Francesco de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
| Francesco I de' Medici | |
|---|---|
Francesco by Bronzino
|
|
| Grand Duke of Tuscany | |
| Reign | 21 April 1574 – 17 October 1587 |
| Predecessor | Cosimo I |
| Successor | Ferdinando I |
| Born |
25 March 1541 Florence |
| Died | 17 October 1587 (aged 46) Medici Villa in Poggio a Caiano, Tuscany |
| Burial | Medici Chapel |
| Spouse |
Joanna of Austria Bianca Cappello |
| Issue among others... |
Eleanor, Duchess of Mantua and Montferrat Anna de' Medici Maria, Queen of France Philip, Grand Prince of Tuscany |
| House | Medici |
| Father | Cosimo I |
| Mother | Eleanor of Toledo |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Francesco I (25 March 1541 – 19 October 1587) was the second Grand Duke of Tuscany, ruling from 1574 until his death in 1587. He was the second grand duke of the house of Medici.
Born in Florence, he was the son of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Eleanor of Toledo, and served as regent for his father starting in 1564.
On 18 December 1565, he married Joanna of Austria, youngest daughter of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anne of Bohemia and Hungary, after among others Princess Elizabeth of Sweden had been considered. By all reports, it was not a happy marriage. Joanna was homesick for her native Austria, and Francesco was neither charming nor faithful. Joanna died at the age of thirty one in 1578.
Soon after the Grand Duchess Joanna had died, Francesco went on to marry his Venetian mistress, Bianca Cappello, after aptly disposing of her husband, a Florentine bureaucrat. Because of the quick remarriage and similar occurrences among the Medici (Francesco's younger brother Pietro had reportedly killed his wife), rumours spread that Francesco and Bianca had conspired to poison Joanna. Francesco reportedly built and decorated Villa di Pratolino for Bianca. She was, however, not always popular among Florentines. They had no legitimate children, but Bianca had borne him a son, Antonio (29 August 1576 – 2 May 1621), in his first wife's lifetime, and following the death of Francesco's legitimate son Philip de' Medici, Antonio was proclaimed heir. Francesco also adopted Bianca's daughter by her first marriage, Pellegrina (1564- ?).
Like his father, Francesco was often despotic, but while Cosimo had known how to maintain Florentine independence, Francesco acted more like a vassal of the Habsburgs of Austria and Spain. He continued the heavy taxation of his subjects to pay large sums to the empire.
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