Selected Letters, 1514-1543 (Volume 90) (The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe: The Toronto Series) 1649590458, 9781649590459

Citation preview

Maria Salviati de’ Medici

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 ED I TE D A ND TR A NS L ATE D BY

Natalie R. Tomas

The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe: The Toronto Series, 90

SELECTED LETTERS, 1514–1543

The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe: The Toronto Series, 90

SENIOR EDITOR

Margaret L. King SERIES EDITORS

Jaime Goodrich Elizabeth H. Hageman EDITORIAL BOARD

Anne Cruz Margaret Ezell Anne Larsen Elissa Weaver

MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI

Selected Letters, 1514–1543

•

Edited and translated by NATALIE R. TOMAS

2022

© Iter Inc. 2022 New York and Toronto IterPress.org All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America

978-1-64959-045-9 (paper) 978-1-64959-046-6 (pdf) 978-1-64959-047-3 (epub)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Salviati de’ Medici, Maria, 1499-1543, author. | Tomas, Natalie, editor. Title: Selected letters, 1514-1543 / Maria Salviati de’ Medici ; edited and translated by Natalie R. Tomas. Description: New York : Iter Press, [2022] | Series: The other voice in Early Modern Europe : the Toronto series ; 90 | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: “A selection of 150 of the approximately 300 letters by Maria Salviati de’ Medici, mother of Cosimo I de’ Medici, the first grand-duke of Tuscany, witnessing her considerable importance in the political and cultural life of Renaissance Florence”-- Provided by publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 2021049098 (print) | LCCN 2021049099 (ebook) | ISBN 9781649590459 (paperback) | ISBN 9781649590466 (pdf) | ISBN 9781649590473 (epub) Subjects: LCSH: Salviati de’ Medici, Maria, 1499-1543--Correspondence. | Women--Italy-Florence--Biography. | Medici, House of. | Cosimo I, Grand-Duke of Tuscany, 1519-1574--Family. | Nobility--Italy--Florence--Biography. | Florence (Italy)--History--1421-1737--Biography. Classification: LCC DG737.28.S35 A4 2022 (print) | LCC DG737.28.S35 (ebook) | DDC 945/.507092 [B]--dc23/eng/20211123 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021049098 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021049099

Cover Illustration Portrait of Maria Salviati with Giulia de’ Medici, c.1539 (oil on panel). Pontormo, Jacopo (1494–1557). Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, USA. Bridgeman Images XWM 204670.

Cover Design Maureen Morin, Library Communications, University of Toronto Libraries.

In memory of Francis William (Bill) Kent (1942–2010) Historian, teacher, mentor, friend

Contents Acknowledgments

ix

Illustrations

xi

Abbreviations

xiii

A Life in Letters Maria’s Early Life Maria as Wife Maria as Widowed Mother Lady Maria: Dowager Queen Lady Maria: Manager of the Children’s Court and Wise Elder Remembering Maria Maria Salviati de’ Medici as Letter Writer The Afterlife of Maria’s Correspondence Note on the Translation and Edition

1 6 8 12 16 17 20 22 25 27

Selected Letters Letters 1–40: Maria as Wife, 1514–1526 Letters 41–75: Maria as Widowed Mother, 1527–1536 Letters 76–150: Lady Maria, 1537–1543

29 29 71 107

Appendix A: List of Selected Letters Appendix B: Genealogical Tables Appendix C: Names, Dates, Measures, Currency, and Time

163 175 185

Bibliography

189

Index

205

Acknowledgments The scholarly enterprise is often viewed as a solitary one by those outside the academy, but without the assistance of many others this project would not have seen even the light of day, much less its completion. So it is with real pleasure that I acknowledge the numerous people who gave me their assistance, encouragement, and support. Carolyn James first suggested that I consider translating Maria Salviati de’ Medici’s correspondence into English for the Other Voice series and provided unfailing encouragement throughout the several years I have been occupied with it. She made many valuable suggestions for translations of particularly difficult passages of the correspondence. I am particularly grateful for her expert reading of a draft of the introduction, which has greatly improved it. In a similar vein Adelina Modesti has generously read all of the letters and her suggestions have saved me from many errors. Deanna Shemek has been most generous in commenting on my drafts of the correspondence between Maria and Pietro Aretino. There are few people, Deanna reminded me—when I despaired at my early attempts to understand his prose—who translate Aretino’s letters “just for fun,” as she does. In this endeavor, I was also well assisted by Amy Sinclair, who provided valuable advice on the translation of many difficult passages in the correspondence. Nick Eckstein, as always, has been a generous friend and constructive critic of my work who has unfailingly given of his time to discuss my ideas and translations with me and provided me with encouragement when I most needed it. Sharon Strocchia provided the much-needed advice of a fellow traveler in a shared area of research interest. She answered my many queries about nuns and convents in Tuscany with patience and good humor. I am also very grateful to Sharon for sharing with me an unpublished chapter of her most recent book prior to its publication. Bruce Edelstein has always been generous in answering many queries and sharing information on the two women we are both interested in: Maria Salviati de’ Medici and Eleonora di Toledo. Patrizia Urbani in Florence and Alessandro Lo Bartolo in Pisa helped bridge the distance between Italy and Melbourne, Australia, by transcribing documents and undertaking research in archives I had no access to at the time. I am very grateful to Alessandro for his translation improvements and for allowing me to read his unpublished master’s thesis. It goes without saying that this project could not have been contemplated without the online resources made available by the Florentine State Archive and the Medici Archive Project. The staff of the Florentine State Archive were of invaluable help during my stay in Florence in 2013. That period of research would not have been possible—and would have been far less pleasurable—without Katie Mirabella and Kate Rowe. ix

x Acknowledgments Numerous scholars have answered my many ad hoc queries, giving generously of their scholarly expertise. I would like to thank Alessio Assonitis, Nicholas S. Baker, Robert Black, Sue Broomhall, Alison Brown, Judith C. Brown, John Crossley, Jonathon Davies, Robert Gaston, Clive Griffin, John Henderson, Peter Howard, Dale Kent, Catherine Kovesi, Alana O’Brien, Joan-Lluis Palos, Elizabeth Pilliod, Sheryl Reiss, Andrea Rizzi, Camilla Russell, Marcello Simonetta, Nicholas Terpstra, and Bill Wallace. I am grateful, also, to the members of the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies and other colleagues in the School of Philosophical, Historical and International Studies at Monash University for their collegiality and stimulating weekly seminars. I thank, in particular, the Latin Reading Group for help in translating Latin phrases. Thank you to Steve Joyce for creating the family trees and to Matthew Topp for research assistance. Thank you also to the document delivery service staff at the Matheson Library, especially Claudia de Salvo, who located so many hard-to-find items for me. Emmaleigh Brown made using library resources so much easier. I am very thankful to the Australasian Centre for Italian Studies for awarding me a publication subvention to help defray the costs of publishing this book. I am most grateful to Margaret L. King for her enthusiastic acceptance of my proposal to submit this volume to the Other Voice series and for her willingness to answer queries along the way. The very helpful comments and suggestions of the anonymous reviewer have made this book a better piece of work. Friends and colleagues outside the academy listened to my musings and thoughts on this project for a very long time and have continued to encourage me. Thank you to Dean, Erin, John, Justine, Lauren, Lois, Mark, Mike, Phil, Sonia, Sophia, and Tess. Finally, I want to acknowledge my oldest debt of gratitude. I first encountered Maria Salviati de’ Medici, while undertaking research for my doctorate under the supervision of Bill Kent at Monash University. We shared a love of reading letters in order to hear people’s voices, and I am ever grateful for his encouragement, enthusiasm, and unfailing support for my research, writing, and career. Above all, I am grateful for and sadly miss his friendship and guidance. I dedicate this book to his memory.

Illustrations Cover.

Portrait of Maria Salviati with Giulia de’ Medici, c.1539 (oil on panel). Pontormo, Jacopo (1494–1557). Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, USA. Bridgeman Images XWM 204670.

Figure 1. Portrait of Maria Salviati, 1543 (oil on canvas). Pontormo, Jacopo (1494–1557). Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Tuscany, Italy. Photo © Raffaello Bencini. Bridgeman Images BEN 160888. Figure 2. Letter 1 (ASF Mediceo avanti il Principato 112, 16r). With the permission of the Ministry for cultural activities and property and for tourism/Florentine State Archive. Figure 3. Detail, Letter 43 (ASF Mediceo avanti il Principato 85, 497r). With the permission of the Ministry for cultural activities and property and for tourism/Florentine State Archive. Figure 4.

Letter 148 (ASF Mediceo del Principato 5296, 55r). With the permission of the Ministry for cultural activities and property and for tourism/Florentine State Archive.

xi

Abbreviations AOSMFF

Archivio di Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore di Firenze

ASF

Archivio di Stato di Firenze

ASI

Archivio Storico Italiano

ASP

Archivio Salviati, Pisa

C.S.

Carte Strozziane Series I and III

DBI

Dizionario biografico degli italiani

EMWJ

Early Modern Women: An Interdisciplinary Journal

GSAT

Giornale Storico degli Archivi Toscani

MAP

Mediceo Avanti il Principato:

MDP

Mediceo del Principato:

MKIF

Mitteilungen des Kunsthistorischen Institutes in Florenz

MM

Miscellanea Medicea

RQ

Renaissance Quarterly

RS

Renaissance Studies

xiii

A Life in Letters I say to you Giovanni that I had no greater trust in anyone in this world than I had in you, but I have seen in this journey what I am when I am with you, and it would have been much better if I had realized before and I will act in a different way than I have acted up until now. The trust I had in you duped me, but from this day on I wash my hands of all your affairs, as I would receive nothing but shame for it. It is also better that where I cannot gain, I will not act further in this matter. (Letter 1) Maria Salviati de’ Medici (1499–1543) was not quite fifteen when she wrote these words in May 1514 to her then fiancé, Giovanni di Giovanni di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici (1498–1526). The fiery language of her letter demonstrates the anger and disappointment that Maria sometimes expressed to Giovanni—on more than one occasion—and to other men at certain times of travail in her life. Many of the key moments in Maria’s life were connected to the political fortunes of her maternal relatives—the Medici. Florence’s republican government was inspired by the classical Greek and Roman republics. It was an all-male elite polity, which had a conciliar government whose members rotated through a series of short-term elected offices. The purpose of this type of governance structure was to prevent the domination of government by one family or individual. Nevertheless from 1434 for sixty years the Medici family was the most prominent family in the Florentine republic. Its leaders characterized themselves as “first amongst equals,” while controlling its political, cultural, religious, social, and economic institutions as its chief patrons and de facto rulers, until the male members of the family were expelled in November 1494.1 Five years later, Maria was born and began her life in a city in which the new anti-Medicean government was fearful that Maria’s Medici relatives would return to power. In 1512, the Medici family did, indeed, return and were once again powerful patrons and de facto rulers of Florence and its territories—until May 1527, when they were ousted once again, this time for a period of three years. When they were in power, Maria could act as a patron to others as well as an intercessor with more powerful and influential members of the family or with employees of their regime. But even in exile, she would use her station and influence to try to turn things to advantage. In 1530, the

1. For a critical discussion on the Medici family and the extent of its power in fifteenth-century Florence, see Robert Black and John E. Law, eds., The Medici: Citizens and Masters (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2015).

1

2 A Life in Letters Medici family again returned to Florence, this time as hereditary rulers.2 By her final years, she had become “Lady Maria,” the powerful dowager in a Medici duchy. Maria’s words in the first letter in this collection (letter 1) indicate that already at a young age she had a sophisticated understanding of her obligations as a Medici patron. She understood that clients expected patrons to get things done for them in an effective manner. For the women of the Medici family, in particular, the ability to write letters of intercession and recommendation to powerful men—often, but not always, their male relatives—made these women powerful patrons and figures of authority and influence in their own right. In republican Florence, the capacity of women to intercede with more powerful kin, friends, neighbors, or godparents, or, indeed, with other more influential women in their circle, enabled both men and women to participate in an important informal under-government that ran alongside the more formal government structures.3 By the early sixteenth century, many more people were writing letters to powerful people (male and female) in the hopes of obtaining patronage from them.4 Maria was still just a teenager when she embarked on her career as a writer of such strategic and influential letters. The exact details of the situation that provoked her letter to Giovanni are not stated explicitly, but it is obvious that the source of the difficulties was Giovanni’s failure to inform Maria of the trouble he had just caused. Failure to resolve such a situation would be shameful and dishonorable for the patrons concerned and could damage their reputations, with severe consequences. As one member of the Florentine elite put it in the mid-fifteenth century: “Life without honor is a living death.”5 It is a sentiment with which Maria would have concurred. Maria’s letter to Giovanni opens a voluminous correspondence, which documents the life of this significant Florentine noblewoman. Through her correspondence we can observe the key personalities and events that influenced the

2. For the broad contours of this history of the Medici family, see John M. Najemy, A History of Florence: 1200–1575 (Malden, MA, and Oxford: Wiley Blackwell, 2006). 3. On the concept of under-government, see Francis William Kent and Patricia Simons, “Renaissance Patronage: An Introductory Essay,” in Patronage, Art, and Society in Renaissance Italy, ed. Francis William Kent and Patricia Simons (Oxford: Clarendon, 1987), 78. See Natalie R. Tomas, The Medici Women: Gender and Power in Renaissance Florence (Aldershot, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing, 2003; reprinted London and New York: Routledge, 2017), VitalSource Bookshelf edition, 44–64, for an extensive discussion and references on this theme in relation to the Medici women of the previous generations in republican Florence. 4. Carolyn James and Jessica O’Leary, “Letter Writing and Emotions,” in Routledge History of Emotions 1100–1700, ed. Andrew Lynch and Susan Broomhall (London and New York: Routledge, 2019), 256–68, esp. 261–62. 5. On this theme, see Tomas, Medici Women, 64, and the references cited there, including the source of the quotation at 64 n. 206.

A Life in Letters 3 transition of Florence from republic to principate in the 1520s and 1530s.6 Maria’s maternal and paternal relatives shaped and participated in the key events of these decades. The men included bankers, cardinals, diplomats, politicians and soldiers, rulers of Florence, and two Medici popes. Maria’s mother and her aunts were influential advocates at the papal court, and Maria’s aunt by marriage, Alfonsina Orsini de’ Medici (1472–1520), governed the city as its de facto ruler from 1515 in the absence of her son, Lorenzo di Piero di Lorenzo de’ Medici (1492–1519) (hereafter Lorenzo II de’ Medici). Maria’s correspondence also lets us see how she responded to the various crises that confronted her over her lifetime and how she seized the opportunities that presented themselves to advance her husband’s and son’s careers and, to some extent, her own. Maria’s voice, and the echoes of her voice—reflected or refracted in the letters she received—were complex in tone and connected to the changing circumstances in which she found herself. Maria’s efforts to be a dutiful wife to Giovanni are obvious in many of the letters she sent him. However, when his actions caused, or threatened to cause, trouble, most often to himself but also sometimes to her, she made her feelings plain. Maria was also devoted to their son, Cosimo di Giovanni di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici (1519–1574). Her fierce loyalty and concern for the health and welfare of husband and son meant that at times Maria risked being perceived as disrespectful toward male elders. Nevertheless, she always tried to portray her actions as those of a dutiful daughter, wife, or widowed mother who was trying to support both husband and son in difficult times. As a mature widow, with a young son to raise, Maria viewed her supreme obligation as supporting Cosimo’s interests at all times. This attitude prompted her occasionally to disobey the requests of the male members of her natal family. The replies to Maria’s letters by sometimes harried male employees, such as that of Cosimo’s tutor, the priest Pierfrancesco Riccio (1501–1563), enable the reader to “hear” the echo of the widowed Maria’s voice in their replies. Cosimo’s unexpected accession to the position of head of the Florentine republic in January 1537—he was later confirmed as its duke by imperial decree in September—enabled Maria to become the most influential woman in his regime.7 As the duke’s mother, Maria occupied a very powerful, albeit not formalized, position at his court and within his regime. That level of influence lasted until the arrival of Cosimo’s wife, Eleonora di Toledo (1522–1562), in late June 1539. Before Eleonora’s arrival, Maria had engaged with Cosimo’s secretaries and ambassadors on government business and was a key advisor; she may even have acted as regent

6. Najemy, History of Florence, 419–68. 7. For a discussion of the events of this period relating to Cosimo de’ Medici’s accession and his eventual use of the title Duke of Florence, see Nicholas Scott Baker, The Fruit of Liberty: Political Culture in the Florentine Renaissance, 1480–1550 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2013), 190–93.

4 A Life in Letters during Duke Cosimo I’s absences.8 Maria’s role changed after Eleonora’s arrival— except for her role as an intercessor with Cosimo and other influential members of the regime, which continued on without interruption. Her position as “Lady Maria” at her son’s court had a major impact on her final years. She became the manager of the ducal children’s court, an important responsibility that helped to guarantee the Medici regime’s future. After 1540, her correspondence documented both her continuing influence at the court but also her declining health, to which Maria seemed somewhat resigned in her last surviving letter, written to her daughter-in-law about a week before her death. Maria was a prolific letter writer. Her extant correspondence consists of over three hundred letters, spanning the period from some months after her betrothal to Giovanni in 1513 to shortly before her death in 1543. A similar number of letters received from other correspondents have survived.9 Thus it is possible to examine Maria’s life story in fairly extensive detail, from relatively early in her life until her death. Out of that voluminous correspondence, I have selected 150 letters that best illustrate the trajectory of her life as well as the breadth and depth of her correspondence. The majority of the letters I have chosen to translate (106) were written by Maria herself. Of the remaining forty-four letters, eight were from women and the remainder, thirty-six, from men. Maria’s correspondence provides an insight into how early modern Italian aristocratic women were able to exert influence and sometimes even to exercise power much greater than their formal position would seem to indicate. She used her family connections, as I have noted, to promote her husband’s and son’s interests, including in the supposedly all-male arena of the papal court. Maria did this by appealing to her relatives in positions of power to support her husband or son financially or by obtaining appropriate positions or jobs for them. Occasionally, she would use her connections to write to an intermediary to request assistance if she could not write to the person directly. That person would then speak or write directly to the patron, asking for the favor on her behalf. Maria’s elder brother, Cardinal Giovanni Salviati, acted as her intermediary in requesting aid from the French king, Francis I (r. 1515–1547), after her husband’s death, for example. At 8. Natalie R. Tomas, “ ‘With his authority she used to manage much business’: The Career of Signora Maria Salviati and Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici,” in Studies on Florence and the Italian Renaissance in Honour of F. W. Kent, ed. Peter Howard and Cecilia Hewlett (Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2016), 139. There was no formal appointment of a regent at this time. As the most senior member of Cosimo’s family, Maria may have taken on the responsibilities of regent informally. 9. For an inventory of Maria Salviati’s correspondence, see Georgia Arrivo, Scritture delle donne di casa Medici nei fondi dell’Archivio di Stato di Firenze (Mediceo avanti il Principato, Mediceo del Principato, Miscellanea Medicea, Guardaroba Medicea, Carte Strozziane 1a e IIIa Serie, Depositeria Generale, Ducato d’Urbino, Acquisti e Doni) (2003), 9–19. . The surviving correspondence indicates that Maria sent and received many more letters that no longer exist.

A Life in Letters 5 other times Maria would appeal directly to an influential relative, such as her elder brother or Pope Clement VII (Giulio di Giuliano di Piero de’ Medici), for the assistance. She would appeal to her son, Cosimo, once he unexpectedly became Duke of Florence, to influence him and to benefit others. Like other married women, and widows in particular, Maria also acted as a marriage broker. Both Duke Cosimo and others asked her to arrange marriage alliances among the local Tuscan elite.10 Maria’s role as a broker of marriages helped her, too, to act as a mediator in disputes, sometimes between different members of elite families and at other times for poor clients. Maria is an unusual example of a widow who managed to exercise considerable influence in courtly environments, even though she was never brought up to exercise such a role. Her correspondence provides an important gendered perspective on the Medici transition from a republican first family to ducal rulers.11 In this perspective, Maria’s life and her relationships are seen as an example of a female career,12 rather than solely as a lens through which to view the lives of her more famous husband and son.13 10. Tomas, “ ‘With his authority,’ ” 143. 11. On this whole theme, see Tomas, Medici Women. 12. For a discussion of the concept of a female career for aristocratic women in this period, see Barbara J. Harris, English Aristocratic Women 1450–1550: Marriage and Family, Property and Careers (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), 5, 26. For Maria’s career at her son’s court, see Tomas, “ ‘With his authority.’ ” 13. Maria’s husband, Giovanni de’ Medici, was a famous mercenary soldier, some of whose correspondence was published in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, in part due to his mythical, heroic status. See Pierre Gauthiez, “Nuovi documenti intorno a Giovanni de’ Medici detto delle Bande Nere,” ASI 30, no. 227 (1902): 71–107, , “Nuovi documenti intorno a Giovanni de’ Medici detto delle Bande Nere,” ASI 30, no. 228 (1902): 326–62, , and ASI 31, no. 229 (1903): 97–126, ; Filippo Moisè and Carlo Milanesi, “Lettere inedite e testamento di Giovanni de’ Medici detto delle Bande Nere con altri di Maria e Iacopo Salviati,” ASI 7, no. 2 (1858): 3–48, ; Carlo Milanesi, “Lettere di Giovanni de’ Medici detto delle Bande Nere,” ASI 8, no. 1 (1858): 3–40, , ASI 9, no. 1 (1859): 3–29, , and ASI 9, no. 2 (1859): 109–47, . For a recent discussion that unpicks the mythology around Giovanni, see Maurizio Arfaioli, The Black Bands of Giovanni: Infantry and Diplomacy During the Italian Wars (1526–1528) (Pisa: Pisa University Press, Edizioni Plus, 2005). Cosimo I de’ Medici’s unexpected accession to the duchy of Florence has prompted historians to investigate how his upbringing may have contributed to his success. See Cesare Guasti, “Alcuni fatti delle prima giovinezza di Cosimo I de’ Medici,” GSAT 2 (1858): 13–64, 295–320 . Several of Cosimo’s early letters can be found in Cosimo I de’ Medici, Lettere, ed. Giorgio Spini (Florence: Vallecchi, 1940). An older biography of Cosimo I de’ Medici that is still useful (and is also currently the only biography available in English) is Cecily Booth, Cosimo I, Duke of Florence (London and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1921). See now Alessio Assonitis and Henk Th. van Veen,

6 A Life in Letters

Maria’s Early Life Maria Maddalena Romola di Jacopo di Giovanni di Alemanno Salviati was born on Wednesday, 17 July 1499, in Florence and was baptized on the same day.14 She was the seventh of thirteen children born to Jacopo di Giovanni di Alemanno Salviati (1461–1533) and Lucrezia di Lorenzo di Piero de’ Medici (1470–1553).15 Jacopo Salviati was from an elite Florentine family and became an eminent banker and politician. Lucrezia was the eldest daughter of Lorenzo di Piero di Cosimo de’ Medici (1449–1492), who was Florence’s de facto ruler from 1469 to 1492. Maria, therefore, was born into one of the most elite families in Florence. At the time of Maria’s birth in 1499, the Medici family were in exile, but Jacopo Salviati, his wife, and children were able to remain in their native city despite their strong Medicean links because of Jacopo’s republican sympathies and ties to the leaders of the anti-Medicean regime in Florence.16 Apart from her birth record, there is little surviving documentation regarding Maria’s early life before her marriage. Like many other upper-class Florentine girls, she may have been taught the Italian alphabet by her mother, before she turned seven.17 From that point onward, she was probably educated at home by a tutor or sent to a convent to learn to read, and possibly to write as well as to count.18 Irene Fosi has suggested that Maria and her younger sister, Francesca, eds., A Companion to Cosimo I de’ Medici (Leiden: Brill, 2022). 14. Maria’s birthdate and other names are recorded in the birth register housed in the Florentine Cathedral; AODSMFF 225 272r. . On the large numbers of Florentine children who had a given name of Romolo/a during the last decades of the fifteenth century and the early decades of the sixteenth century, see Christianne Klapisch-Zuber, “San Romolo: Un vescovo, un lupo, un nome alle origini dello stato moderno,” ASI 55, no. 1 (1997): 3–48, 6. . 15. A complete list of their children can be found in Pierre Hurtubise, Une famille-témoin: Les Salviati (Vatican City: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 1985), 148. Hurtubise’s family tree at 499, does not include the twins Jacopino (1509–1525) and Jacopina (1509–1509) as Hurtubise did not include children who did not survive until adulthood in his family trees. See the Salviati family trees in the genealogies in this volume. 16. Tomas, Medici Women, 108. 17. For mothers as educators of children younger than seven, see Margaret L. King, “The School of Infancy: The Emergence of Mother as Teacher in Early Modern Times,” in The Renaissance in the Streets, Schools and Studies, ed. Konrad Eisenbichler and Nicholas Terpstra (Toronto: Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies, 2008), 41–86. 18. There is a growing literature on the extent of female literacy in Renaissance Italy, including Florence; how children were educated is one of the topics studied. The classic work, which includes some information on female education, is Paul F. Grendler, Schooling in Renaissance Italy: Literacy and Learning, 1300–1600 (Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989), 87–89, 93–102. A useful discussion that surveys both the primary evidence and the secondary literature for female literacy in fifteenth-century Florence is Judith Bryce, “ ‘Les Livres des Florentines’: Reconsidering

A Life in Letters 7 were educated by a Lisabetta Salviati at the Camaldolese convent of Il Boldrone,19 to which Maria donated twenty-five scudi in alms sometime after 1540.20 In 1509, when Maria was aged ten, Jacopo and Lucrezia Salviati fostered the orphaned son of the famous ruler of Imola and Forlí, Caterina Sforza (1463–1509). Jacopo Salviati, who was Caterina’s banker and adviser, and the parish priest, Francesco Fortunati, who was her spiritual adviser, were both appointed guardians of the eleven-year-old Giovanni de’ Medici. 21 Giovanni was originally called Lodovico, but was renamed for his father, Giovanni, who died some months after his birth. Unusually, therefore, Maria grew up with, and came to know well, the young man to whom she was eventually betrothed.22 At the time of her betrothal in January 1513, the Medici family were once again the rulers of Florence, having returned to power in September 1512. Several factors may have spurred Jacopo Salviati to contract a marriage for Maria: she was in her teens and thus had reached a suitable age for marriage, and the Medici had recently returned to Florence—an alliance with them through his daughter would further entrench the Salviati family’s place within the ruling elite. Jacopo provided a substantial dowry of three thousand florins for Maria’s marriage.23 Apart Women’s Literacy in Quattrocento Florence,” in At the Margins: Minority Groups in Pre-Modern Italy, ed. Stephen J. Milner (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2005), 133–61. Bryce refers briefly to women’s numeracy at 139; Lisa Kaborycha, “Brigida Baldinotti and Her Two Epistles in Quattrocento Florentine Manuscripts,” Speculum 87, no. 3 (2012): 793–826, . For home tutoring, see Lucrezia Salviati’s reference to having been taught to read at home by the celebrated humanist Angelo Poliziano, who taught her brothers a much broader humanist curriculum. See Medici Archive Project, BIA Database doc. ID 14859, (MDP 380 162r). See now, for another example of home tutoring of young children: Lisa Kaborycha, ed. and trans., A Corresponding Renaissance: Letters Written by Italian Women, 1375–1650 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016), 136–37. On convent schools, see Sharon T. Strocchia, “Learning the Virtues: Convent Schools and Female Culture in Renaissance Florence,” in Women’s Education in Early Modern Europe: A History, 1500– 1800, ed. Barbara J. Whitehead (New York and London: Garland, 1999), 3–46. 19. Irene Fosi, “Medici, Lucrezia de,’ ” DBI 73 (2009), . The nun may be Lisabetta di Nastagio Salviati, who was listed in Il Boldrone’s partial convent roster of nuns in 1476 (personal communication from Sharon Strocchia, February 2019). 20. MAP 140 255r, . 21. Joyce de Vries, Caterina Sforza and the Art of Appearances: Gender, Art and Culture in Early Modern Italy (Farnham, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing, 2010), 232. 22. In two surviving letters from Lucrezia Salviati to Giovanni, written in April and June 1514 respectively, Lucrezia emphasizes that her affection for him is the same as for her other children and, in each letter, refers to Maria’s greetings to him. See Moisè and Milanesi, “Lettere inedite,” ASI 7, no. 2 (1858): 24–25, . 23. ASP Miscellanea II, 1 fasc. 23, c. 110r.

8 A Life in Letters from the benefit of joining both the junior or cadet line of the Medici (Giovanni) with the main line of the Medici family (Maria), thereby healing an old Medici family quarrel through marriage, Jacopo and Lucrezia Salviati may have thought that the couple’s closeness in age and long acquaintance with each other laid the foundation for a happy union.24 The length of that acquaintance may explain why Maria felt able to use such an angry, vexed, and despairing tone so early in their marital relationship in letter 1.25

Maria as Wife I would not bother you so much, but as we cannot speak in your absence, we have to send letters to each other. Because pulled by a yearning for a relationship (which is denied me), I can do nothing else but write to you. (letter 18) Maria and Giovanni were married in November 1516.26 Giovanni de’ Medici’s profession as a captain of a band of mercenary soldiers meant that he was often away from home.27 This meant that Giovanni and Maria’s husband-wife relationship depended upon and was maintained by a written correspondence. In fact, Maria was by far the more the more assiduous correspondent in this exchange, even if the number of letters sent by Giovanni that have not survived are considered. Maria’s attempts to get Giovanni to respond to the concerns she raised in letters and to write more frequently with detailed accounts of his activities—and, one suspects, with some evidence of his feelings for her—were largely unsuccessful. With one exception, the letters from Giovanni to Maria were functional in nature: they were short, listing the goods he required Maria to send to him or outlining specific activities that required her assistance (letters 4, 27).28 Giovanni put additional strain on his relationship with Maria in February 1518, when he challenged Camillo d’Appiano, a cousin of the Lord of Piombino, to a duel over the treatment of one of his men by Camillo’s troops. Fighting duels was illegal. Infuriated by Giovanni’s actions, Duke Lorenzo II de’ Medici, the de facto ruler of Florence, refused to include him in his entourage to France, and a 24. For marriage alliances formed to heal family rifts, see Tomas, Medici Women, 20, 146. 25. Carolyn James, “Marriage by Correspondence: Politics and Domesticity in the Letters of Isabella D’Este and Francesco Gonzaga, 1490–1519,” RQ 65, no. 2 (2012): 321–52. This article suggests that conjugal relationships built up through correspondence over time. 26. Pierre Gauthiez, “Nuovi documenti intorno a Giovanni de’ Medici detto delle Bande Nere,” ASI 30, no. 227 (1902): 88, . 27. Mercenary soldiers were common in Europe at this time. Individual Italian cities often hired men like Giovanni to fight their wars and Giovanni would fight for different sides in a war at different times. 28. The context for the different tone of letter 31 will be explained later.

