Lucrezia de' Medici, Duchess of Ferrara

Lucrezia de' Medici
Duchess consort of Ferrara

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

Lucrezia de' Medici (14 February 1545 – 21 April 1561) was the daughter of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Eleanor of Toledo.

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.

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

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

Ancestry

Lucrezia de' Medici, Duchess of Ferrara
Cadet branch of the 1561
Born: 14 February 1545 Died: 21 April
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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