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Ferdinando I de' Medici

April 11, 2024

Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (30 July 1549 – 3 February 1609) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1587 to 1609, having succeeded his older brother Francesco I.

Ferdinando I
Ferdinando in 1590
Grand Duke of Tuscany
Reign19 October 1587 – 7 February 1609
PredecessorFrancesco I
SuccessorCosimo II
Born30 July 1549
Florence, Duchy of Florence
Died3 February 1609(1609-02-03) (aged 59)
Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany
SpouseChristina of Lorraine
Issue
Names
Ferdinando de' Medici
HouseMedici
FatherCosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
MotherEleanor of Toledo

Early life edit

 
Ferdinando I de' Medici as Cardinal (1562 to 1589).
 
Evangelium Sanctum Domini Nostri Jesu Christi in Arabic, 1590, with Arabic types of Robert Granjon, Typographia Medicea, Rome.

Ferdinando was the fifth son (the third surviving at the time of his birth) of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Eleanor of Toledo, the daughter of Pedro Álvarez de Toledo, Marquis of Villafranca, the Spanish viceroy of the Kingdom of Naples.

He was made a Cardinal in 1562 at the age of 13, but was never ordained into the priesthood. At Rome, he proved an able administrator. He founded the Villa Medici in Rome. He acquired the large collection of antiquities established by Andrea della Valle in 1584, as well as other works of art like the Medici lions. These were subsequently divided among the various Medici estates.

Grand Duke edit

When his brother Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, died in 1587, Ferdinando succeeded as grand duke at the age of 38.[citation needed]

In many ways, Ferdinando was the opposite of his brother who preceded him. Approachable and generous, he set out to rule mildly. He re-established the justice system and was genuinely concerned about the welfare of his subjects. During his reign, Tuscany revived and regained the independence his brother had given up.

Ferdinando fostered commerce and gained great wealth through the Medici banks, which were established in all the major cities of Europe. He enacted an edict of tolerance for Jews and non-Catholics,[1] and Livorno became a haven for Spanish Jews as well as other persecuted foreigners. He established the Medici Oriental Press (Typographia Medicea), which published numerous books in the Arabic script.

He improved the harbour Cosimo I had built and diverted part of the flow of the Arno river into a canal called the Naviglio, which aided commerce between Florence and Pisa. He fostered an irrigation project in the Val di Chiana, which allowed the flatlands around Pisa and Fucecchio and in the Val di Nievole to be cultivated.

The greatest cultural achievement in Florence during Ferdinando's reign was the introduction of opera to Europe. For the wedding of Ferdinando's niece Marie de' Medici to King Henry IV of France in 1600, his court sponsored a lavish performance of one of the first notable operas, Jacopo Peri's Euridice.[citation needed]

Marriage edit

For the first two years of his reign, he retained his position as cardinal, but he gave it up in order to marry Christina of Lorraine in 1589.[2] The couple had a large reception at the Villa di Poggio a Caiano. Christina's dowry was fairly large; it included 600,000 crowns in cash as well as jewellery with a value of 50,000 crowns. Also, the rights of the Duchy of Urbino were transferred to Christina after the death of Queen Catherine de' Medici of France and thus assumed by future Medici rulers.[3]

Foreign policy edit

 
Pietro Tacca's Monumento dei Quattro Mori (Monument of the Four Moors) in Leghorn, showing Ferdinando holding baton of a field marshal standing victorious above chained Moorish captives. (1623)

Ferdinando's foreign policy attempted to free Tuscany from Spanish domination. After the assassination of Henry III of France in 1589, he supported Henry IV of France in his struggles against the Catholic League. Ferdinando lent Henry money and encouraged him to convert to Catholicism, which he eventually did. Ferdinando also used his influence with Pope Clement VIII to get him to accept Henry's conversion.[citation needed]

Henry showed no appreciation for these favours, and Ferdinando let the relationship cool, maintaining his cherished independence. He supported Philip III of Spain in his campaign in Algeria and Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor in his against the Ottoman Empire. For these undertakings, he found it necessary to raise taxes on his subjects. He finally obtained the formal investiture of Siena, which his father had conquered.

Ferdinando strengthened the Tuscan fleet, and it saw victories against pirates on the Barbary coast in 1607 and against a superior Turkish fleet the following year.

