Don Giovanni de' Medici (Florence

Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

, May 13, 1567 – Murano

Murano

Murano is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. It lies about 1.5 km north of Venice and measures about across with a population of just over 5,000 . It is famous for its glass making, particularly lampworking...

, July 19, 1621) was an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 military commander and diplomat.

Born in Florence

Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

, he was the illegitimate son of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Eleonora degli Albizzi. Giovanni was later legitimated by his father.

He moved to Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 where he began his military career. In 1598 he was a Grandee

Grandee

Grandee is the word used to render in English the Iberic high aristocratic title Grande , used by the Spanish nobility; Portuguese nobility, and Brazilian nobility....

 of Spain and Florentine ambassador in Madrid

Madrid

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

. In 1600 he was Master of the Field for the Imperial army, but his most important appointment was as Commander-in-Chief of the army of the Republic of Venice

Republic of Venice

The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...

 (1616-1617).

He married Livia del Vernazza, with whom he had two sons, Gianfrancesco Maria (1619-1689) and another (posthumous) who died as an infant.

Giovanni was also a painter and an architect, and collaborated with Matteo Nigetti

Matteo Nigetti

Matteo Nigetti was an Italian architect and sculptor. He is considered the most important Baroque architect in Florence....

 in the design of the Principi Chapel

Medici Chapel

The Medici Chapels is a structure in the Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence, Italy. It comprises two structures added to Brunelleschi's original design, each intended to celebrate the power of the Medici as Grand Dukes of Tuscany. One is the Sagrestia Nuova, the "New Sacristy", designed by...

 for the church of San Lorenzo in Florence.

He died at Murano in 1621.