Medici Women: he Making of a Dynasty in Grand Ducal Tuscany Edited by Giovanna Benadusi and Judith C. Brown Italian Essays Translated by Monica Chojnacka Toronto Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies 2015 CRRS Publications Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies Victoria University in the University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario M5S 1K7, Canada Tel: 416/585–4465 Fax: 416/585–4430 Email: crrs.publications@utoronto.ca Web: www.crrs.ca © 2015 by the Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies All Rights Reserved Printed in Canada National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Cover image: Typesetting, cover design, and production: Iter Inc. Contents Acknowledgements 7 Contributors 9 Illustrations 13 Genealogical Tables 1: he Medici in the Republican and Grand Ducal Periods 2: he Medici Grand Ducal Family 15 16 Introduction Judith C. Brown 17 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Eleonora di Toledo, Regency, and State Formation in Tuscany Natalie Tomas 58 Isabella de’ Medici: Unraveling the Legend Elisabetta Mori 90 Joanna of Austria and the Negotiation of Power and Identity at the Florentine Court Sarah Bercusson 128 Christine of Lorraine and Medicine at the Medici Court Sheila Barker 154 Foreign Mothers and the International Education of Medici Children: Christine of Lorraine and Maria Maddalena of Austria at the Medici Court Maria Pia Paoli 182 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Index Margherita de’ Medici Farnese: A Medici Princess at the Farnese Court Adelina Modesti 226 The Gender Politics of Vittoria della Rovere Giovanna Benadusi 264 Connected Courts: Violante Beatrice of Bavaria in Florence and Siena Giulia Calvi 302 Anna Maria Luisa, Electress Palatine: Last Art Patron and Collector of the Medici Dynasty Stefano Casciu 322 Between Dynastic Strategies and Civic Myth: Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici and Florence as the New Athens Marcello Verga 347 373 Medici Women 17 Genealogical Table 1 Medici Family in the Republican and Grand Ducal Periods - Selective Family Tree Giovanni di Bicci 1360-1429 Banker Main Branch of Republican Period Lorenzo 1394-1440 Piero 1418-1469 Pier Francesco 1431-1477 Lorenzo the Magnificent 1449-1492 Lucrezia 1470-1553 = Jacopo Saviati Piero 1471-1503 Maria Salviati 1499-1543 = Giovanni delle Bande Nere Lorenzo 1492-1519 Duke of Urbino Giovanni 1475-1521 Pope Leo X Main Branch of Grand Ducal Period Cosimo the Elder 1389-1464 Pater Patriae Giuliano 1453-1478 Giuliano 1478-1516 Duke of Nemours Giulio 1478-1535 Pope Clement VII Ippolito 1511-1535 Catherine 1519-1589 regent of France = Henry II of France Claude de Valois 1547-1575 = Charles III Duke of Lorraine Alessandro 1512-1537 Duke of Penne Duce of Florence Giovanni 1467-1514 Giovanni delle Bande Nere 1498-1526 professional soldier = Maria Salviati Grand Dukes Cosimo I 1519-1574 Francesco 1541-1587 Christine of Lorraine 1565-1637 co-regent of Tuscany 1621-1628 = Ferdinand I de' Medici Ferdinand I 1549-1609 Cosimo II 1590-1621 Ferdinand II 1610-1670 Legend: =: Bold: Italics: Dotted line: 2 dates: Cosimo III 1642-1723 marriage official or unofficial ruler links between 2 Medici branches uncertain parentage birth and death Gian Gastone 1671-1737 Anna Maria Luisa 1667-1743 18 Genealogical Table 2 Grand Ducal Branch of the Medici Family - Selective Family Tree Maria 1540-1557 Francesco 1541-1587 = 1. Joanna of Austria = 2. Bianca Cappello 1548-1579-1587 1547-1565-1578 Eleonora 1566-1584-1611 = Vincenzo I Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua Maria 1573-1600-1642 regent of France 1610-1617 =Henry IV, King of France Isabella 1542-1558-1576 = Paolo Orsini Cosimo II 1590-1621 = Maria Maddalena of Austria 1589-1608-1631 co-regent 1621-1628 Giovanni 1544-1562 bishop of Pisa Eleonora 1591-1617 Lucrezia 1545-1561 = Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara & Modena Ferdinand I 1549-1609 Garzia 1547-1562 Caterina 1593-1616-1629 Governor of Siena 1627-1629 = Ferdinando Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua = Christine of Lorraine 1565-1589-1637 co-regent 1621-1628 Carlo 1595-1666 Cardinal Don Pietro 1554-1604 = Eleonora di Garzia di Toledo 1553-1576 Virginia 1568-1615 = Cesare d'Este, Duke of Modena Claudia 1604-1648 = 2. Leopold V, Archduke of Austria 1586-1626-1632 Lorenzo 1599-1648 = 1. Federico della Rovere, Duke of Urbino 1605-1620-1623 Ferdinando Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua = Caterina de' Medici Ferdinand II 1610-1670 = Vittoria della Rovere 1622-1637-1694 Cosimo III 1642-1723 = Marguerite Louise d'Orléans 1645-1661-1721 Gian Carlo 1611-1663 Cardinal Margherita 1612-1628-1679 regent 1646-1648 = Odoardo Farnese, Duke of Parma Mattias 1613-1667 Governor of Siena Francesco 1614-1634 Anna 1616-1646-1676 = Ferdinand Charles Archduke of Austria Leopold 1617-1675 Governor of Siena, Cardinal Vittoria della Rovere 1622-1637-1694 = Ferdinand II de' Medici 1610-1670 Ferdinand Charles Archduke of Austria = Anna de' Medici Francesco Maria 1660-1711, Cardinal then = Eleonora Luisa Gonzaga, Duchess of Rovere & Montefeltro 1686-1709-1741 Legend: = : marriage Bold: Grand Duke Italics: cousins, 2nd cousins Ferdinand 1663-1713 = Violante Beatrice of Bavaria 1673-1689-1731 Governor of Siena 1717-1731 Anna Maria Luisa 1667-1691-1743 = Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine Gian Gastone 1671-1737 = Anna Maria Franziska of Saxe-Lauenburg 1672-1697-1741 Three dates: birth-marriage-death Double Border: Subject of Essay Medici Women Cosimo I 1519-1574 = 1. Eleonora di Toledo = 2. Camilla Martelli 1522-1539-1562 1545-1570-1590 Fig. 7. Justus Sustermans, Portrait of Vittoria della Rovere, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, mid-seventeenth century, oil on panel, 154 x 119 cm. Florence, Uizi Gallery. All illustrations are by kind permission of the Ministero dei beni e delle attività culturali e del turismo (Italy) and any subsequent reproduction, in whatever form, is strictly prohibited. The Gender Politics of Vittoria della Rovere Giovanna Benadusi Vittoria della Rovere (Fig. 7) was the only Tuscan grand duchess to arrive at the Florentine court from within. hrough the paternal side of her family, she became at an early age the only surviving member of the Duchy of Urbino but through the maternal side she was also a Medici princess. As the intended wife of her cousin, the future Ferdinand II, Vittoria grew up under the powerful inluence of the two Tuscan regents Christine of Lorraine and Maria Maddalena of Austria, respectively her grandmother and her aunt and future mother-in-law. hese older women, experienced in the world of politics, imparted to her an upbringing worthy of a Medici princess, with the expectation that she would fulill the destiny imposed on her as future grand duchess of Tuscany. As a Medici, Vittoria shared with her husband familiarity with the court entourage and connections with courtiers and servants. As the last of the della Rovere lineage she inherited a vast patrimony. Her knowledge of the Florentine court and her connection to inluential members of the Medici family without the mediating role of her husband, the grand duke, combined with the wealth of the della Rovere allowed Vittoria to secure for herself a inancial autonomy and an independence of action that surpassed that of most ruler’s consorts in early modern Europe. In contrast to most aristocratic brides who, having traveled across state borders, found themselves in foreign courts confronted by hostile subjects and antagonistic sisters or mothers-in law,1 Vittoria began her life at the court in association and cooperation with other Medici relatives and in close contact with local Tuscan elites. Yet as discussed in the introduction to this volume, the writings of historians about Grand Duchess Vittoria (as about other Medici women) have until recently been heavily afected by the negative judgment of the eighteenth-century court historian Riguccio Galluzzi who portrayed Vittoria 1 On the hardship of foreign brides in their marital courts see the essay by Campbell Orr, “Making a New Start,” in Calvi and Chabot, eds., Moving Elites, 33. According to Campbell Orr, Charlotte, queen consort of King George III, had to adjust to a court that was smaller and less wealthy than that of some of the aristocratic women in her household. In the same volume see also Guerzoni, “Strangers at home,” 141–156. 265 266 Medici Women as a religious fanatic, a cold, arrogant, and narrow-minded woman of limited education. Her critics have also grossly dismissed her Medici heritage remarking that Vittoria was the cause of great humiliation for the Medici house because she was “the daughter of a mere Italian princeling.”2 Regrettably most of the historiography on Vittoria has ignored the remarks of her contemporary observers — assessments of Vittoria that were quite diferent from those of later historians. Ambassadors and foreign visitors at the court of Ferdinand II de’ Medici oten wrote in praise of Grand Duchess Vittoria in their private papers and in reports to their governments. In 1653, for example, ambassador Federico Lucchesini wrote to the Lucchese government that the grand duchess “speaks with such eloquence as to marvel those who listen to her and she has a full understanding of contemporary historical events.”3 Echoing this opinion, in 1673, the French visitor to the Tuscan court, Serre de Lamayene, concluded that “she is one of the most able women in the world […] governing the State absolutely, the grand duke, her son, does nothing without her advice and will.”4 In 1693, a year before her death, Scipione Lucchesini demonstrated his whole-hearted admiration: So great is the reputation of the dowager Grand Duchess’ virtues that by recounting them I would utterly obscure them, it just seems to me suicient to say that the thought of the wise Princess is the Delight of her subjects on whose behalf she constantly labors; she is the support of the Grand Duke [Cosimo III], who conides everything in her, in order to beneit from her shrewdness [and to obtain] advice from her prudence. She would be the easiest means by which to obtain favors from her son, but 2 Hale, Florence and the Medici, 180. Vittoria’s contemporary writers celebrated her Medici heritage by remarking how she shared the “noble” blood of the Madici family. See Manzini, L’iride, panegirico […] alla serenissima Granduchessa Vittoria della Rovere Medici, 114. In 1722 Giulio Negri also wrote: “Questa Gran Principessa […] Portò quel Nubil Sangue nelle Vene della Gran Casa de’ Medici.” In Negri, Istoria degli scrittori iorentini, 333. 3 “parla con tal eloquenza che apporta meraviglia a chi l’ascolta, (e) ha una piena cognitione delle istorie.” Report of Federigo Lucchesini, 26 May 1653, in Pellegrini, Relazioni inedite di ambasciatori lucchesi, 190. 