Ferdinando I de' Medici

Early life

Ferdinando was the fifth son (the third surviving at the time of his birth) of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Eleanor of Toledo, the daughter of Pedro Álvarez de Toledo, Marquis of Villafranca, the Spanish viceroy of the Kingdom of Naples.

He was made a Cardinal in 1562 at the age of 13, but was never ordained into the priesthood. At Rome, he proved an able administrator. He founded the Villa Medici in Rome. He acquired the large collection of antiquities established by Andrea della Valle in 1584, as well as other works of art like the Medici lions. These were subsequently divided among the various Medici estates.

Grand Duke

When his brother Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, died in 1587, Ferdinando succeeded as grand duke at the age of 38.

In many ways, Ferdinando was the opposite of his brother who preceded him. Approachable and generous, he set out to rule mildly. He re-established the justice system and was genuinely concerned about the welfare of his subjects. During his reign, Tuscany revived and regained the independence his brother had given up.

Ferdinando fostered commerce and gained great wealth through the Medici banks, which were established in all the major cities of Europe. He introduced policies supporting religious freedom, transforming Livorno into a safe haven for Spanish Jews and other marginalized groups fleeing persecution. He established the Medici Oriental Press (Typographia Medicea), which published numerous books in the Arabic script.

Ferdinando expanded the harbor built by Cosimo I and rerouted a portion of the Arno River into the Naviglio canal, improving commercial links between Florence and Pisa. He fostered an irrigation project in the Val di Chiana, which allowed the flatlands around Pisa and Fucecchio and in the Val di Nievole to be cultivated.

Florence’s most significant cultural accomplishment under Ferdinando’s rule was the emergence of opera in Europe. In 1600, to mark the marriage of Ferdinando’s niece Marie de’ Medici to King Henry IV of France, his court organized a grand staging of Euridice by Jacopo Peri, one of the first important operas.

Marriage

For the first two years of his reign, he retained position as cardinal, but Ferdinando gave it up in order to marry Christina of Lorraine in 1589. The couple had a large reception at the Villa di Poggio a Caiano. Christina's dowry was fairly large; it included 600,000 crowns in cash as well as jewellery with a value of 50,000 crowns. Also, the rights of the Duchy of Urbino were transferred to Christina after the death of Queen Catherine de' Medici of France and thus assumed by future Medici rulers.

Foreign policy

Ferdinando's foreign policy attempted to free Tuscany from Spanish domination. After the assassination of Henry III of France in 1589, he supported Henry IV of France in his struggles against the Catholic League. Ferdinando provided Henry with financial support and urged him to embrace Catholicism, which Henry ultimately did. Ferdinando also leveraged his influence over Pope Clement VIII to convince him to acknowledge Henry’s conversion.

Henry showed no appreciation for these favours, and Ferdinando let the relationship cool, maintaining his cherished independence. He supported Philip III of Spain in his campaign in Algeria and Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor in his against the Ottoman Empire. For these undertakings, he found it necessary to raise taxes on his subjects. He finally obtained the formal investiture of Siena, which his father had conquered. Ferdinando sought to reconquer Cyprus for the Christians and had similar designs on the Holy Land, while also seeking commercial ties with Aleppo. He sent Ottoman convert Michel Angelo Corai to Ali Janbulad as an ambassador to fund rebellion in Ottoman Syria.

Ferdinando reinforced the Tuscan fleet, which achieved victories over Barbary pirates in 1607 and defeated a larger Turkish fleet the next year.

Ferdinando also dreamed of a small African empire, and then considered the possibility of a colony in Brazil. A few months before his death, Ferdinando organised an expedition in 1608 under the command of Captain Robert Thornton to northern Brazil and the Amazon River in order to create a colony.

Issue

Ferdinando and Christina had:

• Cosimo II (1590–1621), who succeeded as Grand Duke of Tuscany; he married Maria Maddalena of Austria and had issue
• Eleonora (1591–1617), died unmarried
• Caterina (1593–1629), married Ferdinando Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, later Governor of Siena
• Francesco (1594–1614), died unmarried
• Carlo (1595–1666), died unmarried
• Filippino (1598–1602), died unmarried
• Lorenzo (1599–1648), died unmarried
• Maria Maddalena (1600–1633), died unmarried
• Claudia (1604–1648), married first to Federico della Rovere, then to Leopold V, Archduke of Austria

References

Sources

References

1. "Italians in Brasil, of Matteo Sanfilippo (in Italian)".