Violante of Bavaria
Encyclopedia
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
, she married the heir to the Tuscan throne
, Ferdinando de' Medici, in 1689. 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.
Grand Prince Ferdinando expired from syphilis
in 1713, leaving his childless widow without purpose at the Tuscan court. Upon the return of the Electress Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici
, daughter of the then reigning, Cosimo III
, thus Violante Beatrice's sister-in-law, the Dowager Grand Princess contemplated retiring to her brother's
court at Munich
; however, Gian Gastone convinced her to stay, and Cosimo III appointed her Governor of Siena, where she then resided. As Governor, she formally defined the boundaries, names and number of Sienese Contrade — akin to administrative divisions — in 1729. 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.
, and Henriette Adelaide of Savoy, was born on 23 January 1673 in Munich
, the capital of Bavaria. Her siblings were Maria Anna Victoria, Dauphine of France, Elector Maximilian II and Joseph Clemens, Archbishop of Cologne
.
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 II. With this obstacle surmounted, the marriage contract was signed on 24 May 1688, granting Violante Beatrice a dowry of 400,000 thalers in cash and the same amount in jewellery. 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 enamoured 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".
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, 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 protocolary 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—who, hypothetically, acquired royal dignity with Cosimo III on 5 February 1691 from the Holy Roman Emperor
, Leopold I's
, diploma—to use the style Royal Highness
in correspondence with Spain. Philip V initially deigned only to sanction his aunt Violante Beatrice's use; however, the agent, Pucci, eventually requisitioned 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, after much suffering, died from 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 gifted her a set of blue sapphires as a token of mourning. Violante Beatrice considered returning to her homeland when she caught wind of the Electress Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici's
, born a Tuscan princess, impending return; the two did not get along. Violante Beatrice, additionally, would be usurped as first-lady of Tuscany. To quell any future tiffs regarding precedence, Cosimo III appointed Violante Beatrice Governor of Siena, whose duties as such kept her away from the Tuscan court, and gave her possession of 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. Although precedence was laid out cognisant of Violante Beatrice's dignity, the Electress on several occasions disregarded it. Thus, Violante Beatrice refused to appear with her in public.
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 reorganisation 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 Ecclesiastes to retire and patronised Siense 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 favour.
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, his entourage. In order to distract him from the Ruspanti, Violante Beatrice threw banquets, to which she invited the foremost members of Tuscan society. The Grand Duke's behaviour, 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 his palace, 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 the Grand Duke, 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 beared 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.
Siena
Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...
from 1717 until her death. Born a Duchess of Bavaria, the youngest child of Elector Ferdinand Maria
Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria
Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and an elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 1651 to 1679.-Biography:He was born in Munich...
, she married the heir to the Tuscan throne
Grand Duchy of Tuscany
The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was a central Italian monarchy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1859, replacing the Duchy of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence...
, Ferdinando de' Medici, in 1689. 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
Gian Gastone de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Gian Gastone de' Medici was the seventh and last Medicean Grand Duke of Tuscany. He was the second son of Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Marguerite Louise d'Orléans, Princess of France...
, befriended her out of sympathy, a friendship that lasted until Violante Beatrice's demise.
Grand Prince Ferdinando expired from syphilis
Syphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
in 1713, leaving his childless widow without purpose at the Tuscan court. Upon the return of the Electress Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici
Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici
Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici was the last scion of the House of Medici. A patron of the arts, she bequeathed the Medici's large art collection, including the contents of the Uffizi, Palazzo Pitti and the Medicean villas, which she inherited upon her brother Gian Gastone's death in 1737, and her...
, daughter of the then reigning, Cosimo III
Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Cosimo III de' Medici was the penultimate Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany. He reigned from 1670 to 1723, and was the elder son of Grand Duke Ferdinando II. Cosimo's 53-year long reign, the longest in Tuscan history, was marked by a series of ultra-reactionary laws which regulated prostitution and...
, thus Violante Beatrice's sister-in-law, the Dowager Grand Princess contemplated retiring to her brother's
Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
Maximilian II , also known as Max Emanuel or Maximilian Emanuel, was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and an elector of the Holy Roman Empire. He was also the last Governor of the Spanish Netherlands and duke of Luxembourg...
court at Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
; however, Gian Gastone convinced her to stay, and Cosimo III appointed her Governor of Siena, where she then resided. As Governor, she formally defined the boundaries, names and number of Sienese Contrade — akin to administrative divisions — in 1729. 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.
Childhood and marriage
Violante Beatrice, the youngest child of the Elector of Bavaria, Ferdinand MariaFerdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria
Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and an elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 1651 to 1679.-Biography:He was born in Munich...
, and Henriette Adelaide of Savoy, was born on 23 January 1673 in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, the capital of Bavaria. Her siblings were Maria Anna Victoria, Dauphine of France, Elector Maximilian II and Joseph Clemens, Archbishop of Cologne
Joseph Clemens of Bavaria
Joseph Clemens of Bavaria was a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty of Bavaria and Archbishop-Elector of Cologne from 1688 to 1723.-Biography:...
.
Grand Duke Cosimo III of Tuscany
Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Cosimo III de' Medici was the penultimate Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany. He reigned from 1670 to 1723, and was the elder son of Grand Duke Ferdinando II. Cosimo's 53-year long reign, the longest in Tuscan history, was marked by a series of ultra-reactionary laws which regulated prostitution and...
in 1688 sought Violante Beatrice as a prestigious bride — Bavaria was one of the most powerful states of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
— for his elder son and heir, Ferdinando, Grand Prince of Tuscany. As Cosimo's father, Ferdinando II
Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Ferdinando II de' Medici was grand duke of Tuscany from 1621 to 1670. He was the eldest child of Cosimo II de' Medici and Maria Maddalena of Austria. His 49 year rule was punctuated by the terminations of the remaining operations of the Medici Bank, and the beginning of Tuscany's long economic...