4 “une des plus habiles femmes du monde […] gouvernant absolument l’Etat, le grand-duc son ils ne faisant rien que par son conseil et sa volonté.” Serre de Lamayene, “Relation d’un voyage que j’ay fait en Italie l’an 1673,” cited in Waquet, Le Grand-Duché de Toscane, 513, n. 72. Vittoria della Rovere 267 because she is judicious and astute, she rarely engages herself in such activities, and is pleased to be able to support, [and] increase her Credit and authority successfully by not intervening.5 Grand Duchess Vittoria’s strong position at the court and her considerable independence of action emerges with particular clarity through her letter writing, buttressing the respectful praise of contemporary observers and debunking the verdict of her detractors. Between 1637 when she married Ferdinand II, grand duke of Tuscany, and her death in 1694, Grand Duchess Vittoria della Rovere exchanged hundreds of letters with correspondents from extensive and far-reaching social strata and geographic areas. Among her correspondents were the most important rulers of Europe — the Holy Roman emperors and empresses, the kings and queens of France, England, Poland, and Spain — and most of the rulers of the Italian states — the dukes and duchesses of Mantua, Modena, Parma, and Savoy, the viceroy of Naples, and the doge of Venice. Many of her other correspondents were Italian aristocrats, cardinals, bishops, and ambassadors, not to mention lesser bureaucrats, physicians, clergymen, friars, abbots and even spies. Quite a few were Medici cousins and sisters-in-law, women who had married into the Italian and European nobility. In her network of correspondents there were also many other women, especially artists — painters, musicians, and poets. Although she wrote for the most part in Italian, she also corresponded in French, Spanish, German and Latin. he catalyst for writing these letters was the reputation that Vittoria had accrued over the years as an inluential arbitrator in domestic and political conlicts, which, in a Europe that was an aristocratic society, oten crossed both worlds. he extensive correspondence of Grand Duchess Vittoria della Rovere, wife of Ferdinand II and mother of Cosimo III, undermines the traditional 5 “È sì grande la fama delle rare virtù della G. Duchessa madre che più tosto l’oscurerei col nararle, solo parmi suiciente il dire che è l’idea della savia Principessa la Delizia de’ sudditi a prò de’ quali sempre s’ impiega; è la consolazione del G. Duca che tutto con Lei conida, per haver lumi dalla sua perspicacia, Consigli dalla sua prudenza. Ella sarebbe il mezzo più eicace per impetrar grazia dal iglio, ma, circospetta e sagace, vuol di rado impiegarsi, e contenta di poterlo con frutto eseguire, accresce, con astenersene, il Credito e l’autorità; si prevale più tosto per esercitare la sua Clemenza dell’onorevole incumbenza, ricevuta sotto il presente, di presedere alla Consulta, che è il Tribunale di Grazia, in cui si risolvono le materie che dipendono dal beneico harbitrio del Principe.” Report of Scipione Lucchesini, 12 December 1693, Pellegrini, Relazioni inedite di ambasciatori lucchesi, 251. 268 Medici Women scholarly divide between the realms of the familial, the social, and the afective on the one hand, all of which were associated with women, and the realm of politics, on the other, typically associated with men, making occasional exceptions for the temporary rule of women as regents and consorts. While the recent historiography has advanced new interpretive methodologies to show the importance of letter writing both as a literary genre and as historical sources6 for understanding how women built social networks within the family and the convent,7 Vittoria’s correspondence, by contrast, illuminates her role in the politics of state building and in the private and public mechanisms of power at the Medici court.8 In her letters Vittoria performed power, that is, she used the platform provided by the letters to understand and inluence politics through the social networks and personal relationships that she negotiated as a wealthy Tuscan grand duchess and a Medici woman in her own right. In this manner, though she was never a regent nor held a temporary status as a ruler, she negotiated her way into existing social and political discourses, justiied her presence there, and circulated her own ideas about justice, morality and authority. Particularly, through her letter writing, this grand duchess regulated behaviour at the court and across the state, at times reinforcing standards of normative conduct but also challenging them or at least revising them. In the process she critiqued the pervasive patriarchal character of early modern society while at the same time strengthening the hierarchical nature of female courts and helping to secure the social and political stability of the Tuscan grand duchy in the seventeenth century.9 6 To the long available collections of letters by famous humanists, such as Poggio Bracciolini’s Letters, Pietro Aretino’s Lettere, and Desiderius Erasmus’ Correspondence, scholars have recently added works on the epistolary narratives of Italian women. hese include Strunck, Medici Women; Schulte and Tippelskirch, eds., Reading; Doglio, L’arte delle lettere; Panizza and Wood, eds., A history of women’s writing in Italy; and Zarri, ed., Per lettera. For analyses of the writings and correspondence of women across Europe, see Bethencourt and Egmond, Cultural Exchange in Early Modern Europe, v. 3; Broomhall, “ ‘In my Opinion’: Charlotte de Minut”; Smith, Women Writers; Ferrante, To the Glory of Her Sex; Lewalski, “Writing Women and Reading the Renaissance.” 7 Borello, “Family Networking”; Schulte and Tippelskirch, eds., Reading, 106–121; Zarri, “Sixteenth Century Letters”; Scattigno, “Lettere dal convento.” On love letters, see Tippelskirch, “Reading Italian Love Letters.” 8 For a reading of women’s letters for their political signiicance see Bland and Cross, eds., Gender and Politics in the Age of Letter-Writing. 9 Waquet, in Le Grand-Duché de Toscane, has commented on the remarkable stability of seventeenth-century Tuscany. Vittoria della Rovere 269 An Upbringing Worthy of a Medici Princess Born in Pesaro, in the Duchy of Urbino, on 7 February 1622, Maria Vittoria della Rovere was descended from two ruling Italian dynasties. Her mother, Claudia, was the daughter of the Tuscan Grand Duke Ferdinand I de’ Medici and the Grand Duchess Christine of Lorraine. Her father was Federigo Ubaldo della Rovere, only son of Francesco Maria II, duke of Urbino, and Livia Feltra della Rovere. In line with the dynastic plans designed by agreements among her grandfather Francesco della Rovere, the pope, and the two Tuscan regents, Christine of Lorraine and Maria Maddalena of Austria, Vittoria was destined from infancy to become the wife of her then thirteenyear-old cousin, the future grand duke of Tuscany, Ferdinand II, son of her maternal uncle Cosimo II and Maria Maddalena. he vertical logic built into patrilineal family plans evaporated when Federigo Ubaldo della Rovere died unexpectedly on June 1623 and two months later, Claudia returned to Florence with her eighteen-month-old daughter. Lacking a male heir, the Duchy of Urbino reverted to the papacy and in 1626 Claudia married the Archduke Leopold of Tyrol and moved to Innsbruck, never to return to Florence.10 Vittoria, instead, spent her childhood in the convent of Santa Croce also known as La Crocetta, which she was allowed to leave for numerous visits to the Medici court for birthdays and other family celebrations and entertainments. Although her marriage was formally celebrated in 1634, she did not leave the convent permanently until 1637, when she reached the age of iteen and her marriage with Ferdinand actually began. Ater a number of miscarriages and stillbirths, on 14 August 1642, Vittoria gave birth to her irst-born son and future grand duke, Cosimo III. Shortly thereater, she moved out of the Pitti palace and spent the next 18 years apart from her husband, scorning the Pitti palace and dividing her time among her favorite residence, the villa of Poggio Imperiale, and the villas of Artimino, Siena, and Pisa. A brief reconciliation in 1660 resulted in the birth of her second and last son, Francesco Maria, but the spousal reunion did not last long and Vittoria resumed her life away from her husband at various Medici villas.11 10 From this marriage Claudia had two sons and two daughters. She died in Innsbruck in 1648. Benzoni, “Claudia de’ Medici.” 11 Spinelli, “La granduchessa,” 148–149. 270 Medici Women From an early age Vittoria lived in a world of Medici women at La Crocetta, the monastery that Christine of Lorraine had chosen as the object of her religious patronage, the place for her spiritual retreat, and the centre for the training of “Christian and virtuous” princesses.12 During the irst decades of the seventeenth century, under the inluence of Christine, La Crocetta had turned into an arena for “unoicial courtly life” crowded with Medici women and enlivened by theatre productions and music performances, oten led by Christine’s protégé, the singer and composer Francesca Caccini.13 In this monastic community the young Medici princesses entertained friends, exchanged clothes, jewelry, and books. hey also learned and played music and occasionally performed in plays, as was the case with Vittoria and her cousin Anna de’ Medici, who in 1635 “played the major part” in two comedies presented at the Medici Villa of Castello, in the hills near Florence.14 In addition, contrary to the new Tridentine rules of enclosure, the young Medici girls, chaperoned by Christine or Maria Maddalena, also moved in and out of the monastery to participate in festivities and carnivals, as happened for Vittoria’s thirteenth birthday, which she celebrated at the Medici Villa of Castello.15 In this monastic community of Medici women, as well as women artists and teachers, Vittoria also found solace for the absence of her own mother and for the lack of steady contacts with her paternal grandparents.16 12 Cusick, Francesca Caccini, 266. On Christine’s patronage of La Crocetta see Harness, Echoes of Women’s Voices, 224–248. 13 he expression “unoicial courtly life” is in Cusick, Francesca Caccini, 266. Regent Maria Maddalena and Prince Leopold de’ Medici also generously supported the monastery’s musical and dramatic performances. On convents as centres of artistic performances and patronage, in addition to Cusick, 266–267, see Weaver, Convent heatre in Early Modern Italy; Kendrick, Celestial Sirens; and Monson, Disembodied Voices. 14 Cited in Cusick, Francesca Caccini, 403, n. 18. 15 On the freedom enjoyed by Medici princesses at La Crocetta see Harness, Echoes of Women’s Voices, 284–285. Cusick writes that Christine “unwaveringly seconded the desires of women who sought relaxation of Trent’s strict rules and the desires of women who, like her, cherished the freedom convents provided for homosocial pastimes” in Francesca Caccini, 55–56, 264–265. See also Cole, “Self-Fashioning in Early Seventeenth-Century Florence,” 706. 