Maria Salviati
Encyclopedia
Jacopo Salviati
Jacopo Salviati was an Italian politician born in Florence on 15 September 1461.Son of Giovanni Salviati and Maddalena Gondi, he devoted himself in the economic affairs of the family, becoming very wealthy. He then engaged in political life...
. She married Giovanni dalle Bande Nere
Giovanni dalle Bande Nere
Lodovico de Medici also known as Giovanni dalle Bande Nere was an Italian condottiero.-Biography:Giovanni was born in the Northern Italian town of Forlì to Giovanni de' Medici and Caterina Sforza, one of the most famous women of the Italian Renaissance.From an early age, he demonstrated great...
and was the mother of Cosimo I de Medici. Her husband died November 30, 1526, leaving her a widow at the age of 27. Salviati never remarried; after her husband's death she adopted the somber garb of a novice
Novice
A novice is a person or creature who is new to a field or activity. The term is most commonly applied in religion and sports.-Buddhism:In many Buddhist orders, a man or woman who intends to take ordination must first become a novice, adopting part of the monastic code indicated in the vinaya and...
, which is how she is remembered today as numerous late portraits show her attired in black and white.
Family
Maria Salviati was born in FlorenceFlorence
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....
. She descended from two of Florence's most powerful banking families: the Salviati on her father's side, and the Medici on her mother's. Salviati's maternal grandfather was Lorenzo
Lorenzo de' Medici
Lorenzo de' Medici was an Italian statesman and de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic during the Italian Renaissance. Known as Lorenzo the Magnificent by contemporary Florentines, he was a diplomat, politician and patron of scholars, artists and poets...
"il Magnifico", a well-known politician and grandson to Cosimo de' Medici the Elder.
In turn, Salviati's descendants became crowned figureheads of Europe over the succeeding generations. Her son, Cosimo I de' Medici
Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Cosimo I de' Medici was Duke of Florence from 1537 to 1574, reigning as the first Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1569.-Biography:...
, was crowned Duke when his cousin Alessandro was assassinated in 1537. Her grandson Francesco I de' Medici married Johanna of Austria
Johanna of Austria
Joanna of Austria was born an Archduchess of Austria as the youngest daughter of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. By marriage, she was the Grand Princess of Tuscany and later the Grand Duchess of Tuscany...
; they were the parents of Eleonora de' Medici
Eleonora de' Medici
Eleonora de' Medici was the eldest child of Francesco I de' Medici and Johanna of Austria. She was a family member of the famous House of Medici.-Family:...
, who married Vincenzo I Gonzaga and was the mother of Francesco IV Gonzaga. Francesco and Johanna's other daughter was Marie de' Medici
Marie de' Medici
Marie de Médicis , Italian Maria de' Medici, was queen consort of France, as the second wife of King Henry IV of France, of the House of Bourbon. She herself was a member of the wealthy and powerful House of Medici...
, who married Henry IV of France and was the mother of Louis XIII of France
Louis XIII of France
Louis XIII was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1610 to 1643.Louis was only eight years old when he succeeded his father. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during Louis' minority...
and Henrietta Maria of France
Henrietta Maria of France
Henrietta Maria of France ; was the Queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the wife of King Charles I...
. Louis was the father of Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
, Henrietta Maria was the mother of Charles II of England
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
and James II of England
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
.
Bia de' Medici
Villa di Castello
The Villa di Castello is one of the Medici villas near Florence, Tuscany, central Italy. Its ideal design appears in a lunette painted by Giusto Utens in 1599. The property was purchased by Lorenzo de'Medici in 1477 on the site of an existing building which he had rebuilt...
in northern Florence, there she would look after her grandchildren. Her son Cosimo had an illegitimate daughter called Bia de' Medici
Bia de' Medici
Bia de' Medici was the illegitimate daughter of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, born before his first marriage....
. Maria described her granddaughter as a very happy and chatty little girl, often having long conversations with her.
Cosimo married in 1539 to Eleonora di Toledo
Eleonora di Toledo
Eleanor of Toledo Eleanor of Toledo Eleanor of Toledo (Italian: Eleonora di Toledo (1522 – 17 December 1562), born Doña Leonor Álvarez de Toledo y Osorio, was a Spanish noblewoman who was Duchess of Florence from 1539. She is credited with being the first modern first lady, or consort...
. Gossip reports that Eleonora refused to tolerate Bia's presence in the palace after their marriage so Cosimo sent Bia off to live with Maria. Other sources say that Eleonora brought Bia up very lovingly. Bia shared a nursery with Giulia de' Medici
Giulia de' Medici
Giulia Romola di Alessandro de' Medici was the illegitimate, possibly biracial, daughter of Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence and his mistress Taddea Malaspina....
an illegitimate daughter of Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence
Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence
Alessandro de' Medici called "il Moro" , Duke of Penne and also Duke of Florence , ruler of Florence from 1530 until 1537...
, the pair were close in age so they got along very well with each other. Maria knew who Bia's mother was but she would never tell Bia or anyone else the name of the women. Both Bia and her cousin Giulia contracted a fast-moving fever, Giulia recovered from the illness but Bia didn't, Cosimo would often write to Maria asking her of Bia's condition. Bia became sicker and sicker and eventually died on March 1, 1542 aged only five years. Maria and Cosimo were said to be very sad by her loss, Maria carried on looking after Giulia.
Maria died one year after Bia on December 29, 1543. This was an awful loss for Cosimo, two very loving females had been taken from him in the space of two years.
Ancestors
Descendants
| Maria Salviati |
Son: Cosimo I de' Medici  Grand Duke of Tuscany |
Grandson: Francesco I de' Medici  Grand duke of Tuscany |
Great-granddaughter: Marie de' Medici Marie de' Medici Marie de Médicis , Italian Maria de' Medici, was queen consort of France, as the second wife of King Henry IV of France, of the House of Bourbon. She herself was a member of the wealthy and powerful House of Medici...  Queen of France |
Great-Great-granddaughter: Henrietta Maria of France  Queen of England |
Great-Great-Great-granddaughter: Henrietta Anne Stuart  Duchess of Orleans |
See also
- Ancestors of Cosimo I de MediciAncestors of Cosimo I de MediciCosimo I de' Medici was Duke of Florence, ruling from 1537 to 1574, and became the first Grand Duke of Tuscany. Cosimo was born in Florence, the son of the famous condottiere Giovanni dalle Bande Nere from Forlì. Cosimo came to power when Alessandro de' Medici was assassinated in 1537 because...
- Cosimo I de' Medici
- Bia de' MediciBia de' MediciBia de' Medici was the illegitimate daughter of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, born before his first marriage....