Justine Bartolini-Baldelli (née ''Pecori-Suárez''; ; 27 November 1811 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 ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

– 30 January 1903 in Florence) was an Italian-born French princess, being the spouse of Prince

Jérôme Bonaparte Jérôme Bonaparte (born Girolamo Buonaparte; 15 November 1784 – 24 June 1860) was the youngest brother of Napoleon, Napoleon I and reigned as Jerome Napoleon I (formally Hieronymus Napoleon in German), Kingdom of Westphalia, King of Westphal ...

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir app ...

of France during the

Second French Empire The Second French Empire, officially the French Empire, was the government of France from 1852 to 1870. It was established on 2 December 1852 by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, president of France under the French Second Republic, who proclaimed hi ...

Life

Giustina Pecori-Suárez was the daughter of ''

conte Conte may refer to: * Conte (literature), a literary genre * Conte (surname) * Conté, a drawing medium * Conte, Jura, town in France * Conté royal family, a fictional family in Tamora Pierce's Tortallan world * Conte, the title of Count in Italy ...

'' Bernardo Pecori-

Suárez Suárez is a common Spanish surname of Germanic origin, of which Juárez (surname), Juárez is an alternative form. It is widely spread throughout Latin America as a consequence of colonization. In origin it is a Patronymic surname, patronymic me ...

(later Pecori- Giraldi), a descendant of Florentine courtier Baldassare Suárez de la Concha, and his wife Giulia Niccolini Sirigatti (''dei marchesi'' f the Marquessesdi Ponsacco e Camugliano). She was first married in March 1829 to ''

marchese A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or widow) ...

'' Luigi Bartolini-Baldelli, who died in 1838. They had a son, who died young in 1844, and a daughter Giulia Bartolini-Baldelli, who married ''conte'' Arturo degli Alberti Mori Ubaldini ithout issue ? Giustina's elder sister, Marianna Pecori-Suárez (b. 1810), was married in 1826 to ''marchese'' Alessandro Feroni, with whom she had three surviving daughters named Elisa, Giulia, and Paolina; through their mother, Giustina and her sister Marianna descend from

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...

's model

Lisa del Giocondo Lisa del Giocondo (; ; June 15, 1479 – July 14, 1542) was an Italian noblewoman and member of the Gherardini family of Florence and Tuscany. Her name was given to the ''Mona Lisa'', her portrait painting, portrait commissioned by her husban ...

, the famous ''

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, ...

''. In her second marriage, Giustina became the third wife of

, the former

King of Westphalia King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by fi ...

, youngest brother of Emperor

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

and widower of Princess

Catharina of Württemberg Princess Katharina of Württemberg (full name: Friederike Katharina Sophie Dorothea; 21 February 1783 – 29 November 1835) was Queen of Westphalia by marriage to Jérôme Bonaparte, who reigned as King of Westphalia between 1807 and 1813. L ...

. They married first in a religious ceremony in Florence in 1840, and a second time in a secret

civil ceremony A civil, or registrar, ceremony is a non-religious legal marriage ceremony performed by a government official or functionary. In the United Kingdom, this person is typically called a registrar. In the United States, civil ceremonies may be performe ...

on 19 February 1853 in Paris,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Her spouse was during their marriage the heir presumptive to the throne of France of his nephew

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

, placing her in a position to become the next Empress of France. At the time of her second marriage, she was a rich widow and Jerome heavily indebted, and the marriage enabled him to pay his debts and continued his luxurious lifestyle in Florence. It was a

morganatic marriage Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spou ...

upon the request of Jerome, who did not wish to recognize her officially and insisted upon calling her ''Madame la Marquise'' and have her referred to as such by others. Baron du Casse described her as beautiful, distinguished, sweet and interested in charity, but also as indolent and

languid {{Short pages monitor