Marie de' Medici (french: link=no, Marie de Médicis, it, link=no, Maria de' Medici; 26 April 1575 – 3 July 1642) was Queen of France and Navarre as the second wife of King Henry IV of France of the House of Bourbon, and Regent of the Kingdom ...

, who married Henry IV of France and was the mother of

Louis XIII of France Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...

and

Henrietta Maria of France Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She wa ...

. Louis was the father of

Louis XIV of France , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Versa ...

, Henrietta Maria was the mother of

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child of ...

and

James II of England James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Gloriou ...

Life

Bia de' Medici

Ancestors

Descendants

References

Sources

See also