16 In 1631, ater receiving news of the death of her grandfather, Duke Federico Maria II, the then nine-year old Vittoria demonstrated her intense attachment and longing for her paternal grandparents in a letter she wrote to her grandmother, Livia della Rovere: “Arrivò inalmente la nuova della morte del Serenissimo Nonno et io non fo altro che piagnere, vedendomi rimasta senza Padre e posso dire senza Madre perché stando così lontana è Vittoria della Rovere 271 She developed intimate and enduring relationships with her maternal grandmother, cousins, aunts, and other relatives from the Medici lineage.17 She not only spent time with Christine and Maria Maddalena; she also shared residence with her disabled aunt, Maria Maddalena, daughter of Christine, who died in 1633, and initiated a close and enduring friendship with her cousin and future sister-in-law, Anna de’ Medici, daughter of Maria Maddalena, only six years her senior. In 1637 both girls let the monastery for the Florentine court from which Anna departed when she married Ferdinand Charles, the archduke of Austria and Vittoria’s stepbrother, in 1646. In the course of their lives Anna and Vittoria strengthened their friendship through an intense epistolary exchange, as will be shown later in this essay. Vittoria’s experience in a world of Medici women eased her integration into the court and allowed her to avoid the emotional farewell to parents and siblings so oten experienced by foreign brides.18 Vittoria’s relations to the Medici family, not dependent on the mediating role of her husband, endowed her with a deep knowledge of the endogamous network of the court entourage and connections with courtiers and servants, some of whom she had known and interacted with since childhood. Several of the tutors that supervised Vittoria’s education and wellbeing at La Crocetta followed her to the court ater her marriage with Ferdinand. For instance, the widow and distant cousin Violante de’ Medici, who had been appointed as Vittoria’s aja by the regent Christine soon ater Vittoria’s mother let Tuscany in the mid 1620s, followed Vittoria to the court and remained in her household until her death.19 Similarly, Ortensia Guadagni Salviati, one come s’io non l’havessi. Né mi basteranno per mia intera consolatione le carezze et i favori che mi fanno queste altezze [Christine and Maria Maddalena] inche non viene a star qua V. A. che è in luogo di mia cara Madre et mi vuol bene forse più di lei. Io per me lo credo perché non ricevo da lei amorevolezze che mi fa V.A. et molte più ella me ne farà quando sarà in questa Casa, dove è aspettata da tutti con tanto desiderio et io col vederla spesso, et obbedirla rallegrerò tutta, et non piagnerò più. Supplico però V.A. a scrivermi quando ella pensa di poter venire perché voglio pregare Loro Alt.ze che mi menino a incontrarla; et intanto pregherò Dio per la sua conservazione et con tutto il mio cuore le faccio humilissima reverentia.” ASF, MdP 6145, “Minute di lettere, 1628–1650,” letter of 16 May 1631, n.p. 17 Contrary to the Catholic Church’s prohibition against members of one family residing in the same religious community, Christine of Lorraine received a special dispensation from the pope to keep the Medici princesses together at La Crocetta. See Cusick, Francesca Caccini, 262, 400, n. 54. 18 Coester, “Crossing Boundaries and Traversing Space,” 9–20. 19 Paoli, “Di madre in iglio,” 96. 272 Medici Women of Vittoria’s tutors while at La Crocetta, famous for her correspondence with Galileo Galilei, was appointed her chief chambermaid (cameriera maggiore) in 1634,20 while the Portuguese friar Arsenio dell’Ascenzione, who in the late 1620s had been hired by Christine to teach Spanish to young Vittoria, became her personal religious mentor (predicatore) in 1637.21 Tutors were not the only ones to have trailed ater Vittoria. Margherita Signorini, for instance, the daughter of singer and composer Francesca Caccini, born the same year as Vittoria, ater spending time at La Crocetta, was later listed, together with her mother, as a salaried court musician under the patronage of Grand Duchess Vittoria in the later 1630s.22 Vittoria’s familiarity with members of her court entourage is also relected in the career trajectory of the Marquis Bartolomeo Corsini. Born the same year as the grand duchess, he was educated at court among the pages and by age 23 was employed in the grand ducal household as master of the horses (cavallerizzo maggiore). In 1670, ater Grand Duke Ferdinand died, Vittoria named him chamberlain (maestro di camera) of her own household.23 he list of tutors, courtiers, and servants that illed Vittoria’s life as a child and later as grand duchess shows how ubiquitous and enduring were some of her contacts with the entourage of the court. In addition the educators and the Medici women that guided Vittoria’s daily experience at La Crocetta proved to be powerful role models. During these irst years of her life as a young Medici princess she was trained for a position of leadership at the Florentine court, prepared to achieve the utmost reputation in the international world of European courts, and exhorted to project the same authority that her grandmother, aunt, and cousins had displayed before her.24 20 Del Lungo ed., Lettere inedite di una gentildonna iorentina. In 1645, thanks to Vittoria’s patronage, Ortensia received the title of Marchioness and the ief of San Leolino del Conte. See Passerini, Geneologia e storia, 104. 21 Martelli, “Padre Arsenio,” 100. 22 Cusick, Francesca Caccini, 260. 23 Gandini, Sulla Venuta in Italia, 40. 24 From the numerous letters the grand duchess exchanged with the court physician Francesco Redi we learn that as her grandmother had done for her, Vittoria in turn oversaw the education of her granddaughter, Anna Maria Luisa, and spent long periods of time in her company. In January 1678, when the eleven-year old Anna Maria Luisa was sojourning with her grandmother in the grand ducal palace in Pisa, Francesco Redi reported to her father, Grand Duke Cosimo III, that the grand duchess “ha comandato che il Dottor Giuseppe del Papa [grand ducal physician in Pisa] ogni giorno faccia un poco Vittoria della Rovere 273 his world of powerful female models produced in Vittoria a strong sense of respect and admiration for women in positions of political leadership and with intellectual expertise.25 Vittoria’s interests were intellectually eclectic. At an early age she distinguished herself for her knowledge of music26 and languages. Later, her interests ranged from history and literature to science and medicinal therapeutics.27 Vittoria was also very interested in plants, lowers and bulbs in particular.28 An avid reader, throughout her lifetime, she oten relied on reading suggestions from her learned cousin and brother-in-law Prince Leopold de’ Medici, with whom she developed an afectionate friendship. Even ater Leopold’s death in 1672 she requested the court physician, Francesco Redi, to ask Antonio Magliabechi, the court librarian, to send her books from Leopold’s library: Her Serene Grand Duchess, my Lady, commands that I write to you that Her Serene Highness wants you to send her some books to read from those of the Serene Prince of Tuscany’s library, that di lezione di ilosoia alla Serenissma Signora Principessa, e che io giornalmente vi assista […] mi soggiunse la Serenissima Granduchessa, che sarebbe forse stato bene, quando arrivava il Sig. Principe Gastone, che anco egli stesse presente alla lezione, giacche le pareva, che avessimo pigliato un modo facile e piano per fare intendere, e tenere a mente le cose di questo mondo ad una Principessa giovanetta.” Letter of Francesco Redi to Cosimo III, Pisa, 9 January 1678, in Redi, Opere, 8: 233. On Anna Maria Luisa see the essays by Stefano Casciu and Marcello Verga in this volume, and on the regents’ educational programs see the essay by Maria Pia Paoli in this volume. 25 In 2008 Virginia Cox noted the dearth of studies on Vittoria’s literary patronage. Cox, Women’s Writing in Italy, 361, n. 162. See also Paoli, “Di madre in iglio,” 112–116. Suzanne Cusick has argued that Christine instilled in Vittoria a sense of respect for her teachers, particularly for Francesca Caccini, who may have taught her music at La Crocetta. Cusick, Francesca Caccini, 266–267. 26 In 1633, Christine wrote to Maria Maddalena that Vittoria should spend two and half-hours playing music. Cusick, Francesca Caccini, 403, n. 14. 27 Even Gaetano Pieraccini, one of Vittoria’s harshest modern critics, conceded that “per quanto fatua, capricciosa e in certe manifestazioni veramente squilibrata, la Vittoria della Rovere non fu priva di una certa intelligenza e neppure di cultura.” Pieraccini, La stirpe, 2: 508. 28 For example, on 28 September 1682, Vittoria wrote the Abbot Franesco Ridolini: “le novelle radiche di iori delle quali ella mi ha provisto, hanno appagato il mio genio si perché io ne fo nel loro genere un’alta stima e si perché tengo ferma speranza che habbino a provar bene anche ne miei Giardini.” ASF, MdP 6180, “Minute di lettere della Granduchessa Vittoria, 1681–84,” n.p. 274 Medici Women you might deem to be something of interest or novelty. And if among those books you ind some things that are a propos, you should let me know, so that as soon as Her Serene Highness gives me the order, I will send you the money for the purchase. You can wrap the books in a package addressed to me, and send them to me via courier.29 Over the years Vittoria collected a library of her own that illed seven armoires, each containing four shelves of books. It included books in Italian as well as in other languages like Spanish, French, and German, languages that along with Latin, she had learned at an early age.30 he library’s list of books, unique in its documentation of the readings by a Medici princess, covered numerous subjects from religion and theatre to political memoirs by contemporary authors and classical texts. Among Vittoria’s books there was the 1590 new vulgate edition of the Bible by Pope Sixtus V as well as a recent account of the English Reformation, translated into Italian in 1602 by Bernardo Davanzati, under the title Scisma d’Inghilterra.31 Showing particular interest for women in positions of leadership, Vittoria’s library contained the Italian translation of the memoirs of Margaret de Valois, Queen of Navarre,32 and several books in French, among them, the Pulselle d’Orléans and La galerie des femmes fortes by the moralist Pierre Lemoyne, published in 1647 and dedicated to the French Queen and Regent Anna of Austria.33 he latter 29 Francesco Redi wrote: “La Serenissima Granduchessa mia Signora mi comanda, che io scriva a V. Sig. che l’A. S. Sereniss. desidera, che V. Sig. le mandi qualche libro da leggere di quegli della libraria del Sereniss. Principe di Toscana, se vi sia cosa di curiosità, e novità, come crede. E se fra cotesti libraj vi fosse ancora qualche cosa di proposito, V. Sig. me ne dia avviso, che io subito d’ordine di S.A.S. le farò rimettere il denaro per la compra. I libri potrà involtarli in un fagotto con la soprascritta a me, e mandarmegli per via della dispensa.” Undated letter (probably from the early 1680s) to Antonio Magliabechi, Pisa 7 January, Redi, Opere, 5: 300. 