Lucrezia de' Medici, Duchess of Ferrara

Lucrezia de' Medici
Duchess consort of Ferrara
Portrait attributed to Agnolo Bronzino
Born 14 February 1545
Florence
Died 21 April 1561(1561-04-21) (aged 16)
Ferrara
Noble family Medici (by birth)
Este (by marriage)
Spouse(s) Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara
Father Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Mother Eleanor of Toledo

Lucrezia de' Medici (14 February 1545 – 21 April 1561) was Duchess consort of Ferrara by marriage to Alfonso II d'Este. She was the daughter of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Eleanor of Toledo.

Life

Born in Florence, she was the first wife of Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Modena and Ferrara, whom she married on 3 July 1558. She did not move to Ferrara until February 1560, for her husband Alfonso was fighting in France.[1] Lucrezia died in 1561, probably from tuberculosis. For about a month her symptoms had been fever, severe weight loss, constant coughing and a permanently bleeding nose.[2] Another possible cause of death, that is often speculated, is poisoning.

Legacy

It is possible that she is the wife referred to in the poem "My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning.

Ancestry

References and notes

  1. ↑ Murphy, Caroline P. Murder of a Medici Princess. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. p. 70. ISBN 978-0-19-531439-7
  2. ↑ Murphy, Caroline P. Murder of a Medici Princess. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. p. 87. ISBN 978-0-19-531439-7
Lucrezia de' Medici, Duchess of Ferrara
Born: 14 February 1545 Died: 21 April 1561
Royal titles
Preceded by
Renée of France		 Duchess consort of Ferrara, Modena, and Reggio
3 October 1559 – 21 April 1561		 Vacant
Title next held by
Barbara of Austria
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