Cosimo II. de’ Medici

Cosimo II de’ Medici was born on 12 May 1590 in Florence as the eldest son of Ferdinando I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and his wife, Christina of Lorraine. Through his father, he belonged to the Florentine Medici dynasty and was a grandson of Cosimo I and Eleonora Álvarez de Toledo. On his mother’s side, he belonged to the House of Lorraine; among his ancestors was also the French queen Caterina de’ Medici. Cosimo had seven siblings, including Carlo, who later became a cardinal; Lorenzo, a diplomat and soldier; and Claudia, who became Duchess of Urbino and Archduchess of Further Austria through her marriages. His education was broad and strongly oriented toward science. He studied classical culture, cosmography, painting, mathematics, mechanics, and dance, and learned, among other languages, German and Castilian, both of which he spoke fluently. From 1605 to 1608, Galileo Galilei was his tutor. The two developed a close friendship that lasted until Cosimo’s early death. In 1606, Galileo dedicated to him his treatise on the geometric and military compass. Cosimo also received military and knightly training, learned horseback riding and hunting, and was taught by scholars such as Celso Cittadini and Piero di Giovanni Francesco Rucellai. In 1608, Cosimo married Maria Magdalena of Austria, a daughter of Archduke Charles II and Maria Anna of Bavaria. The marriage was politically significant because Cosimo’s father sought to maintain a balance between France and Spain. The wedding was celebrated with great ceremony in Florence and was followed by a performance of the Argonautica on the Arno. Cosimo and Maria Magdalena had eight children. After his father’s death, Cosimo ascended the Tuscan throne in 1609 at the age of nineteen. His health was already impaired at that time. He suffered from tuberculosis and later from gallbladder disease and arthritis. For this reason, from 1614 onward he transferred a large part of the government’s affairs to his prime minister, Belisario Vinta, and to influential members of the court. These included his wife, his brother Francesco, his uncle Giovanni, and above all his mother Christina. Cosimo also worked to prepare cooperation among his sons, so that his eldest son, Ferdinando II, would not later face the difficult task of governing alone. He established precise rules for the regency of his mother and wife until the heir reached adulthood, although these rules were not fully observed. The promotion of science was one of the defining features of Cosimo’s rule. In 1610, he brought Galileo Galilei back to Tuscany, secured him a professorship in Pisa without compulsory teaching duties, and appointed him court philosopher and court mathematician. Galileo dedicated the Sidereus Nuncius to Cosimo and named the moons of Jupiter he had discovered the “Medicean stars.” Cosimo also supported his former teacher in 1616, when the Roman Inquisition proceeded against Galileo. Galileo additionally took part in educating Cosimo’s numerous children. In foreign policy, Cosimo tried to mediate between Spain and France, but this frequently involved considerable expense. During the War of the Mantuan Succession, he supported his relative Ferdinando Gonzaga with troops and money. In 1613, Tuscan assistance arrived too late because of resistance from other rulers; in the following years, Cosimo again supplied the Spanish with soldiers and financial support. In 1617, he was also drawn into a conflict between the French king Louis XIII and his mother, Maria de’ Medici. After the property of the Concini family in Florence was confiscated, Cosimo responded by ordering the confiscation of Provençal possessions in Livorno. The dispute was later settled in Tuscany’s favor. In 1619, Cosimo also supported the emperor by having a regiment recruited for service in Germany. The regiment was disbanded by the imperial court in 1621. Cosimo additionally promoted ventures against the Ottoman Empire. The Tuscan fleet took part in expeditions in North Africa during which fortresses in Negroponte and Caramania were captured. From 1609 onward, Cosimo also attempted to support the Persian shah Abbas I in his struggle against the Ottoman Empire, but without lasting success. Domestically, he devoted himself to expanding the Tuscan fleet and the port of Livorno. Under Admiral Jacopo Inghirami, the fleet achieved successes against Ottoman forces. Cosimo confirmed and expanded the regulations introduced by his father to promote Livorno. He also acquired the fiefs of Scansano, Castellottieri, and Terrarossa. His broader plans to acquire Piombino, Elba, Pianosa, and Montecristo, however, failed. Despite foreign-policy setbacks, his reign was regarded as economically and demographically successful. The family’s marriage policy also occupied much of his attention. Several planned alliances failed, including the proposed marriage of his sister Caterina to the Prince of Wales and the planned union of his sister Eleonora with the widowed Spanish king Philip III. More successful were Caterina’s marriage to Ferdinando Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, and Claudia’s marriage to Federico Ubaldo della Rovere. Cosimo II died in Florence on 28 February 1621 at the age of thirty. He was buried in the Princes’ Chapel of the Basilica of San Lorenzo. His successor was his son Ferdinando II, while his wife and mother initially assumed the regency. Cosimo’s legacy lay above all in his support for Galileo, his interest in science and maritime affairs, and a reign that, despite health problems and diplomatic difficulties, preserved stability and prosperity in Tuscany.