30 At the end of the 1620s, Christine of Lorraine appointed the Portuguese Arsenio dell’Ascenzio, friar of the order of the Discalced Augustinians, to teach Vittoria Spanish. Martelli, “Padre Arsenio,” 83. 31 BNCF, Magliabechiano cl. X, 44, “Inventario di libri della Ser.ma Gran Duchessa Vittoria di Toscana fatto da me Anton Francesco Marmi d’ordine dell’A.S.,” 1. For clariication on Davanzati’s translation see Wyatt, he Italian Encounter with Tudor England, 72–73. 32 BNCF, Magliabechiano cl. X, 44, 1. 33 BNCF, Magliabechiano cl. X, 44, 2 Vittoria della Rovere 275 book, although praising the virtues of female leadership, warned against too much learning by women. In fact the “fortes” in the title was intended to highlight the power of women’s religious faith and to criticize women’s learning aspirations, warning that intense erudition in women would “fade away” the “boundaries that separate” men and women.34 Vittoria’s intellectual curiosity, however, does not seem to have been deterred. Her extensive book collection also included the works by the Spanish dramatist Juan Pérez de Montalbán, famous for his hagiographic plays but even more popular for his controversial dramas addressing women’s virtue, love, and sexuality.35 he gender implications of Vittoria’s literary interests warrant further investigation, nonetheless the possession of these texts alone clearly show a keen curiosity about the deeds of pious and virtuous women who were both intellectually inquisitive and politically, as well as culturally, powerful. he inluence of a long tradition of women in position of power and a tight circle of learned friends and relatives inluenced Vittoria’s strong sense of her prerogatives in her performance as grand duchess of Tuscany and gave her a standing in the Medici court that was independent from her husband’s position. he vast patrimony that she inherited as the last of the della Rovere lineage gave her great inancial self-suiciency. To be sure, contrary to her paternal grandfather’s will, Vittoria and the Medici lost control over the Duchy of Urbino at his death in 1631, but she retained the title of princess of Urbino and inherited as her dowry the substantial patrimonial land of the della Rovere and the Montefeltro families which included vast estates in central and southern Italy. At the death of her paternal grandfather she also came into possession of an important art collection and of the ducal treasure.36 According to a Venetian ambassador, Vittoria’s dotal wealth amounted to two 34 See Stanton, “Introduction,” 6. he quote is from Lemoyne’s La Galerie des Femmes Fortes, 209–213. 35 BNCF, Magliabechiano cl. X, 44, 23. Montalbán’s fame declined in the nineteenth century and even to date his works have not received much scholarly attention with the exception of his theatre adaptation of Vida de la Monja Alfarez (Life and Events of the Nun Ensign), about a lesbian who dressed as a man, by Catalina de Erauso. See Kenworthy, “Juan Pérez de Montalbán (or Montalván),” 124–131 and Velasco, he Lieutenant Nun, 60–70. 36 Vittoria inherited the allodial properties of the Duchy of Urbino, her grandfather’s interests in the Kingdom of Naples, and 550,000 scudi as well as work of art, silver and jewelry. Pagliai, “Luci ed ombre di un personaggio,” 463–464. ASF, MdP 6141, “Documenti e altre carte concernenti interessi dotali e altro della Gran Duchessa Vittoria della Rovere col Granduca Cosimo III, suo iglio e con Ferdinando II suo consorte.” 276 Medici Women million gold scudi.37 In addition, in 1667, following the death of Ferdinand’s brother, Prince Mattias, she became governor of the ief of Monte San Savino, which generated a yearly income of 2,500 scudi.38 Ater Ferdinand’s death in 1670, her wealth grew further with the substantial income that her husband let her in his will and which amounted to 14,200 scudi a year.39 Combined, Vittoria’s lineage, inancial autonomy, and respect for women’s authority gave her an unusual independence of action to maneuver her way in court circles. he sense she had of her place in the Tuscan court and in the European court system as well as her inancial ability to act on that understanding may well explain why in 1659 she bought the villa of Poggio Imperiale from her husband, Ferdinand II, reinstating its possession among the Medici women, a wish stipulated in the last will of Maria Maddalena, the villa’s original owner. Maria Maddalena, wife of Cosimo II and mother of Ferdinand, had bought the villa of Poggio Imperiale in 1622. During the following year she enlarged and embellished it with the intent to strengthen her position as foreign consort at the Florentine court, to celebrate her imperial ancestry, and to build the foundation of a female court.40 In her last will she let the villa to her son Ferdinand II with the stipulation that it should always remain in possession of future Tuscan grand duchesses. Following her death, in 1641, however, Ferdinand, ignoring his mother’s wishes, incorporated the villa into the property of the crown.41 Ater her marriage, especially starting in the late 1640s, Vittoria began spending time at the villa. Following in her aunt’s steps she decorated it lavishly with the works of prominent Italian and European artists and with the works of art she had inherited from her paternal grandparents, the duke and duchess of Urbino.42 In 1659, she then purchased the villa from her husband for 62,500 scudi, or twice what Maria Maddalena had 37 Pagliai, “Luci ed ombre di un personaggio,” 464. 38 ASF, MM 12, ins. 11, interno 2, “Interessi di Vittoria della Rovere nel feudo di Monte San Savino,” 1678–1679, fol. 55r–v. See also Miretti, “Dal ducato d’Urbino al granducato di Toscana,” 313–326. 39 ASF, DGPA 1600, “Giornale e Ricordi di Vittoria della Rovere (1655–1685),” inserts dated 5 May 1655 and 30 March 1658. Information about Vittoria’s dowry is also in ASF, MdP 6144, “Negoziati, liti civili, paci e aggiustamenti e altro della Serenissima Gran Duchessa Vittoria fatti dall’anno 1670 al 1684,” Negozio Primo, n.p. 40 Spinelli, “Simbologia dinastica,” 645–679. 41 Acanfora, “La villa di Poggio Imperiale,” 143–156. 42 Spinelli, “La granduchessa,” 150. Vittoria della Rovere 277 bought it for in 1622.43 Ater the death of her husband, Vittoria turned the Imperiale into her favorite private residence making it the arena for erudite conversation and public spectacles. Like Maddalena before her, she made the villa the focus of her artistic patronage, especially sponsoring women artists like Camilla Guerrieri Nati and Giovanna Garzoni. Perhaps Vittoria re-established ownership of the villa to the future Tuscan grand duchesses in deference to Maria Maddalena’s disregarded request and out of the desire to endorse a court of her own.44 In the process she also turned it into the spatial symbol of a Medici female dynastic court, at the same time separate and independent from that of the grand duke, her husband. Vittoria’s powerful sense of herself and of her prerogatives in the role of grand duchess of Tuscany may well explain why she lived apart from her husband from 1642 until his death in 1670, except for the few months of reconciliation which resulted in the birth of her second and last son in 1660. he long years apart and a marriage characterized by tensions and estrangements became a source for some modern historians’ characterizations of her as a person lacking feelings and compassion.45 Not long ater Ferdinand’s death, a courtier complained to the deceased grand duke’s brother Leopold that “from the time his illness started, the Grand Duchess […] didn’t even visit her husband once while he was ill.”46 Epistolary Connections: Building Respect, Trust, and Fame In contrast to the lack of connection, whether personal or epistolary with her husband, Grand Duchess Vittoria wrote or dictated thousands of letters addressed to others in the ive decades between the 1640s and her death. Until 43 In 1622 Maria Maddalena had bought the villa for 25,000 scudi. Spinelli, “Vittoria della Rovere (1622–1695),” 156. Even ater adjusting for the efects of inlation in the irst half of the seventeenth century, this represented an approximate doubling of the purchase price in real prices. 44 Spinelli, “Vittoria della Rovere (1622–1695),” 155–203, esp. 156–157 and Spinelli, “La granduchessa,” 148–150. For a discussion of Maria Maddalena’s goal to make Poggio Imperiale her own court, see Hoppe, “Uno spazio di potere femminile,” 681–689. 45 Pieraccini claimed that she lacked “squisitezza di afetti familiari.” Pieraccini, La stirpe, 2: 508. Lea Rossi Nissim claimed she had “aridità di sensi e di sentimento.” Nissim, “Vittoria della Rovere,” 78–79. 46 “La Ser.ma Gran Duchessa […] non ha visto il marito quando è stato ammalato, che una volta sul principio del male.” Cited in Pieraccini, La stirpe, 2: 508. 278 Medici Women now these letters have been used for the important but limited purposes of understanding her sophisticated and ambitious artistic patronage.47 his essay will suggest that in them Vittoria promoted her public identity, accrued fame and respectability across the social ranks, and advanced a culture of women at court and in the state. Epistolary relationships between equals required reciprocity and exchange. Similar dynamics were at work in the dynastic plans of the European ruling families, which included the grand duchess. Once the information spread across Europe that Vittoria was a skilled politician, persuasive broker, moralist, disciplinarian, and relentless sponsor of women and their claims, the grand duchess became an important constituent in the eyes of powerful men. Epistolary exchange and reciprocity intertwined with dynastic logic. In 1653, for example, the Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand III, wrote to the grand duchess asking for her collaboration in a certain “business” (negoziato) concerning, on the one hand, the Ercolani brothers, counts from Bologna who lived in Regensburg, Bavaria, where they engaged in commercial enterprises, and on the other, the Countess Pantasilea Orsi also from Bologna.48 he reasons for the conlict between the brothers and the countess are blurred, as is the motive that led the emperor to intervene in what appeared to be an ordinary case of misconduct and fraud by the two distinguished but otherwise ordinary subjects. All we know is that they had been expelled from Bologna on account of their corruption and unresolved business disputes with the countess’ deceased husband as well as others, prior to the onset of a new business deal requiring their presence in the city. he emperor’s message to Vittoria was clear: he asked her to convince the uncompromising countess to lit her charges against the two miscreant counts and allow them to return to Bologna. By mid-November, considering the stubborn position of Countess Pantasilea, Vittoria was ready to abandon counts, countess and emperor to their own fate when, on 24 November, she received an oicial letter written in Latin from Emperor Ferdinand, asking his “Serene First Cousin and Very 47 Riccardo Spinelli is one of the irst, among a handful of scholars, who has portrayed Vittoria as a passionate and erudite patroness of the arts. See his “La granduchessa,” and “Vittoria della Rovere (1670–1694).” See also, Straussman-Planzer, “Court Culture in 17th-Century Florence,” and Modesti, “Diplomatic and Cultural Partnerships.” Brief references to Vittoria can be found in Cusick, Francesca Caccini, and Paoli, “Di madre in iglio,” 112–119. 