A Life in Letters 9 few weeks later the Florentine police magistracy punished Giovanni by formally exiling him.29 This was not the first time Giovanni had fallen foul of the law for impulsive behavior. When he was around twelve, the Florentine regime ruled that he was to be confined to his family’s villas for two years because of his unruly and violent ways.30 Because of Giovanni’s Medici lineage and Jacopo Salviati’s influence with the leaders of the regime, the punishment was relatively mild compared to penalties imposed on other exiles, who were usually sent to live in cities or towns outside Tuscany. On this occasion, Giovanni was exiled from Florence for five years and could not come within ten miles of the city. He also had to stay away from the University of Pisa to keep him from attacking foreign students and was banned from Piombino and two nearby towns that were part of Piombino’s territory: Campiglia and Volterra. The first prohibition was the core punishment, designed to separate Giovanni from his relatives, friends, and neighbors, thereby isolating him socially. Maria immediately began the type of intense advocacy that would be apparent for the rest of her life in relation to defending both her husband and son. She used her connections with the leaders of the Medici regime to have Giovanni reinstated in the Medici regime’s good graces as soon as possible (letters 5–11). She and other family members were afraid that Giovanni would break the terms of his exile, which would have resulted in his being declared a rebel, having his property confiscated, and being executed if caught.31 As recent research has shown, the women left behind in Florence often bore the brunt of the negative impacts of exile.32 An unhappy and inconsolable Maria retired for a period of time, possibly for a few months to the convent of 29. The decree and a letter about Giovanni’s punishment in 1518 is in Gauthiez, “Nuovi documenti,” ASI 30, no. 227 (1902): 106–7, . 30. Michael Rocke, Forbidden Friendships: Homosexuality and Male Culture in Renaissance Florence (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996), 229 and 327 n. 10 reports that Giovanni was exiled for two years to beyond twenty miles from the city in 1511 for his connection to the rape of another young boy by two other youths in Giovanni’s company at the Medici palace. None of the other accounts discuss this incident’s details. Maurizio Arfaioli, “Medici, Giovanni de,’ ” DBI 73 (2009), ; Moisè and Milanesi, “Lettere inedite,” ASI 7, no. 2 (1858): 18, ; Gaetano Pieraccini, La stirpe de’ Medici di Cafaggiolo: Saggio di Ricerche sulla trasmissione ereditaria dei caratteri biologici, 3 vols. (Florence: Vallechi, 1924; reprinted Nardini, 1986), vol. 1, 370. 31. Gauthiez, “Nuovi documenti,” vol. 30, no. 227 (1902): 106–7, . 32. See the discussion in Tomas, Medici Women, 105–6; the same source gives an example of the difficulties faced by the women left behind in Florence and cites literature on the broader issue of the treatment of women from exiled families. See too the letters of a Florentine woman to her exiled sons: Alessandra Macinghi Strozzi, Letters to Her Sons, 1447–1470, ed. and trans. Judith Bryce (Toronto and Tempe, AZ: Iter Academic Press and Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2016).

10 A Life in Letters Sant’Orsola in late February 1518 on Giovanni’s orders. During that period, Maria kept up her efforts to assist her husband, while making her distress at their difficult situation known to him (letters 5, 7). No correspondence survives between the couple from April until October 1518. However, a letter that Maria wrote to Francesco Fortunati in November suggested that she and Giovanni had spent time together, later in 1518, probably at their villa at Trebbio, just outside of Giovanni’s exclusion zone (letter 10). In March 1519, Maria begged Giovanni to “meet [her] halfway” on the terms of the exile and warned that if he did anything to upset Duke Lorenzo II de’ Medici, she would “become a nun” (letter 11). These words suggest that Maria, pregnant after her temporary sojourn with her husband, may have returned to Sant’Orsola and continued to worry about Giovanni’s intentions regarding his exile. A series of events helped speed up Giovanni’s eventual rehabilitation. The death of Duke Lorenzo II de’ Medici in May 1519 may have contributed to his recall from exile, as might the birth of the couple’s son, Cosimo, the following June, as well as Pope Leo X’s (Giovanni di Lorenzo di Piero de’ Medici, r. 1513– 1521) decision to give Giovanni command of the papal troops. Maria’s decision to inform Pope Leo of her son’s birth and her astute invitation to him and the entire College of Cardinals to be her son’s godparents—as well as her accepting the pope’s decision to name the baby after their ancestor, the first de facto ruler of Florence, Cosimo di Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici—would all have helped her husband’s cause.33 Allowing the pope to name her son after the founder of the family’s political dynasty would also have been an auspicious beginning for Cosimo, effectively identifying him as the legitimate noble scion of the Medici family and a key part of its dynastic future. A letter of January 1520 from Francesco Suasio to Maria, informing her of Giovanni’s participation in a joust with other Florentines in Rome who were loyal to the Medici regime, as well as Pope Leo’s request for a repeat performance held in his presence, reassured her that Giovanni had been publicly readmitted into the fold (letter 12). In the early 1520s, Maria was an extremely busy correspondent. She had a young baby to care for, and a household, farms, and servants to manage, all while supporting her husband in his efforts to reduce his debts and increase his income. She wrote to and received replies from her many employees and corresponded with her Salviati and Medici relatives and with her husband.34 As his wife, Maria was duty-bound to obey Giovanni. She apologized abjectly, for example, for failing to seek Giovanni’s permission to leave home together with Cosimo, in order to fulfil a religious vow (letter 14). Maria also wrote to Giovanni about Cosimo’s 33. Tomas, Medici Women, 148. 34. I have included only some examples of the letters exchanged between Maria and her employees on domestic concerns. Many more of them are listed in Arrivo, “Scritture delle donne di casa Medici,” 10–14.

A Life in Letters 11 health (letter 15), about the birth of his nephew Giuliano (letter 16), and about the dismissal of a servant from the household on Giovanni’s orders (letter 17). Her obvious frustration that Giovanni’s servants were not doing their job—they were not keeping her informed—prompted Maria’s appeal to Giovanni to write to her, so that their exchange of letters might temporarily replace “a longed-for relationship,” thwarted by distance (letter 18). Maria’s strong desire for news of her husband when he was in Rome in early 1520, coupled with a request that her relatives at the papal court keep the interests of herself and her newborn son in their hearts, was reflected in the tone of a letter from her brother, Cardinal Giovanni Salviati. He assured her that her husband was well and that the cardinal had Maria’s and Cosimo’s interests always in his heart (letter 13). Maria successfully used her family connection to Pope Clement VII (a maternal cousin) to advocate for debt relief for her husband and to bring Cosimo to the attention of the pope at an early age, so that strong bonds of kinship developed early between them (letters 23, 25, 26). Maria’s role as a powerful intercessor for relatives and friends and for the poor with the Medici regime and the papacy also began at this time. Francesco Sforza de’ Riario (Giovanni’s half-brother and the bishop of Lucca) and Maria’s sisterin-law, Costanza de’ Bardi (married to Maria’s younger brother, Giovanbattista Salviati), both asked her to use her relationship with Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici (later Pope Clement VII) to recommend them to him (letters 21–22). Maria’s requests for assistance to others were not always granted. These refusals often occurred because of competition between various (male) Medici interests for favors for their own clients, or because of the expectation that justice must be seen to be done. This meant that Maria’s request on behalf of a poor man in trouble with the law was denied by a key Medici official, for reasons that we might now call “managing the optics.” Despite his refusal, however, to help this poor, remorseful man in trouble with the Florentine police magistracy, Cardinal Silvio Passerini, the Medici representative in Florence, replied very politely, acknowledging Maria’s status as a senior member of the Medici family, who deserved a very carefully worded letter of refusal (letter 28). In June 1525, while fighting in the battle of Pavia for the French king, Giovanni was wounded but later recovered (letter 30). In reply to a letter from Maria that has not survived, Giovanni was uncharacteristically tender and emotional, reassuring his wife that he would recover and telling her not to be distressed (letter 31). Maria’s panic is reflected in the tone of Giovanni’s letter. The last two letters to him from Maria are short and reflect the business-like tone that Giovanni wished her to adopt. They merely inquire about his health and reassure him that both she and Cosimo are well (letters 32, 34). Unlike some of her earlier letters to Giovanni, these epistles lack an emotional and demanding tone, which suggests that, as she grew older, Maria accepted Giovanni’s template for epistolary communication between them.

12 A Life in Letters Giovanni’s death, during the night of 30 November/1 December 1526, from a second and this time fatal wounding in battle made permanent what his frequent absences had temporarily necessitated: that Maria act as both mother and father to their son. When Cosimo was seven years old, for example, Maria, not her husband, had been the person to choose the boy’s tutor, Pierfrancesco Riccio, though this responsibility usually fell to the father.35 Also, it was Maria, not her husband, who decided that Cosimo and Riccio should begin a trip that was to end in Venice; the trip was designed to introduce Cosimo to influential and powerful men who could help the boy further his education, networks, and his eventual career (letter 35). Now such decisions would always have to be hers. Condolence letters were sent to Maria within days of Giovanni’s passing (letters 36–40). These letters focused on two themes. The first theme was the pope’s awareness of the dire financial straits in which Maria found herself (letter 36). The second was condolence on her own and the writer’s loss; Giovanni’s treasurer, Francesco degli Albizzi, documented the events of Giovanni’s death and his profound grief about it (letter 37). Other letters included an exchange between Maria and Giovanni’s friend, the satirist Pietro Aretino. Arentino’s letter was, in effect, an encomium to Giovanni, which Aretino published during his lifetime. It was designed to memorialize and mythologize Giovanni and his actions as exceptional and heroic, irrespective of their accuracy (letters 37–40).

Maria as Widowed Mother As soon as that blessed soul of my lord consort had left us, in that instant, I decided to live always with my son for many reasons that would be lengthy to relate by letter. For one very special reason, I considered that my son, having been born of such especially fortunate lineage, was not going to be abandoned by me. I would be able to be of much greater use to him by staying with him than by leaving him. (Letter 61) Becoming a widowed mother was common in Renaissance Florence.36 Many women found themselves in dire financial straits after the death of their husband and under pressure to remarry, leaving any offspring with their paternal relatives.37 35. King, “School of Infancy.” 36. The classic article is Christiane Klapisch-Zuber, “The “Cruel Mother”: Maternity, Widowhood and Dowry in Florence in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries,” in her Women, Family and Ritual in Renaissance Italy (Chicago and London: Chicago University Press, 1985), 117–31. 37. Isabelle Chabot, “Widowhood and Poverty in Late Medieval Florence,” Continuity and Change 3, no. 2 (1988): 291–311, ; Isabelle Chabot, “Lineage Strategies and the Control of Widows in Renaissance Florence,” in Widowhood in Medieval and Early

A Life in Letters 13 Contemporaries often viewed such mothers as “bad,” while those who resisted the enormous social pressure to remarry were praised by grateful sons.38 In the letter of May 1531 that begins this section, now widowed some five years and thirty-two years old, Maria forcefully represented herself as a virtuous woman who had not abandoned her son. She had resisted strongly the efforts of her brother (Cardinal Salviati) and other Salviati relatives to persuade her to remarry, skillfully using her correspondence, networks and access to the pope to ensure the proposed match did not proceed. She justified her stance on the basis of being the mother of a Medici heir, foreshadowing the significant role she would continue to play as an aide and support to Cosimo throughout her life—a role that Medici widows in earlier generations had also played for their sons, when they were de facto rulers of Florence.39 While Maria’s ability to resist remarriage was not typical of the experience of many Florentine widows, her experience of poverty was similar. Maria strategically framed her persistent requests for financial aid in unselfish terms, as a benefit to Cosimo rather than herself, or, sometimes, as a benefit for both of them. An example may be found in an extraordinary exchange of letters between herself and her father, Jacopo, in January to early February 1527, concerning efforts to ensure that the French king, Francis I, provide for Cosimo adequately, thereby discharging his obligation to look after the offspring of one of his deceased soldiers (letter 41). In letter 43, Maria responded to Jacopo’s account with anger and frustration at what she saw as her poor, orphaned son receiving inadequate grandfatherly attention and suffering from a lack of concern for Cosimo’s (and therefore, also Maria’s) financial situation from both Jacopo and other Medici relatives. This emotional outburst against her own father and other senior Medici men would have been viewed by contemporaries as extremely disrespectful toward the dominant paternal (and patriarchal) authority to which she was subject, as a daughter and as a woman. Jacopo’s stern rebukes to Maria in his response to her letter, reflected this contemporary attitude, even as he sought to point out how much advocacy was actually being undertaken on her behalf and that of her son (letter 46).40 Concerns over the cost of activities was always a worry for Maria. In September 1533, she was reluctant to attend Caterina di Lorenzo di Piero de’ Medici’s (1519–1589) wedding in France, because of the cost involved. Riccio and her father persuaded her that because of the support given to her and to Cosimo Modern Europe, ed. Sandra Cavallo and Lyndan Warner (Harlow, UK, and New York: Longman, 1999), 127–44. 38. See Tomas, Medici Women, 26–27, for a discussion of this issue, and see the additional bibliography on widowhood cited there. 39. Tomas, Medici Women, 26, 131. 40. ASP Salviati di Roma, Libri di Commercio, 11, 12 document Maria as a debtor to her father in the 1520s and early 1530s.

14 A Life in Letters by the pope, it was to her son’s benefit that she attend, Maria duly obeyed (letter 73).41 The welfare and conduct of her son in Venice were major concerns of Maria and a key topic of news provided by Riccio and young Cosimo himself. In January 1527, Riccio was pleased to be able to convey to Maria the news of the success that Cosimo and his young cousins, Lorenzo and Giuliano, had had in meeting men from the elite of Venice and other cities during their sojourn there. This included the positive reception granted by Messer Marco Foscari, previously the Venetian papal ambassador and then ambassador to Florence. Cosimo’s visit to Foscari’s home in Venice permitted him to further his acquaintance with this important political figure (letters 42, 44). Cosimo assured Maria of his good and respectful behavior to his entourage and denied that he had received a head injury in an accident on the street (letter 45). Although Maria’s letter on this topic has not survived, it is likely she expressed deep concern about her son’s welfare at a time when the steady march of imperial troops up the Italian peninsula was a concern they could share (letter 50). By 1 May 1527, according to Riccio, Maria had left Florence for Pistoia, probably because of a fear of advancing imperial troops and the political instability of the Medici regime at that time (letter 51). Maria’s move was prescient. On May 11 the Medici regime fell and was replaced by an anti-Medicean, prorepublican government after news reached Florence of the sack of Rome and the imprisonment of the pope in Castel Sant’Angelo, together with many others, including Jacopo Salviati. Maria made her way to Venice and joined her son, Riccio, and her mother, Lucrezia Salviati, who had fled there in mid-May from Rome.42 From Venice, Maria continued to write to employees, such as Suasio and long-term acquaintances such as Fortunati for news about what was happening in Florence (letters 53, 55). She also continued to issue orders to her employee, Giovanni Goretti, relating to, among other things, the management of her rural estates, including the manufacture of silk at Castello (letter 54).43 Maria remained in Venice for at least twelve months, during which time she also corresponded with the pope, sending her condolences for his troubles, while asking him at the same time “not to forget our poor son” (letter 56).44 Regardless of the situation, Maria was always trying to use her networks to further her son’s interests. 41. Tomas, Medici Women, 149. I will now refer to Caterina de’ Medici as Catherine de’ Medici. 42. The situation facing the Salviati family at this time is discussed in Tomas, Medici Women, 116. The broader historical background is discussed in Najemy, History of Florence, 447–53. 43. Additional examples of this correspondence with Goretti and other employees can be found in Arrivo, “Scritture delle donne di casa Medici,” 14–15. 44. This letter is a draft and is undated. Based on its contents I have dated it 1527 or 1528 as it may have been written while Clement VII was still imprisoned or after his release in December 1527, which occurred after the pope came to an agreement with Charles V and paid a ransom. See the references cited in note 42.

A Life in Letters 15 By September 1528, Maria had returned to Trebbio and was desperately seeking debt relief from the banker and her kinsman, Filippo Strozzi (letter 57). Yet despite her poverty and the negative associations that the Medici name carried in Florence at this time, Maria’s sister, Caterina de’ Nerli, still considered that a letter from Maria to the prior of the Servites would ensure that a poor man would be accepted as a novice with the Servite friars (letter 58). Perhaps to escape the vicissitudes of the siege of Florence of 1529 to 1530 by the imperial troops, who were now allied with the pope and the Medici, Maria moved north to Imola. While there, she was able to recommend a castellan to her father, who, through no fault of his own had lost command of his fort. She also informed her mother of the death from illness of the husband of Maria’s sister, Francesca Gualterotti (letters 59–60).45 The restoration of the Medici regime in August 1530, aided by the Spanish king, Charles V, eventually led to the Medici becoming hereditary rulers of Florence and its territories, while still subject to imperial overlordship. The Florentine Signoria (chief governing council) was formally abolished in April 1532 and replaced with a ducal council, with Duke Alessandro de’ Medici at its head.46 Cosimo and his tutor Riccio accompanied the duke to Bologna in late 1532 to meet Charles V. They remained with the king until he left Italy in April 1533. Maria’s letters of this time made her usual request to Riccio to provide news of her son (letters 62, 67). She also requested that Cosimo use his acquaintance with both the pope and Charles V to obtain a position for himself at Duke Alessandro’s court, although one that would not displace others (letter 63). However, the key issue preoccupied Maria, Cosimo, and Riccio was the question of whether, and whom, the by then teenaged Cosimo should marry. This decision occupied not only Maria, but also the pope, Jacopo Salviati, Cardinal Ippolito de’ Medici, and Duke Alessandro (letters 64–68). Cardinal Innocenzo Cibo proposed one of his nieces, but this was rejected. In the end, Maria realized that key Medici leaders, such as Ippolito de’ Medici, did not support a marriage alliance at that time and so she acquiesced, assured by Riccio that Cosimo was beloved by all (letters 69–70). Maria also had to deal with the ongoing dispute with Cosimo’s paternal cousins over the ownership of Medici property. This issue was not resolved in Maria and Cosimo’s favor until May 1535 (letter 67). In September 1533, Maria accompanied a young Catherine de’ Medici to France for her wedding to Henri, Duke of Orléans, the second son of the French king, Francis I. The two surviving letters in Maria’s correspondence relating to Catherine de’ Medici testify to a lifelong relationship sustained by an exchange of letters that have not survived (letters 75, 150). Cosimo and Riccio traveled again with Duke Alessandro to Naples to meet Charles V in 1535 and remained until March 1536, but no correspondence has 45. On the siege of Florence and its political context, see Najemy, History of Florence, 453–61; Nicholas Scott Baker, The Fruit of Liberty: Political Culture in the Florentine Renaissance, 1480–1550 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2013), 98–141. 46. Najemy, History of Florence, 461–64; Baker, Fruit of Liberty, 142–51.

16 A Life in Letters survived from that period. However, we know that Maria was in Florence on 6 January 1537, when she sent an urgent message to her son—who was at Trebbio at the time, enjoying a hunting expedition—telling him to come to Florence immediately, as Duke Alessandro had been assassinated.47 The lives of Maria and Cosimo were about to change dramatically and irrevocably. Within three days, after discussions at Palazzo Salviati involving Maria and leading citizens of the regime, Cosimo was elected on 9 January 1537 as Florence’s head and hereditary ruler.48

Lady Maria: Dowager Queen As Your Lordship will have been able to understand via my other letters, [in] the aftermath of the death of His Excellency [Duke Alessandro de’ Medici] I want to make you aware that the Magnificent Forty-Eight [the Senate] of the Florentine Republic in voluntary agreement elected Lord Cosimo, my son for their lord. As Your Lordship will have heard by other means of the election of Lord Cosimo, my son, by the Magnificent Forty-Eight for their lord, without any contradiction, like an act of God. (Letter 76) In the early years of her son’s rule, prior to his marriage in June 1539, Maria occupied a semi-formal role akin to a dowager queen. Some six years after the Florentine republic had become a hereditary dukedom, the courtly environment was still being developed and the governance of the realm was undergoing a period of transition. For the two and a half years that Cosimo was an unmarried duke, his mother’s correspondence reflected a clear involvement in political activity, alongside Cosimo’s secretaries and other court officials, often, but not always, when Cosimo was absent (letters 76–99). Maria’s first duty after Cosimo’s election was to inform supporters of his election and to seek support from them in the event of attack from those who opposed the regime (letters 76–77). Her authority within the regime is indicated in a peremptory letter of late January 1537, in which she informed the Vicar of Scarperia that, despite her order, delivered by a government committee, for his men to load wheat at Trebbio, the work had still not been done (letter 78). Maria corresponded with the Florentine ambassador to the court of Charles V, Giovanni Bandini, on several occasions about current political issues (letters 83, 86, 97). She was a conduit for governmental correspondence and knew when particular committees were supposed to meet (letters 85, 88). Maria did not fail to give astute political advice and admonition to her son, when she felt it necessary, particularly when Cosimo preferred to hunt, rather than attend essential political meetings 47. Najemy, History of Florence, 466; Baker, Fruit of Liberty, 163. 48. Tomas, Medici Women, 149–50.

A Life in Letters 17 (letter 90). Maria also discussed current political events with Cosimo’s secretaries (letter 91). All of these activities did not prevent Maria from continuing to act in a more traditional way for women: as an intercessor for supplicants to Cosimo. Sometimes these requests for assistance were discussed on their own (letters 92, 96). At other times they appear as an item among others in a letter dealing with current political issues (letter 93). Letter writers clearly expected Maria to act as a bridge to her son once he became duke (letter 79). In her own correspondence, Maria mixed discussing traditional domestic activities, such as organizing the cleaning of Cosimo’s bedroom, with political matters such as how to deal with certain incoming government correspondence (letters 88–89). They were all part of her duty as his mother, or so a contemporary letter writer told her when he advised her “to help him [Cosimo] carry this burden [of rule], until he is able to bear it on his tender shoulders with appropriate strength” (letter 80).

Lady Maria: Manager of the Children’s Court and Wise Elder Your Ladyship, you would please me much if you came here to stay with me and brought the children with you. Those [dispatches] that I have from Bologna, Venice, and Pistoia, I am sending with Messer Pierfrancesco [Riccio] because they belong to the Lords of the Council [the Senate] and to Your Ladyship. (Letter 142) Maria was not involved in the diplomatic negotiations regarding whom Cosimo took as his bride. Once Eleonora was chosen, however, Maria was actively involved in the discussion about the number of Venetian pearls Eleonora should receive in Naples from Cosimo’s emissaries, and the number that would be given to her on her arrival in Florence (letters 94–95). These pearls were an important marital gift of diplomatic significance, and Maria’s role in the arrangements implied that she might expect a prominent role in Eleonora’s court. That Cosimo intended his mother—“who already loves [Eleonora]”—to have a key role in running his wife’s court is clear from a letter that he wrote to Giovanni Bandini in March 1539, as he was about to send his emissaries to Naples with an engagement ring for Eleonora.49 As it happened, Maria did not move into such a prominent position because Eleonora was able to keep on many of the Spanish retainers that she brought with her, including the manager of her court.50 The loss of this role 49. See Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, BIA doc. ID 1991 (MDP 2 128r). It has an Italian transcription and English summary: . 50. See the discussion on this point in Natalie R. Tomas, “Eleonora di Toledo, Regency, and State Formation in Tuscany,” in Medici Women: The Making of a Dynasty in Grand Ducal Tuscany, ed.

18 A Life in Letters did not prevent the two women from getting along well. Apart from their shared interest in the welfare of their children (letters 142, 143), they shared a common interest in obtaining maximum economic benefit from the rural properties they managed.51 Moreover, Maria was given another important (and gendered) role: that of the manager of the ducal nursery, which was based at her villa at Castello. Maria’s role as manager of the children’s court was a significant one for the future of the regime. It was perhaps also a respectful concession to her advancing age. Maria was responsible for the care of Bia (1536 or 1537–1542), Cosimo’s natural child, whom Maria referred to as “the solace of this court” (letter 109). She was also overseeing the raising of Duke Alessandro’s natural children, Giulio (1527? or 1532?–1600) and Giulia de’ Medici (1534–1588), whom Cosimo had promised to take responsibility for upon his accession to the duchy. It was Giulia with whom Maria was portrayed in Jacopo Pontormo’s portrait of 1540.52 Maria also presided over the early years of the first four of Cosimo I and Eleonora’s children: Maria (1540), Francesco (1541), Isabella (1542), and Giovanni (1543), who stayed with their grandmother at Castello. After her death, Villa Castello remained the seat of the children’s court. Care for the health of the ducal family was another gendered role that Maria undertook. As recent research has demonstrated, women cared for the sick and often had practical knowledge and expertise in household medicines and medical treatments. This description certainly fits Maria, whose management of the children’s court meant that she was often called upon to treat childhood illnesses.53 Maria reported punctiliously on the health and illnesses of the children and the state of her own health, which was often poor after 1540 (letters 108, 136). In Maria’s last surviving letter, she apologized to Eleonora for keeping the doctor at Castello to treat her, when her daughter-in-law needed medical treatment (letter 148). After Maria’s death, her important reporting role to the duke and duchess Giovanna Benadusi and Judith C. Brown (Toronto: Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies, 2015), 71–72. 51. See Bruce L. Edelstein, “Eleonora di Toledo e la gestione dei beni familiari: Una strategia economica?,” in Donne di potere nel Rinascimento, ed. Letizia Arcangeli and Susanna Peyronel (Rome: Viella, 2008), 148–50; Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, BIA doc. ID 6062 (MDP 1170 690r). This document and the next one listed, refer to Maria’s and Eleonora’s cultivation of beekeeping at Villa Castello; and BIA doc. ID 6063 (MDP 1170 692r), . 52. See Gabrielle Langdon, Medici Women: Portraits of Power, Love and Betrayal from the Court of Duke Cosimo I (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2006), pl. 2; for a detailed discussion of the portrait and its context, see 32–47. 53. Sharon T. Strocchia, Forgotten Healers: Women and the Pursuit of Health in Late Renaissance Italy (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2019), 16–41.

A Life in Letters 19 about their children’s health and welfare became the responsibility of the ducal secretaries, who alone held the appropriate level of authority.54 After 1540, Maria’s correspondence indicates that, in addition to her role managing the children’s court, Maria remained a chief source of patronage and intercession with Cosimo and the Medici regime for Tuscans of all types. Eleonora’s “foreign” status meant that she was not popular as an intermediary, so Tuscans sought help instead from Maria.55 Cosimo recognized that Maria’s “local knowledge” made her an ideal marriage broker and would ask her to arrange marriage alliances that both he and Eleonora wished to occur (letters 102, 107). Maria’s skills as a broker could also be called upon to mediate in disputes, such as the dispute between members of one branch of the Strozzi family over an inheritance. Maria encouraged the member of the Strozzi family who was appointed as arbitrator to accept a compromise, promising to return the favor in the future if he did. Some months later, Cosimo wrote to the same man, noting his pleasure at a compromise being reached (letter 135). Maria also had to accept compromises from her son in order to succeed as a patron at his court. When confronted by her request—prompted by a request from the young man’s uncle—to release a young man, Giovanni Taddei, from prison, Cosimo had to deal with the thorny question of how to please his mother while enforcing the law at the same time. The solution: Cosimo agreed to release him after a few more days, arguing it would be better for the young man, if his punishment lasted a little longer (letters 106–107). In a letter to one of his secretaries, a couple of weeks later, Maria was thankful Giovanni had finally been released (letter 109). Maria also continued to recommended men for office to Cosimo after Eleonora’s arrival (letter 111). She sought out religious benefices for her clients or employees (letters 113, 121) and informed Cosimo’s secretaries of the candidates she wished to be appointed to vacant positions or positions about to become vacant (letter 124). After receiving a supplication, Maria argued for a reduction in taxation for one poor man with multiple daughters, who she thought had been overtaxed (letter 112). When one of her nephews sought a position at Cosimo’s court, Maria asked her son’s secretaries to assist him (letters 117,125). Maria also did not hesitate to appeal to Cosimo to cancel a fine issued by the Florentine police magistracy to a man who had already made amends for his indiscretion (letter 133) or to interfere in a judicial process she thought unfair to a prisoner (letter 144). In a letter to Maria in mid–1543, Eleonora, while acting as regent in Cosimo’s absence, clearly expected that her mother-in-law would be kept informed of events of political import through receiving diplomatic dispatches, suggesting that Maria’s advice on political issues was always very much valued by the ducal couple (letter 143). 54. Tomas, “ ‘With his authority,’ ” 142. 55. On Eleonora’s early years in Florence and her unpopularity, see Tomas, “Eleonora of Toledo.”

20 A Life in Letters

Remembering Maria Maria died on 12 December 1543 and was buried in the Medici family church of San Lorenzo. Numerous tributes were paid to her by Cosimo and his court, as well as by others. She received a funeral oration delivered by the court historian, Benedetto Varchi, in which he referred to Maria as a “mortal goddess.”56 The grand state funeral cost the considerable sum of 1,652 ducats.57 Upon hearing of Maria’s death, the courtesan Tullia d’Aragona sent an elegiac poem to Cosimo I in her honor.58 Furthermore, both Guidobaldo II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino—whose father had been a long-time friend of Giovanni de’ Medici—and Catherine de’ Medici sent letters of condolence after Duke Cosimo informed them of his mother’s death.59 Duke Cosimo organized other remembrances of Maria that suited his political and cultural agenda. He preferred to emphasize Maria’s piety and charity, rather than her political role at his court. A posthumous, stylized, ethereal portrait of Maria Salviati with a book by the court painter, Jacopo Pontormo—probably based on her death mask—now hangs in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.60 In later years, Cosimo and his successors continued to use and reuse visual images of Maria as part of their promotion of the Medici dynasty and the continuing commemoration of their ancestors’ achievements.61

56. Natalie Tomas, “Commemorating a Mortal Goddess: Maria Salviati de’ Medici and the Cultural Politics of Duke Cosimo I,” in Practices of Gender in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe, ed. Megan Cassidy-Welch and Peter Sherlock (Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2008), 261–78. 57. The cost of the funeral is given in Manoscritti 321, 13. 58. Tullia d’Aragona, The Poems and Letters of Tullia d’Aragona and Others: A Bilingual Edition, ed. and trans. Julia L. Hairston (Toronto: Iter Press and Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies, 2014). Two variants of this poem are published here in both Italian and English. The first poem is at 78–79 (English Sonnet 12) and the second at 257–58 (English Sonnet 119). 59. The Duke of Urbino’s letter is at MDP 4050 60r. The letter is dated 22 December 1543; Catherine de’ Medici, Les Lettres de Catherine de Mèdicis, 11 vols., ed. Hector de La Ferrière-Percy, Gustave Baguenault de Puchesse, and André Lesort, vol. 1, 1533–1563 (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1880), 7–8. 60. On this portrait, see Langdon, Medici Women, 147–57 and 14. See now, for a recent discussion of Jacopo Pontormo as court portraitist of Maria Salviati de’ Medici and Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici. Bruce L. Edelstein, “Miraculous Encounters: Pontormo from Drawing to Painting,” in Bruce L. Edelstein and Davide Gasparetto (eds) Miraculous Encounters: Pontormo from Drawing to Painting. (Ex. Cat.: Florence, Gallerie Degli Uffizi, 8 May–29 July 2018; New York, the Morgan Library and Museum, 7 Sept. 2018–6 Jan. 2019; Los Angeles, the J. Paul Getty Museum, 5 Feb.–28 Apr. 2019), 17–61. (Los Angeles: Getty Publications, 2018). 61. Langdon, Medici Women, figs. 4–9.

