Isabella Appiani (1577 – 10 November 1661) was Princess of
Piombino
Piombino is an Italian town and ''comune'' of about 35,000 inhabitants in the province of Livorno (Tuscany). It lies on the border between the Ligurian Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea, in front of Elba Island and at the northern side of Maremma.
Ov ...
from 1611 until 1628. Through her father, she was a descendant of
Lorenzo de' Medici
Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici (), known as Lorenzo the Magnificent (; 1 January 1449 – 9 April 1492), was an Italian statesman, the ''de facto'' ruler of the Florentine Republic, and the most powerful patron of Renaissance culture in Italy. Lore ...
.
Life
She was the daughter of Alessandro Appiani and his wife, Isabella de Mendoza. In 1589 her father died; he was succeeded by her brother Jacob VII. As the boy was in his minority, their mother acted as
regent
In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
. In 1603, Jacob died childless, prompting fears of Spanish rule.
Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor
Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg), Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–16 ...
succeeded the same year; he ruled until 1611, until an invasion by the Appiani family which deposed Rudolf and replaced him with Isabella, Jacob's closest surviving relative.
Isabella was the first Princess of Piombino, but the third female ruler after
Paola Colonna Paola Colonna (c. 1378 – 3 November 1450) was the lady of Piombino from 1441 until 1445.
She was born in Genazzano as the daughter of Agapito Colonna, Lord of Genazzano, Capranica Prenestina, San Vito and Ciciliano from 1374, who died after ...
and Caterina Appiani, both of whom were titled ''Lady'' of Piombino. Her full title was: Isabella, Princess of Piombino, Marchioness of
Populonia
Populonia or Populonia Alta ( Etruscan: ''Pupluna'', ''Pufluna'' or ''Fufluna'', all pronounced ''Fufluna''; Latin: ''Populonium'', ''Populonia'', or ''Populonii'') today is a of the ''comune'' of Piombino (Tuscany, central Italy). As of 2009 its ...
, Lady of
Scarlino
Scarlino is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Grosseto in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southwest of Florence and about northwest of Grosseto.
Scarlino borders the following municipalities: Castiglione della Pescaia, ...
, Populonia,
Vignale
Vignale is the luxury car sub-brand of Ford Motor Company used in automobiles sold in Europe.Abbadia del Fango,
Suvereto
Suvereto () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Livorno in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southwest of Florence and about southeast of Livorno. It is one of ("The most beautiful villages of Italy").
Government
;''Frazi ...
Elba
Elba (, ; ) is a Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National Park, a ...
,
Montecristo
Montecristo, also Monte Cristo (, ) and formerly Oglasa (), is an island in the Tyrrhenian Sea and part of the Tuscan Archipelago. Administratively it belongs to the comune, municipality of Portoferraio in the province of Livorno, Italy. The isl ...
,
Pianosa
Pianosa () is an island in the Tuscan Archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy. It is about in area, with a coastal perimeter of .
Geography
In Roman times, the island was named ''Planasia'' (plain) because of its flatness – its highest po ...
, Cerboli and Palmaionla.
Isabella firstly married Giorgio de Mendoza at
Genoa
Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
; they had two daughters, Barbara, who died before her mother, and Polissena (d.1642), who married
Niccolò Ludovisi
Niccolò I Ludovisi (1610 – 25 December 1664), 2nd Duke of Fiano and Zagarolo, was Prince of Piombino, Marquis of Populonia, Prince of Venosa and Count of Conza, Lord di Scarlino, Populonia, Vignale, Abbadia del Fango, Suvereto, Buriano, Cer ...
. Giorgio died in 1618. Isabella was married secondly in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
Simon Vouet
Simon Vouet (; 9 January 1590 – 30 June 1649) was a French painter who studied and rose to prominence in Italy before being summoned by Louis XIII to serve as Premier peintre du Roi in France. He and his studio of artists created religious and ...
to paint a portrait of Isabella.Simon Vouet /ref>
In 1628, the Spanish invaded again and managed to conquer the principality; as a result, Isabella and Paolo were forced to flee Piombino. In 1634, the principality was assigned to Isabella's son-in-law Niccolò.
In 1633, Isabella became a grandmother when her daughter Polissena gave birth to a son, Gregorio Filippo.
Isabella died in Rome on 10 November 1661, aged 83 or 84, having outlived her daughters and grandson.
Isabella
Isabella may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Isabella (surname), including a list of people
Places
United States
* Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpo ...