Mattias de’ Medici - Governor of Siena

Distinguished soldier was interested in art and science

A portrait of Mattias de' Medici by
the court painter, Justus Sustermans

Mattias de’ Medici, who was an enthusiastic supporter of the Palio horse race during his time as Governor of Siena, died on this day in 1667.

He is remembered for being a patron of art and of science and for the scientific instruments he acquired while on military campaigns during the Thirty Years War in Germany, which are now housed in the Uffizi galleries in Florence.

Mattias, who was born in 1613, was the third son of Grand Duke Cosimo II de' Medici of Tuscany and of Archduchess Maria Maddalena of Austria.

He was originally intended for the church, but he had little enthusiasm for the ecclesiastical life and so from the age of 16, he pursued a military career instead.

After Cosimo II died in 1621, he was succeeded as Grand Duke by Matteo’s older brother, Ferdinando.  Grand Duke Ferdinando II appointed Mattias as the Governor of Siena, to replace their aunt, Caterina de’ Medici, who had been governor of the city until her death in 1629.

After he arrived in Siena, Mattias took up residence in the Royal Palace in Piazza del Duomo and he quickly became very popular with the people living in the city.

He took part in the Battle of Lutzen in 1632, during the Thirty Years War in Germany. After he returned to Siena, he ruled the city again before becoming involved in the Wars of Castro.

A portrait of Mattias
in military uniform 

Mattias was given supreme authority over the grand duchy’s military affairs by his brother, Ferdinando, and he commanded the League of the Republic of Venice, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the Duchy of Parma, and the Duchy of Modena and Reggio, in the struggle against Pope Urban VIII.

As a reward for his military victories, his brother, Ferdinando, presented Mattias with the Villa of Lappeggi in a beautiful area of countryside near Florence.

Mattias was an enthusiastic  supporter of the arts and he became a keen collector. He was the patron of Justus Sustermans, the Flemish court painter of the Medici family, and of Baldassare Franceschini, who was also known as Il Volteranno.

His interests centred on painting, and he paid for the training of Livio Mehus, a Flemish painter, draughtsman and engraver, many of whose works are listed in an inventory of Mattias’s possessions made in 1669. As a soldier, Mattias was particularly interested in battle painting, and the artist Giacomo Cortese, who, like Mattias, had experienced military combat, was employed by him in the 1650s. 

Mattias was said to have been delighted with four paintings of battles in which he had fought himself, which have been identified in a room in the Villa of Lappeggi.  This room also contains a damaged fresco, which has been identified as Victory and Fame by Franceschini. 

Mattias promoted Siena’s famous Palio during its early history and a horse from his stable regularly took part in the event.

During his time in Germany, he acquired many scientific instruments, such as dials, astrolabes, quadrants, and compasses, which were given to the Uffizi gallery. 

Mattias never married and as he got older, he suffered from gout. He was considering re-entering the church, but illness prevented it. He died in Siena in 1667 at the age of 54. He was buried in the Medici family tombs in the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence.

His embalmed body was exhumed in 1857 during an investigation into the Medici remains in the church. He was found dressed as a Knight of Malta in black velvet, wearing velvet shoes and with a gold medal on his chest.

The Palio di Siena still attracts huge crowds
to witness the event in Piazza del Campo

Travel tip:

The Palio di Siena is a horse race that takes place in the Piazza del Campo in Siena twice each year, on 2 July and 16 August. Ten horses and bareback riders, who are dressed in the colours of their districts, represent 10 of the 17 contrade, or city wards, in a competition that dates back to 1633, when it was inaugurated soon after Mattias de’ Medici became governor of the city.  The 10 participants race each other on a temporary dirt track around the perimeter of the shell-shaped piazza. The race consists of three laps, which the horses cover at such a furious pace that the whole thing is over in about 90 seconds. It is not uncommon for riders to fall off but a riderless horse can still be declared the winner if the colours of their contrada are still attached to the bridle. 