A Life in Letters 21

Figure 1. Portrait of Maria Salviati, 1543 (oil on canvas). Pontormo, Jacopo (1494–1557). Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Tuscany, Italy. Photo © Raffaello Bencini. Bridgeman Images BEN 160888. A short life of Maria was written by Giovanni Franceschi in 1545. Like many later posthumous lives of Duke Cosimo I, written during the period of the grand duchy, this book was written as propaganda for the Medici family. It recounted the history of the Medici family, while praising Cosimo fulsomely. Franceschi then sketched a brief pen-portrait of Maria’s piety and charity, with her political activity during her son’s reign being completely ignored. The purpose

22 A Life in Letters of this life of Maria was to emphasize Cosimo’s Medicean ancestry and his moral upbringing, rather than to provide a biographical account of the life of its putative subject.62 The purpose of such biographies of Cosimo did not, however, prevent one later writer of them from also implicitly recognizing Maria’s political skills, effectively gendering her male and attesting to her saintliness by stating that she had “the gravity of a male soul given in a heavenly way.”63

Maria Salviati de’ Medici as Letter Writer The posthumous portrait of Maria Salviati with a book was a testament, not only to her piety, but also to her ability to read. By the sixteenth century, women from all but the lowest ranks of society were more likely than in previous times to be able to read.64 The ability to read, however, did not necessarily mean the ability to write with ease. They were two different skills and women —and men—often dictated their letters to male employees, scribes, or secretaries. These employees were skilled in the messy, time-consuming, and mechanical art of writing proficiently and speedily with quill and ink on paper. The dictation of a letter did not mean that the authorial voice of the sender was muted or replaced by that of the scribe. The receipt of a letter written entirely in a sender’s own hand (a holograph) was not common and considered a mark of respect.65 Maria had access to scribes, seldom writing in her own hand, apart from her signature.66 Sometimes she did not even sign her letters. However, it is clear she kept a careful control over the content of her correspondence. 62. Giovanni Franceschi, Vita della S. Maria Salviata de’ Medici (Rome: Antonio Blado, 1545). For a discussion of the panegyric purposes of the biographies of Duke Cosimo I during the Medici Grand Duchy, see Carmen Menchini, Panegirici e vite di Cosimo I de’ Medici tra storia e propaganda (Florence: Olschki, 2005). 63. Menchini, Panegirici, 96. For Duke Cosimo’s commemoration of his mother as saintly, see Tomas, “Commemorating a Mortal Goddess.” 64. The bibliography on female letter-writing in this period is vast. See especially Megan Moran, “Female Letter Writing and the Preservation of Family Memory in Early Modern Italy,” EMWJ 6 (2011): 195–201, ; Renée P. Baernstein, “ ‘In my own hand’ ”: Costanza Colonna and the Art of the Letter in Sixteenth-Century Italy,” RQ 66, no. 1 (2013): 130–68, ; James and O’Leary, “Letter Writing and Emotions.” 65. On female letter-writing, see the discussion in Margherita Datini, Letters, 18–22; Strozzi, Letters to Her Sons, 16–18; Kaborycha, Corresponding Renaissance, 15–17; Isabella d’Este, Selected Letters, 11–15. On holograph letters and their status, see Carolyn James, “Letters,” in Early Modern Emotions: An Introduction, ed. Susan Broomhall (Abingdon, UK, and New York: Routledge, 2017), 122. 66. A handful of letters were written in Maria’s own hand. The handwriting in Letter 1, which is uneven and zigzags over the page is possibly autograph. Maria’s letter to Giovanni dated 12 November 1519, in which she stated that she does not currently have a scribe, exhibits similar written characteristics to letter 1, coupled with the addition of ‘in my own hand’ after her signature. See MAP 112, 295 .

A Life in Letters 23 Maria’s letter-writing style mirrors her vernacular education. Elite women such as Maria were steeped in Christian precepts as well as in vernacular tales that circulated orally. Florentine women acquired a fairly high degree of numeracy through informal modes of training; a number of patrician women kept their own accounts. Most well-born women acquired a wide range of skills for purposes of household management; many were avid followers of contemporary events. Moreover, they became adept at everything from political maneuvers to handiwork by means of experiential learning.67 Maria’s prose evoked the language of an informal oral conversation, rather than the formal, self-conscious, literary style of the published letter writing collections of her day.68 The exception is the correspondence between Maria and Pietro Aretino on the death of her husband (letters 38, 40), which Aretino published in 1538, within a volume of vernacular correspondence of notable contemporaries. This was the first time a volume of “personal” letters was published in Italy.69 Aretino may have formalized the tone and style of Maria’s letters, since neither conform to her usual way of expressing herself. Nonetheless, similar to other Florentines Maria preferred face-to-face contact, except when she was angry at the letter’s recipient or sad. The physical distance between sender and recipient sometimes enabled her to express her true feelings (letters 1, 7, 43).70 The oral character of Maria’s letters is suggested by the hurried tone of those that were composed while a courier waited and the convoluted and sometimes cryptic prose that assumed prior knowledge of what was being discussed. Maria used similar letter-writing strategies when writing her “private” or “familiar” letters as did other male and female letter writers of her day and those of previous generations. She or others writing to her would begin by referring to the date the sender’s letter had been received or the date the writer had sent her or his letter to the recipient. This was a way for the correspondents to keep track of their letters and to note lost missives. The contents of those lost missives might then be summarized in a later letter of its sender. Sometimes the date of receipt was also noted. This “mercantile” style of letter writing was also used during the ducal period to keep track of correspondence received. The letters Maria wrote and received would generally also include a description of the issue(s) discussed in the body of the letter, including the desired request, if any. This was usually 67. Examples of all of these attributes are found in the letter collections referred to in the Datini, Strozzi, and Kaborycha letter collections cited in note 65. 68. The classic discussion of Italian Renaissance epistolary practice is John M. Najemy, Between Friends: Discourses of Power and Desire in the Machiavelli-Vettori Letters of 1513–1515 (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993), 18–57. 69. Kaborycha, Corresponding Renaissance, 10–12. 70. On this issue as a feature of letter-writing in this period, see James, “Letters,” 121–22.

24 A Life in Letters followed by a closing sentence recommending herself to the recipient and/or others and then providing a blessing; “May God keep you from harm” was one such example. The letter would end with a signature, the date, and perhaps the location of the writer. 71 At Cosimo’s court, letters were signed and dated just before they were sent, therefore, if a draft of a letter was all that remained it may not have been signed or dated.72 Maria utilized rhetorical strategies in her letters to express her emotional state and to manipulate her message for maximum effect. She expressed anger, disappointment, fear, frustration, joy, laughter, love, pride, regret, and sadness at various times in her correspondence. These emotional expressions were there to persuade the recipient to share Maria’s viewpoint and were contingent on the situation and her stage of life. A youthful concern for the impact of her husband’s actions on both of them may explain some of Maria’s initial more unguarded, intense emotional outbursts (letters 1, 7, 11). Certainly, the language of the letters to her husband during her betrothal and while he was in exile in the early years of her marriage was forceful and strident. It did not meet conventional expectations about a young wife’s expected behavior, which was supposed to be dutiful and circumspect.73 However, as we have previously noted, once Giovanni was recalled from exile Maria usually adopted a far more dutiful tone, even as she jokingly reminded him of his neglect of writing to her. In this same letter, Maria also abjectly apologized for another of her actions (letter 14). Maria’s use of these two different rhetorical styles (humor, sorrow) simultaneously to suit the circumstances, suggests that she had learnt to perform her letter-writer role well. Maria’s maternal obligations provided her with a greater number of tools she could use to assert her own views and wishes because of her obligations toward Cosimo. Her use of the trope of maternal duty justified her fierce protectiveness toward her son and willingness to risk the rage of others, if it were to his benefit. As she grew older, her letters reflect her growing mastery of rhetorical techniques designed to persuade others to her cause (letters 23, 56). The letters of recommendation that she wrote and received conformed to and reflected a more formal epistolary tradition. Maria became skilled at writing and responding to this type of letter, continuing a tradition that had occupied many members from the previous generations of Medici family, including its women.74 The purpose of these letters from and to Maria were to use the power and rhetorical strategies of language to persuade the recipient, usually, but not always, a male relative, to support a request. Often the letter recipient was fielding competing claims for the same favor or position. Maria usually emphasized 71. On the structure of “mercantile” letters, see Strozzi, Letters to Her Sons, 16–17. 72. Kaborycha, Corresponding Renaissance, 118. 73. See the discussion in Tomas, Medici Women, 21, 23. 74. Tomas, Medici Women, 44–64.

A Life in Letters 25 factors designed to persuade the recipient, usually Cosimo or one of his secretaries, to her cause. She would refer to, for example, a supplicant’s poverty, good character, and number of children to support (letter 112), the existence of a previous pardon ignored by governmental bureaucracy (letter 133), remorse for past actions (letter 141), a candidate’s suitability for a position (letter 111), the relationship of the supplicant to her or the Medici family (letters 125, 130), or the charitable nature of the institutions concerned (letters 116, 118). As intercessor to a duke, Maria’s requests had to be suitably deferential; hence the opening of her letters to him, which began, “My dearest most illustrious and most excellent lord son.” But as Lady Maria, Maria Salviati possessed a level of authority, which gave her the right to expect that her efforts on behalf of supplicants at her son’s court would be largely successful. The picture that emerges of Maria from her correspondence is that of a woman who faced the highs and lows of her life with energy and bravura. The young, overwrought teenager matured into a loyal wife, then widowed mother, and finally, a “court lady” who was committed to supporting her husband and son despite the many obstacles that came her way. These included ensuring her family’s very survival and adaptation during a tumultuous period of transition for herself, her family, her city, and the wider Italian peninsula. She had a number of skills as a vernacular letter writer and clearly understood the power of words and the use of rhetorical strategies as tools of persuasion, even if, like most Florentines, Maria preferred face-to-face contact rather than the quill and paper as tools of communication. Not all of her correspondence has survived and there are many gaps and silences to be sure, but these lacunae should not prevent us from reading what has survived and appreciating the remarkable life of Maria Salviati de’ Medici that is found among its pages.

The Afterlife of Maria’s Correspondence Maria Salviati de Medici’s voluminous correspondence has been only partially published, with the letters selected reflecting the research interests of nineteenthcentury editors, who were primarily interested in her husband and son. The heroic exploits of Maria’s husband, Giovanni de’ Medici, led to the publication of some of his correspondence, including exchanges between husband and wife.75 An interest in how an accidental duke was raised led to the publication of examples of Cosimo’s correspondence before he became duke, including letters to Maria and his tutor, Riccio.76 The University of Pisa has also published a handful of letters

75. Gauthiez, “Nuovi documenti”; Moisè and Milanesi, “Lettere inedite.” 76. Guasti, “Alcuni fatti”; Medici, Lettere.

26 A Life in Letters from Maria that were preserved there in the Salviati family archive.77 The letters relating to Giovanni’s death, which helped to create the “myth” of Giovanni, have been republished more recently.78 Only one of Maria’s letters has been published in English in its entirety.79 The rest of Maria’s extant unpublished correspondence is held in various collections of the Florentine State Archive.80 Many of these unpublished documents are now accessible to a wider audience. The advent of digital technology has meant that many digital images of Maria’s original correspondence, housed in the main Medici collections of the Florentine State Archive, are now available online. The Medici Avanti il Principato (MAP) collection (Medici before the Principate) is entirely online and The Medici del Principato (MDP) (Medici of the Principate) is being put online progressively, under the auspices of the Medici Archive Project, with a significant amount of Maria’s correspondence already available.81 The MDP material is housed on the Medici Archive Project website that hosts a database known as BIA (Building Interactive Archives). This database is fully searchable and includes extracts from some of the MDP correspondence in Italian, with an English synopsis of the letter for non-Italian readers. This database includes material from the files from MDP containing Maria’s correspondence that have not yet been digitized. Currently there are eighty-four items listed in this database under the entry for Maria Salviati de’ Medici in BIA, which may increase over time as more material is digitized.82

77. Milletta Sbrilli, “Alcune lettere inedite di Maria Salviati Medici a Bernardo della Tassinara,” Annali della Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa 25, no. 4 (1995): 1459–73, . Laura Grazia Di Stefano’s Masters dissertation, “Donne che vanno patrimoni che restano: Studio sulle strategie e alleanze matrimoniali nell’archivio della famiglia Salviati,” Tesi di laurea magistrale (University of Pisa, 2013), discusses Maria Salviati de’ Medici and uses unpublished material extensively from the Salviati family private archive in Pisa. 78. Pietro Aretino, Lettere scritte a Pietro Aretino, ed. Paolo Procaccioli (Rome: Salerno, 2003), 38–40. 79. Kaborycha, Corresponding Renaissance, 118–21. 80. See the bibliography for a full listing of the archival sources. 81. MAP is available at ; MDP is available via the BIA Database at . The BIA Database is free to access but requires the creation of an account with a username and password. Each document has a unique #DOC ID. To search using this field click on Advanced Search. To search for a particular MDP reference search for the volume in the BIA Database. If the volume is digitized then click on the volume screen and go to the particular page (folio) number. The r in the folio reference refers to the front or right-hand side of the folio and the v to the verso (back) or left-hand side of the folio. Most of Maria’s correspondence is online, except for correspondence in files MDP 653 and MDP 5926, which are yet to be digitized. 82. “Salviati, de’ Medici, Maria di Iacopo,” . Each Person in the BIA Database has a person ID # which can be found by clicking on Advanced Search. Maria’s ID number is 505.

A Life in Letters 27

Note on the Translation and Edition As the correspondence of Maria Salviati de’ Medici that I have chosen is not available in print in a single Italian edition, or is available only in one archival location, I included the archival citation for each letter and, where known, a link to any online version. I also supplied a reference to the published version in Italian, if applicable. In most instances, I compared a manuscript version with the text of the same letter in print. In a few instances, I was not able to do so because the manuscript originals that were available at the time of their publication are no longer extant or have been misfiled and are unable to be found. Translating Maria’s correspondence was a significant challenge. Maria’s vernacular education meant that her letters, like those of many other patrician Florentine women sometimes resemble unedited streams of consciousness, consisting of long rambling sentences with little consistent grammar, punctuation, or syntax.83 Particularly in her early letters, it sometimes seemed as if Maria hardly drew breath when dictating a letter. For readability, I have broken up long sentences and used contractions to reflect the informal tone of many letters (for example, I’ll instead of I will). In addition, because Maria’s correspondents often knew each other well, they felt no need to explain obscure references because the writer assumed that the recipient would know the context and understand its intended meaning. It is not always possible for those of us reading this correspondence several centuries later to make such connections. Where this has occurred, I usually indicated in the footnotes my educated guess as to the person’s identity and occupation, or the issue being discussed. I also listed in the bibliography the various specialist dictionaries I relied upon to help me arrive at a translation that was faithful to the tone of the original and yet was rendered in idiomatic English. On occasion, despite my best efforts and even with assistance from colleagues, some obscure passages that are very difficult to translate remain rather obscure; I have rendered them as best as I can. Much of Maria’s correspondence is available only in manuscript. The handwriting is sometimes notoriously difficult to read, even in some of the correspondence dictated to secretaries, which were often in cursive (running) script, similar to modern italic: words would run into margins, and blots would obscure words or phrases. I indicated missing words in square brackets, or provided a best guess followed by a question mark. I also expanded first names or honorific titles with names in square brackets to aid identification and placed clarifications or missing words in square brackets to aid the reader. Illegible words are indicated

83. This observation has also been made with reference to other women’s vernacular correspondence published in the Other Voice series. See Datini, Letters, 26; Strozzi, Letters to Her Sons, 25–26.

28 A Life in Letters by an ellipsis in square brackets. I have used ^ ^ to indicate words inserted above the line in the original text. The spelling of names was not always regularized in the correspondence, but I spelled them as they would be written in modern Italian. Maria would sign her name Maria, Maria de’ Medici, or Maria Salviati de’ Medici. This last signature could also be abbreviated or rendered in Latin by a secretary. To avoid confusion, I signed all letters as Maria Salviati de’ Medici. I laid out each individual letter to look like a modern letter. I included the address details, when available—they are often found on the reverse side of the paper—and translated the addressee details at the bottom of each letter. Sometimes these details were not on the letter, but I supplied them when it was clear who the addressee was. I also added the place the letter was sent from in square brackets in such instances if I knew it. Married women were often addressed as Madonna (My Lady), abbreviated to Mona in some instances. I did not translate this term. Nor did I translate professional titles for men, such as Ser used for notaries and priests; Fra referring to friars from the religious orders such as the Dominicans or Franciscans; Monseigneur referring to clerics holding senior positions in the Catholic Church; Messer used for doctors and lawyers; and Maestro or Mastro for medical doctors. Where less common titles are referred to or where more obscure words, phrases or events referred to in the text are now not in common usage, I explained them at first appearance in a footnote. The translated text is divided into three distinct sections. Each section refers to what I consider a distinct stage of Maria’s life: as a wife, as a widowed mother, and as Lady Maria at Duke Cosimo I’s court. Each section has a short introduction that places the letters in their historical context and provides an overall summary of their contents. I put a similar number of letters in the first two sections (forty letters and thirty-five respectively) over similar time spans (twelve and ten years respectively). However, the majority of the correspondence (seventy-five letters) covers only the last six years of Maria’s life. In these last years as Lady Maria, she was at the height of her authority, and the letters reflect her significant responsibilities and their changing nature. The main reason that Maria’s correspondence was preserved in such relatively large numbers for a woman was because of her status as the mother of a powerful Medici duke. Cosimo I de’ Medici well understood the importance of preserving his family’s memory in visual and written form; when he was Duke of Florence he founded the very archive in which a large amount of Maria’s correspondence resides.84

84. This collection is the Mediceo del Principato. For a brief discussion of its founding by Duke Cosimo I and its later development, see .

Selected Letters Letters 1–40: Maria as Wife, 1514–1526 When Maria Salviati de’ Medici was born in July 1499, the Medici family was at its nadir. Piero di Lorenzo de’ Medici and his brothers were exiled from Florence in November 1494 after sixty years of de facto rule by the Medici family. In line with usual practice, the victorious anti-Medicean government did not include the women of the family in the exile decree. Despite his strong Medici connections, Maria’s father, Jacopo Salviati was also an influential supporter of the antiMedicean, republican regime. Therefore, perhaps unusually, Maria spent the early years of her life in Florence as someone whose father was both an influential supporter of the current regime and whose mother, Lucrezia di Lorenzo de’ Medici, was related to and supported the leaders of its opposition. The death of Piero de’ Medici in 1503 and the gradual thawing out of negative attitudes toward the Medici in Florence over the next decade, coupled with assistance from Spanish troops, led to the restoration of the Medici regime in Florence in 1512. The election of Giovanni di Lorenzo di Piero de’ Medici as Pope Leo X in March 1513 meant that the Medici were once again in an ascendant position across Italy. Jacopo and Lucrezia both benefited from these developments. They spent time in both Florence and Rome, and Piero’s son, Lorenzo di Piero di Lorenzo de’ Medici (Lorenzo II de’ Medici), governed the city of Florence as a de facto, but increasingly seigneurial ruler.1 Maria s familial connections to the upper echelons of the Medici regime made her an influential patron, who could, for example, assist clients to obtain administrative jobs within the government of Florence and its territories or clerical offices or positions within the Catholic Church. Her correspondence opens with a letter to her fiancé, and distant cousin, Giovanni de’ Medici, written when she was fourteen years old. This letter was not a dutiful one that, for example, inquired after Giovanni’s health and provided news of her own family members’ health status, as one might have expected. Instead, its tone was white-hot, full of rage and shame, with Maria fulminating against Giovanni’s refusal to recognize that his actions alone likely had caused multiple clerics to be offered the same benefice. It was now up to Maria to sort out an honorable solution, which she appeared to do. The next two surviving letters to Giovanni in 1516—now her husband—were far more circumspect and dutiful: Maria emphasized that she had ordered the goods he requested and that the house was tidy. Then we are reminded of Maria’s and 1. See the discussion on this period in Natalie R. Tomas, The Medici Women: Gender and Power in Renaissance Florence (Aldershot, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2003; reprint London and New York: Routledge, 2017), 109–16.

29

30 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI Giovanni’s kinship connections to the rulers of Florence, with Maria’s reference to what Giovanni should say on her behalf when speaking to the Duke of Urbino, Lorenzo II de’ Medici, in Rome. Giovanni’s first surviving letter to Maria, some months later, is a laundry list of household goods he required her to obtain for him. This period of domesticity in Maria’s letters comes to an abrupt end in early 1518. Giovanni’s tendency to involve himself in violent brawls and his engagement in an illegal duel saw him threatened with exile, and he was eventually exiled from the city of Florence and various Tuscan towns for five years. Maria’s distress at her husband’s exile were palpable in her letters during this period, and she used whatever influence she had with the leaders of the Medici regime to have the punishment rescinded. The consequences for Maria of her husband’s banishment were great. Giovanni placed Maria in a convent in his absence. In her letters Maria’s anguish and fury at him rose to the same level as that expressed to Giovanni in her first letter. They did manage to spend some time together in one of the Medici villas that was outside of Giovanni’s curfew zone for a few months in the summer and fall of 1518, before Giovanni resumed his career as a mercenary soldier. After Giovanni left, Maria was still terrified that he would break the terms of exile. Maria reiterated to Giovanni the importance of not breaching the exile in her discussion of her advocacy with Duke Lorenzo II de’ Medici on behalf of her husband. Shortly afterward, in May 1519, Duke Lorenzo died, and in June 1519 Maria’s son, Cosimo, was born. The report to Maria in early 1520 of Giovanni’s participation in a mock battle in Rome in front of the leaders of the Medici regime in Rome suggested that Giovanni’s exile had, in fact, been rescinded sometime in the preceding months. The tenor of Maria’s letters over the next few years was that of an obedient wife to her husband—despite his lack of communication with her. She focused on the health, welfare, and promotion of her young son to the Medici regime, especially to its titular head, Pope Clement VII (Giulio de’ Medici). Maria traveled to Rome with Cosimo in 1523 to introduce him to the pope, to promote his cause and advancement, and to have Clement VII relieve Giovanni of his debts. Maria’s connections to the Medici regime meant that others wrote to her for assistance. Maria was sometimes successful and sometimes not, especially when papal instructions ran counter to her wishes. But even if her request was rebuffed, her position as a Medici necessitated great respect from the regime’s officials responding to her. Her husband’s wounding in 1525 was a cause of major concern to Maria, despite assurances from her brother, Cardinal Giovanni, that Giovanni was being well cared for. Maria’s distress was only calmed when Giovanni himself wrote to her and assured his wife that he was on the road to recovery. The health of Giovanni, Cosimo, and Maria was the only topic of conversation in Maria’s last surviving letter to him.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 31 Giovanni de’ Medici died from wounds sustained in battle in late 1526, shortly before Maria sent her young son and his cousins to Venice with Cosimo’s tutor, the priest Pierfrancesco Riccio, in order to introduce Cosimo to influential members of its elite who could assist his later advancement. Maria immediately received condolences from the pope, who also assured her of financial assistance. Apart from her own grief, Maria’s focus was on fulfilling Giovanni’s wishes regarding Cosimo’s future and ensuring that Giovanni’s life and exploits had a lasting legacy. In this endeavor, Maria was assisted by Giovanni’s friend the satirist Pietro Aretino and Giovanni’s treasurer and friend, Francesco degli Albizzi. For the remainder of her life as a widowed mother, Maria’s primary concern was to promote Cosimo’s interests and ensure his advancement.

32 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI

Figure 2. Letter 1 (ASF Mediceo avanti il Principato 112, 16r). With the permission of the Ministry for cultural activities and property and for tourism/ Florentine State Archive.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 33 Letter 1: 14 May 1514 To Giovanni de’ Medici in Rome from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence2 Dearest husband, greetings etcetera,3 I was very surprised by what you wrote to the parish priest [Francesco Fortunati] because he bears no blame in this matter.4 I could not do anything else because of the men and Messer Bernardo, who is determined not ever to consent to renounce it unless it is to Ser Antonio.5 To keep the matter in house, 2. ASF MAP 112 16r, (All archival references are to the Archivio di Stato di Firenze [ASF] unless otherwise indicated). 3. For brief biographical information on Maria Salviati (1499–1543), see Francesco Martelli, “Salviati, Maria,” DBI 90 (2017), ; Berta Felice, “Donne Medicee Avanti Il Principato: [V]:Maria Salviati, Moglie di Giovanni Delle Bande Nere”. Rassegna Nazionale 152 (1906): 620–45. Maria was betrothed to Giovanni di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici (1498–1526) at the time she wrote this letter (the betrothal was formalized in early January 1513). On Giovanni de’ Medici, see Maurizio Arfaioli, “Medici, Giovanni de,’ ” DBI 73 (2009), . See a report of this betrothal in a letter from Jacopo Guicciardini to his brother, the historian and statesman Francesco Guicciardini (1483–1540). Francesco Guicciardini, Le lettere, vol. 1, 1499–1513, ed. Pierre Jodogne (Rome: Istituto Storico Italiano per l’Età Moderna e Contemporanea, 1986), 325. The final stage of the marriage rituals between Maria and Giovanni occurred on 16 November 1516, when Maria and Giovanni’s marriage was consummated. See Pierre Gauthiez, “Nuovi documenti intorno a Giovanni de’ Medici detto delle Bande Nere,” ASI 30, no. 227 (1902): 88, . The various stages of the Florentine marriage process—which, before the midsixteenth century did not involve clergy—are discussed in Christiane Klapisch-Zuber, “Zacharias, or the Ousted Father: Nuptial Rites in Tuscany between Giotto and the Council of Trent,” in her Women, Family, and Ritual in Renaissance Italy, trans. Lydia G. Cochrane (Chicago and London: Chicago University Press, 1985), 178–212. Christiane Klapisch-Zuber, “Florentine Marriage in the Fifteenth Century,” in Medieval Christianity in Practice, ed. Miri Rubin (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2009), 35–41, translates and discusses a contemporary account of the marriage process involving members of the Medici family in the early fifteenth century. 4. Francesco di Tommaso Fortunati (1460–1528) was parish priest of Cascina, canon of the church of San Lorenzo, and Giovanni de’ Medici’s childhood guardian. On Fortunati, see Vanna Arrighi, “Fortunati, Francesco,” DBI 49 (1997), ; Domenico Moreni, Continuazione delle memorie istoriche dell’Ambrosiana Imperial Basilica di S. Lorenzo di Firenze (Florence: Francesco Daddi, 1817), vol. 2, 145. On Francesco Fortunati as Giovanni de’ Medici’s guardian after the death of his mother, Caterina Sforza (1463– 1509), see Joyce de Vries, Caterina Sforza and the Art of Appearances: Gender, Art and Culture in Early Modern Italy (Farnham, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2010), 232. 5. The details about this situation are unclear and I have been unable to find any other reference to this incident and its particulars. Messer Bernardo and Ser Antonio were probably priests and the situation discussed in the letter possibly involved them, and probably others, competing for a church office, with more than one candidate being promised it. An obviously embarrassed Maria sought to resolve the situation by having Ser Antonio accept it, in order to enable Giovanni in turn to give the office to their majordomo, and parish priest, don Francesco Suasio.

34 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI and because I believed I would be doing you a favor, I asked Ser Antonio to accept it with the intention that you would then give it to don Francesco [Suasio], and getting Ser Antonio to say yes was no easy matter. But I know well that it’s a slap in the face if you did what you did to spite me. I do not grieve except for my sad fate, as I thank God that you will clear up the rest of what I have done. In order to do good, I have received a disappointment of this sort so that I will never dare to meet anyone else’s eyes ever again. But, I thank God that I have the kind of father and mother who will never fail me,6 because if it were not for this, I would hang myself with my own hands.7 But I have seen your intention clearly in this fable as I probably would have accepted a more important matter given what you have told me many times that you wish that I would be able to undo and redo as you do. I have seen in this tall story what I can see in you. I say to you Giovanni that I had no greater trust in anyone in this world than I had in you, but I have seen in this journey what I am when I am with you, and it would have been much better if I had realized before and I will act in a different way than I have acted up until now. The trust I had in you duped me, but from this day on I wash my hands of all your affairs, as I would receive nothing but shame for it. It is also better that where I cannot gain, I will not act further in this matter. On the 4th of May 1514. Your wife, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Magnificent Lord Giovanni de’ Medici, dearest husband in Rome 6. Maria Salviati’s father was Jacopo di Giovanni de’ Medici (1461–1533). He also acted alongside Francesco Fortunati as Giovanni de’ Medici’s childhood guardian. On Jacopo Salviati, see Marcello Simonetta, “Salviati, Jacopo,” DBI 90 (2017), . Maria’s mother was Lucrezia di Lorenzo de’ Medici Salviati (1470–1553). See Tomas, Medici Women; Irene Fosi, “Medici, Lucrezia de,’ ” DBI 73 (2009), . 7. Suicidal acts and threats to commit suicide were considered mortal sins and roundly condemned in medieval and early modern Europe. A comprehensive overview of the negative attitudes to suicide in the Middle Ages to 1500 is provided by Alexander Murray, Suicide in the Middle Ages, vol. 2, The Curse on Self-Murder (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2000); Sharon T. Strocchia, “Women on the Edge: Madness, Possession, and Suicide in Early Modern Convents,” Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies 45, no. 1 (2015): 53–77, . Strocchia argues that a gradual softening of earlier harsh attitudes to suicide occurred between 1500 and 1700, citing at 57 the nonjudgmental report of the pharmacist Luca Landucci of the suicide of two Florentines in January 1514, only four months prior to Maria Salviati’s own threat to kill herself. See Luca Landucci, Diario fiorentino dal 1450 al 1526 continuato da un anonimo fino al 1542, ed. Iodico Del Badia (Florence: Sansoni, 1883), 344, . Maria had threatened to hang herself, which was the most commonly chosen method in a recent study of fifty accounts of suicide in Renaissance Italy. See K. J. P. Lowe, “Redrawing the Line between Suicide and Murder in Renaissance Italy,” in Murder in Renaissance Italy, ed. Trevor Dean and K. J. P. Lowe (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017), 191.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 35 Letter 2: 19 December 1516 To Giovanni de’ Medici in Rome from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence8 Jesus My dearest Magnificent [Giovanni], The bearer of this letter will be Giuliano, our falconer, who leaves for Rome tomorrow. I forgot to inform you that your hoods will soon be ready, and I believe they will please you.9 I will hurry them up and as soon as they are done, I will send them diligently to you. Take care to have a good time and be well. Remember to write to us sometimes about how you are. If you want something over there let me know. Nothing else to report. I commend myself to you continuously and, also, I ask you to commend me to Madonna my mother, to father and to all the others. May God keep you from all harm. Florence on the 19th of December 1516. Your wife, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Magnificent lord, Lord Giovanni de’ Medici, most beloved husband, Rome

Letter 3: 3 January 1517 To Giovanni de’ Medici in Rome from Maria Salviati in Florence10 Jesus Magnificent most beloved husband, In this letter, I advise you of our good health and also how we are tidying up the house as best as we can. As for your shirts and hats for hawking, with diligence I will hurry them up as much as possible. Nothing else, except I remind you to say to His Excellency the Lord Duke that I wrote to you to come back and commend me to His Excellency [the Duke] and to Madonna our mother when you see her, also to the others.11 I commend myself to you continuously. I ask that you call me to your mind as I do you. May Christ keep you from harm.

