Francesco Maria de' Medici (12 November 1660 – 3 February 1711) was a member of the

House of Medici The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the M ...

. He was successively a Governor of Siena, cardinal and later the heir of the duchy of Montefeltro by right of his mother.

Biography

Medici was born in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

and was the second son of

Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany Ferdinando II de' Medici (14 July 1610 – 23 May 1670) was grand duke of Tuscany from 1621 to 1670. He was the eldest son of Cosimo II de' Medici and Maria Maddalena of Austria. He was remembered by his contemporaries as a man of culture ...

and his wife

Vittoria della Rovere Vittoria della Rovere (7 February 1622 – 5 March 1694) was Grand Duchess of Tuscany as the wife of Grand Duke Ferdinando II. She had four children with her husband, two of whom would survive infancy: the future Cosimo III, Tuscany's longest ...

. He was the product of a reconciliation between his parents after his mother found the

Grand Duke of Tuscany The rulers of Tuscany varied over time, sometimes being margraves, the rulers of handfuls of border counties and sometimes the heads of the most important family of the region. Margraves of Tuscany, 812–1197 House of Boniface :These were origin ...

in bed with one of his pages. He was the younger brother of the Cosimo de' Medici, Grand Prince of Tuscany. His maternal cousins included the Austrian

bishop of Olmütz The following is a list of diocesan bishops and archbishops of Olomouc. Not much is known about the beginnings of the Diocese of Olomouc. It was reestablished in 1063 and in 1777 it was elevated to an archdiocese. Bishops of Olomouc *''89 ...

and the

Duke of Mantua During its history as independent entity, Mantua had different rulers who governed on the city and the lands of Mantua from the Middle Ages to the early modern period. From 970 to 1115, the Counts of Mantua were members of the House of Canos ...

. In 1683 he was appointed to governor of

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...

, a position he maintained until his death. Three years later in September 1686 he was created cardinal with the permission of

Pope Innocent XI Pope Innocent XI ( la, Innocentius XI; it, Innocenzo XI; 16 May 1611 – 12 August 1689), born Benedetto Odescalchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 September 1676 to his death on August 12, 1689. Poli ...

.Moroni, p 93 Francesco Maria exerted a notable influence in the

conclave A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Co ...

s of 1689 and 1700. Despite having this influence with the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

, he lived mainly at Villa di Lappeggi outside

. In his tenancy of the villa, Lappeggi was restored and became known as the seat of his personal court where various parties and much revelry took place. At the death of his mother in March 1694, Medici succeeded to the Duchies of Rovere and Montefeltro, her

allodial Allodial title constitutes ownership of real property (land, buildings, and fixtures) that is independent of any superior landlord. Allodial title is related to the concept of land held "in allodium", or land ownership by occupancy and defens ...

possessions, once the possession of the House of La Rovere. He acted as mentor to his nephew Grand Prince of Tuscany, heir to the Tuscan throne. When it became clear that the

Grand Prince Grand prince or great prince (feminine: grand princess or great princess) ( la, magnus princeps; Greek: ''megas archon''; russian: великий князь, velikiy knyaz) is a title of nobility ranked in honour below emperor, equal of king ...

and his wife

Violante Beatrice of Bavaria Violante Beatrice of Bavaria (Violante Beatrix; 23 January 167330 May 1731) was Grand Princess of Tuscany as the wife of Grand Prince Ferdinando of Tuscany and Governor of Siena from 1717 until her death. Born a Duchess of Bavaria, the youngest ...

were not going to produce an heir, Cosimo III looked towards his brother to solve the problem facing the Tuscan succession. The question of an heir was further exacerbated when the union between Prince Gian Gastone and Anna Maria of Saxe-Lauenburg also remained barren. In 1709, when his health had already deteriorated, he obtained the Papal dispensation from the cardinalate, and was forced to marry

Eleonora Luisa Gonzaga Eleonora Luisa Gonzaga (13 November 1686 – 16 March 1741) was the Duchess of Rovere and Montefeltro as the wife of Francesco Maria de' Medici. She was the eldest child of Vincenzo Gonzaga, Duke of Guastalla and Sabbioneta and his second wif ...

, daughter of

Vincenzo Gonzaga, Duke of Guastalla Vincenzo Gonzaga (1634 – 28 April 1714) was the reigning Duke of Guastalla and a member of the House of Gonzaga. Early life Vincenzo was born as the second son of Andrea Gonzaga, Count of San Paolo (d. 1686) and his wife, Laura Crispano dei ...

, in an attempt to save the dynasty. Married by proxy on 16 June 1709, the couple were married in person on 14 July 1709. Contemporaries agreed that Gonzaga was an attractive woman with beautiful skin, eyes, mouth, and waist. However, it was soon clear that the marriage was not to be a fruitful union. Gonzaga was repulsed by her husband, refusing to fulfil her marital duties with a man twenty-six years her senior. Despite requisitioning the assistance of her old confessor from Guastalla, Cosimo III could not cajole her into submitting, as she allegedly feared contracting

venereal diseases Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and oral ...

. Medici had her surmount this predicament and eventually the marriage was consummated. However, no heirs were born leaving Francesco Maria devastated. Medici retired to Bagno a Ripoli where he died in 1711 from

dropsy Edema, also spelled oedema, and also known as fluid retention, dropsy, hydropsy and swelling, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin which feels tight, the area ma ...

, leaving behind exorbitant debts.Acton, p 251 His wife outlived him till 1742 having gone mad.

Ancestry

References

Bibliography

* Acton, Harold: ''The Last Medici'', Macmillan, London, 1980, * Moroni, Gaetano: ''Dizionario di Erudizione Storico Ecclesiastica da San Pietro'', Tipografia Emiliana, 1847

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Medici, Francesco Maria 1660 births 1711 deaths Francesco Maria 17th-century Italian nobility 17th-century Italian cardinals 18th-century Italian cardinals Nobility from Florence Deaths from edema Governors of Siena

Francesco Maria de' Medici Francesco Maria de' Medici (12 November 1660 – 3 February 1711) was a member of the House of Medici. He was successively a Governor of Siena, cardinal and later the heir of the duchy of Montefeltro by right of his mother. Biography Me ...

Burials at San Lorenzo, Florence Resigned cardinals Clergy from Florence