Ottaviano de' Medici (14 July 1484 – 28 May 1546) was an Italian politician. He was the ancestor of the

Princes of Ottajano The Princes of Ottajano (or Ottaiano) are a cadet branch of the ducal dynasty of Tuscany. Along with the Veronese Medici Counts of Caprara, and Gavardo, they make up the closest relatives to the main line of the House of Medici, which ended in th ...

line of the

Medici family The House of Medici ( , ; ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first consolidated power in the Republic of Florence under Cosimo de' Medici and his grandson Lorenzo "the Magnificent" during the first half of the 15th ...

Biography

Son of Lorenzo de' Medici and wife Caterina Nerli, he married firstly in 1518 Bartolomea Giugni (

Santa Maria del Fiore Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Christm ...

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 ...

, 5 December 1498 - bef. 1533), daughter of Alemanno Giugni and wife, by whom he had two children, Bernadetto de' Medici and Costanza de' Medici (? - 27 March 1606),

Governess A governess is a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching; depending on terms of their employment, they may or ma ...

Grand Duke Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. The title is used in some current and former independent monarchies in Europe, particularly: * in ...

Cosimo I de' Medici Cosimo I de' Medici (12 June 1519 – 21 April 1574) was the second and last duke of Florence from 1537 until 1569, when he became the first grand duke of Tuscany, a title he held until his death. Cosimo I succeeded his cousin to the duchy. ...

, married in 1551 to Ugo della Gherardesca (11 December 1530 - 31 December 1589), 1st Count of Donoratico, and had issue. From a minor branch of the de' Medici family, he gained prominence through his second marriage in 1533 as her second husband to Francesca Salviati (1505 - aft. June 1536), a granddaughter 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 ...

and Ottaviano's own distant cousin. By this marriage he had two sons, Leone de' Medici, who died young, and Alessandro de' Medici. He held several important positions in

, including that of '' Gonfaloniere di Giustizia'', although now a merely formal one after the suppression of the

Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

by the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

troops A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a Squadron (cavalry), squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section (military unit), section or platoon. Exception ...

in 1530. He was also

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

from 1532. He was trusted by

Alessandro de' Medici Alessandro de' Medici (22 July 1510 – 6 January 1537), nicknamed "il Moro" due to his dark complexion, Duke of Penne and the first Duke of the Florentine Republic (from 1532), was ruler of Florence from 1530 to his death in 1537. The first Me ...

with administering the family's Tuscan estates. His son Alessandro was

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 ...

and, from 1605, pope as

Leo XI Pope Leo XI (; 2 June 153527 April 1605), born Alessandro di Ottaviano de' Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 April 1605 to his death, on 27 April 1605. His pontificate is one of the briefest in history, ...

. His other son Bernadetto founded the southern Italian line of the family by acquiring the seigniory of

Ottaviano Ottaviano (; known until 1933 as Ottaiano in Italian) is a (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the Italian region of Campania, located about east of Naples and is located in the Vesuvian Area. Ottaviano was in Roman times a h ...

, near

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Medici, Ottaviano 1484 births 1546 deaths

16th-century Italian nobility 16th-century Italian politicians