8. MAP 112 49r, . 9. Hoods are used to cover the heads of hunting birds such as hawks or falcons while they were resting. On hunting in sixteenth-century Italy as a noble pastime, see Jeremy Kruse, “Hunting, Magnificence and the Court of Leo X,” RS 7, no. 3 (1993): 243–57, . 10. MAP 112 27r . 11. The duke Maria is referring to here is Lorenzo II de’ Medici, Duke of Urbino (1492–1519), soldier and de facto ruler of Florence; see Rosemary Devonshire Jones, “Lorenzo de’ Medici, Duca d’Urbino, ‘Signore’ of Florence?,” in Studies on Machiavelli, ed. Myron P. Gilmore (Florence: Sansoni, 1972), 299–315; Gino Benzoni, “Medici, Lorenzo de’, Duca d’Urbino,” DBI 66 (2006). .

36 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI Florence on the 3rd of January 1516 [1517].12

Your dear wife, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Magnificent Lord, Giovanni de’ Medici, beloved husband in Rome

Letter 4: 19 May 1517 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici from Giovanni de’ Medici in Florence13 My wife, From one of yours, I heard that you are well. I am very pleased. Please send me two shirts and two table napkins and up to eight tablecloths and two checked cloths and send me two bigger mules and a mattress and two pairs of sheets and two salt-makers and a knife case, up to six pots and bowls and four plates. Nothing else. Continuously I recommend myself to you. Recommend me to your father and farewell. On the 19th of May 1517. Your husband, Giovanni de’ Medici To my wife, Maria de’ Medici, in Florence

Letter 5: 22 February 1518 To Giovanni de’ Medici from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence14 My illustrious lord, honored husband, From Ser Bencio and then from Mezoprete Your Lordship will have heard what was required,15 and now may it please God it will be resolved for your well-being. Since then I have had one letter from Your Lordship with one to his Excellency the Duke [Lorenzo] and I have done what you asked me to do. Through Don Francesco [Suasio] I have presented yours and mine to the Duke, which he received very willingly and read. He showed it to Monseigneur [Innocenzo] Cibo

12. See the appendix “Names, Dates, Measurements, Currency and Time” for an explanation of the dating system used in Florence at the time. 13. MAP 85 401r, . This letter is printed in Gauthiez, “Nuovi documenti,” ASI 30, no. 227 (1902): 91, . 14. MAP 112 53r, . This letter is printed in Moisè and Milanesi, “Lettere inedite,” ASI 7, no. 2 (1858): 42–43, . 15. Ser Bencio and Mezoprete were employees in Maria Salviati’s household.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 37 and to Jacopo my father.16 [The Duke], showing pleasure at the displeasure Your Lordship has of the error committed, said these words:17 “When Giovanni does his duty he will do it for himself and I will not be able to abandon him.”18.Therefore, my lord, I beg Your Lordship to be happy to continue to write to his Excellency, and in truth to recommend yourself to him, by showing that you will not ever depart from his wishes, and make an impression, so that you will not be held up to ridicule and hoodwinked by him; and thus you can be sure that everything will go well, otherwise you can be sure that everything goes awry and that we will do badly. I mean badly without any remedy, the mere thought of which breaks my heart. If I do not reassure myself quickly about your state of mind, I declare I will die of desperation and full of tears I will take myself off to the convent and not leave it if Your Lordship does not give me some solace.19 16. Cardinal Innocenzo Cibo (1491–1550) was Maria Salviati’s maternal first cousin and prominent in Medici circles for several years. See Franca Petrucci, “Cibo, Innocenzo,” in DBI 25 (1981), ; “Cibo, Innocenzo (Cardinal Cibo),” Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, ; Salvador Miranda, “The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church,” . 17. The “error” is Giovanni’s dispute with Camillo d’Appiano, a cousin of the lord of the principality of Piombino, over an injury to one of Giovanni’s men, Il Corsetto, by Camillo’s troops. After numerous efforts, Giovanni failed to have Camillo acknowledge that Camillo’s men were at fault. Giovanni then challenged Camillo to a duel, which infuriated Duke Lorenzo, who refused to take him with him as part of his entourage to France. The relevant correspondence can be found at Moisé and Milanesi, “Lettere inedite,” ASI 7, no. 2 (1858): 34–42, . On duels and manly honor in sixteenth-century Italy, see Edward W. Muir, “The Double Binds of Manly Revenge,” in Gender Rhetorics: Postures of Dominance and Submission in Human History, ed. Richard C. Trexler (Binghamton, NY: Medieval Renaissance Texts and Studies, 1994), 65–82; Donald Weinstein, “Fighting or Flyting? Verbal Duelling in Mid-Sixteenth-Century Italy,” in Dean and Lowe, Crime, Society and the Law in Renaissance Italy, 204–5, 209, 211–17; Steven C. Hughes, “Soldiers and Gentlemen: The Rise of the Duel in Renaissance Italy,” Journal of Medieval Military History 5 (2007): 99–152. 18. Less than a month after this letter was written. Giovanni was formally exiled on 15 March 1518 by the government of Florence for the scandal he caused by earlier instigating the duel referred to in note 17, and his reputation for violence, including allegations of murdering other men. Giovanni’s punishment was that he could not come within ten miles of Florence for five years, nor could he reside in the university town of Pisa or the two towns Campiglia and Volterra, which were close to Piombino. The relevant correspondence in early March 1518 is in Gauthiez, “Nuovi documenti,” ASI 30, no. 227 (1902): 102–5, . The correspondence between the Medici secretaries regarding the terms of the exile is at Gauthiez, “Nuovi documenti,” ASI 30, no. 227 (1902): 105, 107, and the exile decree is at 106–7, . If Giovanni broke the terms of his exile, he would be declared a rebel, be decapitated if caught, and have all his property and possessions confiscated. 19. Maria was about to enter a convent, since Giovanni had decided to place her in one of them during his absence. Convents were often used as custodial institutions for vulnerable young girls, older married women, and widows of the elite for a variety of reasons. On the practice of lay women residing

38 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI I ask, supplicate and oblige you not to want to suddenly abandon yourself and me. Now that favor is granted, you should want to take it and not wait for better luck, as I doubt it will ever return. My heart is breaking, I do not know what more I can do, and it seems to me completely beastly. Provide, my lord, for our needs, as I promise you it is necessary; and advise me how to govern myself in every way and speedily. Keep remembering your unhappy wife, who, with many tears on her face, recommends herself to you. May the Eternal God be with you always. In Florence, on the 22nd of February 1517 [1518]. Your humble wife, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Illustrious Lord Giovanni de Medici, most beloved husband

Letter 6: 23 February 1518 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Sant’Orsola from Francesco Suasio in Florence20 Magnificent Madonna, most respected patron, Last evening, I carried the letter to Madonna Alfonsina,21 and with her was Messer Goro.22 Having examined carefully the said letter, Madonna replied: “You will say to Maria that I am pleased that Giovanni has the mindset expressed in his letter and that she [Maria] does not fall into melancholy.”23 As a good mother, she in convents, see K. J. P. Lowe, Nuns’ Chronicles and Convent Culture in Renaissance and CounterReformation Italy (New York and Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003), 178–82; Sharon T. Strocchia, “Taken into Custody: Girls and Convent Guardianship in Renaissance Florence,” RS 17, no. 2 (2003): 177–200, . Strocchia notes at 179 n. 6 that convent guardianship was gendered. Girls, rather than boys, were placed in convents’ custody. The exception was Giovanni, who was placed under the convent guardianship of San Vincenzo at age six for eight months by his uncle, Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici (1463–1503), the convent’s chief benefactor. 20. MAP 85 400r, . Part of this letter is printed in Gauthiez, “Nuovi documenti,” ASI 30, no. 227 (1902): 100, . 21. Alfonsina Orsini (1472–1520) was Duke Lorenzo II de’ Medici’s mother and the unofficial ruler of Florence during his absences. See Tomas, Medici Women, 167–80; Vanna Arrighi, “Orsini, Alfonsina,” DBI 79 (2013), . 22. Gregorio (Goro) Gheri (1470–1528) was a key Medici secretary and deputy. See K. J. P. Lowe, “Towards an Understanding of Goro Gheri’s Views on Amicizia in Early Sixteenth Century Medicean Florence,” in Florence and Italy: Renaissance Studies in Honour of Nicolai Rubinstein, ed. Peter Denley and Caroline Elam, 91–106 (London: Westfield Publications, 1988); Antonella Giusti, “Gheri, Gregorio,” DBI 53 (2000), . 23. The disease of melancholy (depression) was gendered; in women, it was not viewed positively, while in men. it was. See Danijela Kambaskovic, “Humoral Theory,” in Early Modern Emotions: An Introduction, ed. Susan Broomhall (London and New York: Routledge, 2017), 39–41; Erin Sullivan, “Melancholy,” in Broomhall, Early Modern Emotions, 56–61. For a contemporary Florentine example

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 39 said many loving words that shows she loves Your Ladyship most cordially. I did not go to the Cardinal as I decided it was not necessary and so as not to bother him.24 Matticco [?] has gone away this morning. As Mezoprete departed, he said to me that I should complete the arrangements for the marriage alliance with Your Ladyship and that I expedite what they have asked and send the messenger back with what has been decided. Now, if it suits, let us know how much we owe.25 I will inform Valdinoce of it.26 Nothing else for now I recommend myself to you. At home on the 23rd day of February 1517 [1518]. Your servant, Francesco Suasio To the Magnificent Madonna Maria Salviati de’ Medici my most honored patron [in Sant’Orsola].27

Letter 7: 28 February 1518 To Giovanni de’ Medici in Ferrara from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence28 Illustrious lord and dearest husband, commendations etcetera, On Friday evening that was the 26th of the present month, Mezoprete arrived here and verbally informed me of the many commissions Your Lordship entrusted him to tell me about; and whatever seemed expedient, I will carry out. As His Excellency the Duke had left, I presented the letters to Madonna Alfonsina [Orsini], and the [letter] for Cardinal [Innocenzo] Cibo will be sent to of female melancholy and attitudes toward it, see Sharon T. Strocchia, “The Melancholic Nun in Late Renaissance Italy,” in Diseases of the Imagination and Imaginary Disease in the Early Modern Period, ed. Yasmin Haskell (Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2011), 139–58. 24. The unspecified cardinal was either Innocenzo Cibo or Maria’s eldest brother, Giovanni Salviati (1490–1553), on whom see Pierre Hurtubise, Une famille-témoin: Les Salviati (Vatican City: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 1985) and Marcello Simonetta, “Salviati, Giovanni,” 90 (2017), . 25. Maria was involved in arranging a marriage and, it appears, also contributing to the dowry of the young woman involved. See letter 107 for another example of her arranging a marriage. 26. Valdinoce may be a messenger awaiting a response to the request to which Suasio is referring here. 27. By the early sixteenth century, Sant’Orsola was a Franciscan community of elite Third Order nuns or tertiaries, that is, religious women usually, but not exclusively, widows, who lived in open reclusion. See Sharon T. Strocchia, Nuns and Nunneries in Renaissance Florence, (Baltimore & and London: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009), 32 (Sant’Orsola), 150–64 (open reclusion). Maria provided alms of ten ducats to this community in late October 1534. See MAP 140 240r, . 28. MAP 112 54r, . This letter is printed in Moisè and Milanesi, “Lettere inedite,” ASI 7, no. 2 (1858): 43–44, .

40 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI Pisa, where His most Reverend Lordship is at present. I found Madonna  [Alfonsina] very well disposed toward Your Lordship, and when she has a response from His Excellency the Duke [Lorenzo], she will respond to Your Lordship. I urge you to stay in good spirits, as I hope matters will work out well. I would like you to advise me about what is to be done with the dogs that are at Castello, because they waste three bushels of bread a day and it is not our responsibility. Also, advise me regarding what you want me to do so that, as in other matters I have never disappointed you, so in this one I will not fail you. If you do not do what you promised me before your departure, you will be the reason that I kill myself with my own hands.29 Jacopo, our father, is not writing on his account, but he has asked me to comfort you on his behalf and to wish you every success. I remain in Sant’ Orsola, because feeling deprived of my husband; I will not cause my spirit to suffer by remaining in the company of others. So, I recommend myself to Your Lordship and bid farewell. In Florence, 28 February 1517 [1518]. Your Excellency, Illustrious Lordship. Your dearest wife, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Magnificent and Illustrious Lord Giovanni de’ Medici in Ferrara

Letter 8: 1 March 1518 To Giovanni de’ Medici in Ferrara from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Sant’Orsola30 Jesus Maria Most beloved husband, I wrote to you yesterday via the horseman of the Duke of Ferrara, [about] how Mezoprete arrived safely and what happened after that. I am sure that by now you would have had the letters and therefore I will not repeat their content. I am sending Sardo, who has returned with the letters left behind, as you will see. With this there will be one from my father, who is more distressed than I about your situation. We hope he succeeds in ending [that distress] with the least damage to us as is possible and, may it please God through his mercy and grace. Nothing else, except that I beg you, as much as I can, to be content to immediately make clear if il Corsetto has any secret of yours that matters, because he is questioned so unhappily day and night that it makes me uneasy.31 If you are not worried about it, 29. See letter 1 for a similar statement and the references cited there. 30. MAP 112 55r, . This letter is printed in Moisè and Milanesi, “Lettere inedite,” ASI 7, no. 2 (1858): 45–46, . 31. This questioning must refer to the incident in which Il Corsetto was supposedly injured by Camillo d’Appiano’s men. See letter 5.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 41 let me know urgently. This I beg you to do with all my heart. I recommend myself to you continuously. 1st of March 1517 [1518]. Your inconsolable wife, Maria, in Santa Orsola To Illustrious Lord Giovanni de’ Medici, dearest consort, in Ferrara

Letter 9: 5 March 1518 To Giovanni de’ Medici in Ferrara from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence32 My Illustrious Lord and honored Husband, Our Mezoprete returns to Your Lordship with some of my commissions. I beg you heartily to trust him completely, as if he was me, and to satisfy me in what I ask for our mutual well-being. May God help us. I won’t stop praying that heaven and earth are propitious for us and that we are moved to do everything to bring us honor, comfort and happiness. Above all else, May Your Lordship not abandon me.33 With all my heart I recommend myself to you. In Florence on the 5th day of March 1517 [1518]. Your Lordship’s humble wife, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Illustrious Lord Giovanni de’ Medici, beloved honored husband in Ferrara

Letter 10: 19 November 1518 To Francesco Fortunati in Cascina from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence34 Dearest Father,35 I have been with Giovanni in order to attend to the matter of Roberto, the bearer of the present letter,36 hoping to end it by moving forward so that it is hon32. MAP 112 58r, . This letter is printed in Gauthiez, “Nuovi documenti,” ASI 30, no. 227 (1902): 104, . 33. Jacopo Salviati’s letter to Giovanni de’ Medici on 13 March 1517 [1518] indicates his view about his daughter’s distress and her placement in Sant’Orsola. After warning Giovanni to accept the terms of the exile decree, Jacopo wrote: “Maria is yours and is governed according to your wishes, neither would it be in my power nor would I wish to place her anywhere other than where you want. If you are happy for her to remain in the convent, it will be done as you wish. I believe she was happier here at home and with no harm to you, nonetheless, do as you want.” Moisè and Milanesi, “Lettere inedite,” ASI 7, no. 2 (1858): 46–47, at 47, . 34. MAP 71 671r, . This letter is printed in Carlo Milanesi, “Lettere di Giovanni de’ Medici”, ASI 8, no. 1 (1858): 4, . 35. The person addressed is the parish priest of Cascina, Francesco Fortunati. 36. Giovanni spent time with Maria at the Medici villa and hunting lodge at Trebbio, for several months in mid-1518 after the exile decree was promulgated. See Felice, “Maria Salviati,” 625. Giovanni

42 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI orable for us and convenient for our companion. I find he is of another view. That is, he wants his money as soon as possible. This comes as a knife to my heart, and with no little pain and suffering. I will leave it to you to judge from where it began. I have gone all out to conclude the matter to our mutual satisfaction, persuaded by none other than you and not objecting to any means and terms to reach a satisfactory agreement. Now we remain confused and our friends completely reviled and damned, I would rather not have been born. I beseech you, if you see a solution, grasp it with two hands. In the end, lacking other remedies, do not fail to take responsibility, following in Giovanni’s footsteps, as you have offered many times previously, preserving honor and our shared interests and wishes. I promise, I could receive no greater pleasure. I know you will not lack means. Everything will be completely confusing for those trying to do the opposite. I will not say any more about it, except that you should take the opportunity to speed things up as this situation deserves. May God keep you from harm. In Florence, on the 19th day of November 1518. Your Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Reverend Ser Francesco Fortunati, parish priest of Cascina most honored as a father

Letter 11: 11 March 1519 To Giovanni de’ Medici in Ferrara from Maria Salviati de’ Medici37 My dearest husband, greetings etcetera, Nothing else to tell you except to say to you not to make trouble about this exile, because the Duke [Lorenzo] has done as he wanted to do solely to see if you have patience.38 He says that he wants to do what I want to do. I want to see you in exile as everyone says you should observe it.39 The Duke says whoever wishes to lie wishes you ill; everyone says that as you are not able to go to Pisa you will not observe it.40 I say to you, Giovanni, that you should behave in exile and watch what you say. No one except the Duke can punish you and he has done it on his own and did it in order to see if you have patience. Obey him in everything as you will be more in his graces than you ever were. The Duke sent me [a message] the could stay there because Trebbio was twelve miles from Florence and outside the exclusion zone specified in the exile decree. 37. MAP 112 62r, . This letter is printed in Milanesi, “Lettere di Giovanni de’ Medici” ASI 8, no. 1 (1858): 4–5, . 38. See letter 5 for Duke Lorenzo’s attitude to Giovanni de’ Medici’s behavior. 39. Cardinal Innocenzo Cibo provided Giovanni with similar advice a week later. See Milanesi, “Lettere di Giovanni de’ Medici,” ASI 8, no. 1 (1858): 5–6, . 40. The terms and conditions of Giovanni’s exile are outlined in note 17.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 43 other day to say the he wishes you nothing but good as if he was your full brother, and that you and I should await his return from France as he will not take you down there. As he does not want you to go with him so that he can demonstrate that the bad things you have done displeased him and to give an example to others. He is not taking with him almost all of his gentlemen, except for eight or nine at the most. Meet me halfway regarding this exile, as it is good for you that you do it, you will have from the Duke what you want. I know from his own mouth, that if you do otherwise, you will make those who wish you ill happy and you will take no more notice of me if you do not do what the Duke wants. If you do differently, it will be your ruin, as I will become a nun, when I hear that you do not want to do what he wants. Do not be led astray by those that you know are in disgrace with the Duke, as they will make their fate worse. I have advised you about it, because you would not be sad about it, if not for your [actions]. Nothing else except be happy, as you will be able to do what you want to do, if you do what the Duke wishes. Done on the 11th day of March 1518 [1519]. Your wife, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Magnificent Lord Giovanni de’ Medici, dearest husband, in Ferrara

Letter 12: 30 January 1520 To Maria Salviati in Florence from Francesco Suasio in Rome41 Magnificent Madonna, honored patron. To your Ladyship, I recommend myself always. I want to let you know what is happening. Lord Giovanni is very well. On Sunday evening, he had a splendid dinner here at home with many cardinals, lords and men of good standing [and] amongst others, there was Cardinal Salviati, and the Prior.42 Prior to eating they had a mock battle on horseback and it was beautiful sight: and after dinner on foot, which I and these cardinals and whoever else saw it preferred with great pleasure. When His Holiness the Pope had heard about it, he pressed His Lordship to have the said tournament one other time in his presence.43 So that I believe it will happen in the 41. MAP 85 405r, . 42. The prior referred to here is Cardinal Giulio di Giuliano di Piero de’ Medici (1478–1534), later Pope Clement VII (1523–1534), who had held the church benefice of the Priorate of Capua since 1488. On Giulio de’ Medici, see Adriano Prosperi, “Clemente VII, Papa,” DBI 26 (1982), ; Kenneth Gouwens and Sheryl E. Reiss, eds., The Pontificate of Clement VII: History, Politics, Culture (Aldershot, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2005). 43. Pope Leo X (1513–1521) was Giovanni di Lorenzo di Piero de’ Medici (1475–1521). He was Maria Salviati de’ Medici’s maternal uncle. On Pope Leo X, see Marco Pellegrini, “Leone X, Papa,”

44 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI Castello [Sant’Angelo] where the Pope currently is,44 or in Belvedere [courtyard] or where his Holiness pleases. On one side was the Lord Captain [Giovanni] and on the other side was Prinzivalle della Stufa.45 There were six cavalrymen per side, all armed, on horseback with swords in hand. Nothing was supposed to go wrong and one [person] was blinded as the sparks of the fire flew into the sky. After dinner there were twelve per side battling with pikes and swords on foot. Artillery, trumpets, drums made for a very pleasant battle, as grand a performance that I had been able to see. Everyone who spoke about it in Rome, strongly commended His Lordship. If Your Ladyship could have seen the arms and battle. His Lordship hurt Cesare who egregiously bore blows from a paladin.46 Thank God no one else was wounded at all. In the neighboring houses of the district a great multitude came to see [the tournament] even observing from the roofs. Everyone had a great time. The glory is ours, from which we will draw great advantage.47 I have let Your Ladyship know everything, may God grant you much happiness. In Rome, on the second last day of January 1520. [Your] servant, Francesco Suasio To the Magnificent and generous Madonna Maria Salviati de’ Medici, honored patron, in Florence

Letter 13: 6 March 1520 To Maria Salviati in Florence from Giovanni Salviati in Rome48 Dearest Magnificent sister etcetera, With great pleasure I learned from your letter of the 23rd of the past month, of your good health and of little Cosimo’s.49 You couldn’t be able to give me greater, DBI 64 (2005), ; Kruse, “Hunting.” 44. The castle or fortress of Sant’Angelo in Rome was part of the inheritance of the pope’s sister-in-law, Alfonsina Orsini, from her mother, Caterina Sanseverino (d. 1504). After her death in February 1520, it passed into the possession of the Medici family. See Elisabetta Mori, L’archivio Orsini: La famiglia, la storia, l’inventario (Rome: Viella, 2017), 45. 45. Prinzivalle della Stufa (1484–1561) was a Florentine nobleman and loyal supporter of the Medici family. See Vanna Arrighi, “Della Stufa, Prinzivalle,” DBI 37 (1989), . 46. A paladin was a heroic knight or champion. 47. Arfaioli, “Giovanni de’ Medici,” suggests that Pope Leo X had given Giovanni command of papal troops between 1519 and 1520. 48. MAP 85 406r, . 49. Cosimo Giuliano Romolo di Giovanni di Giovanni de’ Medici (1519–1574) was born in June 1519. See Fortunati’s letter to Giovanni de’ Medici, written while Maria was in labor on June 11. Milanesi, “Lettere di Giovanni de’ Medici,” ASI 8, no. 1 (1858): 6–7, .

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 45 or more favorable news. Rest assured that your affairs and Giovanni’s are as close to my heart as my own and as many times as I see the opportunity, I will recommend you to His Holiness [Pope Leo X] as I have always done until now. There is no need for you to remind me as you know well that I love you as my own life. You should make recommendations to the Prior [Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici] who, as usual, recommends himself to you. I will represent your interests to Giovanni every time I see him and similarly, Bernardo, my secretary, who is more often with him than me, will do the job diligently. He and all of us are very well and Bernardo has just returned from visiting him on my behalf and he has left him at the table eating happily. His Holiness the Pope holds him dear and you will see that he will do well by him and will do so in no small measure, if you are patient. Nothing else occurs to me. To you, continuously, I offer and recommend myself. Rome, 6th day of March 1520. Cardinal Giovanni de’ Salviati To Magnificent Lady Maria Salviati de’ Medici dearest sister in Florence

Letter 14: 7 April 1520 To Giovanni de’ Medici in Rome from Maria Salviati de’ Medici50 Dearest husband, Know Your Lordship that I am well. Since I so seldom hear anything from you, I must assume you are so busy reading my letters that you don’t have time to answer them. Therefore, for the sake of brevity, I’ll just say that Cosimo is still very well. I wrote you these few lines because on the Easter Octave,51 I decided to go to Santa Maria of Loreto to fulfil my vow, as it is a long time since I made it.52 I feel very sorry for my misfortune that you left here four months ago, and I have [not] had even one word from your hand and from the others. I have been told that you haven’t written to me because I was not at home and that you were quite unhappy about it. I did not believe that you would not approve, or I would never have left; The baptismal record, which records a birthdate of 12 June, is available at AODSNFF 8 140v, . For a detailed discussion of the evidence concerning the birth of Cosimo, but which erroneously gives his birthdate as 11 June, see Janet Cox-Rearick, Dynasty and Destiny in Medici Art: Pontormo, Leo X, and the Two Cosimos (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984), 49–50 and app. 1. 50. MAP 120 68r. . The letter is printed in Milanesi, “Lettere di Giovanni de’ Medici,” ASI 8, no. 1 (1858): 13, . 51. Easter Octave is the Sunday after Easter Sunday and marks the eighth and final day of the Easter festival. 52. Maria is referring to the Church of Santa Maria of Loreto, near Ancona, where women would often go to pray in gratitude for a safe delivery of a child.

46 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI and in the future I will not ever leave at all.53 I think that I am not worthy to see you, and I failed to remind you that I can’t do anything else. Several people have told me that you wish for your son to stay in your house; and that if I take him away from home you would get angry. Truly I assure you that neither he nor I will leave your house in the future and about the past I request a pardon from you because of the love you bear your son. Nothing else. I recommend myself to you. Done on the 7th day of April 1520. Your wife, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Giovanni de’ Medici in Rome

Letter 15: 24 September 1520 To Giovanni de’ Medici in Castel Durante from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Trebbio54 Illustrious lord honored husband, As Your Lordship will learn from the servant of Lord Piero from Gonzaga, bearer of the present letter, [his master] has sent you two greyhounds.55 Next, I 53. All wives during this period owed obedience to their husbands and had to defer to their spouse’s authority regardless of their own social status. Silvana Vecchio, “The Good Wife,” trans. Clarissa Bostsford, in A History of Women in the West, vol. 2, Silences of the Middle Ages, ed. Christiane Klapisch-Zuber (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1992), 105–35. See the classic treatment of this topic of wifely obedience by Francesco Barbaro (1390–1454) in 1415: The Wealth of Wives: A Fifteenth Century Marriage Manual, ed. and trans. Margaret L. King (Toronto: Iter Press; Tempe, AZ: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2015), 96–99. This requirement meant that wives were required to ask their husband’s permission to leave home. For example, even Isabella d’Este, the Marchioness of Mantua (1474–1539) had to defer to and seek her husband’s permission to travel; see Isabella d’Este, Selected Letters, ed. and trans. Deanna Shemek (Toronto: Iter Press; Tempe, AZ: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2017), 9; Evelyn S. Welch, Shopping in the Renaissance: Consumer Cultures in Italy, 1400–1600 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005), 259. Wives, in some situations, did not always follow this social dictate. Margherita Datini (1360–1423) shocked her neighbors when she abruptly left Florence in June 1395 to join her husband, Francesco Datini (1335–1410), in Prato. She was furious with him after a series of disagreements between the couple, stemming from one instance where Margherita had left home without informing or seeking Francesco’s permission. See Margherita Datini, Letters to Francesco Datini, trans. Carolyn James and Antonio Pagliaro (Toronto: Iter Press and Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies, 2012), 14–15. See for an overview of the often-complicated husband-wife relationship in Florence, Natalie Tomas, “Woman as Helpmeet: The Husband-Wife Relationship in Renaissance Florence,” Lilith: A Feminist Historical Journal 3 (1986): 61–75. 54. MAP 120 212r, . This letter is printed in Milanesi, “Lettere di Giovanni de’ Medici,” ASI 8, no. 1 (1858): 21, . 55. Lord Piero is probably either a member of the Gonzaga family, the ruling family of Mantua, or a nobleman from the town of Gonzaga near Mantua.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 47 advise Your Lordship that little Cosimo has had two tertian [malarial] fevers in the previous twelve days and as of two days ago the fever became a bit more serious, that is, it has risen. Hence, for most people’s comfort, tomorrow morning I will leave Trebbio and take myself off to Florence with him, and I had thought to stay along the way at Pollo Orlandini’s place because I will arrive there before [the next] bout of fever takes hold, and there I will look after him very well.56 I have had a litter made and two men will carry it with as little discomfort as possible.57 His illness will go on for several days yet. Keep well and I will write to Your Lordship about everything that happens. From Trebbio, 24th September 1520. Your Lord Excellency. [Your] wife, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Illustrious Lord Giovanni de’ Medici honored husband etcetera. at Castel Durante58

Letter 16: 21 March 1521 To Giovanni de’ Medici in Rome from Maria Salviati in Florence59 Your Magnificent Lord and most honored husband, This [letter] is to advise Your Lordship that we are all well and especially Cosimo who is growing and becomes more handsome by the day. Then to give you the news that this morning, your brother Pierfrancesco,60 has had a son, who is beautiful, and I believe will be called Giuliano, may God be praised.61 Nothing else occurs to me except to recommend myself to Your Lordship and to ask you, if it is the case, as I have heard, that you are not working. Think of us and come and see us by staying here for a month or two, since it will be much better air and more comfortable than in the Marches. May Christ protect you. In Florence. On the 21st day of March 1520 [1521]. Your Maria Salviati de’ Medici 56. Niccolò (Tito) Orlandini was a soldier, whose nickname was “Pollo” (chicken). See Bernardo Segni, Istorie fiorentine, dall’anno MDXXVII al MDLV, ed. G. Gargani (Florence: Barberà Bianchi, 1857), 173. 57. A litter was a vehicle with a chair or bed with curtains designed for transporting sick or injured people and it was carried by humans or animals. 58. Castel Durante is a town now known as Urbania near Urbino in the region of the Marches. 59. MAP 121 447r, . 60. Pierfrancesco di Lorenzo de’ Medici (1487–1525) (the Younger) was actually Giovanni de’ Medici’s cousin, not his brother. 61. Giuliano di Pierfrancesco di Lorenzo de’ Medici (1521–1588), was the third child of Pierfrancesco de’ Medici and his wife, Maria Soderini (d. after 1548).

