Margherita de' Medici
Encyclopedia
Margherita de' Medici was Duchess of Parma and Piacenza
by her marriage to Odoardo Farnese, Duke of Parma. Margherita was regent of Piacenza in 1635 and regent of the entire duchy in 1646 after the death of her husband.
and his wife Maria Magdalena of Austria.
Margherita's siblings included: Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
, Cardinal Gian Carlo de' Medici
, Cardinal Leopoldo de' Medici
and Anna, wife of Ferdinand Charles, Archduke of Further Austria. Margherita's other siblings died in childhood or eary adulthood.
Her paternal grandparents were Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
and his wife Christina of Lorraine. Ferdinando was a son of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
and his first wife Eleanor of Toledo. Margherita's maternal grandparents were Charles II, Archduke of Austria
and his wife Maria Anna of Bavaria. Maria Anna was the eldest daughter of Albert V, Duke of Bavaria
and his wife Archduchess Anna of Austria. Anna was a daughter of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
and his wife Anna of Bohemia and Hungary
. Hence Margherita is a descendent of the Holy Roman Emperors.
Margherita became engaged to Odoardo Farnese, Duke of Parma in 1620. They married in 1628 when he came of age. The marriage had been strongly desired by Odoardo's father, Ranuccio
, who saw it as a means of strengthening the alliance between the Duchy of Parma
and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany
, then ruled by the Medici family
.
The marriage took place in Florence on October 11, 1628 in Florence
. The wedding celebrations were accompanied by much spectacle and pagentry, including the performance of Marco da Gagliano
's opera La Flora
, composed especially for the occasion. To welcome the couple back to Parma, Mercury and Mars, with music by Claudio Monteverdi
and text Claudio Achillini
was performed in the Teatro Farnese
.
The years in which the couple ruled over Parma were marked by the plague
of 1630 and the contrast between the splendor of the court and the tax burden to which they had subjected their subjects. The tax money was used to improve Odoardo's armies. The Duke also had a pro-French policy.
According to portraiture and the sources of the time, Margherita was a beautiful woman, as well as amiable and well-educated. Unlike his predecessors, the duke was very devoted and loyal to her and there were never any sources that claimed Odoardo had illegitimate children.
On September 11, 1646, Odoardo died. Their eldest son, Ranuccio was not yet old enough to rule the Duchy alone so his mother, Margherita acted as regent until her son was old enough to govern alone.
Margherita outlived at least two of her children. She died in Parma
on February 6, 1679.
Piacenza
Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...
by her marriage to Odoardo Farnese, Duke of Parma. Margherita was regent of Piacenza in 1635 and regent of the entire duchy in 1646 after the death of her husband.
Family
She was the fourth of eight children and the second daughter born to Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of TuscanyCosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Cosimo II de' Medici was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1609 until 1621. He was the elder son of the then incumbent Grand Duke and Christina of Lorraine. He married Maria Magdalena of Austria, and had eight children....
and his wife Maria Magdalena of Austria.
Margherita's siblings included: Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
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...
, Cardinal Gian Carlo de' Medici
Gian Carlo de' Medici
Gian Carlo de' Medici was an Italian cardinal. He was the second son of Grand Duke Cosimo II of Tuscany and his wife, Maria Maddalena of Austria.-Biography:...
, Cardinal Leopoldo de' Medici
Leopoldo de' Medici
Leopoldo de' Medici was an Italian cardinal, scholar, patron of the arts and Governor of Siena. He was the brother of Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.-Biography:...
and Anna, wife of Ferdinand Charles, Archduke of Further Austria. Margherita's other siblings died in childhood or eary adulthood.
Her paternal grandparents were Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1587 to 1609, having succeeded his older brother Francesco I.-Biography:...
and his wife Christina of Lorraine. Ferdinando was a son of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
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:...
and his first wife Eleanor of Toledo. Margherita's maternal grandparents were Charles II, Archduke of Austria
Charles II, Archduke of Austria
Charles II Francis of Austria was an Archduke of Austria and ruler of Inner Austria from 1564...
and his wife Maria Anna of Bavaria. Maria Anna was the eldest daughter of Albert V, Duke of Bavaria
Albert V, Duke of Bavaria
Albert V was Duke of Bavaria from 1550 until his death. He was born in Munich to William IV and Marie Jacobaea of Baden.-Early life:Albert was educated at Ingolstadt under good Catholic teachers...
and his wife Archduchess Anna of Austria. Anna was a daughter of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand I was Holy Roman Emperor from 1558 and king of Bohemia and Hungary from 1526 until his death. Before his accession, he ruled the Austrian hereditary lands of the Habsburgs in the name of his elder brother, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.The key events during his reign were the contest...
and his wife Anna of Bohemia and Hungary
Anna of Bohemia and Hungary
Anna of Bohemia and Hungary, also sometimes known as Anna Jagellonica was, by marriage to Ferdinand I, King of the Romans and later Holy Roman Emperor, Queen of the Romans.-Family:She was the elder child and only daughter of king Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary and his third...