The Basilica di San Lorenzo in Florence, which
houses the tombs of the Medici family

Travel tip:

The Basilica of San Lorenzo, where Mattias de’ Medici is buried, is one of the largest churches in Florence. It is at the centre of the main market district of the city, and is the burial place of all the principal members of the Medici family. It is one of several churches that claim to be the oldest in Florence, having been consecrated in 393 AD, at a time when it stood outside the city walls. For hundreds of years it was the city's cathedral, before the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore was completed in the 15th century. In 1419, Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici - father of Cosimo de’ Medici, the founder of the banking dynasty - offered to finance a new church to replace an 11th-century Romanesque building. Filippo Brunelleschi, the leading Renaissance architect of the first half of the 15th century, famous for the colossal dome of Santa Maria del Fiore, was commissioned to design it, although it was not completed until after his death.

Also on this day:

1815: The birth of adventurer Pierre-Napoleon Bonaparte

1896: The birth of composer and lyricist Cesare Andrea Bixio

2014: The death of soprano Anna Cerquetti

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Vittoria della Rovere – Grand Duchess of Tuscany

Bride who brought the treasures of Urbino to Florence

Vittoria della Rovere, a portrait by the Flemish
painter Justus Sustermans, circa 1639

Vittoria della Rovere, who became Grand Duchess of Tuscany, was born on this day in 1622 in the Ducal Palace of Urbino.

Her marriage to Ferdinando II de’ Medici was to bring a wealth of treasures to the Medici family, which can still be seen today in the Palazzo Pitti and the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

Vittoria was the only child of Federico Ubaldo della Rovere, the son of the Duke of Urbino, Francesco Maria. Her mother was Claudia de’ Medici, a sister of Cosimo II de’ Medici.

As a child it was expected that Vittoria would one day inherit the Duchy of Urbino, but Pope Urban VIII convinced Francesco Maria to leave it to the Papacy and the Duchy was eventually annexed to the Papal States.

Instead, at the age of nine, Vittoria received the Duchies of Rovere and Montefeltro and an art collection.

Vittoria had been betrothed to her Medici cousin, Ferdinando, since the age of one and was sent by her mother to be brought up at the Tuscan court.

Vittoria and her husband, Ferdinando II de' Medici,
also by Sustermans, probably painter in around 1660

The marriage was arranged by Ferdinando’s grandmother, Christina of Lorraine, who had been acting as joint regent of the Duchy with Ferdinando’s mother, Maria Maddalena of Austria. Even after Ferdinando II reached his majority in 1628, the dowager Grand Duchess Christina remained the power behind the throne until her death eight years later.

The wedding between Vittoria and Ferdinando took place in 1633, when she was just 11 years old. Her inheritance was included in her dowry which was offered to the Medici family and her art collection became the property of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

Vittoria was educated in a convent and the marriage was not consummated until six years later. Vittoria had two sons who both died soon after birth, but in 1642 gave birth to Cosimo de’ Medici, who was styled Grand Prince of Tuscany.

Shortly after the birth of Cosimo, Vittoria is said to have caught her husband in bed with a page and the couple became estranged.

It was not until 1659 that they were reconciled, after which Vittoria gave birth to their last child, Francesco Maria.

The Villa del Poggio Imperiale, as depicted by the 18th
century Florentine printmaker Giuseppe Zocchi

Ferdinando II died in 1670 and was succeeded by his eldest son, who became Cosimo III.

Vittoria vied with her daughter-in-law, Marguerite Louise d’Orleans, for power, but Cosimo took his mother’s side and assigned to her the day-to-day administration of Tuscany. She was formally admitted into the Grand Duke’s Consulta or Privy Council.

Eventually Cosimo III and Marguerite agreed to separate on condition that Marguerite went to live at the Abbey Saint Pierre de Montmartre in Paris and Vittoria was made guardian of her three grandchildren.

In later life Vittoria spent time living in the Villa del Poggio Imperiale in Arcetri to the south of Florence, to which she transferred some of her art collection. She died at Pisa in 1694 at the age of 72 and was buried at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence.

Her titles of Rovere and Montefeltro became extinct when her grandson, Gian Gastone de’ Medici, died in 1737 without an heir, ending the Medici line. Vittoria’s only granddaughter, Electress Palatine Anna Maria Luisa, who had married Elector Johann Wilhelm II, willed the contents of the Medici properties to the Tuscan state in 1743, ensuring Vittoria’s inheritance and the art works collected by the Medici for nearly three centuries remained in Florence.

