Contessina di Lorenzo de' Medici
Contessina Antonia Romola di Lorenzo de' Medici (Pistoia, 1478 - Rome, 29 June 1515) was an Italian noblewoman, ninth child and fifth and last daughter of Lorenzo the Magnificent, Lord of Florence, and his wife Clarice Orsini. She was the wife of the Count Palatine Piero Ridolfi and the younger sister of Pope Leo X, as well as the cousin of Pope Clement VII.
Contessina de' Medici | |
|---|---|
| Countess Palatine | |
 Portrait of Contessina de' Medici, by unidentified painter, called "Ambito Fiorentino" | |
| Coat of arms |  |
| Full name | Contessina Antonia Romola di Lorenzo de' Medici |
| Born | 1478 Pistoia, Republic of Florence |
| Died | 29 June 1515 (aged 36–37) Rome, Papal state |
| Noble family | Medici (by birth) Ridolfi (by marriage) |
| Spouse(s) | Pietro Ridolfi |
| Issue | Luigi Rodolfi Emilia Ridolfi Clarice Ridolfi Niccolò Ridolfi Luigi Ridolfi |
| Father | Lorenzo the Magnificent, Lord of Florence |
| Mother | Clarice Orsini |
Biography
Contessina de' Medici was born in 1478 in Pistoia, where her mother and her siblings had taken refuge after the Pazzi conspiracy. She was baptized in Florence shortly after her birth. Her first name, Contessina, was given to her in honor of her paternal great-grandmother, Contessina de' Bardi, wife of Cosimo de' Medici.
In May 1494 she married the Count Palatine Piero Ridolfi (1467-1525): a prestigious marriage which further confirmed the continuing ascendence and power of the Medici.
In 1513 her brother Giovanni was elected Pope with the name of Leo X. Contessina then moved to Rome with her sisters Lucrezia and Maddalena, where she established herself as an influential woman in papal politics.
Contessina died on 29 June 1515 and was buried in the Church of Sant'Agostino in Rome.
Since there is no news of Michelangelo's possible infatuation with her before 1845, so it is probably a legend born in the Romantic era.[1]
Issue
By her husband, Contessina had five children, three sons and two daughters:[2]
- Luigi Ridolfi (28 August 1495-1556), politician and ambassador;
- Emilia Ridolfi (1497-1514), married Prince Iacopo V Appiano, Lord of Piombino, but died before consummating the marriage;
- Clarice Ridolfi (1499-1524) in turn married Iacopo V Appiano, without issue;
- Niccolò Ridolfi (16 August 1501-1550), cardinal;
- Lorenzo Ridolfi (6 September 1503-1576), knight and apostolic secretary.
Notes
- Tomas, Natalie R. (2003). The Medici Women: Gender and Power in Renaissance Florence. Aldershot: Ashgate. pp. 7, 21, 25. ISBN 0754607771.
- "Medici Archive: People Details". Retrieved 30 November 2022.
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Sources
- https://web.archive.org/web/20070927014822/http://documents.medici.org/people_details.cfm?personid=4973
- Tomas, Natalie R. (2003). The Medici Women: Gender and Power in Renaissance Florence. Aldershot: Ashgate. ISBN 0754607771.