Maria Salviati

Maria Salviati

Maria Salviati portrait by Pontormo, c. 1543. Oil on panel; 87 x 71 cm. Florence, Uffizi Gallery
Spouse(s)	Giovanni dalle Bande Nere
Issue
Cosimo I de Medici
Noble family	House of Medici
Father	Jacopo Salviati
Mother	Lucrezia di Lorenzo de' Medici
Born	17 July 1499(1499-07-17) Florence
Died	29 December 1543(1543-12-29) (aged 44) Villa di Castello

Maria Salviati (July 17, 1499 – December 29, 1543) was an Italian noblewoman, the daughter of Lucrezia di Lorenzo de' Medici and Jacopo Salviati. She married Giovanni dalle Bande Nere and was the mother of Cosimo I de Medici. Her husband died November 30, 1526, leaving her a widow at the age of 27. Salviati never remarried; after her husband's death she adopted the somber garb of a novice, which is how she is remembered today as numerous late portraits show her attired in black and white.^[1]

1 Family
2 Bia de' Medici
3 Ancestors
4 Descendants
5 References
6 See also

Family

Maria Salviati was born in Florence. She descended from two of Florence's most powerful banking families: the Salviati on her father's side, and the Medici on her mother's. Salviati's maternal grandfather was Lorenzo "il Magnifico", a well-known politician and grandson to Cosimo de' Medici the Elder.

In turn, Salviati's descendants became crowned figureheads of Europe over the succeeding generations. Her son, Cosimo I de' Medici, was crowned Duke when his cousin Alessandro was assassinated in 1537. Her grandson Francesco I de' Medici married Johanna of Austria; they were the parents of Eleonora de' Medici, who married Vincenzo I Gonzaga and was the mother of Francesco IV Gonzaga. Francesco and Johanna's other daughter was Marie de' Medici, who married Henry IV of France and was the mother of Louis XIII of France and Henrietta Maria of France. Louis was the father of Louis XIV of France, Henrietta Maria was the mother of Charles II of England and James II of England.

Bia de' Medici

Maria set up residence at Villa di Castello in northern Florence, there she would look after her grandchildren. Her son Cosimo had an illegitimate daughter called Bia de' Medici. Maria described her granddaughter as a very happy and chatty little girl, often having long conversations with her.

Cosimo married in 1539 to Eleonora di Toledo. Gossip reports that Eleonora refused to tolerate Bia's presence in the palace after their marriage so Cosimo sent Bia off to live with Maria. Other sources say that Eleonora brought Bia up very lovingly. Bia shared a nursery with Giulia de' Medici an illegitimate daughter of Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence, the pair were close in age so they got along very well with each other. Maria knew who Bia's mother was but she would never tell Bia or anyone else the name of the women. Both Bia and her cousin Giulia contracted a fast-moving fever, Giulia recovered from the illness but Bia didn't, Cosimo would often write to Maria asking her of Bia's condition. Bia became sicker and sicker and eventually died on March 1, 1542 aged only five years. Maria and Cosimo were said to be very sad by her loss, Maria carried on looking after Giulia.

Maria died one year after Bia on December 29, 1543. This was an awful loss for Cosimo, two very loving females had been taken from him in the space of two years.

Ancestors

			Alemanno Salviati

		Giovanni Salviati

			Catherine de' Medici

	Jacopo Salviati

			Simone Gondi

		Elena Gondi

			Maria Buondelmonti

Maria Salviati

			Piero di Cosimo de' Medici

		Lorenzo de' Medici

			Lucrezia Tornabuoni

	Lucrezia de' Medici

			Jacopo Orsini

		Clarice Orsini

			Maddalena Orsini

Descendants

**Descendents of Maria Salviati in 5 generations**
Maria Salviati	Son: Cosimo I de' Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany	Grandson: Francesco I de' Medici Grand duke of Tuscany	Great-granddaughter: Marie de' Medici Queen of France	Great-Great-granddaughter: Henrietta Maria of France Queen of England	Great-Great-Great-granddaughter: Henrietta Anne Stuart Duchess of Orleans

References

^ For information on portraits of Maria Salviati see Carl Brandon Strehlke, Pontormo, Bronzino, and the Medici: The Transformation of the Renaissance Portrait in Florence (Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2004) cats. 30 and 46.

Persondata
Name	Salviati, Maria
Alternative names
Short description	Italian noblewoman and mother of Cosimo I de Medici
Date of birth	July 17, 1499
Place of birth	Florence
Date of death	December 29, 1543
Place of death	Villa di Castello