Biography of Violante of Bavaria
Violante Beatrice of Bavaria (Violante Beatrix; 23 January 1673 – 30 May 1731) was Grand Princess of Tuscany as the wife of Grand Prince Ferdinando of Tuscany and Governor of Siena from 1717 until her death. Born a Duchess of Bavaria, the youngest child of Elector Ferdinand Maria and Henriette Adelaide of Savoy, she married the heir to the Tuscan throne, Ferdinando de' Medici, in 1689. Her siblings were Maria Anna Victoria, Dauphine of France, Elector Maximilian II and Joseph Clemens, Archbishop of Cologne. Violante Beatrice loved him but Ferdinando did not return her affection, declaring her too ugly and too dull. Her brother-in-law, Prince Gian Gastone, befriended her out of sympathy, a friendship that lasted until Violante Beatrice's demise.
During Grand Duke Gian Gastone's rule, the Governor was responsible for formal court audiences. Violante Beatrice, in collaboration with the Electress Anna Maria Luisa, attempted to withdraw Gian Gastone from the Ruspanti, his salacious entourage, by arranging banquets and public appearances. Gian Gastone, however, was immune to these approaches and spent the last eight years of his reign confined to bed, entertained by the myriad Ruspanti.
Grand Duke Cosimo III of Tuscany in 1688 sought Violante Beatrice as a prestigious bride — Bavaria was one of the most powerful states of the Holy Roman Empire — for his elder son and heir, Ferdinando, Grand Prince of Tuscany. As Cosimo's father, Ferdinando II, had embroiled Elector Ferdinand Maria in an abortive financial venture costing him 450,000 ungheri worth of gold, relations between Munich and Florence were sour.
In order to acquire Violante Beatrice's hand for the Grand Prince, Cosimo was obliged to reimburse Ferdinand Maria's son Maximilian I. With this obstacle surmounted, the marriage contract was signed on 24 May 1688, granting Violante Beatrice 400,000 thalers in cash and the same amount in jewelry. She married the Grand Prince by proxy in Munich on 21 November 1688 and was married in person on 9 January 1689. The wedding reception was held at the Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence. The new Grand Princess was instantly enamored with the bridegroom, in spite of the fact he loathed her. Cosimo III, however, could not find fault in his daughter-in-law, saying, "I have never known, nor do I think the world can produce, a disposition so perfect".
The grand princely couple's lack of offspring after six years of marriage perturbed the Grand Duke. Consequently, much to the Grand Princess's mortification, in April 1694 he commissioned three days' religious observance to remedy their lack of children . Any hopes of an heir were dashed when Ferdinando contracted, in 1696, syphilis during the Carnival of Venice, a disease to which he succumbed seventeen years later. The Grand Princess, meanwhile, fell victim to a state of melancholy, which did not escape the notice of her brother-in-law, Prince Gian Gastone, who befriended her as a result. Violante Beatrice rarely alluded to her emotional pain in conversation, but on one documented occasion in the presence of her ladies,she branded Ferdinando's lover, Cecchino de Castris, the focus of her woes. That Ferdinando often openly declared his wife "too dull and too ugly" only worsened matters.
The Grand Princess found herself in 1702 in the middle of a diplomatic spat between Tuscany and Spain. The Grand Duke sent an agent to the court of Philip V of Spain with the objective of procuring a license for the Grand Prince and Princess to use the style, Royal Highness, in correspondence with Spain. Philip V initially deigned only to sanction his aunt Violante Beatrice's use; however, he eventually granted full recognition.
King Philip V and Frederick IV of Denmark paid Violante Beatrice visits in 1703 and 1709, respectively. The former chose to ignore the other members of the Tuscan Royal Family and reluctantly deigned only speak to her. The latter, on the other hand, was taken with Violante, going as far as to refuse to leave the room while she was changing clothes.
The Grand Prince died of syphilis on 31 October 1713, sparking a succession crisis and leaving his wife a childless and therefore purposeless widow. The Dowager was so distraught that she had to be bled by doctors in order to calm her down. Cosimo III gave her a set of blue sapphires as a token of mourning. Violante Beatrice considered returning to her homeland when she caught wind of the impending return of her sister-in-law, the Electress Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici. The two did not get along. The Electress on several occasions disregarded Violante Beatrice's proper position at court, with the result that Violante Beatrice refused to appear with her in public. To quell any future tiffs regarding precedence, Cosimo III appointed Violante Beatrice Governor of Siena, where her duties kept her away from the Tuscan court. She was also given the Villa di Lappeggi, which became, in the words of historian Harold Acton, "a sort of literary academy". Here, she feted poets Lucchesi, Ghivanizzi and Morandi.
The Governor entered her domain in April 1717, taking up residence in the city-centre. Violante Beatrice's most memorable act as Governor was the reorganization of the Sienese Contrade — akin to administrative divisions — whose names, number and boundaries she formally defined which remain there to this day. The Grand Duke Cosimo III died on 31 October 1723; Gian Gastone ascended to the throne. He immediately recalled Violante Beatrice to Florence and banished his sister to the Villa La Quiete. Violante Beatrice dominated the royal court as Gian Gastone resigned his public duties to her and literally chose to spend most of his time in bed. The "religious gloom" of Cosimo III gave way to a period of rejuvenation: Violante Beatrice instituted French fashions at court, compelled myriad clerics to retire, and patronized Sienese poets Perfetti and Ballati. Violante Beatrice brought Perfetti to Rome in 1725 and stayed at the Palazzo Madama. During her time in the Papal States, she met Pope Benedict XIII, who found her so agreeable that he bestowed upon her the golden rose, a great mark of Papal favor.
Upon her return from Rome, Violante Beatrice and the Electress Anna Maria Luisa decided to do something about Gian Gastone's public image and the Ruspanti, a team of poor, handsome young men who performed sexual acts for and with the Grand Duke. In order to distract him from this entourage, Violante Beatrice threw banquets to which she invited the foremost members of Tuscan society. The Grand Duke's behavior -- vomiting, belching and cracking rude jokes -- literally sent the guests scrambling to leave. The Electress was more fortunate for her part. She succeeded in making Gian Gastone appear on Saint John the Baptist's day, 1729. However, during the ceremony, the Grand Duke became so intoxicated that he had to be dragged back to the Pitti on a litter.
Just five months before the arrival of troops on behalf of Gian Gastone's Spanish heir, Violante Beatrice of Bavaria, Dowager Grand Princess of Tuscany, Governor of Siena, died. During the funeral procession her hearse briefly paused before the Pitti, an action that incensed Grand Duke Gian Gastone, who ordered the hearse to move along in words a contemporary dubbed "unfit for the lowest of harlots, let alone for a gentle high-born princess". The bulk of Violante Beatrice's remains were interred in the Convent of Saint Teresa, Florence; her heart was placed in her husband's coffin in the Medicean necropolis, San Lorenzo. When, in 1857, her sarcophagus was re-discovered, it bore the imperial stamp of Napoleon I of France, who had had it moved from the convent to San Lorenzo. On 26 February 1858 she was restored to the convent, brought there in the royal hearse.
During Grand Duke Gian Gastone's rule, the Governor was responsible for formal court audiences. Violante Beatrice, in collaboration with the Electress Anna Maria Luisa, attempted to withdraw Gian Gastone from the Ruspanti, his salacious entourage, by arranging banquets and public appearances. Gian Gastone, however, was immune to these approaches and spent the last eight years of his reign confined to bed, entertained by the myriad Ruspanti.
Grand Duke Cosimo III of Tuscany in 1688 sought Violante Beatrice as a prestigious bride — Bavaria was one of the most powerful states of the Holy Roman Empire — for his elder son and heir, Ferdinando, Grand Prince of Tuscany. As Cosimo's father, Ferdinando II, had embroiled Elector Ferdinand Maria in an abortive financial venture costing him 450,000 ungheri worth of gold, relations between Munich and Florence were sour.
In order to acquire Violante Beatrice's hand for the Grand Prince, Cosimo was obliged to reimburse Ferdinand Maria's son Maximilian I. With this obstacle surmounted, the marriage contract was signed on 24 May 1688, granting Violante Beatrice 400,000 thalers in cash and the same amount in jewelry. She married the Grand Prince by proxy in Munich on 21 November 1688 and was married in person on 9 January 1689. The wedding reception was held at the Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence. The new Grand Princess was instantly enamored with the bridegroom, in spite of the fact he loathed her. Cosimo III, however, could not find fault in his daughter-in-law, saying, "I have never known, nor do I think the world can produce, a disposition so perfect".