48 ASF, MdP 6142, “Negoziati di pace, parentele, e monazioni della Serenissima Gran Duchessa Vittoria fatti dall’anno 1653 al 1659,” Negozio Primo, April 1653–May 1654, n.p. Vittoria della Rovere 279 Dear Princess” to persevere in the arbitration of the case and to convince the countess to forgive the two counts whom he called his “dilecti ilios.”49 Within a few weeks, reassured and empowered by the request of the emperor, the grand duchess successfully convinced the countess to change her course of actions.50 What were Vittoria’s reasons for her involvement in this case besides obeying the emperor? On 21 February 1654, with the case solved, Vittoria informed the emperor of the successful outcome, attributing its resolution to the intervention of the emperor himself. As for herself, Vittoria, projecting a position of submission, wrote that she drew satisfaction simply from having followed his commands.51 he power dynamics that emerge from the letters between the grand duchess and the emperor are particularly signiicant for what they tell us about the interactions of Vittoria with men who were in a position of superiority to her. In her correspondence with the emperor, the grand duchess did not challenge the conventional image of hierarchy and power. Rather, she maintained this framework in her eforts to reconcile the two parties to each other, providing no other narrative than the story of a woman who used her arbitration skills in pursuit of an outcome desired by a higher power, while all the time reairming her basic inferiority as a woman and acknowledging her lower dynastic rank. But in the days that followed the conclusion of the case, her professed modesty gave way to a burst of pride in the successful accomplishment aforded her by the emperor’s request. She made sure to spread the news of her success to friends and relatives of the counts and the countess, who in turn wrote numerous laudatory letters praising her mediation abilities and thanking her profusely for having restored peace between the two families. In exchange for her endeavors they promised her their “most humble and ancient servitude.”52 By soliciting Vittoria to persevere in solving the case, the emperor acknowledged her ability to advise, guide, and overcome diicult situations 49 “Serenissima Consobrina and Principessa Chiarissima.” ASF, MdP 6142, Negozio Primo, letter of 24 November 1653. he emperor was the nephew of Vittoria’s aunt Maria Maddalena and in 1648 had married Vittoria’s half sister, daughter of Claudia de Medici. 50 ASF, MdP 6142, Negozio Primo, letter of 14 February 1654. 51 ASF, MdP 6142, Negozio Primo, letter of 21 February 1654. 52 “humilissima and antichissima servitù.” Between February and May 1654 Vittoria exchanged iteen letters with the brother of the countess, the sister of the count, and all the informants and collaborators who assisted Vittoria in the case. 280 Medici Women involving prominent subjects. We do not know whether he was aware of all the implications of his inal personal appeal but Vittoria clearly understood the social and political value that the intervention of her superior had generated.53 Vittoria’s realization of her own potential, of the signiicance of the high politics of peace-making for social stability as well as for her own reputation, and of her worth and qualities as mediator become even more apparent in her dealing with Emperor Leopold I, son of Ferdinand, ive months later. In July 1654, when the emperor’s secretary asked her again to mediate a new conlict between the same Ercolani counts and a certain Gostanza Grassi, the grand duchess placed as condition of her intercession a personal letter from the emperor asking her to take charge of the case. When the young emperor failed to respond to her request, Vittoria dropped the case.54 he grand duchess recognized the authority of existing hierarchies and just as she reinforced a culture of rank, she also manipulated the authority of her superiors. In her skilled handling of rank and gender, Vittoria showed respect for the internal coniguration of court hierarchy while at the same time successfully sustaining a hierarchy of female courts. In this way she built trust and loyalty at the court and across the state. he matters addressed in her letters were multiple but in the early years of her life Grand Duchess Vittoria engaged particularly in one pursuit: managing the administrative, military and religious appointments of some of her subjects. he administrative patronage and promotion of court networks by means of letter writing was not unique. hroughout Europe consorts and regents inluenced the selection of administrative and court appointments to reward friends and courtiers, to foster sociability and assure peace and order. hrough her indefatigable epistolary exchanges Vittoria conformed to this model. She created or reinforced social networks, built reputation, and played a central role in the life of her equals as well as in that of her superiors and subordinates. A good example is a letter dated 18 March 1643 to Prince Leopold, in which the twenty-one year old grand duchess set in motion multiple layers of communication that placed diferent persons in dialogue with 53 54 See Davis, “Boundaries and the Sense of Self,” 53–63. ASF, MdP 6142, “Negoziati della Serenissima Gran Duchessa Vittoria fatti dall’anno 1653 al 1659,” Negozio Terzo, 20 May — 29 July 1654, n.p. Vittoria della Rovere 281 each other, an approach that she skillfully repeated throughout her life.55 In the letter Vittoria presented herself as the broker between Leopold, who was governor of Siena, and the Marquis Francesco Niccolini, her chamberlain (maestro di camera) and between Niccolini and the Sienese notary Alessandro Nelli, who was the manager of Niccolini’s property in Siena. At stake was the administrative position of assistant to the Magistrato de’ Conservatori di Legge that Nelli was hoping to obtain. Vittoria wrote: For the vacancy in the [position of] assistant in the magistracy of the Conservators [of the Law],56 the Marquis Francesco Niccolini has asked me to recommend to Your Excellency Ser Alessandro Nelli, who assists in handling his afairs in that city [Siena] and he [the marquis] demonstrates such attention in this matter, that I would want him to feel gratiied: I plead this case to Your Excellency with all my heart, reassuring you, that I would be very pleased if Your Excellency were to conirm on this occasion the usual outcomes of your generosity.57 We know that Nelli obtained the employment from a letter the grand duchess wrote Leopold a year later asking again to ind Nelli a position as “executor (esecutore)” of the Gabella dei Contratti.58 As in the previous letter, Vittoria wrote that she wanted Niccolini to feel “gratiied” and ended as she did all her letters to Leopold, expressing “her profound gratefulness” 55 ASF, MdP 6145, “Lettere della Granduchessa ai Cardinali Giovan Carlo e Leopoldo, 1643–1673,” n.p. Most of the letters are addressed to Leopold. 56 he magistracy of the Conservatori delle Leggi had judicial authority over a number of areas, such as reviewing the legal standing of all the oicers employed in government positions, supervising all capital and corporal punishments imposed in provincial courts, and supervising cases regarding the poor. See Litchield, Emergence of a Bureaucracy, 69 and 79–80. 57 “Per la mancanza della Coadiutoria del Mag.to de’ Conservatori [di Legge], mi ha fatto supplicare il Marchese Francesco Niccolini di raccomandare a V. A. Ser Alessandro Nelli, che assiste a suoi interessi in cotesta città [Siena] e vi mostra tal premura, che veramente io vorrei che mi restasse gratiicato: Io ne prego V. A. ben di cuore, assicurandola, che mi sarà accettissimo che l’A. V. mi conirmi in questa occasione i soliti efetti della sua cortesia.” ASF, MdP 6145. 58 he Gabella dei Contratti collected the tax imposed on notarized contracts. Litchield, Emergence of a Bureaucracy, 69. 282 Medici Women as his “Very afectionate Sister-in-law and Servant,” a signature that was familial and at the same time deferential.59 While initially Vittoria’s political patronage was limited to Tuscan subjects, as this example shows, in time it expanded both socially and geographically. By the 1680s, the range of her political connections in her negotiations grew to include cardinals, bishops and abbots as well as aristocrats, across the northern half of Italy, from Rome to Ferrara, and from Perugia to Bologna. Most of the time, as before, her goal was to procure career appointments for important subjects residing outside of Tuscany. he example of Lorenzo and Niccolò Ginori, two of four brothers, who were Florentine merchants living in Lisbon, is particularly telling. In a letter dated 20 March 1683, Vittoria appealed to Cardinal Colonna60 to expedite the request of the two brothers to obtain a position in the Tesoreria della Nunziatura.61 In her letter, Vittoria expressed special interest in the Ginori, whom she called “brothers and partners.”62 Not only were they connected to two prominent Florentine families, the Ginori and the Rucellai, but as grand ducal consuls in Portugal they also played a prominent role as cultural intermediaries and sources of valuable information about Mediterranean and Transatlantic commerce.63 59 “prego V.A. a operare che l’istessa Cancelleria [dell’esecutore della Gabella] sia conferita a Alessandro Nelli che è notaro, non intendendo però che questo oizio sia di danno all’altro, che con tal condizione, scrivo di nuovo a V.A. per compiacere al Marchese Francesco Niccolini mio Maestro di Camera, che me ne fa grande instanza […] ne resto obbligatissima a V.A. alla quale bacio di cuore le mani. Afettuosissima Cognata e Serva.” ASF, MdP 6145, letter of 24 January 1644. 60 It is likely that this Cardinal is Carlo Colonna, 1665–1739. 61 he Ginori brothers were seeking a position in the treasury of the Nunciature, a Vatican embassy, in Lisbon. 62 “fratelli e Compagni.”ASF, MdP 6176, “Minute di lettere della granduchessa Vittoria, 1670–72,” n.p., letter of 20 March 1683. 