Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany

Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (30 July 1549 – 17 February 1609) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1587 to 1609, having succeeded his older brother Francesco I.

Related Topics:
30 July - 1549 - 17 February - 1609 - Grand Duke of Tuscany - 1587 - Francesco I

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Ferdinando was the fifth son of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Eleonora di Toledo (1519-62), the daughter of Don Pedro Alvarez de Toledo, the Spanish viceroy of Naples. He was ordained a Cardinal in 1562 at the age of 14 and succeeded his brother Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1587 at the age of 38. He had already proved an able administrator in Rome. He founded the Villa Medici in Rome and acquired many works of art, which he then brought back to Florence with him.

Related Topics:
Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany - Eleonora di Toledo - 1562 - Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany - Rome - Villa Medici - Florence

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He retained the office of Cardinal after he became Grand Duke, until he married Christine of Lorraine in 1589. When he died in 1609, he left four sons, of whom the oldest, Cosimo, inherited the throne at the age of 19. Ferdinando's daughter, Claudia (1604-1648) married Federico Ubaldo, Duke of Urbino.

Related Topics:
1589 - Cosimo - Federico Ubaldo, Duke of Urbino

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