Tiziano - Venere di Urbino - Google Art Project

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

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 Italian (Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, nea ...

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 C ...

and Caterina Cybo. 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 F ...

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. After the 1547 death of Giulia da Varano, in 1548 he married Vittoria Farnese - the daughter of Pier Luigi Farnese, Duke of Parma and Gerolama Orsini, daughter of Lodovico Orsini and wife and first cousin Giulia Conti. Later he was made Papal governor of Fano, 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, helping Bernardo Sanseverino (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, 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. After falling ill during a voyage to Ferrara and Pesaro, 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