63 Lorenzo and Niccolò were the sons of the Florentine senator Carlo Ginori and Fiammetta Rucellai. Together with two other brothers, Francesco and Bartolomeo, they had a thriving business linked to Brazilian sugar in Cádiz and Lisbon. Sometime in the early 1670s Cosimo III appointed Lorenzo to be the Florentine consul in Lisbon, a post, from which he provided precious information about transatlantic commerce to the Florentine government. In 1688, when his brother Niccolò succeeded him as consul in Lisbon, Lorenzo was appointed Provveditore of Livorno’s customs house, where he served the grand duke until 1694. In the 1670s, of the other two brothers, Francesco was Florentine consul in Cadiz while Bartolomeo represented Danish merchants in Seville as their consul. Zamora Rodriguez, “War, Trade, Products and Consumption Patterns,” 55–67. Vittoria della Rovere 283 What did Vittoria get in return? hrough the complex and multilayered negotiations she established in her correspondence, the grand duchess created the social networks and the political connections that sustained her authority and spread her reputation. In the process of patronizing her nonnoble subjects with career opportunities, gratifying her noble courtiers by meeting their needs, and acknowledging the authority of Prince Leopold, Grand Duchess Vittoria formed relationships of reciprocity, exchange and hierarchy which broadened her power base and promoted her reputation. In this way she received the trust and loyalty of her Tuscan subjects whether they lived at court, in the towns of the grand duchy, or abroad. Vittoria’s connections also expanded outside of Tuscany. In addition to several exchanges with Cardinal Colonna she corresponded with Cardinals Pignatelli, Altieri, and Augustini asking them to promote a number of Tuscan subjects in clerical positions. She also communicated with the dukes and duchesses of many Italian principalities from whom she asked or ofered favours for other aristocrats, many of whom had Tuscan connections, as was the case with the Marchioness Claudia, daughter of the Roman Prince Scipione Santa Croce. When in 1682 the Marchioness Claudia, a resident of the Duchy of Parma, became the widow of the Marquis Giuseppe Malaspina di Olivola, Vittoria solicited both the duchess and the duke of Parma to keep her “under their vigilant protection” because “she is a foreigner in that state, that is to say, she is far from relatives and has no children.” What motivated Vittoria was not only compassion for Claudia but also “the memory of my deep afection toward the Marchioness, her mother, who was of my same age and my best friend during youth.”64 Part of this correspondence was intended to convey emotions especially in those circumstances linked to a recipient’s domestic or personal event. he letters praised the unions of young people and cheered the birth of sons and daughters. he grand duchess showed appreciation when asked to serve as a godparent and was saddened at the news that someone died. hrough a display of emotions and empathy Vittoria integrated herself and the court 64 “è forestiera in quel paese, cioè lontana da parenti”; “la reminiscenza del mio vero afetto ch’io portavo alla Sig.ra marchesa sua madre stata mia coetanea e in gioventù non volgare amica.” ASF, MdP 6180, letter of 23 June 1682. In addition, Giuseppe Malaspina’s sister had been one of Vittoria’s maids-of-honour and later entered the convent of the Discalced Carmelites in Genoa. Magalotti and Crinò, Relazioni d’Inghilterra, 76. 284 Medici Women into the domestic and personal world of her subjects, of Italian aristocrats and of European queens and kings. In addition to personnel and domestic issues, her letters also dealt with more overtly political subjects. Between spring and fall 1683 Vittoria wrote three letters that reveal her involvement in political afairs, namely the turmoil caused by the progressive advances of Ottoman troops towards Vienna. On 17 May, two months before the beginning of the Ottoman siege of Vienna, she reassured Emperor Leopold I of her son’s cooperation in the struggle against the “common enemy.”65 A few months later, on 25 September, following the defeat of the Ottomans, she wrote to the queen of Poland, Maria Kazimiera, praising the commanding qualities of her consort, King Jan III, in the war against “the common enemy” but also applauding the “invaluable” role she, the queen, had played in securing victory.66 Shortly thereater, on 2 October, in a letter to Cardinal Boncompagni at Bologna, Vittoria exalted the intervention of the “Divine Almighty” for having saved the “Christian world.”67 Major political matters in Europe provided the grand duchess an opportunity to display her piety and concern for the “common” good, to buttress her qualities as a skilled politician and efective power broker, and inally to express in her own writing the admiration toward virtuous and powerful women that she had already exhibited in her literary pursuits. 65 “la benignissima Lettera della M. Vostra tano a me più cara, quanto che mi porta l’onore di poter adempire i suoi Cesarei comandamenti nell’opera che m’impone appresso il Gran Duca mio igliuolo, perché voglia secondare i piissimi sentimenti di V. M. nelle occorrenze dell’imminente guerra col comune Nemico. E se ben io son certa che S. A. non ha bisogno di stimoli dove si tratta d’andare incontro alle ocasioni del Maggior servizio della M. V. per gl’ininiti rispetti che gli corrono colla Augusta Casa, e per la causa comune dell’interesse di tutta la Cristianità, io non lascerò di contribuire le parti mie per sodisfare al debito d’ubbidire a V. M.” ASF, MdP 6180. 66 “rallegrandomi tanto più di si felice, e avventuroso evento […] quanto è maggior la porzione che se le aspetta nel prezioso acquisto di queste Glorie.” ASF, MdP 6180. 67 “Grande era veramente l’angustia in che vedevasi Vienna assediata dagl’Infedeli, e grandissimo è stato poi il Giubbilo di tutto il mondo Cristiano per la felice Liberazione seguitane; onde ben giustamente concorre V. Em. con le Universali acclamazioni benedicendo la Divina Omnipotenza la quale si è degnata di farsi vie più palese con si prospero successo.” ASF, MdP 6180. Vittoria della Rovere 285 A Circle of Sociability and Matronage As discussed earlier, Grand Duchess Vittoria grew up in a world of women. She also performed in a world of women, operating for their encouragement, promotion and protection. Her epistolary exchanges illuminate Vittoria’s deep respect and admiration for women who had been able to accrue authority by means of their intellectual leadership. hey also reveal her actions in advancing gender politics at the court and securing women’s public recognition. hroughout her life the grand duchess exhibited an unfaltering sponsorship of women poets, musicians, composers, painters and literary scholars from Tuscany and other Italian cities.68 In turn, they negotiated on their own behalf professionally as skilled and learned women and personally as afectionate friends. Among the many accomplished women artists and intellectuals that she promoted were the poetesses Maria Selvaggia Borghini from Pisa; the Florentine patrician Barbara Tigliamochi degl’Albizi; the Ferrarese woman of letters, painter, and aristocrat, Camilla Bevilacqua Villa; the Bolognese painters Elisabetta Sirani and Camilla Guerrieri Nati from the Marche; the miniaturist Giovanna Garzoni, from Ascoli, in the Papal state, one of the irst women artists to paint still-lifes;69 the composers, singer, and lutenist, Francesca Caccini and the singers Barbara Strozzi and Luisa Marsai, from Florence. Characteristic of Vittoria’s relationship with learned women and artists is the bond she established between the 1670s and her death with the poetess Maria Selvaggia Borghini. he two women’s warm friendship was marked at the same time by reciprocal respect and admiration.70 Vittoria named Borghini a lady-in-waiting sometime in the 1670s and in 1678 rewarded her with a gold ring that had iteen precious diamonds.71 Borghini reciprocated by writing numerous sonnets “for the acclaim of the most Serene Grand Duchess” and during the 1680s visited her frequently when Vittoria was in 68 In 1654 Vittoria supported the irst Italian all women academy, the Sienese Accademia delle Assicurate. See McClure, Parlour Games; and Scaglioso, Un’Accademia femminile. On the contribution of noble women poets to the cultural life of Siena during the sixteenth century, see Eisenbichler, he Sword and the Pen. 69 Spinelli, “La granduchessa,” 147. 70 On Borghini’s literary qualities and fame, see Paoli, “ ‘Come se mi fosse sorella’.” 71 Selvaggia Borghini was a close friend of the court physician, Francesco Redi, who mentioned this ring to Borghini in a letter of 20 July 1678, Lettera alla Sig. Maria Selvaggia Borghini. Redi, Opere, 4: 323. 286 Medici Women Pisa.72 In March 1688, showing her fondness for Borghini, who was leaving Florence, the grand duchess instructed Francesco Redi, the court physician, to wish her “a pleasant journey, adding that when Her Most Serene Highness will also be in Pisa she will further embrace [her] because she loves and holds in high esteem the merits and outstanding virtues of Yours Most Illustrious Highness.”73 Borghini reciprocated with the same degree of esteem and afection that the grand duchess accorded her. Fiteen days ater Vittoria died, on 20 March 1694, Redi comforted the devastated poetess but also reproached her for the personal loss she expressed in the sonnet she had written in her honour: I have not as yet shown the sonnet, even if it is beautiful; and the reason is that the whole World, and Florence especially, awaits a most noble literary work from the immortal pen of Your Most Illustrious Signora, and in this work [Florence] will expect to see the praises and the glories of that Great Madam extolled at length. But in this Sonnet, Your Most Illustrious Lady appears to talk only about yourself and the weight of your own losses. Dearly beloved Signora Maria Selvaggia, take courage, take heart and commit yourself to a beautiful composition, and one worthy of your immortal pen, and that in this composition, the glories of Your Most Serene Highness may be lyrically expounded and seen throughout Italy, which looks forward to them with great anticipation from the pen of Your Most Illustrious Signora. At an opportune moment, then, I will show your Sonnet to all the masters and the virtuous friends.74 72 “per le glorie della Serenissima Granduchessa.” Lettera alla Sig. Maria Selvaggia Borghini, 23 September 1690, Redi, Opere, 4: 392. 73 “buon viaggio, con dirle di vantaggio, che quando anco S. A. Serenissima sarà a Pisa, le farà le sue carezze, perché ama e stima il merito e virtù singolare di V. S. Illustrissima.” Lettera alla Sig. Maria Selvaggia Borghini, 6 March 1688, Redi, Opere, 4: 356. 