The Ducal Palace at Urbino is thought to have been completed
by the High Renaissance architect Donato Bramante

Travel tip:

Urbino, where Vittoria was born, is inland from the Adriatic resort of Pesaro, in the Marche region. It is a majestic city on a steep hill and was once a centre of learning and culture, known not just in Italy but also in its glory days throughout Europe. The Ducal Palace, a Renaissance building made famous by The Book of the Courtier by Castiglione, is one of the most important monuments in Italy and is listed as a Unesco World Heritage site.

The Palazzo Pitti in Florence, as seen from the Giardini
Boboli behind the palace, was Vittoria's home

Travel tip:

Palazzo Pitti, where Vittoria lived as Grand Duchess of Tuscany, was originally built for the banker, Luca Pitti, in 1457 in the centre of Florence. He wanted to outshine the Medici family, but they later bought it from his bankrupt heirs and made it their main residence in 1550. Today visitors can look round the richly decorated rooms and see treasures from the Medici collections. The Palatine Gallery contains 16th and 17th century paintings, including works by Raphael. The Treasury, which was once known as the Silver Museum, displays Medici household treasures, such as silver tableware, stone vases and precious jewellery.



More reading:

Gian Gastone de' Medici - the last Medici to rule Florence

Why Cosimo II de' Medici sponsored and supported Galileo Galilei

The life of Claudia de' Medici, Vittoria's mother

Also on this day:

1497: Savonarola lights his Bonfire of the Vanities

1909: The birth of Amedeo Guillet, the last army office to lead a charge against the British

1941: The birth of '60s pop star Little Tony

(Picture credits: Ducal Palace by Zyance; Palazzo Pitti by Stefan Bauer via Wikimedia Commons)


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Ferdinando II de’ Medici – Grand Duke of Tuscany

Technology fan who supported scientist Galileo

Ferdinando II, the Grand Duke of Tuscany,
portrayed by Flemish painter Justus Sustermans

Inventor and patron of science Ferdinando II de’ Medici died on this day in 1670 in Florence.

Like his grandmother, the dowager Grand Duchess Christina, Ferdinando II was a loyal friend to Galileo and he welcomed the scientist back to Florence after the prison sentence imposed on him for ‘vehement suspicion of heresy’ was commuted to house arrest.

Ferdinando II was reputed to be obsessed with new technology and had hygrometers, barometers, thermometers and telescopes installed at his home in the Pitti Palace.

He has also been credited with the invention of the sealed glass thermometer in 1654.

Ferdinando II was born in 1610, the eldest son of Cosimo II de’ Medici and Maria Maddalena of Austria.

He became Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1621 when he was just 10 years old after the death of his father.

His mother, Maddalena, and paternal grandmother, Christina, acted as joint regents for him. Christina is said to have been the power behind the throne until her death in 1636.

Ferdinando II and his wife, Vittoria della Rovere

Ferdinando II was patron and friend to Galileo, who dedicated his work, Dialogue Concerning the two Chief World Systems to him. This work led to Galileo’s second set of hearings before the Inquisition. Ferdinando II kept Galileo safely in Florence until the Inquisitors threatened to bring him to Rome in chains if he would not come voluntarily.

When plague swept through Florence in 1630 it killed 10 per cent of the population. Unlike other members of the Tuscan nobility, Ferdinando II and his brothers stayed in Florence to try to help the suffering people.

To combat the economic depression, Ferdinando II instigated a public works programme. This included the building of an aqueduct and new public fountains as well as improvement to Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens.

Architects and artists were also employed to develop the Cappella dei Principi at the Basilica di San Lorenzo.

The Grand Duke married Vittoria della Rovere, the granddaughter of the Duke of Urbino, in 1633 and they had four sons, although only two lived to become adults.

Ferdinando II was a loyal friend and supporter
 of the scientist and philosopher Galileo

Influenced by Galileo, Ferdinando II invented the sealed-glass thermometer by sealing the glass lip of a tube containing coloured alcohol. Glass bubbles filled with air changed position as the temperature rose or fell. Marked off with 360 degrees it became known as a spirit thermometer or Florentine thermometer.

Ferdinando II also used a type of artificial incubator to hatch chicks in his greenhouses in the Boboli Gardens, which was regulated according to the temperature shown on a thermometer placed under the hen.

