Caterina Visconti
Last updatedCatherina Visconti | |
|---|---|
| Duchess of Milan Regent of Milan | |
 The painted figures of Caterina and Gian Galeazzo are shown kneeling in the foreground in this missal by Anovelo da Imbonate | |
| Born | 1361 Milan, Italy |
| Died | 17 October 1404 (aged 42–43) Castle of Monza, Italy |
| Noble family | Visconti |
| Spouse(s) | Gian Galeazzo Visconti |
| Issue | Gian Maria Visconti Filippo Maria Visconti |
| Father | Bernabò Visconti |
| Mother | Beatrice Regina della Scala |
Caterina Visconti (1361 – 17 October 1404) was Duchess of Milan as the second spouse of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, the first Duke of Milan, and was the mother of two succeeding Dukes of Milan, Gian Maria and Filippo Maria Visconti. Caterina served as Regent of Milan from 1402 to 1404, during her elder son's minority, but due to Gian Maria's suspicion of her alleged treason (planted in his mind by her enemy, the condottiero Facino Cane), he had his mother arrested and imprisoned in the castle of Monza, where she was presumably poisoned in 1404.
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Family
Caterina was born in Milan, one of the seventeen children of Bernabò Visconti, Lord of Milan, and Beatrice Regina della Scala (1331 – 18 June 1384). Her paternal grandparents were Stefano Visconti, Lord of Milan, and Valentina Doria, and her maternal grandparents were Mastino II della Scala and Taddea da Carrara.
Her niece, Isabeau of Bavaria, daughter of her eldest sister, Taddea, was a Queen consort of France upon her marriage in 1385 to King Charles VI. Following the murder of her maternal grandfather, Isabeau became one of the most implacable enemies of Caterina's husband Gian Galeazzo and his daughter, Valentina, Duchess of Orleans. [1]
Marriage
Early in 1379, a possible marriage was discussed between Caterina and King Richard II of England. The King's tutor and advisor, Sir Simon Burley went to Milan along with Geoffrey Chaucer [2] to negotiate, but he had misgivings about the match. [3] Bernabò also rejected it, as he favoured another alliance for his daughter. On 2 October 1380, in the Church of San Giovanni in Conca, at the age of about nineteen, Caterina married her first cousin, Gian Galeazzo Visconti, whose first wife Isabelle of Valois had died in 1373 in childbirth, leaving him three sons who all died young, and a daughter, Valentina Visconti, who, in 1389, married Louis, Duke of Orleans. From Isabelle, Gian Galeazzo had inherited the title of Count of Vertus in Champagne.
In 1385, Gian Galeazzo deposed Caterina's father, Bernabò as Lord of Milan. Bernabò was imprisoned at the Castle of Trezzo where he was allegedly poisoned on orders of Gian Galeazzo. [4]
Caterina became the Duchess of Milan on 11 May 1395, when her husband was created the first duke by Wenceslaus, King of the Romans for 100,000 florins. To commemorate the event, a missal was painted by Anovelo da Imbonate, depicting, in the foreground, the kneeling figures of Caterina and Gian Galeazzo. It is now in the library of the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan. Her husband granted her the castle of Monza and the signoria of Vicenza. Caterina and her husband commissioned the construction of the Certosa di Pavia, which began on 27 August 1396.
Issue
She and Gian Galeazzo had three children:
- Daughter (June 1385 – 9 July 1385).
- Gian Maria Visconti (7 September 1388 – assassinated 16 May 1412), 2nd Duke of Milan, married Antonia Malatesta, died childless.
- Filippo Maria Visconti (23 September 1392 – 13 August 1447), 3rd Duke of Milan, married Beatrice Lascaris di Tenda, widow of Facino Cane. The marriage was childless and he had her executed on charges of adultery. By his mistress, Agnese del Maino, he had a daughter, Bianca Maria Visconti, who succeeded him as Duchess of Milan.
Regency and death
When Gian Galeazzo died of a fever on 3 September 1402, Caterina became regent for her son Gian Maria who was fourteen years old. The Duchy was riven by strife and numerous revolts as rival factions between Gian Galeazzo's legitimate and illegitimate heirs contested for land and power during her regency. Caterina's faction was led by Francesco Barbavara, Count of Valsesia, and a member of the regency council. The faction led by her enemy, the condottiero Facino Cane, however prevailed; thus he, along with the illegitimate sons of Gian Galeazzo, created doubts about Caterina's loyalty in her son's mind. Convinced of his mother's treachery, Gian Maria had Caterina arrested on 18 August 1404 and imprisoned in her own castle of Monza, where she died on 17 October 1404, allegedly of poisoning. She was about forty-three years old.
Her son Gian Maria was assassinated in 1412 by a group of Milanese Ghibellines. Caterina's second son Filippo Maria succeeded him as Duke of Milan.
Ancestry
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Related Research Articles
Gian Galeazzo Visconti, was the first duke of Milan (1395) and ruled the late-medieval city just before the dawn of the Renaissance. He also ruled Lombardy jointly with his uncle Bernabò. He was the founding patron of the Certosa di Pavia, completing the Visconti Castle at Pavia begun by his father and furthering work on the Duomo of Milan. He captured a large territory of Northern Italy and the Po valley. He threatened war with France in relation to the transfer of Genoa to French control as well as issues with his beloved daughter Valentina. When he died of fever in the Castello of Melegnano, his children fought with each other and fragmented the territories that he had ruled.
