Ferdinando II de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany

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Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany bigraphy, stories - Religion

Ferdinando II de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany : biography

14 July 1610 – 23 May 1670

Ferdinando II de’ Medici (14 July 1610 – 23 May 1670) was grand duke of Tuscany from 1621 to 1670. He was the eldest child of Cosimo II de’ Medici and Maria Maddalena of Austria. His 49 year rule was punctuated by the terminations of the remaining operations of the Medici Bank, and the beginning of Tuscany’s long economic decline.Strathern, p 381 He married Vittoria della Rovere, with whom he had two children: Cosimo III de’ Medici, his eventual successor, and Francesco Maria de’ Medici, a Prince of the Church.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

  • 14 July 1610 – 28 February 1621 His Highness The Grand Prince of Tuscany
  • 28 February 1621 – 23 May 1670 His Highness The Grand Duke of Tuscany

Ancestors

Issue

Biography

Ferdinando was the eldest son of Cosimo II de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Maria Maddalena of Austria. Cosimo II died when Ferdinando was 10; because he had not yet reached maturity, his mother and paternal grandmother, Christina of Lorraine, acted as joint regents.Hale, p 178 In his seventeenth year, Ferdinando embarked on a tour of Europe. One year later, his regency ended and his personal rule began.Strathern, p 375 Dowager Grand Duchess Christina was the power behind the throne until her death in 1636.

The first calamity of Ferdinando’s reign was in 1630, when a plague swept through Florence and took 10% of the population with it.Hale, p 179 Unlike the Tuscan nobility, Ferdinando and his brothers stayed in the city to try to ameliorate the general suffering.Acton, p 29 His mother and grandmother arranged a marriage with Vittoria della Rovere, a granddaughter of the then incumbent Duke of Urbino, in 1634. Together they had two children: Cosimo, in 1642, and Francesco Maria de’ Medici, in 1660. The latter was the fruit of a brief reconciliation, as after the birth of Cosimo, the two became estranged; Vittoria caught Ferdinando in bed with a page, Count Bruto della Molera.Acton, p 30

Grand Duke Ferdinando was obsessed with new technology, and had several hygrometers, barometers, thermometers, and telescopes installed in the Pitti.Acton, p 27 In 1657, Leopoldo de’ Medici, the Grand Duke’s youngest brother, established the Accademia del Cimento. It was set up to attract scientists from all over Tuscany to Florence for mutual study.Acton, p 38

Tuscany participated in the Wars of Castro (the last time Medicean Tuscany was involved in a conflict) and inflicted a defeat on the forces of Urban VIII in 1643.Hale, p 180 The treasury was so empty that when the Castro mercenaries were paid for the state could no longer afford to pay interest on government bonds. The interest rate was lowered by 0.75%.Hale, p 181 The economy was so decrepit that barter trade became prevalent in rural market places.

Ferdinando died on 23 May 1670 of apoplexy and dropsy. He was interred in the Basilica of San Lorenzo, the Medici’s necropolis.Acton, p 108 At the time of his death, the population of the grand duchy was 730,594 souls; the streets were lined with grass and the buildings on the verge of collapse in Pisa.Acton, p 112

Citations