42 Welleducated Poet From a Powerful Family in Florence Who Supported the Arts

Italian author, political advisor and wife of Piero di Cosimo de' Medici (1427–1482)

Lucrezia Tornabuoni
Portrait of Lucrezia Tornabuoni past Domenico Ghirlandaio, c. 1475, at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
Lady of Florence
Tenure	ane Baronial 1464 – 2 Dec 1469
Born	22 June 1427 Florence
Died	25 March 1482(1482-03-25) (aged 54) Florence
Noble family	Tornabuoni
Spouse(s)	Piero di Cosimo de' Medici
Effect	Maria di Piero de' Medici Bianca de' Medici Lucrezia de' Medici Lorenzo de' Medici Giuliano de' Medici
Male parent	Francesco di Simone Tornabuoni
Mother	Nanna di Niccolo di Luigi Guicciardini

Lucrezia Tornabuoni (22 June 1427^[1] – 25 March 1482^[2]) was an influential Italian political adviser and writer during the 15th century. She was a member of one of the most powerful Italian families of the time and married Piero di Cosimo de' Medici, de facto Lord of Florence.^[3] Lucrezia had significant political influence during the rule of her hubby and then of her son Lorenzo the Magnificent, investing in several institutions and improving relationships to support the needs of the poor. She was a patron of the arts who wrote several poems and plays.

Early life [edit]

Lucrezia was born in Florence, Italy on 22 June 1427. Her parents Francesco di Simone Tornabuoni, fellow member of a noble family that could trace its lineage back 500 years, and Nanna di Niccolo di Luigi Guicciardini, daughter of another powerful local family.^[one] Her blood brother Giovanni became a broker and diplomat.

Lucrezia was well-educated for a adult female of her time. She was very capable in mathematics and finances, well-versed in literature, rhetoric and theology, and read many texts in both Latin and Greek, ^[4] besides her native Italian. Lucrezia may be represented in 3 scenes in Ghirlandaio'south frescos in the Tornabuoni Chapel: The Visitation, The Birth of the Baptist, and The Nativity of Mary.^[5]

Matrimony [edit]

Triumph of Fame desco da parto past Giovanni di ser Giovanni Guidi was presented to Lucrezia upon the birth of her first son, Lorenzo de' Medici.^[6]

On 3 June 1444, Lucrezia married Piero di Cosimo de' Medici, son of Cosimo de' Medici, a wealthy banker and statesman from Florence.^[7] Her father was a friend and supporter of Cosimo, even through the latter's exile in 1434.^[8] The marriage and her dowry of 1200 florins helped to seal the alliance between their families.^[seven] Lucrezia and Piero developed a good relationship and ofttimes wrote to each other while apart with tenderness and concern.^[9] She also became a good friend of her brother-in-law Giovanni.^[10]

Lucrezia and Piero ensured that their children acquired adept taste in literary culture and the fine arts. They hired tutors to educate them in such subjects every bit politics, business organization, accounting, and philosophy.^[eleven] Gentile de' Becchi and Cristoforo Landino were among the teachers.^[12] The couple eventually had eight children, though two sons and a daughter didn't survive to adulthood: ^[9]

• Maria (died earlier 1473): May take been a child built-in to Piero past some other woman, but she was raised with the other children.^[9] Married Leonetto Rossi.^[xiii]
• Bianca (1445^[ix]–1505): Married Guglielmo Pazzi.^[xiii]
• Lucrezia (1447–1493): Known as Nannina. Married Bernardo Rucellai. ^[13]
• Lorenzo (1449–1492): Succeeded his father as Lord of Florence. Married Clarice Orsini.^[13]
• Giuliano (1453–1478): Became father of Pope Clement VII.^[13] Killed in 1478 equally a issue of the Pazzi conspiracy against the Medici.^[14]

Political importance [edit]

