Maria Salviati
| Maria Salviati | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Spouse(s) | Giovanni dalle Bande Nere |
| Issue | |
| Noble family |
Salviati (by birth) Medici (by marriage) |
| Father | Jacopo Salviati |
| Mother | Lucrezia di Lorenzo de' Medici |
| Born |
17 July 1499 Florence |
| Died | 29 December 1543 (aged 44) Villa di Castello |
Maria Salviati (17 July 1499 – 29 December 1543) was an Italian noblewoman, the daughter of Lucrezia di Lorenzo de' Medici and Jacopo Salviati. She married Giovanni dalle Bande Nere and was the mother of Cosimo I de Medici. Her husband died 30 November 1526, leaving her a widow at the age of 27. Salviati never remarried; after her husband's death she adopted the somber garb of a novice, which is how she is remembered today as numerous late portraits show her attired in black and white.
Maria Salviati was born in Florence. She descended from two of Florence's most powerful banking families: the Salviati on her father's side, and the Medici on her mother's. Salviati's maternal grandfather was Lorenzo "il Magnifico", a well-known politician and grandson to Cosimo de' Medici the Elder.
When her cousin, Alessandro de' Medici was assassinated in 1537, Maria used her family connections to get involved in the discussions to decide the next Duke of Florence. She played a key role in getting her son, Cosimo I de' Medici, elected.
Salviati's descendants became crowned figureheads of Europe over the succeeding generations. Her grandson Francesco I de' Medici married Johanna of Austria; they were the parents of Eleonora de' Medici, who married Vincenzo I Gonzaga and was the mother of Francesco IV Gonzaga. Francesco and Johanna's other daughter was Marie de' Medici, who married Henry IV of France and was the mother of Louis XIII of France and Henrietta Maria of France. Louis was the father of Louis XIV of France, Henrietta Maria was the mother of Charles II of England and James II of England.
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