74 “Non l’ho per ancora mostrato, ancorché sia bellissimo; e la cagione si è perché tutto il Mondo, e Firenze in particolare attenderà qualche nobilissima opera dalla penna immortale di V. Sig. Illustrissima, ed in questa opera attenderà le lodi, e le glorie di quella Gran Signora spiegate distesamente; ma in questo Sonetto V. Sig. Illustrissima non pare, che parli se non di se medesima, e delle sue proprie perdite. Cara amatissima Sig. Maria Selvaggia, si faccia animo, si faccia cuore, e si metta a qualche bella opera, e degna della sua immortale penna, e che in questa opera distese poeticamente le glorie di S. A. S. si Vittoria della Rovere 287 hrough time and close epistolary and in-person contacts, Vittoria and many of the women artists and writers with whom she was in touch grew to care deeply about each other. One such friendship, typical of others in many respects, developed between Grand Duchess Vittoria and the painter and learned scholar, the Marchioness Camilla Bevilacqua Villa. Originally from Ferrara but based in Turin ater her marriage to a general in the prince of Savoy’s army, Bevilacqua became a correspondent of Vittoria’s in 1670.75 he two women’s letters grew more frequent in the following decade until Camilla’s health began to deteriorate in the mid-1680s from a weak heart and continuous fevers.76 It is through these letters that we learn about two portraits that Vittoria commissioned Bevilacqua to paint in 1684.77 Bevilacqua was so moved by the commission of “the portraits that Your Most Serene Highness, with all your great goodness, has deigned to order from me,”78 that as sign of appreciation she sent Vittoria a small holy shroud to place over her bed.79 Ill health prevented Camilla from producing any other works of art for Vittoria and led their correspondence to focus more on Camilla’s medical problems. he painter appealed frequently to Vittoria’s medical expertise, which the latter generously dispensed, along with medicines sent through a carrier.80 possano far vedere per tutta Italia, che dalla penna di V. Sig. Illustrissima le attende con sommo desiderio. Quando poi sarà tempo opportuno, io mostrerò a tutti i padroni, ed a tutti gli amici virtuosi il suo Sonetto.” Lettera alla Sig. Maria Selvaggia Borghini, 20 March 1694, Redi, Opere, 6: 252–253. 75 he eighteenth-century literary historian Girolamo Tiraboschi lists Camilla Bevilacqua among the women courtiers (dame di corte) at the court of Ferrara who engaged in erudite conversation with the court literati. Tiraboschi, Storia della letteratura italiana, 7:1, 42–43. he date of Camilla’s marriage to the Marquis Francesco Ghiron Villa is unknown. She became a widow in 1670 and died in 1687. 76 So far I have found eleven letters between the grand duchess and Bevilacqua. 77 ASF, MdP 6166, “Lettere alla granduchessa ed ai suoi segretari, 1684–86,” n.p., letter of 22 March 1684. According to Straussman-Planzer the portraits are of the duke and duchess of Savoy; however, because the copy that Bevilacqua used for her own portrait of the “bride” came from Paris, the portraits may instead be of Vittoria’s son, Grand Duke Cosimo III, and his young French bride, Marguerite Louise d’Orléans. Straussman-Planzer, “Court Culture in 17th-Century Florence,” 154–155. 78 “Li ritratti che V. A. S. s’è degnata con tanta bontà ordinarmi.” ASF, MdP 6166, letter of 12 April 1684. 79 ASF, MdP 6166, letter of 31 May 1684. 80 ASF, MdP 6176, letters of 19 January 1685 and 17 February 1685. 288 Medici Women Vittoria ofered similar advice and medicines to other women who were ill. Like many aristocratic women of her times and contrary to the modern perception that the Medici women were opposed to the new medical sciences and therapeutic practices, Vittoria, like her grandmother Christine discussed by Sheila Barker earlier in this volume, was quite interested in people’s health, curious about the causes of their illnesses, and skilled in the preventive therapeutics of the age.81 She oten dispensed medical advice and drugs from the grand ducal pharmacy and worked to secure the health of family and friends.82 Vittoria’s involvement in women’s lives extended beyond the circle of women artists and writers to include poor or orphaned girls who were among the most vulnerable in her state and who therefore required guidance and care. One such young woman, Verginia Santerelli, a wealthy orphan under the protection of the Magistrato dei Pupilli (court of wards), came to her attention via Prince Leopold, who had asked Vittoria to inquire about her situation.83 Ater receiving “piena informazione” as to why the oicers of the Pupilli did not approve of the marriage arrangement between the 20-year-old Verginia and a silk worker, the grand duchess informed her cousin Leopold that the marriage could not go through: not only was the future groom an old man of ity-eight years but he was also debt-ridden and would have certainly squandered Verginia’s generous 3,000 scudi dowry. Verginia was sent to a convent “until someone more compatible with her age and Dowry might emerge.”84 As in many other circumstances, attention to gender inequalities intertwined with considerations about preserving peace, order, and established social hierarchy. Cases like the one involving Verginia constituted a disruption in the marriage patterns of Tuscan subjects and hence threatened the stability of the family. In the early months of 1672, in her new position as governor of the ief of Monte San Savino, a title she acquired in 1667 ater 81 ASF, MdP 6176, letter of 18 September 1670; letter of 27 August 1672; ASF, MdP 6180, “Minute di lettere della Ganduchessa Vittoria, 1681–84,” n.p., letter of 18 August 1682. 82 In her letters, Vittoria was always eager to learn about the health condition of her cousin Leopold and was very active in dispensing advice to granddaughter Maria Luisa, especially following her irst failed pregnancy. Redi, Consulti e opuscoli minori di Francesco Redi scelti e annotate da Carlo Livi, 292–295. 83 84 Leopold’s request is implied in Vittoria’s response. “sin che si afacci soggetto più proporzionato alla sua età e Dote.” ASF, MdP 6145, letter of 15 March 1660. his case is reported in a letter to Prince Leopold. Vittoria della Rovere 289 the death of Prince Mattias, Ferdinand’s brother,85 Vittoria intervened in the punishment of a man from the iefdom because the local court imposed only a ine and no imprisonment in a case in which he had raped his eight-year old wife-to-be and then married another woman. he man’s behavior had seriously threatened the integrity of the state. Unsatisied with the court decision, Vittoria banished him from Monte San Savino for an undetermined period of time. Several months ater the start of his exile, we ind him petitioning the grand duchess twice to let him return to Monte San Savino.86 Vittoria’s protection of the moral customs, health conditions, and intellectual self-expression of her subjects had profound political implications. By positioning herself as the defender of the disadvantaged, and especially of disadvantaged women, and by helping them overcome obstacles whether through inancial sponsorship, therapeutic drugs, or the supervision and implementation of justice, Vittoria created a cohort of subjects that strengthened and legitimized her position in power. he grand duchess came to exemplify the virtuous woman — the archetype of integrity and exemplary behavior who set the standards of conduct not just at the court but also in the private homes of her subjects. She projected an image of herself as pious, generous and benevolent — a provider of charity, dispenser of maternal advice, and disciplinarian of male sexuality as well as of the morality of young girls. A number of scholars have recently suggested the term “matronage” to indicate the leadership of women in the promotion of the arts and its impact on the culture of the times. Surely the evidence presented in this essay conveys the strong personality of Grand Duchess Vittoria and her intervention in addressing gender inequalities and in sponsoring and protecting women. Evidence from Vittoria’s activities, however, also raises some reservations about the idea of “matronage.”87 It is crucial to analyze this concept against the backdrop of the culture that promoted it. From this platform, Vittoria developed informal but efective practices of power that greatly shaped the 85 ASF, MM 12, ins. 11, interno 2, “Interessi di Vittoria della Rovere nel feudo di Monte San Savino, 1678–1679,” n.p. 86 ASF, MdP 6209, “Negozi e Memoriali Sospesi Spettanti a Monte San Savino con Diverse Notizie, e Formule, 25 April 1672 and 11 May 1672,” n.p. 87 In her introductory remarks at the symposium “Matronage: Women as Patrons and Collectors of Art, 1300–1800,” Patricia Simons also raised questions about the use of the term: “Matronage blankets the disparity between diferent kinds of patronage by women due to variations related to age, class and wealth,” hence producing a generalized “one sisterly Women as a category.” In Lawrence, ed., Women and Art in Early Modern Europe, 4. 290 Medici Women lives of the Tuscan people and women in particular and in the process she engaged with the pervasive patriarchal character of early modern society. he Politics of Medici Women Reading the epistolary exchanges of the grand duchess, one must see them in the broadest contexts in which they were produced. Two aspects seem particularly signiicant to their interpretation. First, they show Vittoria at the centre of multiple systems of gendered power operating within the courts, to advance her own interests, those of her lineage, and those of lineages related to her own. hey also reveal Grand Duchess Vittoria’s appropriation and contribution to an ideology of the state that entailed discipline as well as respect for the hierarchy of female courts. From this platform, Vittoria developed informal but efective practices of power that advanced the interests of the state by securing order and peace, greatly shaped the lives of the Tuscan people, and occasionally even afected the lives of people who lived outside the Tuscan state. hroughout her life, Vittoria needed the cooperation of other Medici women — cousins, sisters-in-law, and others — who had married into Italian and European dynasties. Vittoria was an untiring mediator of familial conlicts as she corresponded in particular, with her cousins, half sisters from her mother’s second marriage, and sisters-in-law: the Archduchess Anna of Austria, Anna Maria duchess of Mantua, and Eleonora Gonzaga of Mantua, third wife of Emperor Ferdinand III. Together they initiated linked chains of epistolary exchange through which they shared the responsibility of sorting out the dramas that revolved around a community of young Italian aristocratic women. Some had been abandoned or abused by their husbands, excluded from inheritances and in danger of losing opportunities for competitive marriages. For these and related reasons they had been or were still engaged with family members and others in clashes over inancial issues. Wishing to avoid showing vulnerability and public exposure of their quarrels, these women, or their mothers or grandmothers, wrote long letters to the grand duchess