Tuscany was victorious in a military conflict against the forces of Pope Urban VIII in 1643 but the Treasury was nearly empty after the mercenaries had been paid and interest rates had to be lowered.

Ferdinando II died in the Pitti Palace on May 23, 1670 of apoplexy and dropsy and was interred in the Basilica di San Lorenzo.

Visitors to the Pitti Palace in Florence can also explore
 the beautiful Boboli Gardens

Travel tip:

The Pitti Palace - Palazzo Pitti - in Florence, where Ferdinando II was born and died, was originally built for the banker Luca Pitti in 1457 to try to outshine the Medici family. They bought it from his bankrupt heirs and made it their main residence in 1550. Today visitors can look round the richly decorated rooms and see treasures from the Medici collections. The beautiful Boboli Gardens behind the palace are 16th century formal Italian gardens filled with statues and fountains.

The Basilica di San Lorenzo, where Ferdinando II is
buried, is one of Florence's largest churches

Travel tip:

The Basilica di San Lorenzo is one of the largest churches in Florence, situated in the middle of the market district in Piazza di San Lorenzo. It is the burial place of the principal members of the Medici family. Brunelleschi was commissioned to design a new building in 1419 to replace the original 11th century Romanesque church on the site but the new church was not completed until after his death. It is considered one of the greatest examples of Renaissance architecture. Ferdinando II is interred in the Cappella dei Principi, which is surmounted by a tall dome, along with five other Grand Dukes of Tuscany. 

Also on this day:

1498: The execution of 'Bonfire of the Vanities' preacher Girolamo Savonarola

1933: The birth of Sergio Gonella, the first Italian to referee a World Cup final


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Cosimo II de' Medici - patron of Galileo

Grand Duke of Tuscany maintained family tradition

Cosimo II de' Medici

Born on this day in Florence in 1590, Cosimo II de' Medici, who was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1609 until his premature death in 1621, was largely a figurehead ruler during his 12-year reign, delegating administrative powers to his ministers.

His health was never good and he died from tuberculosis aged only 30 yet made his mark by maintaining the Medici family tradition for patronage by supporting the astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei.

Galileo, from Pisa, had been Cosimo's childhood tutor during the time that he was Professor of Mathematics at the University of Padua.

From the beginnings of the Medici dynasty, with Cosimo the Elder's rise to power in 1434, the family supported the arts and humanities, turning Florence into what became known as the cradle of the Renaissance.

Cosimo the Elder gave his patronage to artists such as Ghiberti, Brunelleschi, Donatello and Fra Angelico.  His grandson, Lorenzo the Magnificent, supported the work of such Renaissance masters as Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.

Galileo, who also had the patronage of Cosimo's eldest son and heir, Ferdinando II de' Medici, dedicated his treatise Sidereus Nuncius, an account of his telescopic discoveries, to Cosimo. Additionally, Galileo christened the moons of Jupiter the 'Medicean stars'.

Cosimo II was the elder son of Ferdinando I de' Medici, the third Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Christina of Lorraine. Ferdinando arranged for him to marry Archduchess Maria Maddalena of Austria, daughter of Archduke Charles II, in 1608. Together they had eight children, among whom was Cosimo's eventual successor, Ferdinando II, an Archduchess of Inner Austria, a Duchess of Parma and two cardinals.

After he died at the family home at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, in 1621, the power of Florence and Tuscany began a slow decline.  When the last Medici grand duke, Gian Gastone, died without a male heir in 1737, the family dynasty died with him.

The facade of the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, former
family home of the Medici dynasty

Travel tip:

The Palazzo Pitti, known in English as the Pitti Palace, is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. It was originally the home of Luca Pitti, a Florentine banker, and was bought by the Medici family in 1549, after which it became the chief residence of the ruling families of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. It is now the largest museum complex in Florence, housing eight museums and galleries.

Travel tip:

The Museo Galileo in Florence is in Piazza dei Giudici close to the Uffizi Gallery. It houses one of the biggest collections of scientific instruments in the world in Palazzo Castellani, an 11th century building.

More reading: 

Galileo Galilei, the founder of modern science

Grand designs of Cosimo I

Medici patronage behind invention of piano

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