Eleanor of Toledo

Eleonora of Toledo (* 1522 in Toledo, † December 17, 1562 in Pisa), Eleonora di Toledo (Italian ) or Leonor de Toledo (Spanish ), wife of Cosimo I de ' Medici, and from 1539 to was to her death Duchess of Florence.

Life

Eleonora was the second daughter of the Marquis of Villafranca and Viceroy of Naples, Don Pedro Álvarez de Toledo out of the house Álvarez de Toledo.

1539 was the age of seventeen with Cosimo I, Duke of Tuscany, married. They had a number of children ( eight sons and three daughters ), including Francesco and Ferdinando, who later nachfolgten her father in the rule.

Cosimo, who had only recently taken possession of the duke, was the support of his father, one of the most powerful men on the Italian peninsula at that time was very convenient. In addition, he benefited from the substantial dowry which had brought Eleonora in marriage and was used among other things to plant the Boboli Gardens in Florence.

Although initially unpopular as a foreigner among the people, they soon gained great influence. On the one hand she was patron and supported many artists, on the other hand she took as a devout Catholic the Jesuit Order to Florence and had found new churches. As a capable organizer, she had her husband, who she had often exercised in his absence as regent confidence, which was not common at the time.

Eleonora died young in December 1562 during a stay in Pisa along with two of her sons, probably of malaria.

Progeny

  • Maria (April 3, 1540 - November 19, 1557 )
  • Francesco (March 25, 1541 - October 19, 1587 ), Grand Duke of Tuscany
  • Isabella ( August 31, 1542 - July 16, 1576 )
  • Giovanni ( September 28, 1543 - November 23, 1562 ), Bishop of Pisa and cardinal
  • Lucrezia ( June 7, 1545 - April 21, 1562 )
  • Pietro ( Pedricco ) (August 10, 1546 - June 10, 1547 )
  • Garzia ( July 5, 1547 - December 12, 1562 )
  • Antonio ( 1548)
  • Ferdinando (July 30, 1549 - February 17, 1609 ), Grand Duke of Tuscany
  • Anna ( 1553)
  • Pietro ( June 3, 1554 - April 25, 1604 )

Portraits of Eleonora of Toledo

  • Bronzino Eleonora of Toledo, around 1539, State Art Gallery, Berlin
  • Bronzino Eleonora of Toledo and her son Giovanni, in 1545, Uffizi, Florence
Toledo, Spain Villafranca del Bierzo Cardinal (Catholicism) Portrait of Eleanor of Toledo Integrated Authority File
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