Lucrezia was notably wise and astute in political matters. Her father-in-law, the first Medici de facto ruler of Florence, admired her skills in deciding bug.^[15] Later Piero took over the authorities in 1464, his gout kept him bars to bed^[16] and thus transformed the couple's sleeping room into something resembling a noble courtroom.^[17] Thus, Lucrezia was more costless to move and was asked by others to conduct their requests to her husband.^[18] For a woman to travel solitary and see with the Pope and other influential officials was unusual and information technology was commented upon by contemporaries.^[19] Her communication was sought past many high and low-born people, who she received.^[20] Afterwards her husband'south death in 1469, Lucrezia gained additional political influence equally an advisor to their son. At her decease, Lorenzo freely admitted that she had been ane of his most important advisors.^[21]

Economy [edit]

As a noblewoman, Lucrezia possessed more than freedom to own property and conduct business. She bought houses, shops, and farms in and around Pisa and Florence.^[22] Her shops would be leased to different businesses and thereby extended her patronage network.^[23] In 1477, she took a lease on a public bath facility well-nigh Volterra, which she renovated into a profitable venture.^{[14] [24]} Her investments in communities around Florence helped spread the Medici'due south influence network.^[24]

Lucrezia became well known for giving solid donations to religious convents in social club to help widows and orphans.^[25] She used her own income to provide dowries for women from poor families so that they could marry.^[26] This assistance was ofttimes provided past helping a family member to get a skilful position in the church or government.^[27]

Diplomacy [edit]

Lucrezia received many requests from citizens, which included appeals to cease the exile or imprisonment of petitioners and to finish attacks by soldiers.^[28] She was called upon to mediate disputes among others in the surface area, in one case catastrophe a feud between two families that had gone on for twenty years.^[29] Despite many Florentine problems having been resolved, conflict with the Medici continued. In October 1467, as part of a rivalry between Piero and Luca Pitti, there was an bump-off endeavor against Lucrezia and her son Giuliano.^[30] Though the two survived, Giuliano was killed in 1478 as result of the Pazzi conspiracy against the Medici.

Since she was of noble birth, Lucrezia created bridges between her husband'due south family and the nobility.^[20] In 1450, she and her husband visited Rome for an audition with Pope Nicholas Five, who gave them permission to build an altar in their family chapel.^[31] The couple wanted to increase their influence outside of Florence, especially in the Roman courts.^[32] In spring 1467, she visited the Pope over again while seeking women suitable to marry her son Lorenzo.^{[33] [19]} To improve the family's social status, Lucrezia arranged for her son to marry Clarice Orsini in June 1469.^[32] Clarise's dowry was half dozen,000 florins,^[34] but Lorenzo wasn't very fond of his wife.^[35]

Cultural influence [edit]

Patronage [edit]

Lucrezia was a pregnant patron of the arts. She commissioned the Morgante past Luigi Pulci, who called her "a famous lady in our century",^[37] and supported many poets, including Bernardo Bellincioni and Angelo Poliziano,^[38] who later became a tutor to her grandchildren by Lorenzo.^[39] Similarly, religious institutions relied on Lucrezia'southward patronage.^[40] She was responsible for the improver of the Chapel of the Visitation in the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence^[41] and noted for donating many votive statues of her family to numerous churches.^[40] She was known to exist devoted to John the Baptist, patron saint of Florence.^[42] Subsequently she became ill in 1467, she believed her recovery was due to the intercession of Saint Romuald and supported the hermitage that he had founded at Camaldoli from and so on.^[40]

[edit]

Lucrezia wrote religious stories, plays, and poetry. She wrote stories about Esther, Susanna, Tobias, John the Baptist, and Judith.^[43] She recommended poets in her circle to utilise chivalric themes, which some of them did.^[fourteen] In role, her works were written to inspire and educate her grandchildren. ^[44] She read some of her poems to famous poets, comparing their compositions^[45] and exchanging humorous poems with Bellincioni.^[46] Poliziano admired her poetry^[14] and would read her poems to his students.^[39] Lucrezia'due south poetry work was printed and published four years subsequently she died. Some of her poems were gear up to popular tunes and performed publicly.^[43] Click beneath to read the Sacred Narratives by Lucrezia Tornabuoni, edited and translated past Jane Tylus from University of Chicago Press (2001).

