Gian Carlo de' Medici

Gian Carlo
Gian Carlo de' Medici painted by Baldassare Franceschini.
Born	(1611-07-04)4 July 1611 Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Tuscany
Died
Burial	The Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence, Tuscany
Grand Ducal	House of Medici
Father	Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Mother	Maria Maddalena of Austria
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Gian Carlo de' Medici (4 July 1611 – 22 January 1663) was an Italian cardinal. He was the second son of Grand Duke Cosimo II of Tuscany and his wife, Maria Maddalena of Austria.

Biography

Born a Prince of Tuscany, Gian Carlo was the second son and third child of Grand Duke Cosimo II and his wife, Maria Maddalena of Austria.

Unlike his predecessor Urban VIII, Pope Innocent X practised cordial relations with Ferdinando II, Gian Carlo's elder brother, and thus created Gian Carlo in 1644 cardinal as a token of his affection toward the Medici. Thus forced to give up his military career and with it the title of "General of the Spanish Seas", Gian Carlo could not reconcile himself to his new "religious" lifestyle. Pope Alexander VII made Gian Carlo responsible for welcoming Queen Christina of Sweden, a new convert to Roman Catholicism, to Rome in 1655. Upon discovering of the closeness that had formed between the two, the Pope sent Gian Carlo back to Florence, declaring him "too handsome and too young" to be "spiritual advisor" to the Queen. Here, Gian Carlo led a life of dissipation, taking many mistresses; nevertheless, Ferdinando II delegated to him the management of the state's financial affairs.

In later years, Gian Carlo donated his sizeable art collection to form the Pitti Gallery. He died of apoplexy, and was interred in the Medicean necropolis, the Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence.

Ancestors

Family of Gian Carlo de' Medici

16. Giovanni dalle Bande Nere               8. Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany                       17. Maria Salviati               4. Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany                             18. Pedro Álvarez de Toledo               9. Eleonora di Toledo                       19. Maria Osorio Pimentel, Marchioness of Villafranca del Bierzo               2. Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany                                   20. Francis I, Duke of Lorraine               10. Charles III, Duke of Lorraine                       21. Christina of Denmark               5. Christina of Lorraine                             22. Henry II of France               11. Claude of Valois                       23. Catherine de' Medici               1. Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany                                         24. Philip I of Castile               12. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor                       25. Joanna of Castile               6. Charles II of Austria                             26. Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary               13. Anna of Bohemia and Hungary                       27. Anna of Foix-Candale               3. Maria Magdalena of Austria                                   28. William IV, Duke of Bavaria               14. Albert V, Duke of Bavaria                       29. Marie of Baden-Sponheim               7. Maria Anna of Bavaria                             30. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor (= 12)               15. Anna of Austria                       31. Anna of Bohemia and Hungary (= 13)

References

Bibliography

• Acton, Harold: The Last Medici, Macmillan, London, 1980, ISBN 0-333-29315-0
• Young, G.F.: The Medici: Volume II, John Murray, London, 1920