48 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI To Magnificent and Most Excellent Lord, Giovanni de Medici, my husband and most honored consort

Letter 17: 10 January 1522 To Giovanni de’ Medici in Rome from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence62 My most illustrious lord, I have written to Your Lordship many times that I took as our chaplain ser Benedetto di Salvestro of Lavachio, on condition that Your Lordship was happy about it, because I had no one to entrust any business to and nobody comes her anymore. I didn’t receive any response from Your Lordship, except a letter from Dante,63 delivered by Virgilio,64 which told me on behalf of Your Lordship that I should send the said Benedetto away at once but without telling me why. I am all the more surprised as the said Dante put him [Ser Benedetto] in my house, [and] heavily recommended him to me. because neither in this, nor in anything else do I depart from the wish of Your Lordship, I told him [Ser Benedetto] to be patient and to seek his fortune elsewhere. May it please God to help him, since truly it seems to me that for the short time he was here he behaved so well that the poor man doesn’t deserve this. After he left here, he intended to come to Your Lordship and ask for forgiveness if he has failed in anything, or, not having failed, to ask Your Lordship why he was removed from your service. I’ve nothing else to say except that little Cosimo and I are very well, and we hope the same for Your Lordship, to whom we continue to recommend ourselves and bid farewell. From Florence, 10th of January 1521 [1522]. Your wife, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To most illustrious Lord, my beloved consort Giovanni de’ Medici in Rome

62. MAP 121 7r, . This letter is printed in Milanesi, “Lettere di Giovanni de’ Medici,” ASI 9, no. 1 (1859): 7, . 63. Dante Gori was an employee of Giovanni and Maria’s household. See Gauthiez, “Nuovi documenti,” ASI 30, no. 227 (1902): 82, n. 1, . 64. Virgilio was probably one of Giovanni’s servants or a courier.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 49 Letter 18: 1 April 1522 To Giovanni de’ Medici from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence65 My dearest husband, Since our last [letter] to Your Lordship, there has been nothing worthy of writing to you about, [as] you are so busy with many important matters. I would not bother you so much, but as we cannot speak in your absence, we have to send letters to each other. Because pulled by a yearning for a relationship, (which is denied me), I can do nothing else but write to you,66 wanting to make up for Your Lordship’s mistake, which surely is very serious. Not only you but even your servants never tell me anything, which is very inconvenient.67 Cosimo and I are well, and we recommend ourselves to Your Lordship. May God keep you flourishing and happy. From Florence, 1st of April 1522. Your wife, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Illustrious Lord Giovanni de Medici, beloved husband in Rome

Letter 19: 18 May 1522 To Francesco degli Albizzi in Rome from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence68 Our dearest Francesco [degli Albizzi], I would like you to buy me from over there [Rome], without fail, a dozen calf-skin gloves for women, which are in good condition and pretty and are different from those Ser Benci[o] sent me, which being in poor condition and ugly don’t bring me any pleasure. It is certainly true that they weren’t the type of calfskin that 65. MAP 121 246r, . This letter is printed in Milanesi, “Lettere di Giovanni de’ Medici,” ASI 9, no. 1 (1859): 9–10, . 66. For a contemporary example of a marriage relationship, developed and sustained by frequent and regular letters between the couple, in stark contrast to Maria’s situation, see Carolyn James, “Marriage by Correspondence: Politics and Domesticity in the Letters of Isabella d’Este and Francesco Gonzaga, 1490–1519,” RQ 65, no. 2 (2012): 321–52. For an earlier, rare, example of such sustained correspondence between a Tuscan married couple, see Datini, Letters to Francesco Datini. 67. It was the duty of servants and employees with Giovanni to inform Maria about the well-being of her husband and other relevant events. For example, see the letter of December 1521 to Maria Salviati from Giovanni’s treasurer and advisor, Francesco degli Albizzi (1486–1556), in which he informs Maria of Giovanni’s health and of Giulio de’ Medici’s participation in the conclave to elect a new pope after Leo X’s death in December 1521. MAP 6 700r, . 68. MAP 119 31r, . This letter is printed in Milanesi, “Lettere di Giovanni de’ Medici,” ASI 9, no. 1 (1859): 10, .

50 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI I want now. Ensure you use your usual diligence to find the said gloves according to my wishes and send them to me as soon as you have acquired them.69 Nothing else to report except for you to recommend me to my lord and husband. Remind him that our Cosimo and I are well, and we await his return with great desire. May Christ protect you. From Florence, 18th of May 1522. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Francesco degli Albizzi, treasurer of Giovanni de’ Medici in Rome.

Letter 20: 12 June 1522 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici from Francesco Sforza de’ Riario in Lucca70 Magnificent [Maria] and honored like a sister, Greetings. The bearer of this [letter] this evening is my vicar,71 who I send to do reverence to our most reverend Monsignore [Giulio de’ Medici], and [the vicar] will explain my business in my name.72 I beg Your Ladyship to deign to have a word with his most reverend Lordship [Guilio de’ Medici] for me and have me recognized as his able and knowledgeable creature, that I hope will achieve every effort. As I don’t ask for anything except justice and honesty and especially through your intercession and [that] of the Magnificent your father [Jacopo Salviati], through his favor, rather than because of my merit. If, Your Ladyship ever deigns to command me to do anything, it will give me great pleasure, as earlier you have known the love and affection that I bear you for many reasons. Nothing else to report except to recommend myself to you as a good servant and bid farewell. Luce 12 June 1522. Brother Francesco Sforza de’ Riario, bishop of Luce [Lucca]73 To the Magnificent Madonna Maria de’ Medici, my honored patron 69. On women using men as intermediaries to buy goods, see Welch, Shopping in the Renaissance, 216–18. Isabella d’Este had similar difficulties to Maria, several years earlier, in obtaining the type of gloves she wanted; see Welch, Shopping in the Renaissance, 267–70. See now her correspondence to Bernardo Prosperi in 1506 on this topic in d’Este, Selected Letters, 270–71. 70. MAP 85 416r, . 71. An ecclesiastical vicar is a representative of a bishop. 72. After the death of Duke Lorenzo II de’ Medici in May 1519 and the departure of his mother, Alfonsina Orsini, for Rome shortly thereafter, Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici returned to Florence to govern it as the head of the Medici regime there. He governed the city until he was elected pope in late 1523. 73. Francesco Sforza de’ Riario (1487–1546), Bishop of Lucca, was the youngest of Caterina Sforza’s children by her first husband, Girolamo Riario (d. 1488). Francesco was, therefore, Giovanni de’ Medici’s half-brother. For his ecclesiastical career, see .

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 51 Letter 21: 19 August 1522 To Giovanni de’ Medici from Maria Salviati de’ Medici at Trebbio74 Illustrious Lord honored husband, I don’t need to make Your Lordship aware of anything else except the wellbeing of Cosimo and of all the household and that His Excellency the Marquis of Mantua deigned,75 whilst traveling toward Florence, to come together with Messer Paolo Luz[z]asco here to kiss Cosimo.76 Nor was he [the Marquis] able to satiate himself, which seems to me a most beloved and dear characteristic. He didn’t fail to do his duty, nonetheless he did not wish to stay here. I am grateful for his arrival, most grateful for your Lordship’s, may it please God to be soon and with good health and grace. I recommend myself to you. Cosimo recommends himself. At Trebbio on the 19th of August 1522. To Your Lordship. [Your] good wife, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Most Illustrious Lord and honored husband Giovanni de Medici

Letter 22: 6 April 1523 From Costanza de’ Bardi in Florence to Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Rome77 Magnificent and honored sister-in-law etcetera, I had a letter from you a few days ago [dated] the 28th of the past month, to which I have not yet replied as I heard that you were returning here in a few days. I didn’t want the letter to fall into another’s hands. As much as I can, I thank you, and I see your deeds have brought great joy, and via a letter of most Reverend Monseigneur.78 I understand that matters went well, may it please God, and for my part, I am very grateful to his Most Reverend Lordship, who I will always be obligated to. My dear sister, I wish I was able to demonstrate with effect how much 74. MAP 121 263r, . This letter is printed in Milanesi, “Lettere di Giovanni de’ Medici,” ASI 9, no. 1 (1859): 11–12, . 75. The Marquis of Mantua referred to here is Federico II Gonzaga (1500–1540). See d’Este, Selected Letters and the numerous references to her son included there; Gino Benzoni, “Federico II Gonzaga, duca di Mantova e marchese del Monferrato,” DBI 45 (1995), . 76. Messer Paolo Luzzasco (d. 1555) was a mercenary soldier, military captain, lieutenant, and friend of Giovanni de’ Medici. They had parted in 1522, which may explain why Luzzasco was now working with the Duke of Mantua. See Maurizio Arfaioli, The Black Bands of Giovanni: Infantry and Diplomacy During the Italian Wars (1526–1528) (Pisa: Pisa University Press, Edizioni Plus, 2005), 58 and n. 139. 77. MAP 85 424r, . 78. The monseigneur referred to here is Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici.

52 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI love and faith I have in you, and the obligation that I have, as I have seen how you have arranged [matters] for me with much affection. I am sad solely because I do not have the capacity to repay you, except with love, which I will never fail to have [for you]. There is no need to remind me to pray for you, as ever since your departure, I have done it and I will continue to do it until your return. May it please God, who like me, desires to hear of it. Nothing else except that I recommend myself to you, infinitesimal times and similarly to my mother.79 May God keep you happy and healthy. In Florence, on the 6th day of April 1523. Your Costanza de’ Bardi80 To: Magnificent Lady Maria Salviati de’ Medici honored sister-in-law in Rome

Letter 23: 5 December 1523 To Pope Clement VII in Rome from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence81 Jesus Maria Most blessed father and most merciful lord,82 I am most certain that by the grace of God and Your Holiness I have little to be anxious about concerning everyday necessities, and for this [reason], I should be more patient, so that I did not have to seek you out and this is true. If he [Giovanni] was anxious, then how much more so am I, all the more so should Your Holiness put us above your [needs] in every way. Therefore, with most humble reverence I remind you it would not be hard for you to relieve my lord consort from all the interest and deposits which burden him; as he does not squander at all what little he has left: because if it [the assistance] does not arrive from Your Holiness, here there is no way to be able to free him from it. Therefore, I beg you most devotedly to deign to lend us a hand now; most certainly you have the means to liberate him without much damage or trouble, either by way of the Salt Office or Customs or another way more to your liking.83 I will never tire of 79. The person referred to here is Costanza’s mother-in-law, Lucrezia Salviati, who lived in Rome. 80. Costanza de’ Bardi was married to Maria’s older brother, Giovan Battista Salviati (1498–1524). See Hurtubise, Une famille-témoin, 499. 81. MAP 106 55r, . This letter is printed in Milanesi, “Lettere di Giovanni de’ Medici,” ASI 9, no. 1 (1859): 18–19, . This a draft or minute of the letter sent. 82. The opening salutation of the letter to the Pope, which ends with the word “ ‘clementissime”’ [most merciful], is a play on Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici’s adoption of the pontifical name Clement, meaning merciful, after he was elected to the papal throne in late 1523 and became Clement VII (1523–1534). 83. For an account of the benefits to the Medici family of having the pope as a relative, including his ability to award papal financial monopolies to lay members of his family, see Tomas, Medici Women, 126–30, especially Pope Leo X’s granting of the salt monopoly to Maria’s father, Jacopo Salviati, at 130.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 53 asking God to keep you healthy. I remain your perpetual servant together with your delightful and good son.84 Humbly I recommend myself to Your Holiness. In Florence, 5th day of December 1523. Servant and daughter of Your Most Holy Excellency, Maria Salviati de’ Medici [In footer of letter scribe has written] Your Ladyship should have it [the letter] rewritten by Ser Giovanni,85 adding or subtracting what he thinks fit, and if he wishes that I write in my own hand or do it another way speak about it to Giovanni [de’ Medici?], and so I will do it. To Most beloved and most holy Clement VII, pontiff

Letter 24: 31 December 1523 To Giovanni de’ Medici in Milan from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence86 Most illustrious lord and most honored husband, As Captain Zuchero is coming over there [Milan], I thought to give him the present letter and have him convey to Your Lordship that Cosimo and I are very well. Here it is said that his Holiness Our Lord [Pope Clement VII] has given the Archbishopric of Florence to Monseigneur [Niccolò] de’ Ridolfi and to our Cardinal [Giovanni de’ Salviati] the legate to Bologna,87 the son [Ippolito de’ Medici] of Lord Giuliano [de’ Medici] and the son [Alessandro de’ Medici]of Lord Lorenzo [de’ Medici] are being sent here to stay.88 Although nothing about this news is certain,89 nonetheless, it seems to me Your Lordship that we think and consider more about matters over here which are more stable than those [in Rome]. Therefore, don’t let these chances pass you by. Surely there will be no more popes similar to the previous ones. Thus, Your Lordship should not care about others, but provide for yourself [as] now is the time and only God knows the future. I ask that you don’t let yourself be lulled by those matters over there [in Rome], as they happened because you are far away [in Milan]. You are aware that 84. This reference is to Maria’s son, Cosimo. 85. Ser Giovanni is probably a scribe. 86. This letter is printed in Milanesi, “Lettere di Giovanni de’ Medici,” ASI 9, no. 1 (1859): 20, . 87. On Niccolò Ridolfi (1501–1550), Pope Clement VII’s cousin, see Lucinda Byatt, “Niccolò Ridolfi,” in DBI 87 (2016), . For his ecclesiastical career, see . 88. On Cardinal Ippolito de’ Medici (1511–1535), see Irene Fosi and Guido Rebecchini, “Medici, Ippolito de,’ ” in DBI 73 (2009), . For his ecclesiastical career, see . On Alessandro de’ Medici (1510–1537), see Catherine Fletcher, The Black Prince of Florence: The Spectacular Life and Treacherous World of Alessandro de’ Medici (London: Bodley Head, 2016). 89. The news Maria had heard was true.

54 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI he who changes his status changes his condition;90 and remember Pope Leo [X] and that he didn’t provide us with enough to live on. Bear in mind that I don’t tell anyone else what I write to you about. Nothing else to report. I recommend myself to you. In Florence on the 31st of December 1523. Your wife, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Giovanni de’ Medici [in Milan]

Letter 25: 28 February 1524 To Giovanni de’ Medici in Milan from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Rome91 Jesus Maria Most illustrious Lord and respected husband, We arrived here yesterday evening all safe and well, notwithstanding that Friday and Saturday we had, because of the continuous rain and wind a very treacherous journey. Yet, by the grace of God, we are all very well, and we have received much love and honor, from our father, mother and brothers who all recommend themselves to Your Lordship. Today, His Holiness, Our Lord [Pope Clement VII] sent for Cosimo and gave him a lot of hugs and an infinite number of kisses and so too did our Archbishop of Capua.92 Tomorrow, God willing we go off to pay homage to his Holiness, Our Lord, and to kiss his holy feet. We will keep Your Lordship informed as to what happens on the day. I recommend myself to you always, asking the Lord God to make you happy and grant you victory. In Rome, 28th of February 1524. Your Excellency Illustrious Lord. Your wife, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Giovanni de’ Medici in Milan

Letter 26: 9 March 1524 To Giovanni de’ Medici in Milan from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Rome93 Jesus Maria 90. This is an Italian proverb. See Tommaso Buoni, Thesoro degli prouerbij italiani (Venice: Giovanni Battista Ciotti, 1606), vol. 2, 142–43. 91. This letter is printed in Milanesi, “Lettere di Giovanni de’ Medici,” ASI 9, no. 1 (1859): 24–25, . 92. The archbishop of Capua, at that time was Nikolaus von Schönberg (1472–1537). He was appointed archbishop of Capua in 1520. For his ecclesiastical career, see . 93. The letter is printed in Milanesi, “Lettere di Giovanni de’ Medici,” ASI 9, no. 1 (1859): 26–27, .

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 55 Most Illustrious Lord and honored husband, Your Lordship will have understood from another of my letters how we arrived here safely.94 Since then we have twice visited with His Holiness Our Lord [Pope Clement VII] who was very affectionate, and I made him aware of the needs and wishes of Your Lordship. His Holiness’s response was the following: Because of the situation that he is seeking for you in Lombardy, he will never abandon Your Lordship. Don’t doubt him, that when you have it, that it will be stable and firm. As it will be confirmed in such a way that you won’t have to worry about anything. If you are not able to have it [here] you will have it given to you in another safe place. About the young girl he [the pope] replied that it was not the right time as presently it is not possible to do anything else other than await the outcome of this war.95 Concerning the debits and deposits which day and night Your Lordship consumes (which, according to His Beatitude, exceeds the sum of six thousand ducats) he says he is happy at present to relieve you of the burden. He has begun to pay the rector, upon whose judgment he will draw, and if he makes him aware of the amount that remains, and [he] will provide for everything. So that we have to thank God exceedingly and all the more so as everyone is of the opinion that we have received much favor. Especially since His Holiness finds himself without money and in great difficulty and expense on account of this war, which afflicts him much in every way. May God guide us. His Holiness sees us willingly and is very affectionate to Cosimo and similarly my father and mother and Monseigneur our most reverend brother [Giovanni Salviati], and all the others. They are not satiated by kissing and touching him [Cosimo]. I will arrange to finalize the [financial] matter with the rector, because there is nothing else for me to do, while waiting for a reply from Your Lordship. Whatever you want me to do, I will do. Nothing else occurs to me now other than to recommend myself to Your Lordship, may God keep you well always and protect you from evil. In Rome on the 9th of March 1524. I beg you answer me soon. Your Excellency Illustrious Lord. Wife, Maria Salviati de’ Medici, in my own hand96 To Giovanni de’ Medici in Milan

94. Maria is referring to letter 25, dated 28 February 1524. 95. The reference to a young girl is unclear. There are two possibilities. First, that Maria spoke to the pope about a possible future marriage alliance for Cosimo—who was then five years old—with a suitable girl, of a similar age. The second possibility is that the young girl referred to here was the five-year-old Catherine de’ Medici (1519–1589) and her future marriage prospects. 96. The reference to “in my own hand” probably refers only to Maria’s signature rather than the whole letter being in her hand.

56 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI Letter 27: 6 June 1524 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Rome from Giovanni de’ Medici in San Secondo97 Dearest wife, The letters I sent Your Ladyship via the sergeant are lost and I have not been able to see that [letter] you told me about. Therefore, Your Ladyship, for the present, the bearer [of this letter] will tell me what is happening with you and everything else and he will ask you for a reply to the letter of Monseigneur the datary and he will advise me of my lodging.98 Soon you will have the real reply for Rome. Your Ladyship will resend the messenger immediately with the reply. In San Secondo on the 6th day of June 1524. [P.S.] Your Ladyship will very quickly resend me anything important left behind. [Your] Husband, Giovanni de’ Medici To Most Illustrious Madonna Maria Salviati, dearest wife, in Rome

Letter 28: 29 September 1524 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Rome from Silvio Passerini in Florence99 Magnificent Lady honored like a sister, In your [letter] of the 22nd of last month, Your Magnificence sought for us to ask a favor of the Magnificent [members] of the Eight on Security because a Niccolò from Poggibonsi came [before them] having committed a thoughtless crime, for which he regrets not being able to make reparations.100 97. MAP 85 441r, . 98. The papal office of the datary, which began in the early sixteenth century, no longer exists. The datary was a papal court official who was responsible for registering and dating all documents issued by the pope. He was also responsible for representing the pope when issuing grants and dispensations, akin to a private treasurer. For a definition and history, see, . For its use as the pope’s private treasury, see Tomas, Medici Women, 129. Clement VII’s datary was Giovan Matteo Giberti (1495–1543), for whom see Angelo Turchini, “Giberti, Gian Matteo,” DBI 54 (2000), ; Gouwens and Reiss, Pontificate of Clement VII. 99. MAP 85 463r, . 100. The Eight on Security (Otto di Guardia e Balìa) was the police magistracy and Florence’s chief criminal court by the first decade of the sixteenth century. For an overview of the Florentine judicial system including the establishment of the Eight on Security in 1378, see Andrea Zorzi, “The Judicial System in Florence in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries,” in Dean and Lowe, Crime, Society and the Law in Renaissance Italy, 40–58. For the Eight on Security’s increasingly powerful role in the sixteenth century, see John K. Brackett, Criminal Justice and Crime in Late Renaissance Florence, 1537–1609 (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992). It is possible that this unfortunate man had made an ill-thought-out negative comment about the Medici regime.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 57 Because of our departure from the Holy See for this city [Florence], among many other things we committed to His Holiness [Pope Clement VII] to do, we were very well warned that we didn’t set a bad example with similar assurances for infinite reasons. As Your Magnificence knows, because of your singular prudence and because of the many obligations we have towards you, we have wanted to satisfy you as much as possible. We give our good thoughts and wishes most certainly, if you deign to receive the present [letter] in exchange for the deed. To do our duty towards you is always most freely given. We recommend ourselves much to you and bid farewell. Farewell. In Florence 29th of September 1524. Like a brother, Silvio [Passerini] Cardinal of Cortona101 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici [in Rome]

Letter 29: 7 February 1525 To Maria Salviati from Giovanni Salviati in Piacenza102 Magnificent most beloved sister, I received Your Ladyship’s letter with the greatest of pleasure, informing me about your good health and about Cosimo, who, without doubt I love most cordially. It is one of my greatest wishes that having left Rome, you have him learn to become virtuous, encourage him on my behalf, [by] telling him that if he does not learn he will not be able to have anything nice on my return. Lord [Giovanni] could not be closer to his most Christian Majesty [Francis I], nor more loved, nor with more esteem nor with greater reputation, and deservedly so, because he does everything. He offends the enemies of the King [of Spain] alone with his men, more than does all the rest of the French army, and he does things that one or other camp marvel at and naturally it is written about and talked about as they cannot do anything without obvious risks. I do not [. . . miss?] the many other most important responsibilities, which I have at any time, I am not left in peace. As God is my witness, I have no other brother or sister in this world that I love more than Lord Giovanni. I pray to God continuously for him, although I am certain that you do so as well, and so Your Ladyship be comforted. To Piacentino, I have not given a position because I had to give one on behalf of the servant of your husband and the others are supplied. So, Your Ladyship will excuse me for having sought to do something that is possible for me. According 101. Pope Clement VII sent Silvio Passerini (1469–1529) to Florence to lead the Florentine government as guardian of Ippolito de’ Medici and Alessandro de’ Medici. On Passerini, see Giampiero Brunelli. “Silvio Passerini,” DBI 81 (2014), . 102. MAP 85 480r, .

58 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI to the great love that deservedly I bear you, I will not fail you ever. I beg you to kiss Cosimo for me and Your Ladyship I offer and recommend myself with all my heart. May it please God to grant me grace to see you happy and content as you yourself wish. From Piacenza on the 7th day of February 1525. Greet the priest [Francesco Fortunati] for me Your Ladyship and show him this letter. From Giovanni, Cardinal de’ Salviati To Magnificent sister, Illustrious Madonna Maria Salviati de’ Medici etcetera

Letter 30: 22 February 1525 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici from Giovanni Salviati in Piacenza103 Magnificent dearest sister, I have not wanted to write until now to Your Ladyship about Lord Giovanni’s situation, in order to be able to write to you with an answer and not to create more doubt with my letters. But now, by the grace of God, I see that matters are progressing very well. I advise you that on Saturday at 22 hours [after sunset], cavalry and foot soldiers having left Pavia, his Lordship ambushed them [Spanish troops] and being discovered, they confronted them bravely and killed about fifty of them, returning to his lodgings with neither himself or his troops experiencing any harm at all. But as the Admiral [Gouffier] and some of his [men] asked that he go back to show them the place where he had fought,104 upon returning, thirty gunners who were hidden in a house fired all the guns and one of them hit him in his leg four centimeters above the joint of the foot and passed through it from one side to the other.105 So, on Sunday, when, I heard, I felt the greatest suffering that I have ever had. Immediately, I sent for the courier, Messer Jacopo Girolami, and I wrote to the [French] King and to the Admiral and to Giovanni himself, to arrange to have him brought here and finally he was happy to come and so he came 103. MAP 85 481r-v, . This letter is printed in Gauthiez, “Nuovi documenti,” ASI 31, no. 229 (1903): 106–7, . 104. The admiral referred to here was the admiral of France, Guilliaume Gouffier, Lord of Bonnivet (1488–1525), who led the French expedition into Italy, see Michael Mallett and Christine Shaw, The Italian Wars, 1494–1559: War, State and Society in Early Modern Europe (Harlow, UK: Longman; New York: Pearson, 2012), 146. 105. On Giovanni’s injury, see Maurizio Arfaioli, “Medici, Giovanni de,’ ” . This incident refers to one of the skirmishes between the French and Spanish troops that occurred prior to before the battle of Pavia on 24 June 1525. The battle itself resulted in the capture of the French king, Francis I (r. 1515–1547) by the imperial troops of the Spanish king and Holy Roman emperor, Charles V (r. 1519–1558) and the death of many of his commanders, including the admiral. See Mallett and Shaw, Italian Wars, 150–52.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 59 on a boat via the Po river and arrived on Monday morning. In order to tell you all the particulars of how the situation progressed, I advise that in the beginning, he was very sad, but ever since he was treated by an excellent physician of the King, he has been much better, even though a bone and muscle are affected. Today is the fourth day and he has improved, he was just fine so that I am quite calm and so Your Ladyship be comforted: it is certain that he is not in any danger, nor do the doctors believe that he will retain any impediments. I believe that you can think that given I have no person dearer to me in this world [than him], that he won’t lack for anything. The physicians are most excellent, he is patient, obedient like an angel; nor will he lack any solicitude and care as he will soon be healed and well. Your Ladyship, as I have said to him, be calm and accept from God this small evil as a remedy for some other greater one. As since he had made sure he was in the artillery and put himself in the most obvious danger, he alone was doing, all the military actions in the field, every day he expected a more important incident than this one. I don’t want to neglect to tell Your Ladyship that if the matter concerned one of his own children, His most Christian Majesty [the French king] was not able to show as much feeling as he showed towards Lord [Giovanni], with sending him money, with visiting him and with all the external signs of love that one can know about; and deservedly, because he alone has done more harm to the enemies of His Majesty than all the army. I have nothing else to tell you. I will advise you every day about the outcome of his illness. When I don’t write to you, you will know about it from our father’s letters. Please be of good cheer and greet little Cosimo and kiss him for me. To you I recommend myself with a full heart. Be happy and healthy. Piacenza, 22nd of February 1525. [P.S.] My dearest sister, be of good cheer as today the physicians told me when I saw them treat Lord Giovanni, that he is not in any danger, and will remain free and without any impediment. Cardinal Giovanni Salviati Magnificent Madonna Maria Salviati de’ Medici, most beloved sister

Letter 31: 24 February 1525 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Rome from Giovanni de’ Medici in Piacenza106 Illustrious Lady and most beloved wife, I have seen one of [the letters] which Your Ladyship wrote and the priest’s [Francesco Fortunati] to his Most Reverend [Cardinal] Salviati. You should not be so ready to believe the worst, as human beings are made of flesh, blood and bone they do not cut like turnips. On the 18th of the present month, 106. MAP 85 482r, . This letter is printed in Gauthiez, “Nuovi documenti,” ASI 31, no. 229 (1903): 108, .

60 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI I was wounded in the leg with a bullet and in order to treat me most easily, I was brought to Piacenza, where the Most Reverend [Cardinal Salviati] was. Thank God [. . .] the fourth day passed, and the wound improved without distress and fever. These doctors say firmly that within twenty days I will get out of bed without fear of [my] life nor of impediment. Therefore, Your Ladyship, don’t be so unhappy as I am not unwell thanks be to God. I recommend myself to you. Piacenza on the 24th day of February 1525. Most loving husband, Giovanni de’ Medici To Illustrious Lady and most beloved wife, Madonna Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Rome Letter 32: 18 May 1525 To Giovanni de’ Medici in Parma from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Rome107 Most Illustrious Lord Husband, Having the means to be able easily to send the present [letter] via Busbacca,108 I couldn’t not write to Your Illustrious Lordship, indicating to you our good health, although as you will have heard, our only child has been unwell and of low spirits the last few days. None the less, with God’s grace, such illness has passed. He will be well. I will be most grateful to hear how Your Illustrious Lordship is doing, and [am] yet [to hear about] what we need to do as you will have understood from the last of my letters.109 I recommend myself to you always. Rome 18th of May 1525. To Your Illustrious Lordship. [Your] good wife, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To the most Illustrious Lord, Lord most honored husband beloved Giovanni de’ Medici in Parma

107. MAP 85 488r, . This letter is printed, in part, in Gauthiez, “Nuovi documenti,” ASI 31, no. 229 (1903): 112, . 108. Busbacca is probably a courier. “Busbacca” could be a nickname for this person as it means cheat. 109. This letter has not survived.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 61 Letter 33: 9 March 1526 To Sister Elisabetta Prioress of San Giuseppe from Maria Salviati de’ Medici110 Honored prioress, With our present [letter], I am sending you eleven gold ducats [or] £ [lire]. and three lire for the account of the dowry of Alexandra di Mona Ginevra.111 You will also have thirteen ducats and four lire up to twenty–five ducats which we will strive to arrange for you as soon as possible together with the other things.112 Regarding [this matter] be patient and pray to God for us. You wrote here on the eighth. I will send you the receipt of the said dowry. I recommend myself to you and bid farewell. From our house, the 9th day of March 1525 [1526]. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To the honored prioress in Saint Joseph etcetera.113 In Florence Letter 34: 13 July 1526 To Giovanni de’ Medici in Rome from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence114 Most Illustrious Lord most honored husband, Nothing else to advise Your Most Illustrious Lordship except to tell you of the good health of our son and of mine. We desire continuously to hear about your health, which we hope is excellent. May God keep you happy and healthy and we recommend ourselves to him. In Florence, 13th of July 1526. To Your Most Illustrious Lordship. Wife, Maria Salviati de’ Medici 110. MAP 106 64r, . 111. The recipient of these alms and dowry is identified in a receipt, written at the bottom of this letter as “Sister Elisabetta, foundress and prioress of the convent of San Giuseppe as today, 8th of March, I received as alms and dowry for Alessandra di Mona Ginevra, servant of Madonna Maria [Salviati] eleven large gold ducats and three lire.” 112. In late October 1534, Maria provided 25 scudi of alms to the convent. See MAP 140 245r, . 113. The convent of San Giuseppe was founded in 1518 and the nuns were Franciscans. See Osanna Fantozzi-Micali and Piero Roselli, Le soppressioni dei conventi a Firenze: Riuso e trasformazione da secolo XVIII in poi (Florence: Libreria Editrice Fiorentina, 1980), 161–63. 114. MAP 85 538r, . This is the last surviving letter of Maria and Giovanni’s correspondence; it is printed in Gauthiez, “Nuovi documenti,” ASI 31, no. 229 (1903): 117–18, . However, other later letters existed, which have not survived. Gauthiez, “Nuovi documenti,” ASI 31 (1903): 120, includes a pair of letters from late October 1526 to Don Francesco Suasio from Giovanni and Maria respectively, indicating that Giovanni had sometime earlier written to Maria requesting that she send him many boxes of good-quality ravioli; .