Death [edit]

Lucrezia Tornabuoni suffered from arthritis and eczema, conditions which caused her to seek treatments at baths effectually Tuscany.^[nine] Later on suffering from lifelong illness, Lucrezia died in Florence on 25 March 1482 at the historic period of 54.^[2] By the time of her death, she had many grandchildren.^[xiii]

Fictional depictions [edit]

A young Lucrezia Tornabuoni is portrayed past Valentina Bellè in the 2016 television serial, Medici: Masters of Florence.^[47] An older Lucrezia Tornabuoni was portrayed by Sarah Parish in the second and third seasons.

References [edit]

1. ^ ^{a b} Pernis & Adams 2006, p. 1.
2. ^ ^{a b} Tomas 2003, p. 65.
3. ^ Milligan 2011.
4. ^ Pernis & Adams 2006, pp. four–5.
5. ^ ^{a b} Tomas 2003, p. 67.
6. ^ Pernis & Adams 2006, pp. 32–33.
7. ^ ^{a b} Tomas 2003, p. 17.
8. ^ Pernis & Adams 2006, p. two.
9. ^ ^{a b c d e} Pernis & Adams 2006, p. 29.
10. ^ Pernis & Adams 2006, pp. 28, 43.
11. ^ Pernis & Adams 2006, pp. 61–64.
12. ^ Pernis & Adams 2006, pp. 61–62.
13. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Tomas 2003, p. 7.
14. ^ ^{a b c d} Pernis & Adams 2006, p. eleven.
15. ^ Pernis & Adams 2006, p. ten.
16. ^ Tomas 2003, p. 48.
17. ^ Pernis & Adams 2006, p. 52.
18. ^ Tomas 2003, p. 49.
19. ^ ^{a b} Tomas 2003, pp. 30–31.
20. ^ ^{a b} Robin, Larsen & Levin 2007, p. 368.
21. ^ Tomas 2003, p. 26.
22. ^ Tomas 2003, p. 27.
23. ^ Tomas 2003, pp. 27–28.
24. ^ ^{a b} Tomas 2003, p. xc.
25. ^ Tomas 2003, pp. 51–52.
26. ^ Tomas 2003, pp. 56–57.
27. ^ Tomas 2003, pp. 55–56.
28. ^ Tomas 2003, pp. 49, 54, 58.
29. ^ Tomas 2003, p. l.
30. ^ Pernis & Adams 2006, pp. seventy–71.
31. ^ Tomas 2003, p. 23.
32. ^ ^{a b} Tomas 2003, pp. eighteen–xix.
33. ^ Pernis & Adams 2006, p. 72.
34. ^ Pernis & Adams 2006, p. 73.
35. ^ Tomas 2003, pp. 23–24.
36. ^ Tomas 2003, pp. 66–69.
37. ^ Tomas 2003, p. 44.
38. ^ Tomas 2003, p. 93.
39. ^ ^{a b} Tomas 2003, pp. 24, 94.
40. ^ ^{a b c} Tomas 2003, p. 64.
41. ^ Pernis & Adams 2006, p. 42.
42. ^ Tomas 2003, pp. 67, 94.
43. ^ ^{a b} Tomas 2003, p. 28.
44. ^ Tomas 2003, pp. 28–29.
45. ^ Tomas 2003, p. 29.
46. ^ Tomas 2003, p. 94.
47. ^ "Medici: Masters of Florence". Net Movie Database . Retrieved 24 Dec 2016.

Sources [edit]

• Tomas, Natalie R. (2003). The Medici Women: Gender and Ability in Renaissance Florence. Aldershot: Ashgate. ISBN0754607771.
• Pernis, Maria Grazia; Adams, Laurie (2006). Lucrezia Tornabuoni De' Medici and the Medici Family in the Fifteenth Century. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc. ISBN978-0820476452.
• Robin, Diana Maury; Larsen, Anne R.; Levin, Carole (2007). Encyclopedia of women in the Renaissance: Italian republic, France, and England. ABC-CLIO, Inc.
• Neil D. Thompson and Charles M. Hansen, "A Medieval Heritage: The Ancestry of Charles Two, King of England", The Genealogist, at 22 (2008):105-06
• Milligan, Gerry (2011). "Lucrezia Tornabuoni". Oxford Bibliographies . Retrieved 25 February 2015.

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucrezia_Tornabuoni

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