, 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 II. With this obstacle surmounted, the marriage contract was signed on 24 May 1688, granting Violante Beatrice a dowry of 400,000 thalers in cash and the same amount in jewellery. She married the Grand Prince by proxy in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
on 21 November 1688 and was married in person on 9 January 1689. The wedding reception was held at the Palazzo Medici Riccardi
Palazzo Medici Riccardi
The Palazzo Medici, also called the Palazzo Medici Riccardi after the later family that acquired and expanded it, is a Renaissance palace located in Florence, Italy.-History:...
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....
. The new Grand Princess was instantly enamoured 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".
Grand Princess
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, he commissioned three days' religious observance to remedy their lack of children in April 1694. Any hopes of an heir were dashed when Ferdinando contracted, in 1696, syphilisSyphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital 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
Gian Gastone de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Gian Gastone de' Medici was the seventh and last Medicean Grand Duke of Tuscany. He was the second son of Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Marguerite Louise d'Orléans, Princess of France...
, 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, 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 protocolary spat between Tuscany and Spain. The Grand Duke sent an agent to the court of Philip V of Spain
Philip V of Spain
Philip V was King of Spain from 15 November 1700 to 15 January 1724, when he abdicated in favor of his son Louis, and from 6 September 1724, when he assumed the throne again upon his son's death, to his death.Before his reign, Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a...
with the objective of procuring a license for the Grand Prince and Princess—who, hypothetically, acquired royal dignity with Cosimo III on 5 February 1691 from the Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
, Leopold I's
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
| style="float:right;" | Leopold I was a Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia. A member of the Habsburg family, he was the second son of Emperor Ferdinand III and his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria...
, diploma—to use the style Royal Highness
Royal Highness
Royal Highness is a style ; plural Royal Highnesses...
in correspondence with Spain. Philip V initially deigned only to sanction his aunt Violante Beatrice's use; however, the agent, Pucci, eventually requisitioned full recognition.
King Philip V and Frederick IV of Denmark
Frederick IV of Denmark
Frederick IV was the king of Denmark and Norway from 1699 until his death. Frederick was the son of King Christian V of Denmark and Norway and Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel .-Foreign affairs:...
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, after much suffering, died from 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 gifted her a set of blue sapphires as a token of mourning. Violante Beatrice considered returning to her homeland when she caught wind of the Electress Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici's
Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici
Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici was the last scion of the House of Medici. A patron of the arts, she bequeathed the Medici's large art collection, including the contents of the Uffizi, Palazzo Pitti and the Medicean villas, which she inherited upon her brother Gian Gastone's death in 1737, and her...
, born a Tuscan princess, impending return; the two did not get along. Violante Beatrice, additionally, would be usurped as first-lady of Tuscany. To quell any future tiffs regarding precedence, Cosimo III appointed Violante Beatrice Governor of Siena, whose duties as such kept her away from the Tuscan court, and gave her possession of the Villa di Lappeggi, which became, in the words of historian Harold Acton
Harold Acton
Sir Harold Mario Mitchell Acton CBE was a British writer, scholar and dilettante perhaps most famous for being wrongly believed to have inspired the character of "Anthony Blanche" in Evelyn Waugh's novel Brideshead Revisited...
, "a sort of literary academy". Here, she feted poets Lucchesi, Ghivanizzi and Morandi. Although precedence was laid out cognisant of Violante Beatrice's dignity, the Electress on several occasions disregarded it. Thus, Violante Beatrice refused to appear with her in public.
Governor of Siena
Palazzo Madama
Palazzo Madama is a palace in Rome that is currently the home of the Senate of the Italian Republic.It was built atop the ruins of the ancient baths of Nero, next to Piazza Navona...
. During her time in the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
, she met Pope Benedict XIII
Pope Benedict XIII
-Footnotes:...
, who found her so agreeable that he bestowed upon her the golden rose
Golden Rose
The Golden Rose is a gold ornament, which popes of the Catholic Church have traditionally blessed annually. It is occasionally conferred as a token of reverence or affection...
, a great mark of Papal favour.
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, his entourage. In order to distract him from the Ruspanti, Violante Beatrice threw banquets, to which she invited the foremost members of Tuscan society. The Grand Duke's behaviour, 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 his palace, the Pitti
Palazzo Pitti
The Palazzo Pitti , in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast mainly Renaissance palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio...
, on a litter.
Just five months before the arrival of troops on behalf of Gian Gastone's Spanish heir
Charles III of Spain
Charles III was the King of Spain and the Spanish Indies from 1759 to 1788. He was the eldest son of Philip V of Spain and his second wife, the Princess Elisabeth Farnese...
, 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 the Grand Duke, 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 beared the imperial stamp of Napoleon I of France
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
, 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.
Ancestors
Titles and styles
- 23 January 1673 9 January 1689: Her Serene Highness Duchess Violante Beatrice of Bavaria
- 9 January 1689 5 February 1691: Her Highness The Grand Princess of Tuscany
- 5 February 1691 31 October 1713: Her Royal Highness The Grand Princess of Tuscany
- 31 October 1713 12 April 1717: Her Royal Highness The Dowager Grand Princess of Tuscany
- 12 April 1717 30 May 1731: Her Royal Highness The Governor of Siena