62 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI To Most Illustrious Lord, most honored husband, beloved Giovanni de’ Medici in the Pope’s household

Letter 35: 3 December 1526 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence from Pierfrancesco Riccio in Marradi115 Magnificent Lady my only patron, As I have the convenience of a letter bearer, I didn’t want to fail in my duty to send you news that we are about to arrive in Marradi, this evening.116 Although, I think it is a long trip for the bother and difficulty of the high mountains, we haven’t had any impediments, either from rain, snow or wind hence it is a beautiful day in Marradi. We are staying in Falconi’s place, not without great honor. Because there is some suspect gossip about a tumult, tonight we have dispatched someone [a messenger] to Faenza to Jacopo Guicciardini with our letter,117 asking him to identify and give to us all news, so that we can travel safely. If in Marradi, we hear anything suspect, that we think Jacopo should know, I’ll tell him everything, but we don’t think anything will happen. First, we have not had a good resolution from the said Jacopo, and second, his opinion about us leaving; also, I always [act] in our interest, and we are going tomorrow morning to Faenza, and to Ravenna on Wednesday and there embark for Venice.118 I will obtain advice for everything. With great caution and circumspection and with the opinion of Guicciardino [Jacopo Guicciardini]. Little by little, Your Ladyship will be given advice about everything. The children of Averardo Salviati are here, there are three [of them] to return.119 Pagoloantonio Soderini and many other Florentine young men are staying with us and tomorrow morning they will spend a long time in Ravenna, in order to embark and perhaps be forced to go by land, so they advised us.

115. MAP 85 540r–v, . 116. Marradi is a town about twenty-eight miles northeast of Florence. 117. Jacopo Guicciardini (1480–1552) was a Florentine administrative official. See Paola Moreno, “Guicciardini, Iacopo,” DBI 61 (2004), ; Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Guicciardini, Iacopo,” . 118. The town of Faenza and city of Ravenna are in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. 119. Averardo di Alamanno Salviati (1489–1553) was a cousin of Maria’s. He had two sons, Alamanno (1513–?) and Filippo (1515–1572). See Hurtubise, Une famille-témoin, 498, table B. I have been unable to establish the gender or name of the third child referred to here.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 63 Lorenzo [de’ Medici], Cosimo, and Giuliano [de’ Medici] are very well and haven’t caused even minimal trouble as they haven’t left the house.120 God be praised. I won’t say anything else to Your Ladyship except that you remain in good spirits about your only son [Cosimo] and about the two little boys, Lorenzo and Giuliano, which from our point of view haven’t done anything. May God keep all three [of them] always happy and healthy together with Your Ladyship, to whom I recommend myself. All of us, are otherwise well. I beseech Your Ladyship and recommend to you my two brothers and sisters, who have some need. I shall not fail to advise them, that I have them in my heart, and to Your Ladyship I comfortably recommend myself. Please recommend me to the parish priest [Francesco Fortunati] and your sister-in-law, Madonna Maria [Soderini] and to Madonna Lucrezia, your mother, etcetera. From Marradi on the 3rd of December, in the evening, 1526. To Your Ladyship. [Your] humble servant, P[ier] Francesco Riccio121 To Madonna Maria Salviati de’ Medici, most honorable etcetera, in Florence

Letter 36: 4 December 1526 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence from an unnamed writer in Rome122 My most illustrious and honored lady, [This is] to tell you about the pain and affliction I feel about the atrocious situation of Your Ladyship.123 I won’t do or say more [in] preamble, only that as 120. Lorenzo (Lorenzino) di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici (1514–1548) has gained historical notoriety as the assassin of Duke Alessandro de’ Medici. For information on Lorenzo as assassin and on the impact his regicide had on his immediate family, including his brother, Giuliano, his mother, Maria Soderini, and his two sisters, Laudomia (1518–1583) and Maddalena (d. 1583), see Stefano Dall’Aglio, The Duke’s Assassin: Exile and Death of Lorenzino de’ Medici, trans. Donald Weinstein (New Haven, CT, and London: Yale University Press, 2015); originally published as Stefano Dall’Aglio, L’assassino del duca: Esilio e morte di Lorenzino de’ Medici (Florence: Olschki, 2011). 121. Maria appointed the priest Pierfrancesco Riccio (1501–1564) as Cosimo’s tutor in 1525. His involvement with this family was lifelong, with Duke Cosimo I appointing him to several influential administrative positions at his court. See Gigliola Fragnito, “Riccio, Pierfrancesco,” DBI 87 (2016), . Gigliola Fragnito, “Un pratese alla corte di Cosimo I: Riflessioni e materiali per un profilo di Pierfrancesco Riccio,” Archivio Storico Pratese 62 (1986): 31–83; Alessandro Cecchi, “Il maggiordomo ducale Pierfrancesco Riccio e gli artisti della corte Medicea,” MKIF 42, no. 1 (1998): 115–43, . 122. MAP 85 543r, . 123. The writer is referring to the death of Giovanni de’ Medici on 30 November/1 December after being wounded in battle. See also letters 37 and 39, which are letters of condolence to Maria for Giovanni’s death.

64 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI prudence exhorts you to handle matters most prudently, as you usually do. You don’t want to confound or overcome Fortune.124 I returned to Our Lord [Pope Clement VII], who feels not a little annoyance and sadness about the adverse matter [of Giovanni’s death].125 He ordered the Lord ambassador, Galeotto [de’ Medici] to write to Messer Ottaviano [de’ Medici] to take care of the debt and [to discuss] Your Illustrious Ladyship’s needs, which I think he will do diligently.126 I won’t otherwise go on so as not to annoy you. I think I will return there [Florence?] in haste as it doesn’t seem [appropriate], having followed this horrendous situation, to revisit it with the pope. Secure in the favor of Your Illustrious Ladyship, I pay respect always and recommend myself [to you]. From Rome on the 4th of December 1526. To Your most Illustrious Ladyship.127 To the most illustrious lady and patron; the most honored Madonna Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence

Letter 37: 8 December 1526 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici from Francesco degli Albizzi in Genezzano128 My most Illustrious [and] most honored Lady, Although the extreme sadness of the bitter loss of my only Lord has made me feel overwhelmed, so with difficulty I can still breathe. Nonetheless I wanted with my [letter] to force myself, as is my duty, to make humble reverence to Your 124. This letter-writer’s use of the concept of fortuna (fortune/chance/luck) echoes its use by the Florentine writer and political theorist, Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527). On Machiavelli and his understanding of fortune, see Robert Black, Machiavelli (London: Taylor and Francis, 2013); John M. Najemy, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Machiavelli (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010), ; Guido Ruggiero, The Renaissance in Italy: A Social and Cultural History of the Rinascimento (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014), 438–51, . 125. Pope Clement VII issued a condolence brief dated the same day as this letter. It offers condolences to Maria and remembers Giovanni for his service to the Catholic Church as a soldier. See MAP 66 224r, . 126. Galeotto di Lorenzo di Bernadetto de’ Medici (d. 1528). See Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Medici, Galeotto di Lorenzo de,’ ” . Galeotto and his brother, Ottaviano de’ Medici (1482–1546), were distantly related to the main branch of the Medici family. See Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Medici, Ottaviano di Lorenzo de,’ ” . 127. The letter is unsigned. 128. MAP 85 547r, . This letter is printed in Gauthiez “Nuovi documenti,” ASI 31, no. 229 (1903): 124–25, .

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 65 Ladyship, which I hadn’t done sooner, as I hadn’t heard about the unfortunate situation, before yesterday, which was the seventh of the present month. I would have already arranged to come to you now, if it were not for the order of Our Lord [Clement VII] and of Lord [Alessandro] Vitelli;129 it appears to them that I represent my late Lord and that this band of troops has some affection for me. I have to obey on this occasion, so that if because of my departure they then dissolve themselves, they will not say that it was because of anything I did. So, I will go, marking time until these matters take some shape. Since there is no point in my delaying, I will visit these walls, behind which I will spend the major part of my days that are ahead of me; as in any other place that I will find myself I will live with difficulty.130 Because of the image of your only son [in mind], I am able to reduce my sorrow somewhat. Ought even iniquitous fortune, since she was also stubborn in wanting to deprive me of such good,131 concede me such grace that at the last moment I was found near you, and not make me abandon you in great need. Your Ladyship, in this environment you want to temper the situation as best you can. As I have always known you to be most prudent, I will not extend myself to give you advice. Only I remind you and make you most certain that while my spirit endures, I will be as good and most faithful servant that I have ever been to you and ready to sweat blood when necessary. I will never erase the sweet memory of those bones. [Giovanni] seems close to me and will be respectfully remembered. As Your Ladyship was sending a [letter] to His Most Christian [Majesty] that His Majesty would confirm to you,132 the provisions for the father, that is 6,0000 ducats to his son, because he also died in the service of His Majesty. Also, you will have, because of old service, more than 20,000 ducats. Your Ladyship don’t forget it. I recommend myself to you. From Genazzano on the 8th day of December 1526. To Your Ladyship. Most humble servant, Francesco degli Albizzi To my most Illustrious Lady, most honored Madonna Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence 129. Alessandro Vitelli (1496–1554) was a mercenary soldier, employed by the Medici regime for several decades from the 1520s. For Medici employment of Vitelli in the 1530s, see Najemy, History of Florence, 465–67. 130. The “walls” that Francesco will disappear behind, appear to be a metaphor for Francesco’s processing of his grief over Giovanni’s death. 131. The reference to fortune as “she,” is a play on the grammatical, female gender of the Italian, la fortuna (fortune). Francesco echoes Niccolò Machiavelli’s reference to “Fortune is a woman” in chapter 25 of The Prince. On this whole theme, see Barbara Spackman, “Machiavelli and Gender,” in Najemy, The Cambridge Companion to Machiavelli, 223–38, . 132. This is a reference to the French king, Francis I.

66 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI Letter 38: 10 December 1526 To Messer Pietro Aretino in Mantua from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence133 Dearest Messer Pietro [Aretino], Besides the grief that will afflict my heart as long as I live over the death of Lord Giovanni my husband, my displeasure increases because I have never had a reply to the two letters, I wrote to you in Mantua. I don’t know what decision to take about Cosimo, whom his father of blessed memory instructed should be sent to Marchese Federico [Gonzaga of Mantua].134 I pray you, take him into your care, as you were the soul of someone who had no equal in this world. For if he had not given himself up to you while alive, whence you sing his praises continuously, I would surely despair. Thus, I wait for you to advise me on the matter concerning my sweet son. May it please God that he be similar to his father and surpass him. From Florence, the 10th of December 1526. Like a sister, Maria de’ Medici To our most dear and honored Messer Pietro Aretino in Mantua

Letter 39: 10 December 1526 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici from Messer Pietro Aretino in Mantua135 To Madonna Maria de’ Medici, Madonna, I don’t want to compete with you in grief, not because I wouldn’t win, since the death of your husband saddens me more than it does any other person alive, but because my victory would be a defeat, for you are his wife, and all of the sorrow that ensues at the loss of a consort belongs to [wives]. Nor is it that, my suffering does not precede yours. Because the habit of being without [your husband] had toughened love for you, which was all the more tender in me in that not an hour, not a moment, not an instant could I be absent from him; and his virtues are even better known to me than they are to you. I must be believed, as I always 133. This letter is printed in Milanesi, “Lettere di Giovanni de’ Medici,” ASI 9, no. 1 (1859): 141, and in editions of the works of the writer, satirist, and friend of Giovanni de’ Medici, Pietro Aretino (1492–1556). See Pietro Aretino, Lettere scritte a Pietro Aretino, ed. Teodorico Landoni from the edition by Francesco Marcolini (Venice, 1551), vol. 1, part 1 (Bologna: Romagnoli, 1873), 8–9; Pietro Aretino, Lettere scritte a Pietro Aretino, ed. Paolo Procaccioli (Rome: Salerno, 2003), 38–39. For a short biography of Aretino, see Giuliano Innamorati, “Aretino, Pietro,” DBI 4 (1962), . 134. See Giovanni’s request on his deathbed. Pietro Aretino, The Letters of Pietro Aretino, trans. Thomas C. Chubb (Hamden, CT: Archon Books, 1967), 25. 135. This letter is printed in Pietro Aretino, Lettere, ed. Francesco Erspamer (Parma: Ugo Guanda, 1995), vol. 1, 27–31; Pietro Aretino, Lettere di Pietro Aretino, ed. Paolo Procaccioli (Rome: Salerno, 1997), 59–61.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 67 saw them, and you always heard of them, and men take greater satisfaction in the powers of their own eyes than in the fame proclaimed by others. Though my passion yields to your suffering, I assign pre-eminence to the valor and wisdom in which you abound, so that are greater as a woman than are mine, as a man. Since this is the case, the pain is greater in the one who has greater knowledge than in the one who is least aware. But [you] grant me the second place in pain, which has so filled my heart that nothing else can afflict it. I could have died as I saw his illustrious spirit breathe its last and saw Giulio di Rafaello make his death mask and as I closed him into his tomb.136 The consolation of his eternal memory has sustained me in life. The public reports of his virtue, which will be the jewels and ornaments of your widowhood, have dried my tears. Histories of his deeds may not remove my melancholy, but they make me happy. It nourishes me to hear from great people: “A force of nature has died” “the paragon of ancient loyalty has expired”; “the true heart of the battle has gone.” Certainly, there was never anyone who could so raise the hopes of the Italian armies. What better boast could one who has been torn from human affairs have, than the recollection of King Francis,137 from whose mouth it was heard many times: “If Lord Giovanni had not been wounded, fortune would not have made me a prisoner.”138 Here he is, just buried, and barbarian pride rises up to heaven, terrifying the most courageous.139 Already fear governs [Pope] Clement, who learns to want the death of the one who supported him alive.140 But God’s anger, which supersedes the failings of others, took him from us. His Majesty has taken him to himself to punish the wayward.141 Therefore, we consent to the Divine Will without piercing our heart further, by lending an ear to the harmony of [Giovanni’s] praise. May our heart be girded by the delight of his honors, and speaking of his victories, let us illuminate our path with the rays of his glory, which preceded his coffin, while 136. “Giulio di Rafaello” is Giulio Pippi (1499?–1546), otherwise known as Giulio Romano. He was a student of Rafael Sanzio (1483–1520), hence Rafael’s name here. Giulio was a friend of Aretino and was patronized by Marquis Federico Gonzaga. On Giulio Romano’s life and works, see Bette Talvacchia, “Giulio Romano,” Grove Art Online, . 137. The king of France, Francis I. 138. See letter 30, for the circumstances of Giovanni’s wounding, which was just prior to the battle of Pavia, in which the French king was captured. 139. The “proud barbarians” were the German soldiers in the Imperial Army whose crossing of the Po River Giovanni was trying to prevent when he was killed. See Mallett and Shaw, Italian Wars, 158. 140. For the context of Aretino’s belief that Pope Clement VII did not care about Giovanni’s fate, see Aretino, Lettere, ed. Erspamer, vol. 1, 27 n. 50. That letter is a description of Giovanni’s death, written to Francesco degli Albizzi, also dated 10 December 1526, see Aretino, Lettere, ed. Erspamer vol. 1, 16–27. Aretino’s letter to Albizzi is available in English, in Aretino, Letters of Pietro Aretino, 22–28. 141. The reference “to punish the wayward” refers to Charles V’s troops’ win in battle against the antiimperial League of Cognac, which included the pope and French king. On the League, see Mallett and Shaw, Italian Wars, 155–60.

68 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI the funeral ceremony astonished with its visual splendor, amid famous captains who carried him on their honored shoulders. The Marquis—with all the nobility of the Gonzaga house and of his court, a throng of people behind him and a multitude of women at the windows moved to amazement—honored the awesome corpse of one who was to you a spouse [and] to me a lord, declaring that he had never seen greater funeral rites for a finer warrior. Therefore, rest your mind in the lap of [Giovanni’s] merits, and send Cosimo to His Excellency [the Marquis], as [Giovanni] commanded me to write to you, for [Federico] wishes to succeed [Giovanni] as his father, who left him to him as a son. If I did not believe that God would give [Cosimo] in double abundance the worthiness taken from my idol [Giovanni] by the envy of destiny and death, I would throw up my hands in despair. But we are living, so what will be will be. From Mantua, the 10th day of December 1526 Pietro Aretino

Letter 40: 24 December 1526 To Messer Pietro Aretino in Mantua from Maria Salviati de’ Medici142 Dearest Messer Pietro [Aretino], As a reply to your distressed, afflicted, and troubled letter written to me, I say to you that if the death of my lord consort distresses you, you have a reason for it, having enjoyed much time in long and continuous conversation, and come to understand his great mind, liberality and his virtue, which is good thinking (since nothing happens on earth without a reason).143 I don’t believe that in any way it [his death] happened by chance, everything happens by divine dispensation, so that his memory with noise should not perish but shall live forever.144 I am sure that his death, so premature and unforeseen, distresses you, and if it distresses you, for me it cuts through my heart and soul and afflicts me greatly, as I don’t believe that in this world there is a good that is equal to him. I believe I would be buried today, if I had not, as I said, I persuaded myself that our greatest God gave him to you to plunder, so that you are able to tell the truth.145 Let it not weigh on you then, for my love, to enter this undertaking, which if it 142. This letter is printed in Milanesi, “Lettere di Giovanni de’ Medici,” ASI 9, no. 1 (1859): 143–44, ; Aretino, Lettere scritte a Pietro Aretino (1873), vol. 1, part 1, 9–12; Aretino, Lettere scritte a Pietro Aretino (2003), 39–40. 143. The original phrase is in Latin rather than Italian. It is a gloss on Job 5:6. 144. The original phrase is in Latin rather than in Italian. It is a gloss on Psalm 9:7. As Aretino prepared his correspondence for publication, it is possible that he inserted the Latin phrases into the letter to give it a more elegant style, given its topic, rather than Maria Salviati including the phrases herself, as she had little knowledge of Latin. 145. Maria is asking Aretino here to use his writing skills and in-depth knowledge of her husband, effectively so she could use what he wrote to promote Giovanni’s life and deeds posthumously. This letter

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 69 seems well beyond your powers, I ask you to pursue, without fearing anything. Because I assure you, everyone knows that in language and intelligence no one surpasses you. It is enough for me if you describe only what you have seen directly of his unconquered excellence. Therefore, if you ever hope to do me a favor, describe however seems fitting to you the fourteen years that His Lordship so loyally fought. The other fourteen [years] I will note, beginning from his infancy, by those who raised him, and who saw signs in him that foretold of his invincible and great mind and everything that he did so gloriously until the end. If you wish to lighten, in part, my suffering, write about this, I beg you, I cannot have him back alive in any other way than by reading about his virtuous and great works. I with my injured child will be obligated to you in perpetuity, with firm intention to recognize you in some way. Thank you for the letter and the sonnets and for having well arranged a proxy with his Excellency the Marquis [of Gonzaga], and for all the good that you have done. I beg you heartily to keep us continuously in the good graces of His Most Illustrious Lordship [Gonzaga], recommend to him this poor child and myself with every efficacy. I always offer and recommend myself to you. From Florence on the 24th day of December 1526. I forgot to tell you and beg you from the heart to send me the death mask of my Lord consort of blessed memory, or at least a head [made of] earth or plaster. Wrapped, so that it arrives safely, and with all good speed. I recommend myself to you, urging you, if you wish me well, to send me the first cast, most certainly it will be the most true and natural. As you advise me, I will pay the cost of everything. All yours Maria Salviati de’ Medici

is part of the same enterprise as the earlier letter between the two correspondents, that is, to promote Giovanni as a hero. See letter 39 and the references cited there.

Letters 41–75: Maria as Widowed Mother, 1527–1536 The letters in this section are primarily concerned with two issues: first, Maria’s concern for the security and welfare of her young son, Cosimo, and second, the impact on Maria and other members of the Medici family, particularly Pope Clement VII, of the sack of Rome in May 1527 and the consequent fall of the Medici regime in Florence in May 1527. These two issues sometimes overlapped. This section opens with Maria’s father, Jacopo Salviati, in January 1527, urging his daughter not to be concerned as he is sure that the King of France, Francis I (r. 1515–1547), would make adequate provision for Cosimo because of his late father’s service. While initially somewhat reassured by his letter, Maria’s fierce reply to her father accused him of neglecting her son and herself as a poor widow. Jacopo’s reply expressed his displeasure at her ill temperament. Interspersed amongst this exchange was Cosimo’s tutor’s (Riccio’s) account of Cosimo’s and his cousins’ behavior in Venice and Cosimo’s positive reception in Venice by its elite. The “tumults” in Italy caused by the sack of Rome by troops from Germany and Switzerland, the subsequent imprisonment of Pope Clement VII, and the fall of the Medici regime necessitated Maria’s flight from Florence. She eventually joined her son in Venice. Several letters refer to the troubles in Italy and Maria’s safety in May and June of that year. Her departure from home did not mean that Maria did not oversee operations at home—including organizing the cultivation of silkworms and production of silk thread—and she was very interested in having her majordomo, Francesco Suasio, keep her up to date with what was happening at home, becoming vexed when he did not. The exile of the Medici from Florence exacerbated her financial problems, which is why Maria—fully aware of the pope’s predicament—still asked him to help Cosimo, financially. By 1528, Maria and Cosimo were back at Trebbio, but Maria was still in financial stress, as she informed her cousin the Medici banker, Filippo Strozzi. In 1529, now at her villa at Castello, Maria’s sister, Caterina Nerli, still considered her a good source of patronage for a young man who wanted a clerical position. In August 1530, the Medici returned to Florence aided by the Spanish king, Charles V, and from then onward Florence was a duchy, ruled by Duke Alessandro de’ Medici (1530–1537). At about the same time as Florence capitulated, Maria, then in Imola, near Bologna, informed her mother of the death of her sister, Francesca Gualterotti’s husband. In 1531, with the Medici back in power, both in Florence and on the papal throne, Maria used all her persuasive powers to resist her family’s, particularly her brother, Cardinal Giovanni’s pressure to remarry. She made it clear that she had no wish to remarry and desert Cosimo, as a widow remarrying would be required to do. Maria was styling herself as a “good mother” who would not abandon her son.1 1. For a discussion of the pressure put on Florentine widows to abandon their orphaned children upon remarriage, see Christiane Klapisch-Zuber, “The ‘Cruel Mother’: Maternity, Widowhood and

71

72 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI In 1532 and early 1533, the teenaged Cosimo joined Duke Alessandro de’ Medici on a trip to Bologna, as part of his entourage. While there, he was introduced to the Spanish king Charles V. Maria constantly requested news of their activities from either Riccio or Cosimo. The key topic of conversation was the search for a suitable bride for Cosimo, which involved negotiation with Duke Alessandro, Ippolito de’ Medici, and the pope. Despite Maria’s earnest desire for a marriage to take place, the regime’s leaders decided that it was not yet time for Cosimo to marry. Maria was involved in a dispute with Cosimo’s cousins over the inheritance of common property and warned Cosimo that arbitrators were coming to Bologna. This dispute was not finalized until 1535 in Maria’s and Cosimo’s favor. In spring 1533, Lucrezia advised her daughter that she had purchased a Turkish slave boy for Cosimo, and Maria despaired of assisting her widowed sister, Francesca Gualterottti’s in-laws with negotiating a marriage contract, suggesting a man might do better. Maria was invited by the pope to accompany Caterina di Lorenzo di Piero de’ Medici (Catherine de’ Medici) to France for her wedding to Henri, the Duke of Orléans, but was reluctant to do so because of the costs involved. Jacopo insisted that the pope’s invitation could not be refused, and that moreover it would benefit Cosimo. Catherine de’ Medici and Maria maintained a correspondence after that trip, but little of it remains. The one extant letter from Catherine de’ Medici, Duchess of Orléans, to Maria ends this section. In it, Catherine asked about the cost of silk garments that were made for her or her female servants, so that she could repay Maria for them.

Dowry in Florence in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries,” in her Women, Family and Ritual in Renaissance Italy (Chicago and London: Chicago University Press, 1985), 117–31.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 73 Letter 41: 10 January 1527 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici from Jacopo Salviati in Rome2 Illustrious Lady dearest daughter etcetera, We have [received]letters from most Reverend Monseigneur [Cardinal Giovanni Salviati] of the seventeenth of the last month from France, in which he advised us that he has done his duty with His Most Reverend Majesty [Francis I] for Cosimo because of his father’s death. To the servants of this Majesty, he [the king] wishes to [provide] relief to the son in some way.3 His Majesty doesn’t want his offer to appear to be built on sand, as he is well disposed to do something noble for him, of a sort that His Most Reverend Lordship [Giovanni Salviati] is very hopeful that everything will turn out well. May it please God that little by little it will be so. Overall, the tribulations and great cares are such that for now they impede us. But given some good arrangement for them as I hope will happen, also concerning your situation such a decision is taken that you will have reason to be comforted. Nothing else for now and farewell. Rome 10th January 1527. For Jacopo Salviati To Illustrious Lady, dearest daughter [Maria Salviati de’ Medici]

Letter 42: 11 January 1527 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence from Pierfrancesco Riccio in Venice4 Magnificent Lady, most honored patron, The present [letter] bearer Messer Francesco Franze is coming to Florence, I didn’t want him to come without some of mine. I assure Your Ladyship that your only son is very well, along with his two cousins; the bearer will be able to give you news about it face to face as he shared the same house with us. I wrote to Your Ladyship on the fourth of the present month via the usual courier, and certainly, I told him about everything we do at length.5 At present, I don’t have anything to tell you, except that we went to visit these elite men and all of them welcomed us warmly and I tell you that to us your only son could not have been better viewed by all. How much love was shown to him and favor done to him [from] Messer Marco Foscari (who was ambassador to Our Lord [Clement VII] when you were 2. MAP 85 563r, . 3. See letter 37, which refers to possibility of the French king’s compensating Maria and Cosimo for Giovanni’s loss, in gratitude for his service. 4. This letter is printed in Cesare Guasti, “Alcuni fatti delle prima giovinezza di Cosimo I de’ Medici,” GSAT 2 (1858): 44–45, . 5. This letter of 4 January 1527 is lost.

74 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI in Rome).6 I will not tell you as it would be superfluous because if he was his son he wouldn’t have had greater love, benevolence and reverence [for him]. Besides that, his three children adore him, and they can never see him enough and kiss him. We will wait to do ourselves some good will and thank all the city as is expected from our side. In truth, you haven’t ever seen such kindness, how your only son appears in front of everyone, sensible and prudent and prompt with his answers. May God grant him a long and prosperous life so that Your Ladyship can enjoy his most sweet success. I won’t say anymore, except to ask Your Ladyship, don’t withdraw your divine grace, as God willing, we will return soon to enjoy this most dear country [Florence], about which, I pray to God, continuously, and I know Your Ladyship that it is not unhelpful and to his divine light I recommend myself. Francesco de’ Medici could not be more loving toward your son and also Marcantonio Gondi and both recommend themselves to Your Ladyship,7 may God keep you happy. In Venice 11th of January 1526 [1527]. To Your Ladyship. [Your] humble servant Pierfrancesco Riccio. Postscript. This governing council [in Venice] has elected an ambassador to our Republic [of Florence] the magnificent Messer Marco Foscari, who had made such a fuss of Cosimo and Lorenzo, and as soon as I heard it, I sent Cosimo to pay his respects and he rejoiced with him offering him [respect] etcetera. We will leave here on Saturday, of which Your Ladyship is advised. When he [Foscari] leaves I will write to Your Ladyship, to whom with many new supplications, I recommend myself. In Venice, 15th of January 1526 [1527]. [Your] servant Riccio

6. Marco Foscari (1477–1551) was the Venetian ambassador to Rome and then Florence in the 1520s. Foscari held a banquet in honor of Cosimo and his cousins. See Giuseppe Gullino, “Foscari, Marco,” DBI 49 (1997). . 7. This is probably Francesco de’ Medici Minerbetti (d. 1543), Bishop of Arezzo, and a diplomat in Duke Cosimo I’s court. See Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, . Marcantonio Gondi was a member of a noble Florentine banking family.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 75

Figure 3. Detail, Letter 43 (ASF Mediceo avanti il Principato 85, 497r). With the permission of the Ministry for cultural activities and property and for tourism/ Florentine State Archive. Letter 43: 19 January 1527 To Jacopo Salviati from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence8 Jesus Maria, Magnificent most honored father, If I wasn’t certain that Your Magnificence has always loved me as much as each of your other daughters, I think I would have felt rejected by your letter of the fifth, in which I found nothing good, especially for me or my son, Cosimo.9 Later your other letter, written on the tenth, arrived10, which in large measure reduced my distress, especially since our most Reverend Monseigneur [Giovanni Salviati] wrote that he is not without hope of some benefit on his behalf with the Most Christian King [Francis I]and with Your Magnificence’s agreement. Because 8. MAP 85 497r, . 9. Maria is referring to a letter from Jacopo Salviati dated 1 May 1526 [1527]. This letter is MAP 85 562r, . 10. The letter dated 10 January 1526 [1527] is MAP 85 563r (letter 41), .

