Catherine 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. The identity of Fiorenza's mother is uncertain as Crispo had two known wives, either of which could have been the mother. According to his own correspondence, Niccolò was a son-in-law of Jacopo of Lesbos. An account by Caterino Zeno dated to 1474 names another wife, Eudokia-Valenza of Trebizond; Valenza was a reported daughter of John IV of Trebizond and Bagrationi. However her alleged parents were married in 1426 and one of Valenza's daughters was reportedly married in 1429. (John IV and his wife are unlikely to have been the grandparents of a married woman only three years following their own marriage.) Valenza is considered likely to have been a sister of John IV, rather than a daughter; in this case her parents would have been Alexios IV of Trebizond and Theodora Kantakouzene.