He also dreamed of a small African empire, and then considered the possibility of a colony in Brazil.[4] A few months before his death, Ferdinando organised an expedition in 1608 under the command of Captain Robert Thornton to northern Brazil and the Amazon river in order to create a colony.

Issue edit

Ancestors edit

References edit

  1. ^ Ferdinando I De Medici, Document Inviting Jewish Merchants to Settle in Livorno and Pisa, in Italian, Manuscript on Vellum, Florence, Italy, 10 June 1593 (fac-simile)
  2. ^ BBC Radio4
  3. ^ Strong. Roy, C. Art and power: Renaissance festivals, 1450-1650. p. 129.
  4. ^ . Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2010.
  • Hibbert, Christopher (1979). "XXI". In Pelican History of Art (ed.). The Rise and Fall of the House of Medici. Penguin Books Ltd. pp. 279–281.

External links edit

  •   Media related to Ferdinando I, Grand Duke of Tuscany at Wikimedia Commons
  • Works by Ferdinando I de' Medici at Project Gutenberg
  • Works by or about Ferdinando I de' Medici at Internet Archive
  • Works by or about Grand Duke of Tuscany at Internet Archive
Regnal titles
Preceded by Grand Duke of Tuscany
1587–1609 		Succeeded by

April 11, 2024
ferdinando, medici, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, july, 2. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Ferdinando I de Medici news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message Ferdinando I de Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany 30 July 1549 3 February 1609 was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1587 to 1609 having succeeded his older brother Francesco I Ferdinando IFerdinando in 1590Grand Duke of TuscanyReign19 October 1587 7 February 1609PredecessorFrancesco ISuccessorCosimo IIBorn30 July 1549Florence Duchy of FlorenceDied3 February 1609 1609 02 03 aged 59 Florence Grand Duchy of TuscanySpouseChristina of LorraineIssueCosimo IIMaria MaddalenaCatherine Duchess of MantuaCarlo Bishop of OstiaClaudia Archduchess of AustriaNamesFerdinando de MediciHouseMediciFatherCosimo I de Medici Grand Duke of TuscanyMotherEleanor of Toledo Contents 1 Early life 2 Grand Duke 3 Marriage 4 Foreign policy 5 Issue 6 Ancestors 7 References 8 External linksEarly life edit nbsp Ferdinando I de Medici as Cardinal 1562 to 1589 nbsp Evangelium Sanctum Domini Nostri Jesu Christi in Arabic 1590 with Arabic types of Robert Granjon Typographia Medicea Rome Ferdinando was the fifth son the third surviving at the time of his birth of Cosimo I de Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany and Eleanor of Toledo the daughter of Pedro Alvarez de Toledo Marquis of Villafranca the Spanish viceroy of the Kingdom of Naples He was made a Cardinal in 1562 at the age of 13 but was never ordained into the priesthood At Rome he proved an able administrator He founded the Villa Medici in Rome He acquired the large collection of antiquities established by Andrea della Valle in 1584 as well as other works of art like the Medici lions These were subsequently divided among the various Medici estates Grand Duke editWhen his brother Francesco I de Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany died in 1587 Ferdinando succeeded as grand duke at the age of 38 citation needed In many ways Ferdinando was the opposite of his brother who preceded him Approachable and generous he set out to rule mildly He re established the justice system and was genuinely concerned about the welfare of his subjects During his reign Tuscany revived and regained the independence his brother had given up Ferdinando fostered commerce and gained great wealth through the Medici banks which were established in all the major cities of Europe He enacted an edict of tolerance for Jews and non Catholics 1 and Livorno became a haven for Spanish Jews as well as other persecuted foreigners He established the Medici Oriental Press Typographia Medicea which published numerous books in the Arabic script He improved the harbour Cosimo I had built and diverted part of the flow of the Arno river into a canal called the Naviglio which aided commerce between Florence and Pisa He fostered an irrigation project in the Val di Chiana which allowed the flatlands around Pisa and Fucecchio and in the Val di Nievole to be cultivated The greatest cultural achievement in Florence during Ferdinando s reign was the introduction of opera to Europe For the wedding of Ferdinando s niece Marie