76 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI my Messer Jacopo I find myself here without any comfort or happiness and truly I see all matters concerning my son going to ruin, I remind you that I am still your daughter and Cosimo your grandson, and if someone deserves to or must be loved by relatives, I think I should be that one. I have been troubled for many years and suffered patiently what perhaps no other creature has suffered, and if Your Magnificence abandons me and this poor orphan and you leave us thus in the hand of fortune, I guarantee you, it will be one of the most miserable things ever done, because you will have offended yourself. I will be excused under any circumstance and the Lord God will pardon me, reminding you with very humble reverence that you can’t make a better sacrifice to God than to assist widows and orphans with their troubles. Therefore, I would ask you, with tears in my eyes that you be happy to take some initiative for my health and the [health] of my unfortunate son, who, being left to his devices, goes to waste, which is something that God doesn’t permit but may He dispose His Holiness, Our Lord and Your Magnificence so that you will take care of it and so we will be relieved of our troubles and woes etcetera. Lorenzo Cecchi wrote to me that he will take the galleon in order to bring our Lord’s [Clement VII’s] grain to Rome and that will last better than one thousand gold ducats.11 I replied to him saying that he must use them, and not to lose such a good opportunity, making someone keep good account of the whole matter. He says that he has written to Your Magnificence too and that he is waiting for your opinion. Because you did not reply to him, you can, if you think it’s a good idea, reply to use them [the ducats], and try to recharge it [the galleon] since it is not a low quantity, or make from that quantity [of ducats]. a consignment [of grain], and to do the same with the other ships, that, he says, are in Fano, telling us everything and to Your Magnificence I always recommend myself. May God etcetera. From Florence 19 January 1526 [1527]. To Your Magnificence, a good daughter. In Florence. Maria Salviati de’ Medici Copy of a [letter] written [and] sent to magnificent elder my father. Letter 44: 23 January 1527 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence from Pierfrancesco Riccio in Venice12 Magnificent Lady, most honored patron. Concerning the letter dated the second of the present month,13 there is nothing else to answer, unless putting everything else aside, I will try to observe, 11. A galleon was a Spanish sailing ship. Maria wrote again, almost three months later, about using the galleon to transport grain again for the benefit of the pope, to Lorenzo Checci—most probably an agent of the Salviati bank in Rome. A rough draft of this letter is MAP 85 590r–v. . 12. This letter is printed in Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 45–46. 13. The letter of 1 February 1526 [1527] has not survived.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 77 as quickly as possible the precepts and instructions of Your Ladyship for the health and safety of your son. I will thank all of those people on behalf of Your Ladyship whom I know to be to your profit and honor; although I have not failed to do it up until now. I have visited on Your Ladyship’s behalf your brother, Alamanno,14 and, according to what he tells me, he has had letters from his most reverend [Cardinal Giovanni Salviati]. He re-greets Your Ladyship and recommends himself together with Lorenzo Strozzi and the others.15 Thanks to God your son is very well. Lorenzo and Giuliano are in a good mood and are most happily recommending themselves to Your Ladyship. I have nothing new to say to you except that we continue to visit some of these elite men. The favor toward your only son increases daily with each man. We paid respects to the papal legate, [to Venice] a man most affectionate towards our house as one has ever seen.16 He made a great fuss of Cosimo and showed him particular love because of the friendship he had with his father of blessed memory and because of the kindness he appears to have for his son. To whom may God grant a long, prosperous life, so that Your Ladyship may draw from it the happiness that you wish. To you as much as I can, I humbly recommend myself. In Venice, 23rd day of January 1526 [1527]. To Your Ladyship. humble servant, Pierfrancesco Riccio

Letter 45: 30 January 1527 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici from Cosimo de’ Medici in Venice17 Magnificent and dearest mother, I want Your Ladyship to believe what the teacher [Pierfrancesco Riccio] wrote to you because it’s true. It upsets me that you were told that I fell in the street and that when I arrived in Venice I was completely shattered. This was never 14. Alamanno di Jacopo Salviati (1510–1571) was Maria’s youngest brother. See Hurtubise, Une famille-témoin, 499. 15. This Lorenzo Strozzi could be Lorenzo di Filippo di Matteo Strozzi (1482–1549), who was the brother and biographer of Filippo di Filippo di Matteo Strozzi (1489–1537). In January 1527, this line of the Strozzi were still intimately connected to the Medici by Filippo’s connection to the papal court as adviser and banker and through Filippo’s marriage to Clarice Medici Strozzi (1493–1528), sister of Lorenzo de’ Medici, Duke of Urbino. On Filippo Strozzi and his relationship with the Medici prior to 1537, see M. M. Bullard, Filippo Strozzi and the Medici: Favor and Finance in Sixteenth-Century Florence and Rome (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980). 16. This was Altobello Averardo (1468–1538), Bishop of Pola. See Franco Gaeta, “Averoldi, Altobello,” DBI 4 (1962), . 17. MAP 85 501r, . This letter is also printed in Cosimo I de’ Medici, Lettere, ed. Giorgio Spini (Florence: Vallecchi, 1940), 9.

78 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI true. Believe Your Ladyship that I don’t have a head injury, only some damage. I have always been very well, and I am better. I sleep in bed alone and I do what the teacher tells me on Your Ladyship’s behalf, whom I ask to wish me well. Don’t believe in these false matters.18 You think that the teacher loves me more than a son and I regard him as a father and as such I recommend him and also myself to you. I kiss your hand and [ask] that you pray to God for me. In Venice, 30th day of January 1526 [1527]. Your son, Cosimo Medici To Magnificent Lady, Maria Salviati de Medici, most honored mother, in Florence

Letter 46: 1 February 1527 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence from Jacopo Salviati in Rome19 Illustrious Lady, dearest daughter, I have your letter of the 19th of the present month, in which I don’t think you needed to use the words that you used in it with me.20 Because you know that I have always loved you as much as any other of my daughters and sons that I have ever had, as I tried to show you by actions, always all that I was able to do in the past. so, I am also trying to do for the future and about this don’t have any doubts. It breaks my heart that you have reason to be in such a bad mood, to see Cosimo’s situation getting worse, also I don’t know how I can avoid making the times run in the direction they are going in. All of the [financial] remembrances that I have given for the benefit of Cosimo, I will not fail to execute. I will always do for him everything I can do as if he were one of my own children. But if I can, I only know what is told to me to guess what should be done to provide for and repair your situation, I don’t know how I could do more than I have done. I think it is impossible for the pope that in this [situation] he needs to remove from everyone [ money?] to give to him. I have written about it to the [papal] legate in France and I also had it written about to His Holiness through His Most Reverend Lordship [Cardinal Salviati] who wants to give you some provision and the Most Christian King [Francis I], as I have written you, has continuously held out hope and from these last letters that we have had, that His Majesty will make available again two thousand ducats, via Benino. Be careful to ensure that it is not given to anyone else and hope that His Majesty is demonstrative to Cosimo in every way.

18. Alamanno Salviati also sent Maria a letter dated the same day as Cosimo’s, telling her that what she had been informed about Cosimo’s health was not correct. MAP 85 503r, . 19. MAP 85 565r, . 20. This is Jacopo Salviati’s reply to letter 43.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 79 I wrote to Cecchino in Ancona many times and I think he will not fail with every diligence and study possible to benefit your situation.21 Therefore, do not disconcert yourself so, and think about how to manage yourself with that virtue and prudence that is appropriate to your station and as you have always done. Nothing else for now and farewell. Rome 1st of February 1527. For Jacopo Salviati To Illustrious Lady Maria Salviati de’ Medici, dearest daughter

Letter 47: 17 February 1527 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence from Cosimo de’ Medici in Venice22 Oh, how much consolation do I take from your letters, most honored mother, when I hear about your good health and your most holy documents.23 God willing, soon you will hear about it in person as I hear about it in letters! I have received the box you sent me, and I will enjoy it for love of you, and when I return from Padua, I will send you one in exchange that I have to order for you. I am very well and Lorenzo and Giuliano and we all send you kisses. To Your Ladyship I recommend myself. May God etcetera. In Venice, 17th day of February 1526 [1527]. To Your Ladyship. [Your] humble son, Cosimo Medici To Magnificent Madonna Maria Salviati de’ Medici, my dearest mother, in Florence

Letter 48: 19 February 1527 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence from Francesco Maria I Della Rovere in Casalmaggiore24 Illustrious Lady like a sister, I’ve had the letter from Your Ladyship, which made me want to write to His Most Christian Majesty [Francis I] to recommend Cosimo because of 21. “Cecchino” may be an affectionate nickname for the Lorenzo Cecchi, referred to in letter 43. 22. MAP 85 520r, . This letter is printed in Medici, Lettere, 10–11. 23. These “most holy documents” may be a hyperbolic or rhetorical reference to this particular letter being written by Maria herself (an autograph). Receiving an autograph letter was a privilege. One such recipient told the sender (Isabella d’Este) that he was treating her autograph letters as “holy relics.” See Carolyn James, “Letters,” in Early Modern Emotions: An Introduction, ed. Susan Broomhall (London and New York: Routledge, 2017), 122. It may also be a more mundane reference to religious books she may have sent him with her letter. 24. MAP 85 570r, .

80 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI the [military] company of his Illustrious father of blessed memory.25 [. . .] Several days ago, I wrote of such matters to His Majesty. I am sending to Your Ladyship a draft of the letter I wrote, which is enclosed. Notwithstanding that I have replied to His Present Majesty about such matters which I attach here, I had not wanted to send it through the territory of the Most Illustrious Lord Marquis of Saluzzo knowing that His Excellency [the Marquis] had sought the said company for his Lord brother,26 therefore Your Ladyship will send it as you see fit. Concerning that Grega that Your Ladyship recommended to me,27 I answer you that the belongings of the Illustrious Lord Giovanni of blessed memory with the money is with me to distribute according to his last instructions. I have distributed them all. All that remains is the money left for Lucantonio [Cuppano],28 which I will keep on his behalf. Nothing else occurs to me except to remind Your Ladyship that if you want anything, I will always do what I can for you. I recommend myself to you. From Casalmaggiore, on the 19th of February 1527. Like a brother the Duke of Urbino29 To Illustrious Lady like a sister Madonna Maria Salviati de’ Medici etcetera

Letter 49: 2 March 1527 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence from Cosimo de’ Medici in Venice30 Dearest mother, From yours of the 22nd of February,31 I have taken great comfort. Seeing that Your Ladyship has given me hope of my imminent return, may it please God that we are able to enjoy love and our possessions with great peace.32 25. The “company” was a military company of soldiers, in which both men fought. 26. The Marquis of Saluzzo was Michele Antonio (1495–1528) who was also a career soldier fighting for the French king. 27. Grega was probably a poor person that Maria suggested should receive Giovanni’s clothes and money as an act of charity. 28. Lucantonio Cuppano (d. 1557) was Giovanni de’ Medici’s lieutenant. 29. Francesco Maria I Della Rovere (1490–1538) was a career soldier and the Duke of Urbino. Giovanni de’ Medici fought under him when Francesco Maria I was commander of the Italian troops fighting with the French king. See Gino Benzoni, “Francesco Maria I Della Rovere,” DBI 50 (1998), ; Ian F. Verstegen, “Francesco Maria and the Duchy of Urbino, between Rome and Venice,” in Patronage and Dynasty: The Rise of the Della Rovere in Renaissance Italy, ed. Ian F. Verstegen (Kirksville, MO: Truman State University Press, 2007), 141–60. 30. MAP 85 528r, . This letter is also printed in Medici, Lettere, 11. 31. This letter has not survived. 32. Cosimo may be referring to contemporary, well-founded, fears about Italy being overrun and ransacked by imperial troops. For the context, see Mallett and Shaw, Italian Wars, 158–59. For the

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 81 I have been in Padua with our Monseigneur [Cardinal Giovanni Salviati] and he has made much fuss over me. Since the weather is very fine, I went to Vincenza and there we enjoyed eight days of great fun, as it seemed to us as if we were being born again on dry land, riding every day to certain beautiful places and villas. I have been, and I am very well and I continuously pray to God for everyone’s health. In the meantime, I will try, with the grace of God, to maintain my health so that I am able to return to Your Ladyship in that state in which I left you. Humbly I recommend myself, May God etcetera. In Venice, 2nd day of March 1526 [1527]. To Your Ladyship. [Your] humble son Cosimo Medici To Magnificent and dearest mother Madonna Maria Salviati de’ Medici, in Florence

Letter 50: 1 May 1527 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Pistoia from Pierfrancesco Riccio in Padua33 Magnificent Lady, Most Honored Lady From the fifteenth of April until now, I have written continuously to Your Ladyship,34 and we are expecting one of your letters with the greatest desire to hear about your wellbeing and how you are in these difficult times.35 From then until now, we haven’t been able to learn anything. We wrote almost every day to Venice, there is no one there who knows anything about it. Hence our sadness and admiration increase. Also, I have done much since I learnt that Your Ladyship was leaving Florence for Pistoia for your security. We are not having these German troops swallow us up. Your son is very well and happy, every day the affection of these Monseigneurs increases towards him and his familiars.36 The atmosphere couldn’t be more joyous or propitious. Also, we ask God always to remove this flame from Italy, so that etcetera.37 civilian massacres that occurred during the Italian wars between 1494 and 1529, see Stephen D. Bowd, Renaissance Mass Murder: Civilians and Soldiers During the Italian Wars (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2018). 33. MAP 140 68r, . This letter is also printed in Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 46–47. 34. These letters from Pierfrancesco Riccio to Maria have not survived. 35. This is a reference to the fear about the arrival of German soldiers of the Imperial Army in Tuscany and the risk of its sacking of Florence. See Najemy, History of Florence, 447–48; Mallett and Shaw, Italian Wars, 159–60. 36. These unspecified references to senior clergy may refer to some of the relevant men mentioned in letters 42 or 44, including Maria’s elder brother, Cardinal Giovanni. 37. The “flame” that must be removed from Italy is another reference to the German troops.

82 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI Monseigneur [Salviati], several days ago, wrote to Your Ladyship about Cosimo’s house in Rome, and he would dearly want to have a reply. Today, I understand from Venice from one [letter] of Lorenzo de’ Medici that everyone is well. Nothing else to say. To Your Ladyship, humbly I recommend myself. From Padua, First day of May 1527. To Your Ladyship [your] humble servant, Riccio 38 To Maria Salviati in Florence or wherever you were.

Letter 51: 11 May 1527 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici from Pierfrancesco Riccio in Padua39 Magnificent Lady, most honored by me, Expecting a letter from Your Ladyship with the greatest desire, today yours of the 27th of April was brought to me, most gratefully, having heard about how you are.40 The other [letter] that you accused me [of not replying to] of the 22nd of the said month, has not yet arrived. I heard and well understood what you wrote about in relation to your son, repeated in the letter, which I shall not fail to do, and be of good cheer. I have made the recommendations to the two Monseigneurs and they have been accepted well, and they send back to Your Ladyship double, confirming to you that your son is growing in the affections every day of one or other of the Monseigneurs. By the same [letter] I understand that Your Ladyship has left Florence because of the tumults,41 which I think is quite correct. I think by now you will have returned, as (by the grace of God) the tumults have ceased,42 and the two camps have gone away.43 May it please God to liberate us from such troubles.

38. See Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 46 n. 2, who explains that Maria was actually in Pistoia. 39. MAP 140 69r, . This letter is also printed in Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 47. 40. This letter has not survived. 41. These “tumults” on 26 April 1527 referred to an anti-Medicean revolt, known as the “Friday uprising,” which initially subsided. See Najemy, History of Florence, 448. 42. On the day Riccio wrote this letter (11 May 1527), the Medici regime fell, after news reached Florence of the sack of Rome on 6 May and the imprisonment of Pope Clement VII in Castel Sant’Angelo. See Najemy, History of Florence, 449. In fact, Maria traveled toward Venice after she left Florence, Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 47 n. 3. 43. This is a reference to the Imperial and French troops, see Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 47 n. 4.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 83 Cosimo is very well and every need of his is provided for totally. My Magdalena can’t be anything but well,44 and thanks God and Your Ladyship for it, to whom I humbly recommend myself. Padua, 11th of May 1527. [Your] humble servant, Riccio To Maria Salviati de’ Medici

Letter 52: 20 May 1527 To Francesco Fortunati in Florence from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Venice45 Reverend Priest, most honored as a father [Francesco Fortunati], We have by the grace of God, arrived safely in Venice, where my son has come too, who is in good health and recommends himself much to Your Reverence. Please write to me about what is happening after my departure in Rome and in Florence and immediately about one or the other city.46 Comfort yourself, when you know the danger you can avoid it. Don’t expect that [the danger] is so imminent that you can’t flee. Your Reverence will be able to foresee it and withdraw to Venice, where with us you will be well and secure until it pleases God to end these tribulations. Nothing else occurs to me now, I recommend myself to Your Reverence. May God etcetera. In Venice, 20th day of May 1527. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To the most reverend parish priest of Cascina, Messer Francesco Fortunati, most honorable father, in Florence Letter 53: 1 June 1527 To Ser Giovanni Goretti in Florence from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Venice47 Ser Giovanni [Goretti], I have received your two [letters].48 In reply I say to you that you have done well with Fino to hew out [the stone] of the wall designated by me and in giving advice, I conclude that the rain water tank is to be built where [rain] is likely to fall. But it is better not to begin building before we know

44. Magdalena may have been one of Riccio’s five sisters. Fragnito, “Un pratese,” 31. 45. MAP 69 433r, . 46. Maria is referring to being kept informed about the events that are happening in Rome after its sack on 6 May and in Florence after the fall of the Medici regime on 11 May. See letter 51, note 41 and the references cited there. 47. MAP 140 5r–bis v, . This letter is also printed in Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 48–49. 48. Giovanni Goretti was a priest and Maria’s chaplain.

84 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI what the Imperial troops are doing.49 I am telling you that the exit to that room is nailed up, so that it can’t be opened. About the wine, you have dealt with most expeditiously, as already the plague has not penetrated, as it is not God’s will.50 You should let Mona Piera at Castello know that I want her sent two and a half ounces of silkworm eggs from those she judges the best. Let Agnoletta from Trebbio know to put aside many others of them. Give the silk to the nuns of Santa Caterina [of Siena] to reel.51 The peeling of the said [silk] gets combed. Martia will spin it. When the silk is reeled, I want Mona Ginevra to cook the cocoons as she did last year and to order them in the same way and the previously named Martia will spin it.52 Write to Bartolino at the farms to come to Florence,53 to settle the accounts with Giovanni the butcher and pay him as he has promised him, and make sure he [the butcher] makes a receipt in his own hand. 49. Contemporaries were unsure as to what the future might bring after the sack of Rome. The imperial troops were still in Rome at this time. See Mallett and Shaw, Italian Wars, 162. 50. Bouts of bubonic plague often occurred in summer, between May and September. See Ann G. Carmichael, Plague and the Poor in Renaissance Florence (London and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1986), 63–67; Samuel K. Cohn, Jr., Cultures of Plague: Medical Thinking at the End of the Renaissance (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2010), 63, 65. For contemporaries’ views that plague was the result of bad air that could “penetrate” all types of “openings,” see Nicholas A. Eckstein, “Florence on Foot: An Eye-Level Mapping of the Early Modern City in Time of Plague,” RS 30, no. 2 (2016): 273–97, 275 n. 9. 51. On the convent of Santa Caterina of Siena, a tertiary order, and their involvement in reeling silk, see Strocchia, Nuns and Nunneries, 118. A contemporary Florentine chronicler recorded that after her death on 12 December 1543, Maria’s body was brought from her villa at Castello “to Santa Caterina in the Piazza of San Marco [in Florence], a convent she much loved.” See Enrico Coppi, ed., Cronaca fiorentina, 1537–1555 (Florence: Olschki, 2000), 27. Maria was supposedly buried in the habit of a Dominican tertiary, the order to which the convent belonged. See Natalie R. Tomas, “Commemorating a Mortal Goddess: Maria Salviati de’ Medici and the Cultural Politics of Duke Cosimo I,” in Practices of Gender in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe, ed. Megan Cassidy-Welch and Peter Sherlock (Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2008), 263. 52. For a discussion of the Italian silk industry, its production processes and women’s extensive involvement in it, in Florence and elsewhere, see Luca Molà, “A Luxury Industry: The Production of Italian Silks, 1400–1600,” in Europe’s Rich Fabric: The Consumption, Commercialisation and Production of Luxury Textiles in Italy, the Low Countries and Neighbouring Territories, Fourteenth–Sixteenth Centuries, ed. Bart Lambert and Katherine Anne Wilson (Farnham, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate/London and New York: Routledge, 2016), 205–34. For a discussion of women’s involvement in the manufacture of silk in cloistered environments in Florence, see Strocchia, Nuns and Nunneries, 116–44; Nicholas Terpstra, Lost Girls: Sex and Death in Renaissance Florence (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010), 66–80. 53. Maria is referring to the Medici villa at Poggio a Caiano, which had three farms. See Tomas, Medici Women, 116.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 85 If the goods I asked for have been sent to Venice and if you sent them as we believe safely, [then] your Benedetto doesn’t need to return here anymore; rather he remains there at home and so you will inform him on my behalf. My shirts and handkerchiefs were for the novices and other things that they will bleach. Inform them [that] they arrive together with the other things and give them the enclosed.54 Be well. In Venice, First day of June 1527. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Giovanni Goretti, parish priest of Corezzo in Florence Letter 54: 23 August 1527 To Don Francesco Suasio at Trebbio from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Venice55 Reverend Lord [Suasio], I have written to you several times and the last of my [letters] were, on the 19th of the present month,56 sent on to Giovanni Spina.57 I am very surprised that you haven’t written to me anymore, especially as you knowing these difficult situations to be the moment to have news about your situation and about the family members. Because in truth, I am, and have been, in a bad mood. Therefore, write to me happily at least once a week, and keep me advised about what you judge is most appropriate, so that my mind is able to be not so distracted. Take care to remain well and look after yourself. May God help us. In Venice, on the 23rd of August 1527. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Reverend Messer Don Francesco Suasio, parish priest etcetera at Trebbio Letter 55: Undated 1527 or 1528 To Pope Clement VII from Maria Salviati de’ Medici58 Most Blessed Father [Pope Clement VII], I don’t intend to [do] otherwise with this my letter than to console myself with Your Holiness about the damned persecution and adverse fortune you have suffered in these difficult times. Because of the favor of God on high, you have 54. The linen may have been given to the novices to turn into clothes for the convent community or they may have been given to the convent to turn into linen garments for sale as some convents earned income this way. Strocchia, Nuns and Nunneries, 116–17. 55. MAP 106 144r, . This letter is also available printed in Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 49. 56. This letter has not survived. 57. Giovanni Spina was an employee of the Salviati Bank in Florence. See John Addington Symonds, The Life of Michelangelo Buonarroti: Based on Studies in the Archives of the Buonarroti Family at Florence (1893; Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press., 2002), vol. 1, 373, n. 2. 58. MAP 137 950r, .

86 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI luckily escaped the shipwrecks and liberated yourself and us, which is all important, that’s how I remain unburdened and happy with my poor son more than I can say or write about. Truly Holy Father, when it happened to us it was the worst of the worst to understand your misfortunes, indeed ours, I don’t doubt you have suffered with them and troubles I don’t doubt are worse and with such an inauspicious end.59 But since it pleased God to save us [and] you I don’t think I can endure any more situations of such importance with much tears and intense sadness and follow that now by wishing you well. The death of my only son would appear more acceptable and tolerable. I don’t want to bother Your Holiness anymore; I only ask and supplicate you not to forget our poor son. I am weighed down every day and I suffocate in public as much as in private in a manner that I have become desperate to be able to maintain heartfelt worthiness for Jesus Christ as much as I can. I kiss the outstretched hands of Your Holiness, whom I respect and love and to whom I humbly recommend myself with all my heart. [1527 (1528)]60

Letter 56: 2 September 1528 To Filippo degli Strozzi in Lyons from Maria Salviati de’ Medici at Trebbio61 Magnificent Sir most respected kinsman,62 We are, my son and I, in an exhausting and consuming situation not only for the private debts, but for those of the Commune [of Florence], which I think is a bad situation as I haven’t found anyone here to support me so I can catch my breath. The reason we wish to ask Your Magnificence most appealingly is that [as] the creditors squeeze and suffocate us, it is to you, who, moved to pity, is happy to support us this year having from us received 200 ducats at this time as I give you my word that it is impossible for us to do it otherwise. We strengthen ourselves after the said time to respond to you in a way that is satisfactory, squeezing it, requesting it and with all my heart I ask you not to deny us such favor, as otherwise thinking about you pressing us, I don’t know any other way to provide it. We strengthen ourselves nonetheless with all our power, if first we were able to this year to offer up to another 200 ducats, even then, we won’t be able to support ourselves totally. A greater favor for us will be if you have patience all of this year; no 59. On Pope Clement VII’s fate during the sack of Rome, see Gouwens and Reiss, Pontificate of Clement VII. 60. This is a draft of a letter to Pope Clement VII and is without allocation, signature, or date. The contents of the letter suggest it was written in the aftermath of the sack of Rome sometime after May 1527. The page continues on with the draft of another letter, which I have not translated. 61. C.S. III 30 3r. This is a copy of the original letter. There is a note in the left-hand margin that says: “Maria Salviati de’ Medici is drowning in debt, asks for time and acts toward Filippo Strozzi in order to satisfy him.” This summary of the letter was probably written by the copyist. 62. Filippo Strozzi was Maria’s first cousin by virtue of his marriage to Clarice Medici Strozzi. On his banking career and connections with the Medici family, see Bullard, Filippo Strozzi.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 87 less when you will be happy with the 200. I won’t say anything else to you except that awaiting a positive response, Cosimo and I recommend ourselves much to Your Magnificence. From Trebbio on the 2nd day of September 1528. Kinswoman and sister, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Magnificent Sir Lord Filippo Strozzi, most respected, in Lyons

Letter 57: 12 May 1529 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici at Castello from Caterina Salviati de’ Nerli in Florence63 Dear sister, greetings etcetera, A woman, a friend of our father’s house, came to me, as she has a son who really wants to become a Servite friar. Since she is a poor woman, she is looking for a small favor from the Reverend prior of that place to be accepted there. She asked me again if I knew someone who was the most appropriate to obtain this small favor. Since, the said woman, mother of the above-mentioned son, referred me to [the person] whose name is Giovanbattista Salvadore, weaver, who is the master of the novices, he has promised and thinks that with the favor of one of your letters to the prior, he will easily obtain it and I am most certain that for love of me you will do it. Nothing else. May Christ protect you from evil. I recommend myself to Cosimo and to the Lady and tell them about the many thanks to you remaining.64 In Florence, on the 12th day of May 1529. Your dear sister, Madonna Caterina Salviati de’ Nerli To her beloved sister, Madonna Maria, widow of Lord Giovanni de’ Medici at Castello

Letter 58: 7 May 1530 To Jacopo Salviati in Rome from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Imola65 Magnificent lord my most honored father, Pantaleone Pantaleoni bearer of the present letter is a noble person, of good family and a servant of our house.66 Having been entrusted with my letter to Your Lordship, he is about to come to Rome, forced by many honorable reasons as his late father, Messer Giovanni [Pantaleoni] was given the Rocca d’Oriolo, fortress 63. MAP 85 635r, . 64. “Lady” probably refers to Maria Soderini, Maria’s sister-in-law. 65. C.S. I 335 16r or 33r. 66. Pantaleone Pantaleoni (1500–1580).

88 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI of Imola and the governorship of the said citadel, which he justly administered.67 For several days [after] that death it remained in the governance of the aforesaid Pantaleone two offices, then the president came, [which] left him only a position in the fortress, whose administration he has carried out continuously as a young man in a very mature way, as all the castellans and other trustworthy people have affirmed. But because the aforesaid Pantaleone is a poor gentleman, not able to resist assistance because of his straitened circumstances, through the intercession and favor of Your Lordship he hopes to regain governorship of the aforesaid castle, that is almost nothing, as Your Lordship will be able to understand. I am asking you from the heart, that the said Pantaleone is helped as surely you will favor and give assistance to someone who deserves it. As a servant, he will be your slave. If Your Lordship thinks that it is best, ask our Lord [Clement VII] this evening [about] the form [of the assistance]. If not, I return to Your Lordship’s embrace to whom I recommend myself much from the heart. Lady Aloisa and Cosimo are with me in good health and recommend themselves much to Your Lordship.68 May God keep us happy. From Imola the 7th of May 1530. To Your Lordship. [your] good daughter Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Magnificent Lord Sir Jacopo Salviati, my most honored father in Rome

Letter 59: 24 August 1530 To Lucrezia Salviati in Rome from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Imola69 Magnificent Lady most honored mother. As Your Ladyship must know our Pier Gualterotti became ill in Bologna about eleven days ago and at the end of the eighth day he awoke heavily bleeding with such malignancy, that neither the diligence of most excellent doctors, nor the best medicine, nor good care cured him. As it pleased God, he has left this earthly prison and his soul has gone to rest, which was late on the 22nd of the present month; his wife [Francesca Salviati] and Madonna Lisabetta having arrived four hours before his death which gave him the greatest consolation.70 How sad I am and how hard it is, I truly believe, to write to Your Ladyship about it. Yet to content oneself with what appeals to the will of God is strong. So, such unhappiness is ended. 67. Giovanni Pantaleoni (1460–1530). 68. This Lady Aloisa (Luisa) cannot be Maria’s sister Luisa, as she died in 1525. I have been unable to find out anything further about this woman. 69. C.S. I 335 c. 47r or c. 88r. 70. Pier Gualterrotti was Maria’s brother-in-law and Francesca Salviati’s first husband. She was remarried to Ottaviano de’ Medici in 1533. I am unaware of who Lisabetta is, possibly a female relative of Pier.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 89 Cosimo and the lady and I are well by the grace of the Lord and we recommend ourselves to Your Ladyship and to everyone [else]; we deign to greet everyone, for love of all of us.71 From Imola the 24th of August 1530. To Your Ladyship. Most obedient daughter, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Magnificent Madonna Lucrezia Salviati de’ Medici, most honored mother in Rome

Letter 60: 3 May 1531 To Giovanni in Rome from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence72 Reverend and Magnificent honored as a brother, 73 Awaiting Your Lordship’s letters for several days with desire, I have been pressured and overwhelmed by the arguments and persuasions of most reverend Monseigneur my brother [Cardinal Giovanni Salviati]. Meanwhile, while his letters did not show up as he had promised me; unable to wait any more, I have pitched my case, as Your Lordship will see by the copy of my letter enclosed with this one. After his letter of the 25th of April appeared much later —it was presented to me at this very moment on the third of May—I took no small pleasure in it for many reasons. First for having understood the thoughts of our Lord who is very loving towards my son and me (as I have always considered him to be).74 Furthermore, because I know, how affectionately Your Lordship handles our affairs, mindful of the happy recollection of the lord father [ Pope Clement VII] of my son and my lord consort, and lovingly towards what his memory has left behind, that is Cosimo, who wishes to be heir to the friendship that was held with Your Lordship, believing it to be the most important things that has remained to him [Cosimo]. But enough with words where the occasion for reciprocal deeds presents itself. Thus, it is necessary, our Messer Giovanni for Your Lordship to go to Our Lord [Clement VII] and explain to him once again how, as soon as that blessed soul of my lord consort had left us, in that instant, I decided to live always with 71. This could be the Luisa referred to in the previous letter (letter 59). 72. MAP 140 11r–v, 11bis r–v, . This letter is printed in Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 28–30; it has also been translated into English in Lisa Kaborycha, ed., A Corresponding Renaissance: Letters Written by Italian Women, 1375–1650 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016), 119–21, with a short introduction to the letter at 118. I have used this translation with some minor amendments. 73. This is a secretarial draft and the name of the addressee is missing. From the letter’s contents, it must refer to a prelate at the papal court, who enjoys a good relationship with the pope. See Kaborycha, Corresponding Renaissance, 118. 74. This refers to Pope Clement VII.

