Simonetta Vespucci
Encyclopedia
Simonetta Cattaneo de Candia Vespucci, nicknamed la bella Simonetta (ca. 1453 – 26 April 1476) was an Italian Renaissance noblewoman from Genoa
, the wife of Marco Vespucci of Florence
. She also is alleged to have been the mistress of Giuliano de' Medici
, Lorenzo the Magnificent
's younger brother. She was renowned for being the greatest beauty of her age - certainly of the city of Florence. She is depicted in Piero di Cosimo
's paintings Portrait of Simonetta Vespucci
, in which she is portrayed as Cleopatra with an asp
around her neck, and The Death of Procris
. Countless poems and canvasses by many other painters were also created in her honor.
, either in Portovenere
or Genoa. By birth she was a noble lady of the House of Candia
and the House della Volta. Her father was a Genoese
nobleman named Gaspare Cattaneo Della Volta, related to Leonardo Cattaneo della Volta
, and her mother was his wife, Cattocchia Spinola de Candia. Her exact birthplace is uncertain: possibly Genoa, or possibly the villages of Fezzano or Portovenere. The poet Poliziano
wrote that her home was "in that stern Ligurian district up above the seacoast, where angry Neptune beats against the rocks ... There, like Venus, she was born among the waves."
At age fifteen or sixteen she married Marco Vespucci, son of Piero, who was a distant cousin of the Florentine
explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
. They met in April 1469; she was with her parents at the church of San Torpete
when she met Marco; the doge Piero il Fregoso and much of the Genoese nobility were present.
Marco had been sent to Genoa by his father, Piero, to study at the Banco di San Giorgio. Marco was accepted by Simonetta's father, and he was very much in love with her, so the marriage was logical. Her parents also knew the marriage would be advantageous because Marco's family was well connected in Florence, especially to the Medici family.
and other prominent painters upon arriving in Florence. Before long every nobleman in the city was besotted with her, even the brothers Lorenzo and Giuliano of the ruling Medici family. Lorenzo was occupied with affairs of state, but his younger brother was free to pursue her.
At La Giostra (a jousting
tournament) in 1475, held at the Piazza Santa Croce
, Giuliano entered the lists bearing a banner on which was a picture of Simonetta as a helmeted Pallas Athene painted by Botticelli himself, beneath which was the French inscription La Sans Pareille, meaning "The unparalleled one". From then on Simonetta became known as the most beautiful woman in Florence, and later the most beautiful woman of the Renaissance.
Giuliano won the tournament and the affection of la bella Simonetta, who was nominated “The Queen of Beauty” at that event. It is unknown, however, if they actually became lovers.
Botticelli finished painting The Birth of Venus
in 1485, nine years later. Some have claimed that Venus, in this painting, closely resembles Simonetta. This claim, however, is dismissed as "romantic nonsense" by historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto
:
Some suggest that Botticelli also had fallen in love with her, a view supported by his request to be buried at her feet in the Church of Ognissanti
- the parish church of the Vespucci - in Florence. His wish was in fact carried out when he died some 34 years later, in 1510.
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, the wife of Marco Vespucci of 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....
. She also is alleged to have been the mistress of Giuliano de' Medici
Giuliano di Piero de' Medici
Giuliano de' Medici was the second son of Piero de' Medici and Lucrezia Tornabuoni. As co-ruler of Florence, with his brother Lorenzo the Magnificent, he complemented his brother's image as the "patron of the arts" with his own image as the handsome, sporting, "golden boy."-Death:As the opening...
, Lorenzo the Magnificent
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...
's younger brother. She was renowned for being the greatest beauty of her age - certainly of the city of Florence. She is depicted in Piero di Cosimo
Piero di Cosimo
Piero di Cosimo , also known as Piero di Lorenzo, was an Italian Renaissance painter.-Biography:The son of a goldsmith, Piero was born in Florence and apprenticed under the artist Cosimo Rosseli, from whom he derived his popular name and whom he assisted in the painting of the Sistine Chapel in...