The Visconti of Milan are a noble Italian family. They rose to power in Milan during the Middle Ages where they ruled from 1277 to 1447, initially as Lords then as Dukes, and several collateral branches still exist. The effective founder of the Visconti Lordship of Milan was the Archbishop Ottone, who wrested control of the city from the rival Della Torre family in 1277.
Filippo Maria Visconti was duke of Milan from 1412 to 1447. Known to be cruel and paranoid, but shrewd as a ruler, he went to war in the 1420s with Romagna, Florence and Venice in the Wars in Lombardy, but was eventually forced to accept peace under Pope Martin V. He would return to the offensive again where another peace agreement was required to end the fighting. He married twice, the second in 1428 to Marie, daughter of his ally Amadeus VIII. When he died, he was the last of the Visconti male line and was succeeded by Francesco Sforza, husband to his daughter.
Francesco Bussone, often called Count of Carmagnola, was an Italian condottiero.
Valentina Visconti was a countess of Vertus, and duchess consort of Orléans as the wife of Louis I, Duke of Orléans, the younger brother of King Charles VI of France. As duchess of Orléans she was at court and acquired the enmity of the Queen of France, Isabeau of Bavaria-Ingolstadt, and was subsequently banned from the court and had to leave Paris. Due to political animosity, Valentina's husband was murdered in 1407. She died on 4 December 1408.
Bernabò or Barnabò Visconti was an Italian soldier and statesman who was Lord of Milan. Along with his brothers Matteo and Galeazzo II, he inherited the lordship of Milan from his uncle Giovanni. Later in 1355, he and Galeazzo II were rumoured to have murdered their brother Matteo since he endangered the regime. When Galeazzo II died, he shared Milan's lordship with his nephew Gian Galeazzo. Bernabò was a ruthless despot toward his subjects and did not hesitate to face emperors and popes, including Pope Urban V. The conflict with the Church caused him several excommunications. On 6 May 1385, his nephew Gian Galeazzo deposed him. Imprisoned in his castle, Trezzo sull'Adda, he died a few months later, presumably from poisoning.
Gian Maria Visconti was the second Visconti Duke of Milan, the son of Gian Galeazzo Visconti and Caterina Visconti. He was known to be cruel and was eventually assassinated. He had no children.
Facino Cane da Casale, born Bonifacio Cane, was an Italian condottiero.
Visconti is a surname which may refer to:
Agnese del Maino was a Milanese noblewoman and the mistress of Filippo Maria Visconti, the last legitimate duke of Milan of the Visconti dynasty. Agnese was the mother of Duchess Bianca Maria Visconti.
Lucrezia Landriani was the mistress of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan, and the mother of his renowned illegitimate daughter, Caterina Sforza, Lady of Imola, Countess of Forlì. Lucrezia had three other children by the Duke, and two by her husband.
Taddea Visconti, Duchess of Bavaria was an Italian noblewoman of the Visconti family, the ruling house in Milan from 1277 to 1447. She was the first wife of Stephen III, Duke of Bavaria, and the mother of the French queen Isabeau of Bavaria.
Beatrice Regina della Scala was Lady of Milan by marriage to Bernabò Visconti, Lord of Milan, and politically active as the adviser of her spouse.
Elisabetta Visconti, also known as Elisabeth or Elizabeth, was a younger child of Bernabò Visconti and his wife, Beatrice Regina della Scala. Elisabetta was a member of the House of Visconti.
Agnese Visconti also known as Agnes was a daughter of Bernabò Visconti and his wife Beatrice Regina della Scala. She was the consort of Mantua by her marriage to Francesco I Gonzaga.
Antonia Visconti was Countess of Württemberg.
Bianca of Savoy was Lady of Milan by marriage to Galeazzo II Visconti.
BeatriceCane, mistakenly known in much of the historiography as Beatrice Lascaris di Tenda but actually a member of the Cane family, was an Italian noblewoman who married first the condottiero Facino Cane, Count of Biandrate and a cousin once removed, and then Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan, who later had her killed.
Estorre Visconti, or Astorre according to other sources, was one of the many illegitimate sons of the famous Bernabò Visconti, Lord of Milan and already deposed by his nephew Gian Galeazzo Visconti in 1385.
Jacopo Dal Verme was an Italian condottiero.
References
- ↑ Tuchman, Barbara Wertheim (1978). A distant mirror : the calamitous 14th century. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 439. ISBN 978-0-349-12278-6. OCLC 495596429.
- ↑ Peter Ackroy (2005) Chaucer, pg. 68
- ↑ Costain, Thomas B. (1962). The Last Plantageets. The Pageant of England. Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc. p. 102. OCLC 418962.
- ↑ Tuchman, Barbara Wertheim (1978). A distant mirror : the calamitous 14th century. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. pp. 437–438. ISBN 978-0-349-12278-6. OCLC 495596429.