Margherita de’ Medici

Margareta de’ Medici was born on 21 or 31 May 1612 in Florence as the second daughter of the Tuscan Grand Duke Cosimo II de’ Medici and Archduchess Maria Magdalena of Austria. She belonged to one of Italy’s most prominent dynasties and was closely connected to both the Medici family and the Austrian Habsburgs. Her siblings included the future Grand Duke Ferdinando II, Cardinal Giovanni Carlo, the soldier and governor Matthias, Archduchess Anna of Austria-Tyrol, and Cardinal Leopoldo de’ Medici. Her father died in 1621, followed by her mother ten years later. Margareta grew up at the Florentine court and, like the other children of the grand-ducal household, received a comprehensive education. She spoke Italian and Latin and studied literature, music, and art. From an early age, her life was shaped by dynastic interests. On 14 February 1627, she became engaged to Odoardo I Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza. Odoardo had originally been engaged to Margareta’s older sister, Maria Cristina. That engagement was dissolved after seven years because of the bride’s deteriorating health, after which the courts of Florence and Parma arranged a new dynastic alliance. The marriage was intended not only to unite two ruling houses but also to strengthen political relations between Parma and France. France was then seeking to expand its influence over the Italian states. The dowager queen Maria de’ Medici, a relative of the Tuscan grand duke, even proposed that Margareta marry her youngest son, Gaston, Duke of Orléans, while Odoardo would instead marry Margareta’s younger sister Anna. This plan, supported by Cardinal Richelieu and approved by Pope Urban VIII, was rejected by both the courts of Parma and Florence. Margareta and Odoardo married on 11 October 1628 in Florence Cathedral. The celebrations continued in Parma, where the couple arrived in December of the same year. In their honor, the Teatro Farnese staged the premiere of the opera “Mercury and Mars,” with music by Claudio Monteverdi. Although the marriage had been arranged for political reasons, it developed into a happy union marked by mutual loyalty. During their joint rule, Parma was struck by a plague epidemic in 1630. The burden on the population was intensified by high taxes and the conspicuous luxury of the court. Dissatisfaction also grew over Odoardo’s pro-French policies. The couple had eight children, several of whom died young. Their eldest surviving son, Ranuccio II Farnese, later became Duke of Parma and Piacenza. Other sons pursued military or political careers, while some of the daughters remained unmarried or entered a convent. Odoardo died of a stroke in Piacenza on 12 September 1646. Margareta then assumed the regency for her still-minor son. At first, she governed jointly with her brother-in-law, Cardinal Francesco Maria Farnese. After his death in July 1647, she continued to exercise the regency alone. That same year, she made a pilgrimage to the Basilica of the Holy House in Loreto. On 17 September 1648, Ranuccio II assumed independent rule of the duchy. The relationship between mother and son soon deteriorated. Margareta blamed the worsening situation chiefly on the secretary of state, Jacopo Gaufrido, whom she considered a French spy. She wanted her favored protégé, General Francesco Serafini, to replace him. After the defeat in the Second War for the Duchy of Castro, she eventually succeeded in securing Gaufrido’s expulsion. He was executed in Piacenza in January 1650. Margareta’s relationship with her son and daughters-in-law remained strained in her later years. When Ranuccio II married Margareta Violante of Savoy in 1660, mutual hostility arose almost immediately between the dowager duchess and her daughter-in-law. Tensions between Margareta and her son increased so sharply that he suggested she return to Florence. In 1661, she traveled there for the wedding of her nephew Cosimo III to Margareta Luisa of Orléans and did not return to Parma until August of that year. Her relationship with Ranuccio improved temporarily after the death of his first wife in 1663. Margareta also disliked his second wife, Isabella d’Este. Ranuccio later married Maria d’Este as well. Although excluded from state affairs, Margareta remained in close correspondence with her brothers. She wrote about her health, asked after their well-being, and described her activities, which included fishing and hunting. In 1671, she spent some time in Innsbruck with her younger sister Anna. Her lifelong connection with Florence continued; she visited the city in 1639 and 1651, among other occasions, and advocated closer foreign-policy cooperation between the Medici and Farnese families. Margareta also influenced the cultural life of the Parma court. Under her influence, Florentine culture and court ceremony gained greater importance. She supported ballet, opera, and the visual arts, and repeatedly invited the singer Ippolito Fusai, who served her brother Leopoldo, to perform concerts in Parma. One of her preferred artists was Justus Sustermans, who painted several portraits of her at different ages. She was also interested in gardening, a passion she shared with her brother Giovanni Carlo. Contemporary portraits and accounts did not describe Margareta as particularly beautiful, but they emphasized her friendliness, kindness, and excellent education. She died in Parma on 6 February 1679 and was buried in the Farnese family crypt in the Basilica of Santa Maria della Steccata. Epitaphs were read in churches in Parma and Piacenza in her memory. As a Tuscan princess, Duchess of Parma, and regent, Margareta de’ Medici remained an important intermediary between two powerful Italian dynasties.