Francesco Maria II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino

Francesco Maria II della Rovere (* February 20, 1549 in Pesaro, † April 23, 1631 in Urbania ) was the last Duke of Urbino from the House of della Rovere.

Life

Francesco Maria II was the son of Duke Guidobaldo II of Urbino and Princess Vittoria Farnese of Parma. He was educated from 1565 to 1568 at the court of Philip II of Spain, and succeeded his father after his death in 1574 to the throne. In 1580 he had to because of the financial situation of his house dominion over the Duchy of Sora and Arce to Giacomo Boncompagni, the legitimate son of Pope Gregory XIII. , Sell for 100,000 Goldscudi. 1585 awarded him Philip II the Order of the Golden Fleece.

In his first marriage married Francesco Maria 1570 Lucrezia d'Este ( 1535-1598 ), a daughter of Duke Ercole II d' Este. The marriage remained childless and was divorced in 1576. Francesco Maria but needed a male heir, because the Duchy of Urbino would fall after the extinction of the dynasty of the Papal States. So he married after the death of Lucretia in 1599 to his younger cousin Livia della Rovere 36 years ( 1583-1641 ). On May 16, 1605 was born as their first and only child Federico Ubaldo, but already died in 1623.

Since no other heirs were to be expected, gave Francesco Maria II in 1625, the Duchy of Urbino, to Pope Urban VIII, after his death in 1631 Urbino finally fell to the Papal States. His granddaughter Vittoria della Rovere, the last of the main line of the family, inherited the art collection and let them bring in the Uffizi Gallery.