Catherine de' Medici, Governor of Siena

Caterina de' Medici
A black-haired lady in her twenties wears a white, gold emroidered gown crowned with a ruff. A string of pearls dangles from her neck.
Duchess of Mantua and Montferrat
Tenure	16 February 1617 – October 29, 1626
Governor of Siena
Tenure	1627 – 17 April 1629
Born	(1593-05-02)2 May 1593 Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Tuscany
Died	Siena, Tuscany
Burial	Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence
Spouse	Ferdinand, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat
House	House of Medici
Father	Ferdinando I, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Mother	Christina of Lorraine

Caterina de' Medici (2 May 1593 – 17 April 1629) was Duchess of Mantua and Montferrat as the second wife of Duke Ferdinando and Governor of Siena from 1627. She was the second daughter of Grand Duke Ferdinando I of Tuscany and his wife Christina of Lorraine. She had no issue.

Biography

The second daughter and third child of Grand Duke Ferdinando I and Christina of Lorraine, Caterina, named after the eponymous Queen of France, was born in Florence on 2 May 1593. Caterina was considered as a potential spouse to Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, heir to the three Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, but his Anglican religion presented an insurmountable barrier. Nevertheless, she married in 1617 Ferdinando Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Monteferrat; the marriage, however, was childless. Upon being made a widow in 1626, she returned to Tuscany. Her nephew, Grand Duke Ferdinando II, created her Governess of Siena in 1627, where she died of smallpox two years later. In later life, Caterina garnered a reputation for intense piety. Historian Colonel G.F. Young asserts that she bore a striking resemblance to her brother Cosimo II and sister Claudia. She was interred in the Medicean necropolis, the Basilica of San Lorenzo.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

• 2 May 1593 – 16 February 1617 Her Highness Caterina de' Medici
• 16 February 1617 – 29 October 1626 Her Highness The Duchess of Mantua
• 29 October 1626 – 1627 Her Highness The Dowager Duchess of Mantua
• 1627 – 17 April 1629 Her Highness The Governor of Siena

Ancestors

Family of Catherine de' Medici, Governor of Siena

16. Giovanni de' Medici il Popolano               8. Giovanni dalle Bande Nere                       17. Caterina Sforza               4. Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany                             18. Jacopo Salviati               9. Maria Salviati                       19. Lucrezia de' Medici               2. Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany                                   20. Fadrique Alvarez de Toledo               10. Pedro Álvarez de Toledo                       21. Isabel de Zúñiga y Pimentel               5. Eleonora di Toledo                             22. Luis Pimentel y Pacheco               11. Maria Osorio Pimentel, Marchioness of Villafranca del Bierzo                       23. Juana Osorio y Bazán               1. Caterina de' Medici                                         24. Antoine, Duke of Lorraine               12. Francis I, Duke of Lorraine                       25. Renée of Bourbon-Montpensier               6. Charles III, Duke of Lorraine                             26. Christian II of Denmark               13. Christina of Denmark                       27. Isabella of Austria               3. Christina of Lorraine                                   28. Francis I of France               14. Henry II of France                       29. Claude of France               7. Claude of Valois                             30. Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbino               15. Catherine de' Medici                       31. Madeleine de la Tour d'Auvergne

References

Bibliography

• Young, G.F.: The Medici: Volume II, John Murray, London, 1920

Catherine de' Medici, Governor of Siena House of Medici Born: 2 May 1593 Died: 17 April 1629
Italian royalty
Preceded by Margaret of Savoy	Duchess of Mantua 1617–1626	Succeeded by Isabella Gonzaga
	Duchess of Montferrat 1617–1626
Political offices
Preceded by Fabrizio Colloredo	Governor of Siena 1627–1629	Succeeded by Mattias de' Medici