de Medici to King Henry IV of France in 1600 his court sponsored a lavish performance of one of the first notable operas Jacopo Peri s Euridice citation needed Marriage editFor the first two years of his reign he retained his position as cardinal but he gave it up in order to marry Christina of Lorraine in 1589 2 The couple had a large reception at the Villa di Poggio a Caiano Christina s dowry was fairly large it included 600 000 crowns in cash as well as jewellery with a value of 50 000 crowns Also the rights of the Duchy of Urbino were transferred to Christina after the death of Queen Catherine de Medici of France and thus assumed by future Medici rulers 3 Foreign policy edit nbsp Pietro Tacca s Monumento dei Quattro Mori Monument of the Four Moors in Leghorn showing Ferdinando holding baton of a field marshal standing victorious above chained Moorish captives 1623 Ferdinando s foreign policy attempted to free Tuscany from Spanish domination After the assassination of Henry III of France in 1589 he supported Henry IV of France in his struggles against the Catholic League Ferdinando lent Henry money and encouraged him to convert to Catholicism which he eventually did Ferdinando also used his influence with Pope Clement VIII to get him to accept Henry s conversion citation needed Henry showed no appreciation for these favours and Ferdinando let the relationship cool maintaining his cherished independence He supported Philip III of Spain in his campaign in Algeria and Rudolf II Holy Roman Emperor in his against the Ottoman Empire For these undertakings he found it necessary to raise taxes on his subjects He finally obtained the formal investiture of Siena which his father had conquered Ferdinando strengthened the Tuscan fleet and it saw victories against pirates on the Barbary coast in 1607 and against a superior Turkish fleet the following year He also dreamed of a small African empire and then considered the possibility of a colony in Brazil 4 A few months before his death Ferdinando organised an expedition in 1608 under the command of Captain Robert Thornton to northern Brazil and the Amazon river in order to create a colony Issue editCosimo II 1590 1621 who succeeded as Grand Duke of Tuscany he married Maria Maddalena of Austria and had issue Eleonora 1591 1617 died unmarried Caterina 1593 1629 married Ferdinando Gonzaga Duke of Mantua later Governor of Siena Francesco 1594 1614 died unmarried Carlo 1595 1666 died unmarried Filippino 1598 1602 died unmarried Lorenzo 1599 1648 died unmarried Maria Maddalena 1600 1633 died unmarried Claudia 1604 1648 married first to Federico della Rovere and had issue then to Leopold V Archduke of Austria and had issue Ancestors editAncestors of Ferdinando I de Medici8 Giovanni il Popolano4 Giovanni delle Bande Nere9 Caterina Sforza2 Cosimo I de Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany10 Jacopo Salviati5 Maria Salviati11 Lucrezia de Medici1 Ferdinando I de Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany12 Fadrique Alvarez de Toledo y Enriquez 2nd Duke of Alba6 Pedro de Toledo y Zuniga13 Isabel de Zuniga y Pimentel3 Eleanor of Toledo14 Luis Pimentel y Pacheco 1st Marquis of Villafranca del Bierzo7 Maria Osorio y Pimentel 2nd Marquise of Villafranca del Bierzo15 Juana Osorio y Bazan 1st Marquise of Villafranca del BierzoReferences edit Ferdinando I De Medici Document Inviting Jewish Merchants to Settle in Livorno and Pisa in Italian Manuscript on Vellum Florence Italy 10 June 1593 fac simile BBC Radio4 Strong Roy C Art and power Renaissance festivals 1450 1650 p 129 Italians in Brasil of Matteo Sanfilippo in Italian Archived from the original on 20 July 2011 Retrieved 9 March 2010 Hibbert Christopher 1979 XXI In Pelican History of Art ed The Rise and Fall of the House of Medici Penguin Books Ltd pp 279 281 External links edit nbsp Media related to Ferdinando I Grand Duke of Tuscany at Wikimedia Commons Works by Ferdinando I de Medici at Project Gutenberg Works by or about Ferdinando I de Medici at Internet Archive Works by or about Grand Duke of Tuscany at Internet ArchiveRegnal titlesPreceded byFrancesco I de Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany1587 1609 Succeeded byCosimo II de Medici Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ferdinando I de 27 Medici amp oldid 1214062099, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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