The grand princely couple's lack of offspring after six years of marriage perturbed the Grand Duke. Consequently, much to the Grand Princess's mortification, in April 1694 he commissioned three days' religious observance to remedy their lack of children . Any hopes of an heir were dashed when Ferdinando contracted, in 1696, syphilis during the Carnival of Venice, a disease to which he succumbed seventeen years later. The Grand Princess, meanwhile, fell victim to a state of melancholy, which did not escape the notice of her brother-in-law, Prince Gian Gastone, who befriended her as a result. Violante Beatrice rarely alluded to her emotional pain in conversation, but on one documented occasion in the presence of her ladies,she branded Ferdinando's lover, Cecchino de Castris, the focus of her woes. That Ferdinando often openly declared his wife "too dull and too ugly" only worsened matters.
The Grand Princess found herself in 1702 in the middle of a diplomatic spat between Tuscany and Spain. The Grand Duke sent an agent to the court of Philip V of Spain with the objective of procuring a license for the Grand Prince and Princess to use the style, Royal Highness, in correspondence with Spain. Philip V initially deigned only to sanction his aunt Violante Beatrice's use; however, he eventually granted full recognition.
King Philip V and Frederick IV of Denmark paid Violante Beatrice visits in 1703 and 1709, respectively. The former chose to ignore the other members of the Tuscan Royal Family and reluctantly deigned only speak to her. The latter, on the other hand, was taken with Violante, going as far as to refuse to leave the room while she was changing clothes.
The Grand Prince died of syphilis on 31 October 1713, sparking a succession crisis and leaving his wife a childless and therefore purposeless widow. The Dowager was so distraught that she had to be bled by doctors in order to calm her down. Cosimo III gave her a set of blue sapphires as a token of mourning. Violante Beatrice considered returning to her homeland when she caught wind of the impending return of her sister-in-law, the Electress Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici. The two did not get along. The Electress on several occasions disregarded Violante Beatrice's proper position at court, with the result that Violante Beatrice refused to appear with her in public. To quell any future tiffs regarding precedence, Cosimo III appointed Violante Beatrice Governor of Siena, where her duties kept her away from the Tuscan court. She was also given the Villa di Lappeggi, which became, in the words of historian Harold Acton, "a sort of literary academy". Here, she feted poets Lucchesi, Ghivanizzi and Morandi.
The Governor entered her domain in April 1717, taking up residence in the city-centre. Violante Beatrice's most memorable act as Governor was the reorganization of the Sienese Contrade — akin to administrative divisions — whose names, number and boundaries she formally defined which remain there to this day. The Grand Duke Cosimo III died on 31 October 1723; Gian Gastone ascended to the throne. He immediately recalled Violante Beatrice to Florence and banished his sister to the Villa La Quiete. Violante Beatrice dominated the royal court as Gian Gastone resigned his public duties to her and literally chose to spend most of his time in bed. The "religious gloom" of Cosimo III gave way to a period of rejuvenation: Violante Beatrice instituted French fashions at court, compelled myriad clerics to retire, and patronized Sienese poets Perfetti and Ballati. Violante Beatrice brought Perfetti to Rome in 1725 and stayed at the Palazzo Madama. During her time in the Papal States, she met Pope Benedict XIII, who found her so agreeable that he bestowed upon her the golden rose, a great mark of Papal favor.
Upon her return from Rome, Violante Beatrice and the Electress Anna Maria Luisa decided to do something about Gian Gastone's public image and the Ruspanti, a team of poor, handsome young men who performed sexual acts for and with the Grand Duke. In order to distract him from this entourage, Violante Beatrice threw banquets to which she invited the foremost members of Tuscan society. The Grand Duke's behavior -- vomiting, belching and cracking rude jokes -- literally sent the guests scrambling to leave. The Electress was more fortunate for her part. She succeeded in making Gian Gastone appear on Saint John the Baptist's day, 1729. However, during the ceremony, the Grand Duke became so intoxicated that he had to be dragged back to the Pitti on a litter.
Just five months before the arrival of troops on behalf of Gian Gastone's Spanish heir, Violante Beatrice of Bavaria, Dowager Grand Princess of Tuscany, Governor of Siena, died. During the funeral procession her hearse briefly paused before the Pitti, an action that incensed Grand Duke Gian Gastone, who ordered the hearse to move along in words a contemporary dubbed "unfit for the lowest of harlots, let alone for a gentle high-born princess". The bulk of Violante Beatrice's remains were interred in the Convent of Saint Teresa, Florence; her heart was placed in her husband's coffin in the Medicean necropolis, San Lorenzo. When, in 1857, her sarcophagus was re-discovered, it bore the imperial stamp of Napoleon I of France, who had had it moved from the convent to San Lorenzo. On 26 February 1858 she was restored to the convent, brought there in the royal hearse.