Christina of Lorraine
| Christina of Lorraine | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Grand Duchess consort of Tuscany | |
| Reign | 3 May 1589 – 17 February 1609 |
| Born |
16 August 1565 Ducal Palace of Nancy, Lorraine |
| Died | 19 December 1637 (aged 72) Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Tuscany |
| Burial | Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence |
| Spouse | Ferdinando I, Grand Duke of Tuscany |
| Issue |
Cosimo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany Maria Maddalena de' Medici Catherine, Governor of Siena Carlo de' Medici Claudia, Archduchess of Austria |
| House |
House of Lorraine (by birth) House of Medici (by marriage) |
| Father | Charles III, Duke of Lorraine |
| Mother | Claude of Valois |
Christina of Lorraine or Christine de Lorraine (16 August 1565 – 19 December 1637) was a member of the House of Lorraine and was the Grand Duchess of Tuscany by marriage. She served as Regent of Tuscany jointly with her daughter-in-law during the minority of her grandson from 1621.
Born Christine de Lorraine in Nancy, she was the daughter of Charles III of Lorraine and his wife Claude of Valois, and granddaughter of Catherine de' Medici. She was named after her paternal grandmother, Christina of Denmark.
In 1587 Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany died without a legitimate male heir; his brother Ferdinando immediately declared himself the third Grand Duke of Tuscany. Seeking a marriage that would preserve his political independence, Ferdinando chose his distant cousin, Christine of Lorraine, the favorite granddaughter of Catherine de' Medici, Queen of France. Catherine had influenced her towards this marriage, to re-align the Medici with France, not Spain.
The sumptuous and well-documented wedding festivities, celebrated in Florence in 1589, were designed to impress the royal houses of Europe. The wedding ceremony in Florence Cathedral was followed by outdoor events for the public, as well as banquets and balls, comedies and musical interludes, and a mock sea battle in the flooded courtyard of Palazzo Pitti for the aristocratic guests. Altogether the wedding spectacles cost approximately fourteen million pounds in today’s currency. These lavish and innovative forms of entertainment proved to be more than showmanship. They greatly influenced theatrical practices in European courts throughout the 17th century.
Galileo wrote his Letter to Grand Duchess Christina, expounding on the relationship between science and revelation, in 1615.
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