Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany

Cosimo II
Cosimo II after Justus Sustermans
Grand Duke of Tuscany
Reign	17 February 1609 – 28 February 1621
Predecessor	Ferdinando I
Successor	Ferdinando II
Born	12 May 1590 Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Tuscany
Died	February 28, 1621(1621-02-28) (aged 30) Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Tuscany
Consort	Maria Maddalena of Austria
Issue Detail	Ferdinando II, Grand Duke of Tuscany Cardinal Gian Carlo Margherita, Duchess of Parma Mattias, Governor of Siena Francesco Anna, Archduchess of Austria Cardinal Leopoldo
Full name Cosimo de' Medici
House	House of Medici
Father	Ferdinando I
Mother	Christina of Lorraine
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Cosimo II de' Medici (12 May 1590 – 28 February 1621) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1609 until 1621. He was the elder son of the then incumbent Grand Duke and Christina of Lorraine. He married Maria Magdalena of Austria, and had eight children.

For the most of his eleven-year reign, he delegated the administration of Tuscany to his ministers. He is best remembered as the patron of Galileo Galilei, his childhood tutor. He died of tuberculosis in 1621.^[1]

Biography

Cristofano Allori: Cosimo II

Cosimo de' Medici was the elder son of Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Christina of Lorraine. His father requisitioned a modern education for him: Galileo Galilei was Cosimo's tutor between 1605 and 1608. Ferdinando arranged for him to marry Archduchess Maria Maddalena of Austria, daughter of Archduke Charles II, in 1608. Together they had eight children, among whom was Cosimo's eventual successor, an Archduchess of Inner Austria, a Duchess of Parma and two cardinals.

Ferdinando I died in 1609. Due to his precarious health, Cosimo did not actively participate in governing his realm. Just over a year after Cosimo's accession, Galileo dedicated his Sidereus Nuncius, an account of his telescopic discoveries, to the Grand Duke.^[2] Additionally, Galileo christened the moons of Jupiter the "Medicean stars". Galileo's advocacy of Copernicanism later led to his trial by the Roman Inquisition, and he was held under house arrest in Tuscany from 1633 until his death in 1642.

The Grand Duke assiduously enlarged the navy. He died on 28 February 1621 from tuberculosis. He was succeeded by his elder son, Ferdinando. The child-Grand Duke's regency was bestowed upon Cosimo II's wife and mother, as per his wishes.

Issue

1. Maria Cristina de' Medici (August 24, 1609 – August 9, 1632) died unmarried, deformed or mentally retarded ^[3]
2. Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (July 14, 1610 – May 23, 1670) who married Vittoria della Rovere and had issue.
3. Gian Carlo de' Medici (July 24, 1611 – January 23, 1663) died unmarried.
4. Margherita de' Medici (May 31, 1612 – February 6, 1679) married Odoardo Farnese, Duke of Parma and had issue.
5. Mattias de' Medici (May 9, 1613 – October 14, 1667) died unmarried.
6. Francesco de' Medici (October 16, 1614 – July 25, 1634) died unmarried.
7. Anna de' Medici (July 21, 1616 – September 11, 1676) married Ferdinand Charles, Archduke of Austria (1628–1662) and had issue.
8. Leopoldo de' Medici (November 6, 1617 – November 10, 1675) died unmarried.

Ancestors

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Styles of Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Reference style	His Highness
Spoken style	Your Highness
Alternative style	Sir

Titles and styles

• 12 May 1590 - 17 February 1609 His Highness The Grand Prince of Tuscany
• 17 February 1609 - 28 February 1621 His Highness The Grand Duke of Tuscany

Citations

Bibliography

• Strathern, Paul The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance, Vintage books, London, 2003, ISBN 978-0-09-952297-3
• Hale, J.R. Florence and the Medici, Orion books, London, 1977, ISBN 1-84212-456-0

Further Reading

• Liedtke, Walter A. (1984). Flemish paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 0870993569.  (see index, v.1, for information on Cosimo as a patron of the arts)

See also

• Ferdinando I de' Medici
• Italian colonization of Americas

External links

Media related to Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany at Wikimedia Commons