's paintings Portrait of Simonetta Vespucci
Portrait of Simonetta Vespucci (Piero di Cosimo)
The Portrait of Simonetta Vespucci is a painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Piero di Cosimo. Dating from c. 1480, it portrays Genoese noblewoman Simonetta Vespucci as Cleopatra with an asp around her neck. It is housed in the Musée Condé of Chantilly, France....
, in which she is portrayed as Cleopatra with an asp
Asp (reptile)
Asp is the modern Anglicisation of the word aspis, which in antiquity referred to any one of several venomous snake species found in the Nile region. It is believed that the aspis referred to in Egyptian mythology is the modern Egyptian cobra....
around her neck, and The Death of Procris
The Death of Procris
The Death of Procris, A Satyr mourning over a Nymph or simply A Mythological Subject are names given to an unsigned, undated panel painting in the National Gallery in London, United Kingdom, securely attributed to Piero di Cosimo . Its date is uncertain, and its subject has been a matter of dispute...
. Countless poems and canvasses by many other painters were also created in her honor.
Early life and marriage
She was born as Simonetta Cattaneo de Candia circa 1453 in LiguriaLiguria
Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...
, either in Portovenere
Portovenere
Porto Venere is a town and comune located on the Ligurian coast of Italy in the province of La Spezia. It comprises the three villages of Fezzano, Le Grazie and Porto Venere, and the three islands of Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto...
or Genoa. By birth she was a noble lady of the House of Candia
House of Candia
The House of Candia is a European dynastic house, created by a junior branch of the House of Anjou originally from "Castrum Candiaco" in the Dauphiné of the nobility of Savoy and Piemont...
and the House della Volta. Her father was a Genoese
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
nobleman named Gaspare Cattaneo Della Volta, related to Leonardo Cattaneo della Volta
Leonardo Cattaneo della Volta
Leonardo Cattaneo della Volta was a doge of Genoa.Cattaneo was a procurator of the Republic of Genoa since 1533. The following year, doge Battista Lomellini appointed him as governor of Corsica. In 1536 he returned to Genoa where he established the Officio dei Poveri , a charitable institution...
, and her mother was his wife, Cattocchia Spinola de Candia. Her exact birthplace is uncertain: possibly Genoa, or possibly the villages of Fezzano or Portovenere. The poet Poliziano
Poliziano
Angelo Ambrogini, commonly known by his nickname, anglicized as Politian, Italian Poliziano, Latin Politianus was an Italian Renaissance classical scholar and poet, one of the revivers of Humanist Latin...
wrote that her home was "in that stern Ligurian district up above the seacoast, where angry Neptune beats against the rocks ... There, like Venus, she was born among the waves."
At age fifteen or sixteen she married Marco Vespucci, son of Piero, who was a distant cousin of the Florentine
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....
explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
Amerigo Vespucci
Amerigo Vespucci was an Italian explorer, financier, navigator and cartographer. The Americas are generally believed to have derived their name from the feminized Latin version of his first name.-Expeditions:...
. They met in April 1469; she was with her parents at the church of San Torpete
San Torpete
San Torpete is a church in central Genoa, northern Italy, dedicated to Saint Torpes. It was founded in the 11th century by local merchants. It was rebuilt in the 18th century under designs conceived by Giovanni Antonio Ricca....
when she met Marco; the doge Piero il Fregoso and much of the Genoese nobility were present.
Marco had been sent to Genoa by his father, Piero, to study at the Banco di San Giorgio. Marco was accepted by Simonetta's father, and he was very much in love with her, so the marriage was logical. Her parents also knew the marriage would be advantageous because Marco's family was well connected in Florence, especially to the Medici family.
