Caterina Cornaro

Catherine Cornaro
Portrait of Catherine Cornaro by Gentile Bellini, at the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest
Queen of Cyprus
Reign	26 August 1474 - 26 February 1489
Predecessor	James III
Successor	Republic of Venice, until 1570
Titular Queen of Jerusalem
Titular Queen of Armenia
Born	25 November 1454 Venice
Died	10 July 1510 (aged 55) Venice
Spouse	James II of Cyprus
Issue	James III of Cyprus
House	Cornaro
Father	Marco Cornaro
Mother	Fiorenza Crispo

Catherine Cornaro (Greek: Αικατερίνη Κορνάρο Venetian: Caterina Corner) (25 November 1454 – 10 July 1510) was the last queen of Cyprus from 26 August 1474 to 26 February 1489 and declared a "Daughter of Saint Mark" in order that the Republic of Venice could claim control of Cyprus after the death of her husband, James II ("James the Bastard").

Catherine was a daughter of Nobile Huomo Marco Cornaro (Venice, December, 1406 – Venice, 1 August 1479), Cavaliere del Sacro Romano Impero (Knight of the Holy Roman Empire) and Patrizio Veneto (Patrician of Venice), by his wife Fiorenza Crispo. Her father was the great-grandson of Marco Cornaro, Doge of Venice from 1365 to 1368. She was the younger sister of the Nobil Huomo Giorgio Cornaro (1452 – 31 July 1527), "Padre della Patria" and Knight of the Holy Roman Empire. The Cornaro family had produced four Doges. Her family had long associations with Cyprus, especially with regard to trade and commerce. In the Episkopi area, in the Limassol District, the Cornaro family administered various sugar mills and exported Cypriot products to Venice.

Catherine's mother, Fiorenza Crispo, was a daughter of Nicholas Crispo, Lord of Syros. Although Crispo is said to have married two women, Fiorenza's mother is most likely the daughter of Jacopo of Lesbos; according to his own correspondence, Niccolò was a son-in-law of Jacopo of Lesbos. While an account by Caterino Zeno dated to 1474 is often quoted as naming a second wife for Nicholas Crispo, Eudokia-Valenza of Trebizond, a reported daughter of John IV of Trebizond and an unnamed daughter of King Alexander I of Georgia, Michel Kuršanskis has proven that this woman never existed.