. Hence Margherita is a descendent of the Holy Roman Emperors.
Life
Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma
Ranuccio I Farnese reigned as Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Castro from 1592. A firm believer in absolute monarchy, Ranuccio, in 1594, centralised the administration of Parma and Piacenza, thus rescinding the nobles' hitherto vast prerogative...
, who saw it as a means of strengthening the alliance between the Duchy of Parma
Duchy of Parma
The Duchy of Parma was created in 1545 from that part of the Duchy of Milan south of the Po River, as a fief for Pope Paul III's illegitimate son, Pier Luigi Farnese, centered on the city of Parma....
and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany
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...
, then ruled by the Medici family
Medici
The House of Medici or Famiglia de' Medici was a political dynasty, banking family and later royal house that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici in the Republic of Florence during the late 14th century. The family originated in the Mugello region of the Tuscan countryside,...
.
The marriage took place in Florence on October 11, 1628 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 wedding celebrations were accompanied by much spectacle and pagentry, including the performance of Marco da Gagliano
Marco da Gagliano
Marco da Gagliano was an Italian composer of the early Baroque era. He was important in the early history of opera and the development of the solo and concerted madrigal.-Life:...
's opera La Flora
La Flora
La Flora, o vero Il natal de' fiori is an opera in a prologue and five acts composed by Marco da Gagliano and Jacopo Peri to a libretto by Andrea Salvadori. It was first performed on 14 October 1628 at the Teatro Mediceo in Florence to celebrate the marriage of Margherita de' Medici and Odoardo...
, composed especially for the occasion. To welcome the couple back to Parma, Mercury and Mars, with music by Claudio Monteverdi
Claudio Monteverdi
Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, gambist, and singer.Monteverdi's work, often regarded as revolutionary, marked the transition from the Renaissance style of music to that of the Baroque period. He developed two individual styles of composition – the...
and text Claudio Achillini
Claudio Achillini
Claudio Achillini was an Italian philosopher, theologian, mathematician, poet, and jurist.Born in Bologna, he was grandson to Giovanni Filoteo Achillini and grand-nephew to Alessandro Achillini. He was professor of jurisprudence for several years at his native Bologna, Parma, and Ferrara, with the...
was performed in the Teatro Farnese
Teatro Farnese
Teatro Farnese is a Baroque-style theatre in Parma, Italy. It was built in 1618 by Giovanni Battista Aleotti. The theatre was almost destroyed by an Allied air raid during World War II...
.
The years in which the couple ruled over Parma were marked by the plague
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
of 1630 and the contrast between the splendor of the court and the tax burden to which they had subjected their subjects. The tax money was used to improve Odoardo's armies. The Duke also had a pro-French policy.
According to portraiture and the sources of the time, Margherita was a beautiful woman, as well as amiable and well-educated. Unlike his predecessors, the duke was very devoted and loyal to her and there were never any sources that claimed Odoardo had illegitimate children.
On September 11, 1646, Odoardo died. Their eldest son, Ranuccio was not yet old enough to rule the Duchy alone so his mother, Margherita acted as regent until her son was old enough to govern alone.
Margherita outlived at least two of her children. She died in Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
on February 6, 1679.
Issue
- Caterina Farnese (2 October 1629) died at birth.
- Ranuccio II Farnese (17 September 1630 – 11 December 1694) married (1) Margaret Yolande of SavoyPrincess Margaret Yolande of SavoyMargaret Yolande of Savoy was Princess of Savoy from birth and later Duchess consort of Parma. A proposed bride for her first cousin Louis XIV of France, she later married Ranuccio Farnese, son of the late Odoardo Farnese and Margherita de' Medici...
, (2) Isabella d'EsteIsabella of ModenaIsabella d'Este was Duchess of Parma, and second wife of Duke Ranuccio II Farnese. She was the paternal grandmother of Elisabetta Farnese.-Princess of Modena:...
, (3) Maria d'EsteMaria d'EsteMaria d'Este was a Modenese princess and Duchess of Parma as the wife of Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma. She was a daughter of Francesco I d'Este, Duke of Modena and Maria Caterina Farnese.-Family:...
. - Alessandro Farnese (10 January 1635 - 18 February 1689), Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands died unmarried.
- Onorato Farnese (24 January 1636 -2 November 1656) died unmarried.
- Caterina Farnese (3 September 1637 - 24 April 1684) a nun
- Maria Maddalena Farnese (15 July 1638 - 11 March 1693) died unmarried.
- Pietro Farnese (4 April 1639 - 4 March 1677) died unmarried.
- Ottavio Farnese (5 January 1641 - 4 August 1641) died in infancy.
Ancestors
Titles and Styles
- 31 May 1612 – 11 October 1628 Her Highness Margherita de' Medici
- 11 October 1628 – 11 September 1646 Her Highness The Duchess of Parma
- 11 September 1646 – 6 February 1679 Her Highness The Dowager Duchess of Parma