Florence
Simonetta and Marco were married in Florence. Simonetta was instantly popular at the Florentine court. The Medici brothers, Lorenzo and Giuliano took an instant liking towards her. Lorenzo permitted the Vespucci wedding to be held at the palazzo in Via Larga, and held the wedding reception at their lavish Villa di Careggi. Through the Vespucci family Simonetta was discovered by Sandro BotticelliSandro Botticelli
Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, better known as Sandro Botticelli was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance...
and other prominent painters upon arriving in Florence. Before long every nobleman in the city was besotted with her, even the brothers Lorenzo and Giuliano of the ruling Medici family. Lorenzo was occupied with affairs of state, but his younger brother was free to pursue her.
At La Giostra (a jousting
Jousting
Jousting is a martial game or hastilude between two knights mounted on horses and using lances, often as part of a tournament.Jousting emerged in the High Middle Ages based on the military use of the lance by heavy cavalry. The first camels tournament was staged in 1066, but jousting itself did not...
tournament) in 1475, held at the Piazza Santa Croce
Piazza Santa Croce
Piazza Santa Croce is one of the main squares of the centre of Florence, Italy.It is located near piazza della Signoria and the National Central Library, and takes its name by the Basilica of Santa Croce that overlook the square.-Basilica of Santa Croce:...
, Giuliano entered the lists bearing a banner on which was a picture of Simonetta as a helmeted Pallas Athene painted by Botticelli himself, beneath which was the French inscription La Sans Pareille, meaning "The unparalleled one". From then on Simonetta became known as the most beautiful woman in Florence, and later the most beautiful woman of the Renaissance.
Giuliano won the tournament and the affection of la bella Simonetta, who was nominated “The Queen of Beauty” at that event. It is unknown, however, if they actually became lovers.
Death
Simonetta Vespucci died just one year later, on the night of 26–27 April 1476, probably from pulmonary tuberculosis. She was only twenty-two at the time of her death. Her husband remarried soon afterwards. The entire city was reported to mourn her death and thousands followed her coffin to its burial.Botticelli finished painting The Birth of Venus
The Birth of Venus (Botticelli)
The Birth of Venus is a painting by Sandro Botticelli. It depicts the goddess Venus, having emerged from the sea as a fully grown woman, arriving at the sea-shore...
in 1485, nine years later. Some have claimed that Venus, in this painting, closely resembles Simonetta. This claim, however, is dismissed as "romantic nonsense" by historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto
Felipe Fernández-Armesto
Felipe Fernández-Armesto is a British historian and author of several popular works of history.He was born in London, his father was the Spanish journalist Felipe Fernández Armesto and his mother was Betty Millan de Fernandez-Armesto, a British-born journalist and co-founder and editor of The...
:
Some suggest that Botticelli also had fallen in love with her, a view supported by his request to be buried at her feet in the Church of Ognissanti
Church of Ognissanti, Florence
The Chiesa di Ognissanti is a Franciscan church in Florence, Italy. Founded by the lay order of the Umiliati, the church was dedicated to all the saints and martyrs, known and unknown....
- the parish church of the Vespucci - in Florence. His wish was in fact carried out when he died some 34 years later, in 1510.
See also
- Portrait of Simonetta VespucciPortrait of Simonetta Vespucci (Piero di Cosimo)The Portrait of Simonetta Vespucci is a painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Piero di Cosimo. Dating from c. 1480, it portrays Genoese noblewoman Simonetta Vespucci as Cleopatra with an asp around her neck. It is housed in the Musée Condé of Chantilly, France....
by Piero di CosimoPiero di CosimoPiero di Cosimo , also known as Piero di Lorenzo, was an Italian Renaissance painter.-Biography:The son of a goldsmith, Piero was born in Florence and apprenticed under the artist Cosimo Rosseli, from whom he derived his popular name and whom he assisted in the painting of the Sistine Chapel in...
. - SpringPrimavera (painting)Primavera, also known as Allegory of Spring, is a tempera panel painting by Italian Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli. Painted ca. 1482, the painting is described in Culture & Values as "[o]ne of the most popular paintings in Western art"...
by Botticelli. The central figure is presumed to be a portrait of La Bella Simonetta.