Valentina Visconti (ca. 1357 – before September 1393) was

Queen consort of Cyprus Empress and Despoina ''in'' Cyprus :''Byzantine titles did not have any territorial qualification, so there were no Emperors or Despots'' of ''Cyprus'' Komnenoi dynasty, 1184–1191 Consort of Cyprus House of Lusignan, 1192–1489 Titular ...

and titular Queen consort of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

by marriage to

Peter II of Cyprus Peter II (1354 or 1357 – 13 October 1382), called the Fat (French ''Pierre le Gros''), was the eleventh King of Cyprus of the House of Lusignan from 17 January 1369 until his death. Peter W. Edbury: The Kingdom of Cyprus and the Crusades 1191 ...

. She was the daughter of

Bernabò Visconti Bernabò or Barnabò Visconti (1323 – 19 December 1385) was an Italian soldier and statesman who was Lord of Milan. Along with his brothers Matteo and Galeazzo II, he inherited the lordship of Milan from his uncle Giovanni. Later in 1355, he an ...

and his wife

Beatrice Regina della Scala Beatrice ''Regina'' della Scala (1331 – 18 June 1384) was Lady of Milan by marriage to Bernabò Visconti, Lord of Milan, and politically active as the adviser of her spouse.Tuchman, p.333 Life Beatrice Regina was born in Verona in 1331,Charle ...

Life

Valentina was born in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and was the eleventh of seventeen children of a cruel and ruthless despot, and an implacable enemy of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Queen of Cyprus

In 1363, King

Peter I of Cyprus Peter I (9 October 1328 – 17 January 1369) was King of Cyprus and titular King of Jerusalem from his father's abdication on 24 November 1358 until his death in 1369. He was invested as titular Count of Tripoli in 1346. As King of Cyprus, ...

was visiting

, Valentina's father Bernabò promised Peter that his daughter would marry Peter's son the future

. The first choice of Peter's marriage would have been to a daughter of

John V Palaiologos John V Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Ἰωάννης Παλαιολόγος, ''Iōánnēs Palaiológos''; 18 June 1332 – 16 February 1391) was Byzantine emperor from 1341 to 1391, with interruptions. Biography John V was the son of E ...

; this suggestion was rejected for political reasons, since the Latins did not encourage the marriage of Peter to a Greek princess. The justification that was given to the Palaiologos messengers was that the king was busy with the dangers that threatened Cyprus because of the Genoese invasion of the island. In 1373, Valentina was about to leave to Milan for Cyprus to marry Peter, but the wedding had to be postponed because of fighting between Cyprus and the Genoese. In September 1377, the marriage was performed by proxy. The bride left Milan the following year. Peter and Valentina had one daughter who died at the age of two in

Nicosia Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...

in 1382. It is known that Valentina did not get along with her mother-in-law Eleanor of Aragon due to her being involved in many issues and scandals. To prevent more problems between the two Peter had Eleanor sent back to her homeland of

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

, which she protested.

Widowhood

On 13 October 1382, Valentina was widowed. She quarrelled with her mother-in-law, eventually expelling her from court. After her husband died, she attempted to seize the crown of Cyprus for herself. Her death is reported in a letter from Queen Helvis of Cyprus to the Duke of Milan which arrived 12 September 1393.Osio, L. (1864/72). ''Doc. diploma. tratti degli archivio Milan'', Vol. II, p. 115.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Visconti, Valentina, Queen Of Cyprus Cypriot queens consort 14th-century births 1393 deaths 14th-century Cypriot people Valentina House of Lusignan 14th-century Italian women 14th-century Italian nobility