appealing to her for a quick and “in-house” solution to their problems. hey wanted to overcome the obstacles imposed by legal practices, thwart the greed of male relatives that prevented successful marriages, and solve their conjugal disputes and family quarrels without exposing their troubles in a public court. Most of the time Vittoria succeeded: some wives returned to their husbands, others received inancial or other compensation from their Vittoria della Rovere 291 estranged husbands according to their ranks; young girls entered into favorable marriage deals; and overall peace was restored. hrough this correspondence, as she strived to ind resolution of mediations, debated about the best tactics to follow and expressed her doubts about how to resolve these domestic dramas, Vittoria generated important social and interpersonal dynamics. Her “dexterity and prudence” secured her the afection and respect of the women of her own rank as well as the admiration and reverence of the young aristocratic women she set out to protect.88 Illustrative of the type of cases brought to Vittoria’s attention is the one presented to her at the end of summer of 1671 by her cousin, sister-in-law and good friend, Archduchess Anna of Austria.89 Anna Leonora, one of the archduchess’ ladies-in-waiting and daughter of the deceased Marquis Agostini of Siena, had the prospect of an advantageous marriage. Unfortunately, however, it was stalled by problems concerning her dowry. At stake was the inheritance of one of her father’s properties, the castle of Caldana, which, as established by ideicommissum, excluded the daughters of the late Marquis Agostini in favor of the male heir who might be next in line. he iteen-year old Anna Leonora and her fourteen-year old sister, Vittoria, had inherited an unspeciied amount from their grandmother’s dowry. Yet without the income from the castle to provide for a larger dowry, both girls were in danger of failing to conclude proitable marriages. By fall 1671, Grand Duchess Vittoria was already busy at work. First she selected a procurator from Siena to take care of the inancial interests of the Agostini sisters. hen, contingent on a suiciently large dowry forthcoming in the future, she arranged an advantageous marriage for the younger girl, thus making a resolution of the inancial tribulations of the two sisters all the more urgent. Finally, by the middle of April 1672, Vittoria secured the collaboration of her son, Grand Duke Cosimo III, who determined that the Agostini sisters should retain the income (usufruct) from the castle of Caldana, just outside Siena. In a letter dated 20 April 1672, Archduchess Anna thanked Vittoria for her help and added that this was “a reminder of the many obligations I owe to the kindness of Your Highness.”90 By now Vittoria was fully incorporated into European mechanisms of power. 88 Report of Giovanni Guinigi, 3 November 1665, in Pellegrini, Relazioni inedite di ambasciatori lucchesi, 208. 89 90 ASF, MP 6144, Negozio Secondo, letter of 20 April 1672. “un richiamo dell’ininite obligazioni che devo alla benignità di V.A.” ASF, MdP 6144, Negozio Secondo, letter of 20 April 1672. 292 Medici Women During the following decades Grand Duchess Vittoria and her Medici relatives across Europe reinforced a circle of epistolary exchanges with the goal of securing the social and political stability of dynastic rule without, however, sacriicing the hierarchical nature of female courts. In 1684 Empress Eleonora Gonzaga of Mantua, third wife of Emperor Ferdinand III and great-granddaughter of Francesco de’ Medici and Joanna of Austria, sought the help of her cousin Vittoria to solve the marital dispute of a young woman, called the “dama” in the letters in order to maintain her secrecy, but who we know was Donna Francesca Orsi, daughter of Count Orsi of Bologna.91 Francesca had written to Anna Isabella, duchess of Mantua, from a convent in Bologna, where six years earlier she had found refuge following her separation from her husband, Senator Boni of Bologna. Feeling alone, not having seen her children since the separation in 1679, and fearing that she was destined to spend the rest of her life in a convent, Francesca, with the help of her mother (a Marchioness), had let the convent and moved to Mantua. Once there, she communicated her wishes for a resolution to the duchess of Mantua, who wrote to her distant relative, Empress Eleonora, seeking the intervention of Vittoria della Rovere. According to the duchess, all Francesca aspired to was “the reuniication with him [her husband] and proximity to her children; and to facilitate this objective and reduce the bitterness of her struggle, [she] thinks that, in addition to the honour that would come with it, it would beneit her to be accepted into the court of the grand duchess of Tuscany. Moreover she declared that all she needed was her [the grand duchess’] help and support because she could maintain herself with her own revenues.”92 In sum, with the help of the duchess of Mantua and the Empress Eleonora Gonzaga, what Francesca needed was to land a position at the Florentine court as lady-in-waiting for the Grand Duchess Vittoria. his time, however, alluding to the custom that only young marriageable girls could become ladies-in-waiting, Vittoria was unable to assist the empress. She was not willing to introduce the potentially disorderly presence of a separated 91 92 ASF, MdP 6144, Negozio Nono, 31 December 1684 — 20 May 1685. “alla riunione con esso [il marito] ed alla vicinanza dei iglioli e per facilitarne l’intento e mitigare l’amarezza del suo travaglio reputa che le gioverebbe oltre naturalmente all’onore che riceverebbe di essere accettata alla corte della granduchessa di Toscana dichiarando inoltre che le basta solamente il patrocinio e aiuto di quella, potendosi lei sostenere con i propri mezzi.” ASF, MdP 6144, Negozio Nono, letter of 24 November 1684. Vittoria della Rovere 293 woman among her virginal ladies-in-waiting. he grand duchess, wrote her irst secretary to the empress, “regrets not being able to ind a place for the lady who would like to ind shelter in her court. […] It is not the custom nor is there a way of changing the practice without overturning the customary order and upsetting the perfect harmony which the court has always enjoyed and continues to enjoy.”93 Vittoria, however, in the name of her “afection” towards the empress and to restore the domestic peace of one of her protégés, agreed to look into the case with the aim of reconciling husband and wife. Ater two months of careful investigation by informers she sent to Bologna to investigate the separation, they produced a detailed report disclosing that the “dama” had abandoned the family to escape an “unbearable” and irreparable marital situation, and that contrary to the claims made to the duchess of Mantua, Francesca had no intention of reuniting with her husband, who had already assured her a comfortable alimony. Following some letters between Vittoria and Eleonora Gongaza where they analyzed the evidence, the case was dismissed. he empress was quick to let Vittoria know that she was “satisied” by the “promptness” she had shown “in ofering her own services to attain the reunion of the parties, which is more than what had been solicited and it is an act of pure kindness.”94 Vittoria planned thorough investigations in the hope of solving other women’s familial dramas but she also dismissed many cases with no hesitation. Her position required a great deal of caution, and for this reason she was oten careful about the cases she took on, guarded in her pronouncements and, on more than one occasion, showed no pity. In the case of Donna Francesca, for example, Vittoria reminded the empress that it was clear that there was “the risk that rather than securing merit, the intercession of her majesty would not be appreciated.”95 Success necessitated a victory and in the high politics of peacemaking there was no room for mistakes. Inluence and fame came from Vittoria’s skillfulness in negotiating discords, in protecting 93 “di non poter dar luogo nella sua corte alla dama che vi si vorrebbe ricoverare. […] Non c’è tale stile ne haverne modo tampoco d’introdursene la pratica senza sconvolgere l’ordine inveterato e sconcertare l’armonia perfetta che sempre vi [la corte di Vittoria] si è goduta e tuttavia vi si gode.” ASF, MdP 6144, Negozio Nono, letter of 20 January 1685. 94 “prontezza dimostrata dall’A. S. in ofrirle la propria opera di procurare la riunione delle parti, il che è più di quanto era stato richiesto ed è atto di pura carità.” ASF, MdP 6144, Negozio Nono, letter of 18 February 1685. 95 “pericolo che invece di acquistar il merito, l’intervento di sua maestà non venga apprezzato.” ASF, MdP 6144, Negozio Nono, letter of 20 March 1685. 294 Medici Women her subjects while reinforcing a culture of rank, and in restoring familial peace and social order. As the grand duchess’s personal secretary, Alessandro Cerchi, wrote “le mediatrici in questione,” referring to Vittoria and Eleonora, have “grande autorità” in negotiating discords.96 It was the expectation that they would accomplish those tasks that reinforced Vittoria and Eleonora’s reputation as successful negotiators and reinforced their position at court and in the state. But this expectation also had the potential to undermine their reputations and for this reason there was no room for mistakes. Conclusion In all these ways Grand Duchess Vittoria helped to shape the body politic, created new practices of power, and reairmed an ideology of the well-ordered state that included the roles she had fashioned for herself while reinforcing the rules of dynastic politics. hrough their epistolary exchanges, Vittoria and the aristocratic women with whom she corresponded engaged in reciprocal cooperation along family ties across Europe thereby creating a denser network of links connecting European courts to each other along feminine dynastic lines. In their letters they recounted their own ideas about conlicting social roles, about the obstacles faced by women in the upper reaches of society, and about the cultural norms that regulated their opportunities and limitations. hey rethought some criteria to deine fairness, always short of disrupting well-established norms and traditions, because they understood that the domestic conlicts of aristocratic families could have destabilizing social and political efects on society. By challenging some existing traditions while defending others and by restoring peace and solving familial clashes, Vittoria ofered resolutions that in many respects transcended any particular case and instead provided standards of normative conduct for both women and men within the family that in fact preserved gender and class inequalities. University of South Florida 96 ASF, MdP 6144, Negozio Nono, letter of 3 March 1685. Vittoria della Rovere 295 Cited Works Manuscript Sources Florence. 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