Biography of Lucrezia de'Medici
Lucrezia de'Medici (Florence 14 February 1545 - Ferrara, 21 April 1561) was a Florentine noblewoman and duchess of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio.
Lucrezia was the fifth child of the duke of Florence, later the grand duke of Tuscany, Cosimo I de'Medici and Eleonora of Toledo, the daughter of the Viceroy of Naples, Pedro Alvarez de Toledo. She grew up in the brilliant Medici court, but her education was was strict and severe, based on the rigid ceremony of the Spanish court of her mother.
In 1557, to cement the peace between Ercole II d'Este and Phillip II of Spain, it was decided that the prince of Ferrara, Alfonso, would marry Maria de'Medici, the first child of Cosimo I, an ally of the Spanish king and a mediator in the recent peace negotiations. However, before the wedding could happen, Maria died of malaria. Her younger sister, Lucrezia, was chosen as a suitable replacement.
Prince Alfonso made a solemn entry into Florence on 18 May 1558 and on 3 July his marriage to Lucrezia was celebrated in a chapel in Palazzo Vecchio. Lucrezia, however, was not yet sexually mature, and the duchess Eleonora decided to keep her with her until she became of age. Three days after the wedding, Alfonso left Florence, while Lucrezia continued to live with her sister Isabella in her mother's austere apartments, isolated from the rest of the world.
At the death of duke Ercole II, 3 October 1559, Alfonso became the duke of Ferrara, Modena and Reggia, taking the name Alfonso II d'Este. Consequently, Lucrezia became the duchess consort. She moved out of the Medici court in Florence and made a triumphal entry into Ferrara 17 February 1560. Nevertheless, she remained isolated and she died less than a year later of tuberculosis after several months of suffering. During that time, she was attended by a Florentine doctor sent to her by her father. After her death, unsubstantiated reports that she had been poisoned circulated. The duchess was buried in Ferrara at the monastery of the Corpus Domini, where many other members of the Este family were buri
Alfonso and Lucrezia had no children, though the duke took more wives hoping to produce an heir: in 1565, with archduchess Barbara Hapsburg and in 1579 with Margherita Gonzaga. In neither case was he successful. His death marked the end of the Este reign in Ferrara and the duchy passed to the Pontifical State. The duchies of Modena and Reggia passed to Alfonso's cousin, Cesare d'Este , a descendant of an illegitimate branch of the family.
Lucrezia is remembered as the "last duchess" in My Last Duchess, the dramatic monologue in verse by Robert Browning that was published in Italy in 1842.
Lucrezia was the fifth child of the duke of Florence, later the grand duke of Tuscany, Cosimo I de'Medici and Eleonora of Toledo, the daughter of the Viceroy of Naples, Pedro Alvarez de Toledo. She grew up in the brilliant Medici court, but her education was was strict and severe, based on the rigid ceremony of the Spanish court of her mother.
In 1557, to cement the peace between Ercole II d'Este and Phillip II of Spain, it was decided that the prince of Ferrara, Alfonso, would marry Maria de'Medici, the first child of Cosimo I, an ally of the Spanish king and a mediator in the recent peace negotiations. However, before the wedding could happen, Maria died of malaria. Her younger sister, Lucrezia, was chosen as a suitable replacement.
Prince Alfonso made a solemn entry into Florence on 18 May 1558 and on 3 July his marriage to Lucrezia was celebrated in a chapel in Palazzo Vecchio. Lucrezia, however, was not yet sexually mature, and the duchess Eleonora decided to keep her with her until she became of age. Three days after the wedding, Alfonso left Florence, while Lucrezia continued to live with her sister Isabella in her mother's austere apartments, isolated from the rest of the world.
At the death of duke Ercole II, 3 October 1559, Alfonso became the duke of Ferrara, Modena and Reggia, taking the name Alfonso II d'Este. Consequently, Lucrezia became the duchess consort. She moved out of the Medici court in Florence and made a triumphal entry into Ferrara 17 February 1560. Nevertheless, she remained isolated and she died less than a year later of tuberculosis after several months of suffering. During that time, she was attended by a Florentine doctor sent to her by her father. After her death, unsubstantiated reports that she had been poisoned circulated. The duchess was buried in Ferrara at the monastery of the Corpus Domini, where many other members of the Este family were buri
Alfonso and Lucrezia had no children, though the duke took more wives hoping to produce an heir: in 1565, with archduchess Barbara Hapsburg and in 1579 with Margherita Gonzaga. In neither case was he successful. His death marked the end of the Este reign in Ferrara and the duchy passed to the Pontifical State. The duchies of Modena and Reggia passed to Alfonso's cousin, Cesare d'Este , a descendant of an illegitimate branch of the family.
Lucrezia is remembered as the "last duchess" in My Last Duchess, the dramatic monologue in verse by Robert Browning that was published in Italy in 1842.