90 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI my son for many reasons that would be lengthy to relate by letter. For one very special reason, I considered that my son, having been born of such especially fortunate lineage, was not going to be abandoned by me. I would be able to be of much greater use to him by staying with him than by leaving him. I have been of this mind up until now and I hold fast. Seeing at present the convictions of His Holiness, the strong arguments of my parents, the terrible reasoning of my most reverend brother to do the opposite, feeling both doubtful and anxious, I wrote again to His Holiness and all of my family, so that by now he [Giovanni Salviati] would have had a chance to read it, not that he would have a change of heart for the above-mentioned reasons, and for that reason I will say what I shall say next, to be repeated to His Holiness by Your Lordship. They want to give me Signor Lionello as a husband,75 a man who is fiftyeight years old, whose body is unpleasantly formed, whose breath seriously stinks, and who has the worst constitution imaginable. All of this I have understood firsthand and have heard as much lately from Messer Gabriel Cesano,76 whose word I believe entirely as he has spoken and eaten many times with the aforesaid Lord Lionello. In truth, to recall it frightens me. My family members I mentioned are blazing with anger over this, beyond all imagining, especially the most Reverend my brother. He sends me fiery letters, and from the two that I am sending with this one, you can see for yourself and show them to His Holiness, so that he can know what drove me to the response that I made; by no means would I be bound [in marriage], if possible but I did not know what to do or say on my own behalf. So our Messer Giovanni, I desire, would like and pray Your Lordship to let Our Lord see the two letters that I mentioned, so that in some suitable way, he could make His Reverence my brother and parents cease their efforts, in that undertaking, that is to have me married, as His Holiness will find a way especially considering what I wrote earlier about Signor Lionello’s constitution. For if His Holiness does not accept this as his own special care, and does not throw them off this course, I don’t know how I will be able to escape, knowing them to be so fired up about this. Above all I beg of Your Lordship to warn His Holiness not to disclose these letters or to mention having seen them, nor let it be known that they come from me, since I would not like to have to fight with the aforesaid Monseigneur as well as with my parents, and His Holiness can very well convince them if it is his will. If, however, His Holiness, against all my wishes, is pleased for me to do this, and it seems to him that I ought to go through with it, may he command me to do so, for I would throw myself into fire for him. Otherwise I would like to be of use to Cosimo, remaining [single] as I am. As regards Cosimo’s settlement, I am not 75. See Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 28 who identifies this man as Lionello Pio da Carpi, who was a papal legate in the Romagna in 1530 and died possibly in 1535. 76. Messer Giovanni Cesano (Gabriello Maria from Cesano) (1490–1568) was a lawyer and humanist with friends in intellectual circles; see Benvenuto Cellini, My Life, trans. Julia Conway Bondanella and Peter Bondanella (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), 431–32.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 91 displeased that the thirty thousand ducats of my dowry will go to him and I know that His Holiness will want that as well.77 He will conclude that by not binding me in marriage—for I do not have the slightest thought of it—he especially can carry this out, because if he wishes it to be so, signor Leonello will have to do as his Beatitude desires, provided that he urges him warmly. I pray Your Lordship speak and argue my case on Cosimo’s behalf before His Holiness and repulse these maneuvers for my sake, with that prudence which is called for in matters of utmost importance. By the by and encouraged by Your Lordship’s offers [of help] and your good disposition towards us, I would like you to manage a matter with His Holiness involving Alessandro del Caccia, to whom my dearly departed lord owed several hundred ducats (as Your Lordship knows better than me).78 As this Alessandro owes the same amount to His Holiness, I say that Your Lordship ought to arrange for His Holiness to cancel the debt, doing this as a favor and benefit to Cosimo, as Alessandro is demanding this of us very forcefully at the moment. If Your Lordship might deign to trouble himself by putting this to His Holiness. I am nearly certain he will not fail to do us this favor, as His Holiness will not have to lay out a cent. For this we will be forever obliged to Your Lordship; along with me, Cosimo most heartily commends himself to you. Once again, I beg you to bring about a happy resolution to this matter. May God grant you your every wish. From Florence, the 3rd day of May 1531. To Your Lordship. As a sister, Maria Salviati de’ Medici P.S. There is yet one more way [to do this] without bothering my family, namely that Our Lord makes signor Lionello understand that he [should] have other expectations, as His Holiness can do him much good.79 I once again beg Your Lordship to entreat His Holiness not to discuss what I have written on this matter with anyone, don’t fail, on account of the many considerations involved, to be warned that the two letters of His most Reverend [Cardinal Giovanni Salviati] that are included with this one are not to be seen by a soul, and as soon as you have read them send them back to me immediately. To Giovanni . . . In Rome

77. This refers to payment of a dowry for Maria’s proposed second marriage. 78. This man could be Alessandro del Caccia (1487–1557), a soldier and holder of diplomatic offices in Duke Cosimo I’s court. See Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, . 79. Maria is suggesting that Lionello marry another member of the Medici family instead of her via the good offices of the pope. Lionello eventually married a widow from another branch of the Medici family. See Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 28.

92 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI Letter 61: 26 December 1532 To Pierfrancesco Riccio in Bologna from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence80 Messer Pierfrancesco [Riccio], I received one of yours dated the twentieth of the present month, to which now I will respond only to one particular detail.81 I will certainly visit and court Domenico Canigiani to confer with him about our business affairs, it’s not your responsibility. This included [letter] goes as you see to Francesco Gamberelli, nephew of Madonna Caterina, make sure you give him good service. With the said letter, his brother sent him a scudo, and because I don’t want to send money in letters, I have kept it, and for this [reason], don’t forget to return it to him over there [Bologna], making me the debtor [to you]. I will not continue [on] with anything else for now. Don’t forget to give me news about Cosimo and all our other [people], more quickly than you do, that is, you haven’t done it for four to six days. Because an hour seems like a thousand years to hear news about the well-being of my son, to whom together with my father, I recommend myself to you. I don’t need to remind you to take good care of him. If anything happens, let me know, so it won’t be missed. Soon you will be able to tell him [Cosimo] that La Mosca is fat and healthy but that she has never had any canine teeth and doesn’t show any sign of being pregnant.82 That’s all there is to say. Be well. From Florence, 26th of December 1532. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Messer Pierfrancesco Riccio in Bologna Letter 62: 4 January 1533 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence from Pierfrancesco Riccio in Bologna83 Messer Pierfrancesco [Riccio], I received yours of the thirtieth of the last month, that meant that mine of the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth of the same month had been received there and also the pink cloth for Cosimo and I am quite pleased that he is satisfied with it.84 I have well understood all of the other particular details. Not expecting another reply from you, I acknowledge mine as the last. I remind you to be more solicitous 80. MAP 140 13r, . This letter is also printed in Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 56–57. 81. This letter from Riccio to Maria is printed in Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 55–56. 82. La mosca in Italian means the fly. “La Mosca” probably refers to a young female pup of that name belonging to Maria and Cosimo. 83. MAP 140 15r, . This letter is also printed in Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 59–60. 84. Riccio’s letter to Maria of 30 December, referred to in this letter, is printed in Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 58.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 93 in writing to me, that is more often. These three included [letters] directed to Lord my father, take them to him yourself, recommend me to him and know if His Lordship wishes to make a reply. I have nothing else to tell you at the present time, except that you can remind Cosimo not to be lazy or slow to do what previously I wrote to him about in another of my letters, that is, to ask for some benefit from Our Lord from the Emperor that doesn’t take over anyone else’s position.85 Don’t forget to recommend me to him. If anything happens, advise me as I don’t want to miss anything. Be well. From Florence, on the 4th of January 1532 [1533]. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Messer Pierfrancesco Riccio in Bologna Letter 63: 16 January 1533 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence from Pierfrancesco Riccio in Bologna86 Magnificent Madonna, honored patron, The pomegranates were appreciated by all these lords, most gratefully by the Pope, I brought them to His Beatitude this morning, nor was I able to have greater comfort if I enjoyed it alone and His Holiness most lovingly asked me about Topaia.87 Finally I gave him Your Ladyship’s letter, according to the appended copy recorded by your Lord son,88 and to tell you the truth, His Beatitude’s words couldn’t have been more loving, and the solicitude of your son couldn’t have been more discrete and he asked me to greet Your Ladyship in the name of His Beatitude. Then I conducted Andrea Ridolfi to your father,89 where your Lord son was [also], which put him [Cosimo] in a strong position. I joined, [having] very well understood earlier the approach to the aforesaid Andrea; to tell you the truth, Lord Messer Jacopo saw him willingly, spoke to him a long time, telling him that they were [both] of ancient lineage,90 in a manner that I think if the aforesaid Andrea is diligent (and I will be a spear to him rather than a spur) he will be able to bear some fruit. As I said to him it is appropriate to enable Messer Jacopo to oversee his shop as he [Jacopo] has enough cloth to dress everyone. 85. These men are respectively Pope Clement VII and King Charles V of Spain. 86. MAP 140 90r–bis v, . This letter is also printed in Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 63–64. 87. Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 62 n. 1, states that this refers to the Medici villa of Topaia. Villa Topaia is north of Maria’s villa Castello in the Mugello valley and included a farm. See Isabella Lapi Ballerini and Mario Scalini, The Medici Villas: Complete Guide (Florence: Giunti, 2003), 90–91. 88. Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” includes Maria’s letter as a postscript at the end of this letter at 64. 89. Andrea di Gismondo Ridolfi was first referred to some days earlier in Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 61, by Maria to Riccio as a poor man who needed a position in Florence and had five daughters to care for. 90. The Ridolfi family were an old Florentine noble family with ties both to the Medici and Salviati families; the youngest sister of Lucrezia, Jacopo’s wife, was Contessina Ridolfi (1476–1515).

94 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI I do not yet see what has to be done about our situation in Milan.91 Truly, it is a difficult matter to negotiate such practices with great people without a good foundation. The foundation of our [legal] instrument is excellent; but the clauses that the duke and the late Lord [Giovanni de’ Medici] had together nullified, (according to the investigation, it’s doable) when etcetera. Besides that, these goods belonged to Triultia’s house and in the last League they capitulated, and it was restored to them. I’m not going to waste my time getting to the bottom of it; your Lord son will not stress the Pope and our lords about this without a purpose, and nor do they have to be kept weak. About the nine thousand scudi that Your Ladyship, also spoke about, it would be good if you send me the receipts, as you can’t deal with these similar matters in the dark; so, it is said etcetera. Now be strong Your Ladyship so the handling of the proposed marriage alliance has effect.92 A very honorable matter and very useful, as here your son will not sleep, and the women won’t leave while arranging and sometimes advising [about the marriage]. In this letter, I won’t say any more except that Matteo, a servant of our Magnificent Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco [de’ Medici], passed away. Your Lord son and all [others] are well by the grace of God. We recommend ourselves to you. From Bologna, the 16th of January 1532 [1533]. Your Ladyship’s humble servant Riccio Advise Your Ladyship, if you have any response from the most Reverend [Cardinal Ippolito] de’ Medici, as your son wants to see it etcetera. [Maria Salviati letter included]. Holy father. Although I know that Cosimo my son has on his own remembered himself to Your Holiness, also for my satisfaction and maternal duty, kissing your most sainted feet, reverently I recommend him to you. Your Holiness does not lack the means to help him, he deserves it as he has proposed or by another way. In order not to bother you with my writing, I place myself at the mercy of Your Holiness and regarding the supplications of my aforesaid son, which anew I humbly recommend to you. May God grant Your Holiness a long and happy life etcetera.93 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence.

91. The situation relating to Milan is referred to in this letter and several previous letters. Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 58–63. The details of the situation are not clear, but it appears to center around a negotiation regarding a proposed marriage alliance. 92. Discussions about a proposed marriage alliance for Cosimo was an ongoing topic between December 1532 and February 1533 while Cosimo was in Bologna, but nothing was decided. See Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” and Tomas, Medici Women, 149. 93. The postscript to this letter is an undated draft. MAP 140 31r, .

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 95 Letter 64: 16 January 1533 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence from Cosimo de’ Medici in Bologna94 Magnificent Madonna, most honored mother, I wrote [to you] over there as I was ordered as I think the letters were safely received; and with this one [and] through one [letter] of Riccio’s Your Ladyship will understand the Milanese negotiations.95 I often bring myself to His Beatitude’s attention and I press Messer Jacopo when opportune and God knows if he can do anything. This morning I was alone with him and I repeated these formal words to him: “Lord Messer Jacopo, I am your grandson, there is no one on my side, opportunity evades us, death destroys many useful things and finally that extraordinary good that His Holiness wants to do for me (as you once told me), I wish it was ordinary and I wish it was in my lifetime”. He answered me kindly as usual, and that they were continuously thinking principally about a wife and repeated to me that the Countess held her head high.96 He promised me again his favor and assistance etcetera. Therefore, I think that Your Ladyship should write from there [Florence] to your most reverend brother in Rome [Cardinal Salviati] as to this matter as I set great store by him. I will write from here [Bologna] asking his most reverend Lordship [Giovanni Salviati] to write about it to most reverend [Cardinal Innocenzo] Cibo to dispose of it etcetera. This will be one of our strongest foundations to see an end as quickly as possible. I recommend myself to Your Ladyship and I want to know how you are and freely pray to God always for me and recommend me to the lady duchess,97 to most reverend Cibo, to Lord Messer Ottaviano [de’ Medici] etcetera. From Bologna, the 16th day of January 1532 [1533]. To Your Ladyship. your obedient son, Cosimo de’ Medici To the most magnificent Madonna Maria de’ Medici, most honored mother in Florence

94. MAP 140 47, . This letter is also printed in Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 295–96. 95. See letter 63. 96. Cecily Booth, Cosimo I, Duke of Florence (London and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1921), 32, suggests that the countess, a possible wife for Maria’s son, was Maddalena the daughter of Ippolita Cibo, Countess of Caiazzo and a distant maternal cousin of Cosimo. It appears that both Jacopo Salviati and the pope thought the countess had a haughty manner, which made her an inappropriate match. 97. Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 295, n. 1. This is Caterina di Lorenzo de’ Medici (1519–1589), Cosimo’s maternal second cousin, and later queen of France.

96 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI Letter 65: 20 January 1533 From Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence to Pierfrancesco Riccio in Bologna98 Messer Pierfrancesco [Riccio], Through yours of the sixteenth of the present month, I have heard of the receipt of the pomegranates gratefully received by the Pope and the others, in a way which should bear fruit for our Andrea Ridolfi.99 I understand what you said about the Milanese situation, as we marvel having had no difficulty in insisting on [no] harm to Cosimo, because of his obligation towards Cosimo, [his] Excellency the Duke [Alessandro] can’t change the clauses or anything else because the obligation is clean and pure. Because of this, with skillful solicitude, no new cost remains.100 With the favor of His Holiness the Pope, and of His Excellency Duke Alessandro our patron, and of Messer Jacopo my father, the arrangement of such matters has an effect on the mood of the times, which presently they concede. About the obligation of the nine thousand scudi here, we have found no foundation and for this reason we are not going to send you receipts or anything else. About the marriage alliance don’t fail to take any remedial opportunity to have it take effect for me, as I want it [to happen] a lot. If you see any response from our great friend, advise Cosimo of it. With this [letter] will be one for His Holiness the Pope with content that you know about. Nothing else for now. Be well. Don’t forget to recommend me to Lord my father. In Florence, on the 20th day of January 1532 [1533]. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Messer Pierfrancesco Ricci[o], servant to Lord Cosimo de’ Medici etcetera.

Letter 66: 6 February 1533 To Pierfrancesco Riccio in Bologna from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence101 Messer Pierfrancesco [Riccio], Your last [letter] was the first of the present month and today it is the sixth. I cannot think how such a gap occurred, as you know how many times I have written to you about you not failing in this duty. When you ever have another 98. MAP 140 20, . This letter is also printed in Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 296–97. 99. See letter 63. 100. This is a rather oblique reference to the proposed marriage alliance negotiations. 101. MAP 140 23r–bis v, . This letter is also printed in Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 303–4.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 97 opportunity, tell me how Cosimo is doing. I am most sure that you have quickly failed in this, not having direct addresses or lodgings where I can write to you infinite times as they are not received any other way and even if they are received, they are not opened. This [letter] is to tell you, that in a few days the noble Agostino Dini will transfer there, one of the four arbitrators of the litigation between the cousins.102 He has plenty of information about the current issues in the said dispute, and he is a man who will be most able to keep His Holiness well informed, and no less Messer Jacopo Salviati. For that reason, with the information sent to you from here I am telling you to be aware of his arrival over there, which is happening in order to be able to respond to our situation. When I saw there was a need to have someone come from here to defend our rights, I will not fail to tell the defender what has befallen us. I have nothing else to tell you except that you recommend me to my lord father and Cosimo. Be well. I’ll send you the hawking bags within four days at the latest. In Florence, on the 6th day of February 1532 [1533]. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Messer Pierfrancesco Riccio with Lord Cosimo de Medici in Bologna

Letter 67: 10 February 1533 To Pierfrancesco Riccio in Bologna from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence103 Messer Pierfrancesco [Riccio], I have received your [letter] of the fifth of the present month, and I understand it all, including the substance of the paragraph of the letter of my most reverend brother to Messer Zenobi.104 I don’t know what else to say about this. I’ll put it back on his most reverend Lordship [Ippolito de’ Medici] and the others, over there. But I would really like it if what I wrote to my lord father and to others 102. Maria’s and Cosimo’s relationships with their cousins had deteriorated from the mid-1530s because of a dispute over common property. For the background, see Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 25 and 41, for Giovanni’s letter of protest of 15 May 1523.The actual property division took place in May 1516. See the documents printed in Howard Saalman and Philip Mattox, “The First Medici Palace,” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 44 (1985): 329–45, app. 3–4, 7, at 342–44, . The dispute was finally resolved in Maria and Cosimo’s favor in May 1535 in the Florentine Mercanzia (Merchants’) court. See now an Italian summary of the Latin judgment in MAP 86 59, 448r–449v, 7 June 1535, . 103. MAP 140 26r–bis v, . This letter is also published in Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 304–5. 104. This letter from Riccio of 5 February 1532 [1533] is published in Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 303. The part referred to here written by Maria’s brother, Cardinal Giovanni Salviati, suggested that a prospective candidate as Cosimo’s bride was too haughty.

98 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI about many times was done: That the Pope had inquired of Monseigneur Cibo, because it was his duty.105 Yet when His Holiness wanted to do it, I cannot see the aforementioned monsignor [to be] worse off than at the beginning. Therefore, again see if His Beatitude and also His Excellency the Duke [Alessandro] want to seek him out again. Ask my lord father on my behalf, if he wants to do the same with His Beatitude and His Excellency. Don’t forget to write a [letter] in my name to his most reverend monsignor my brother, as His most reverend Lordship looks at every means to give him [Cosimo] a wife, either this one or another one. I have no other desire in this world than to see him married. If it was possible to have this one, I would be much content. I have this firm belief that when the Pope wants to do his duty, there will be no difficulty. But he has not wanted to look nor has the aforesaid most reverend Cibo, nor his sister the Countess [of Caiazzo]; because it would be enough if his most Reverend Lordship had sought, when the Countess hadn’t wanted to, that he did not then refuse to dispose of it. You can tell him what you think since [it means] more to you, as I have nothing else to say to them except to recommend to them this poor child, and I with him. Be well. In Florence, on the 10th day of February 1532 [1533]. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Messer Pierfrancesco Riccio with Lord Cosimo de’ Medici in Bologna Letter 68: 21 February 1533 To Pierfrancesco Riccio in Bologna from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence106 Messer Pierfrancesco [Riccio], I have received yours of the 18th and 19th of the present month, that make me wonder a little, that is, monsignor [Innocenzo] Cibo hasn’t yet received, nor from His Holiness, nor on his behalf from the most reverend [Cardinal Ippolito] de’ Medici, nor from anyone else any letters for this negotiation.107 Therefore, if they are waiting for this answer, I affirm that it will never be seen, as they need to write it first and then wait for [a response] to it. You have heard similarly now through my other letters. But it is certainly true, that at that time I didn’t hurt as much as now. Because again, I see you want to affirm what is imperfect. I don’t wonder as much about you as I do about most reverend [Cardinal] de’ Medici. I say to you that such a reply cannot be delayed. For brevity’s sake, I won’t fail to repeat to you what I told you in my last letters: that you wait for such letters to arrive there. Affirming to you what I have said many times that the subject matter 105. This is a reference to the rejection of a possible bride for Cosimo. See letter 64, note 96 for the suggestion that the proposed bride was Cardinal Innocenzo’s niece, Maddalena, Countess of Caiazzo. 106. MAP 140 30r–bis v, . This letter is also printed in Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 308–9. 107. Maria is referring to the marriage negotiations for Cosimo.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 99 can’t be better arranged here. I won’t say anything else about this except to wait for the things you want. News about the appointment of cardinals will be heard soon. You should recommend me to the good graces of our Medici lords and my lord father and my lord son. Tell Cosimo that I am happy that he is having a good time this Carnival season and every other time,108 but remind him that four days have passed, since he last wrote telling me how he was doing. I assure him that I have nothing but the greatest pleasure when I see such news [written] in his [own] hand. It could be that there was little affection, Cosimo being with whom he is,109 but the Cardinal [Ippolito] wanted it, but being with one he thought himself with the other; and having his power here, it seemed to me more appropriate he stay with whom he is with.110 But because there has been between them illwill and there always will be. I think that because of this, His most Reverend Medici does not want to impede, not to hurt Cosimo as well, no, but [to hurt?] others.111 However, I think in relation to this, that you’ll go to meet him on my behalf, that is, His most reverend Lordship, and that you say to him, that when His most Reverend Lordship is not happy with this marriage alliance, [then] I do not want it to be done either. Neither Cosimo nor I wish to do anything to hinder His most reverend Lordship. When His most Reverend Lordship has a preferred plan concerning this girl that he mentions it to me so that we don’t speak of it anymore. When you want me to speak on Cosimo’s behalf; as I would like a resolution soon, either yes or no; because I am resolute that Cosimo not take a wife, except through His most reverend Lordship and from His Excellency the Duke and the Pope. I would want to die early rather than do anything that was displeasing to His most reverend Lordship. I want Cosimo to be a good servant to both of them, and I wish that this one or that one gives him one of theirs. With His Excellency the Duke you govern yourself as you see fit in this situation, because here I don’t have all the facts and I don’t know what mood they are in amongst themselves. However, manage it cleverly and as you think appropriate. It is certainly true that I don’t know the reason that the Pope has committed to the most Reverend [Ippolito de’] Medici more than the other [person]; because it was enough only that His Holiness inform Messer Francesco Guiducci, who 108. “Carnival” refers to the Christian festival immediately prior to the fasting season of Lent, traditionally a period of frivolity. Depending on the date of Easter in any given year, Carnival falls during the months of February and March. 109. Cosimo was with Duke Alessandro de’ Medici in Bologna. 110. As Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 309, n. 1, notes this unnamed person was Duke Alessandro de’ Medici. In the discussion over respective candidates between the various leading members of the Medici regime, Cardinal Cibo, Ippolito de’ Medici, and Duke Alessandro, it appears that Cosimo has sided with the duke. 111. The ill-will refers to Alessandro and Ippolito de’ Medici’s relationship. See Fosi and Rebecchini, “Medici, Ippolito de,’ ” and Fletcher, Black Prince of Florence.

100 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI would write here to [Innocenzo] Cibo about his Holiness’s wish. When you did not displease the most Reverend Medici, this would seem to me be the best way to get there, because Messer Antonio Guiducci told me that the Cardinal de’ Medici does not have a chance to guide this marriage alliance. Keep this to yourself, so you don’t get involved in some scandal. Openly, I see [it] to be a certain subtle love, where it comes from, I don’t know. A little nod that came from the Pope, he washed his hands of it, either for yes or for no. Tell Cosimo that he is courteous to the aforesaid Monseigneur Medici, because if he does the opposite, it will turn out badly for him one day. Believe me everyone knows what he’s like. I will not say anything else. Be well. In Florence on the 21st day of February 1532 [1533]. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Messer Pierfrancesco Riccio, with Lord Cosimo de’ Medici, in Bologna Letter 69: 21 February 1533 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence from Pierfrancesco Riccio in Bologna112 Excellent Madonna, my perpetual patron, Because Your Ladyship has not had great contentment in having continuous letters from us, I write to you frequently the same material. Your Ladyship needs to stop thinking about the request for a wife for your lord son, because God has granted it to Cardinal [Ippolito] de’ Medici. Don’t think about it anymore, because His most reverend Lordship is of such a mind that you win in every way. Because I wrote about it to him yesterday evening to put [him] in the picture about your Lord father’s words. In the same evening, His Most Reverend Lordship reaffirmed it to your Lord son openly, dining with him and showing him affection above all. So if it were not that the baggage has to be kept in order, now I would say to Your Ladyship (if it is permitted for priests to do this) that you leave me a bit of time for Carnival, having negotiated as procurator Cardinal de’ Medici, as petitioner Cardinal de’ Medici, as protector Cardinal de’ Medici. So that I not only hope but am certain (if nothing else happens) that shortly Your Ladyship will have what makes you happy. Willingly I see (as I have said many times) that most Illustrious and reverend lord [Ippolito de’ Medici]; and if I will not learn of it during the journey, on return I think I should take care of it, which I pray God permits according to our wishes. Nor therefore, will I extend myself more, because I have no more to tell you, as otherwise I would be presumptuous. The substance of the matter is this, there is no need to wander anymore. The departure is not certain, but preparation [for it] is made all the time. I leave willingly now for the attached reasons and as the common wish is now to consider the return. I will advise Your Ladyship about it in due course. We 112. MAP 140 112r, . This letter is also printed in Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 310.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 101 are all well. We recommend ourselves to you. In Bologna, the 21st of February 1532 [1533]. To Your Ladyship. [your] servant, Riccio To Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence Letter 70: 9 April 1533 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence from Cosimo de’ Medici in Genoa113 Magnificent Madonna, most honored mother, I still have Your Ladyship’s [letter] of the 28th of March, which came by Gian Giordano’s post, and I read it many times, being important to my interests.114 But because I want to do things in an appropriate style, so that I can’t be blamed by anyone, as our return is already near (as yesterday His Majesty [Charles V] embarked), I don’t want to resolve this while journeying. On the contrary, [I want] to do what principally has to be done, in such a situation, always having an eye to the will of the Pope and our other lords and elders, whose warmth won’t have frozen in this brief absence. Therefore, I will not say anything else, as at present the situation is stable. I write now thoughtfully about what will be necessary for my benefit, with the satisfaction of my patron, the most excellent Lord Duke,115 who is well as also I am. I recommend myself to Your Ladyship and I ask you to recommend me to the Lady Duchess [Catherine de’ Medici] and to the others. Your Ladyship send me twenty-five scudi in Pisa by any means and advise me where etcetera. In Genoa, the 9th of April 1533. To Your Ladyship. [Your] obedient son, Cosimo de’ Medici To Madonna Maria Salviati, most honored mother, in Florence Letter 71: 20 May 1533 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence from Lucrezia Salviati in Rome116 My dearest Magnificent daughter, Thursday morning, after the longest departure from here, Niccolò di Mariotto, a carter from Calanaia, to whom we have consigned a Turkish boy 113. MAP 140 56r–bis v, . This letter is also printed in Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 319–20. 114. Maria’s letter of 28 March 1533 has not survived. 115. Cosimo could be referring to the ongoing discussion about an appropriate marriage alliance for him. 116. MAP 140 60r, .

102 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI that the Lord Prior has brought to assign to Cosimo’s service.117 Therefore, pay the aforesaid carter for his carriage [of the boy] and the costs for everything for this boy [are] two gold scudi.118 As usual we are in much agreement here. The Lord Prior will leave tonight for Malta. May God grant him a good voyage. Your Ladyship stay well and I recommend myself much to you and also greet Cosimo on your behalf and mine. We remain very well. Our Lorenzo [Salviati] is managing his illness as best he can.119 We hope that it will turn out well. May Christ in his humanity grant him grace. Nothing else to report. May Christ Almighty protect you from harm. Rome the 20th day of May 1533. Your mother, Lucrezia Salviati de’ Medici To My dearest Magnificent daughter, Madonna Maria Salviati de’ Medici etcetera in Florence Letter 72: 7 June 1533 To Lucrezia Salviati in Rome from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence120 Magnificent most honored Madonna Mother, It appears that I have been somewhat slow and lazy in responding to Your Ladyship’s [letter] of the 13th of the last month. 121 I can’t miss the appropriate time to do my duty. I will say to Your Ladyship, that I want to know the terms before knowing what your view is, and if you are disposed to give him a wife. I am doing as Madonna Magdalena del Gualterrotti [wants] as she understands his view of it, without showing him that there was one better for him than another. She answered that her son was in Spain at the moment, not even in the past had she thought to give him it [a wife]. But she too willingly would give it to him when he was about to return and, moreover, told him she wished to write to him about 117. The Lord Prior was Maria’s younger brother, Cardinal Bernardo Salviati (1508–1568), who was a member of the Catholic lay religious military order, the Knights of Malta. See Pierre Hurtubise, “Salviati, Bernardo,” DBI 90 (2017), . For his ecclesiastical career, see “Bernardo Cardinal Salviati,” . 118. This boy was probably a slave brought from Turkey. On slavery in medieval and Renaissance Italy, see Steven A. Epstein, “Slaves in Italy, 1350–1550,” in At the Margins: Minority Groups in Premodern Italy, ed. Stephen J. Milner (Minneapolis and London: University of Minnesota Press, 2005), 219–35; Sally McKee, “Domestic Slavery in Renaissance Italy,” Slavery & Abolition 29, no. 3 (2008): 305–26, . 119. Lorenzo Salviati (1492–1539) was one of Maria’s older brothers and a member of the Florentine Senate. 120. C.S. I 335 142r/240r. 121. This letter from Lucrezia to Maria has not survived.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 103 it. When one has to manage such a negotiation, I think it would be more legitimate and better to be managed by other [men] than by a woman.122 As such Your Ladyship will be able to give this charge to my most reverend brother [Giovanni Salviati, who is] coming here, his most Reverend Lordship [Ippolito de’ Medici] or to others whom Your Ladyship thinks more suitable. If I could have done better by doing it another way, I would have advised you. Madonna Luisa left on Wednesday at twenty hours [after sunset] from here for the appointed place and was very happy and well. Kissing Your Ladyship’s hand, I will not fail to recommend you to Lady [. . .] who salutes Cosimo. I am very well, and I recommend myself much to Your Ladyship, who deigns to hold me in the good grace of my lordship father and of my lordship brothers, may God grant them much happiness. In Florence, 7 June 1533. Beloved daughter, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Most Magnificent Madonna Lucrezia Salviati de’ Medici, most honored mother in Rome

Letter 73: 2 August 1533 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence from Jacopo Salviati in Rome123 Dearest daughter Maria, I have two of yours in response to one of mine regarding your traveling with the Lady Duchess [Catherine de’ Medici].124 These [letters] do not please me at all, nor, I think, do you have that judgement that I persuaded myself you had in you. Because I don’t think it is at all reasonable that being sought out by Our Lord [Pope Clement VII] to have to go [that] you gave him conditions under which you want to travel and the expenses that you want him to cover. I think that it is your duty to go by any means that you are able. How good that you have not been given anything and let him [Clement VII] think about what he wants to give you, reminding yourself that the simpler you will travel lacking pomp and servants, how much more you will be esteemed by everyone because it is appropriate for the position in which you find yourself; although you will give Cosimo five hundred ducats in expenses you have to think that you are not able to spend it better and that you have to be grateful for his love and for your love that you are commanded. I marvel that having depended on every benefit for Cosimo from 122. While women (usually widows) often evaluated the merits of prospective brides, men usually undertook marriage contract negotiations. See Klapisch-Zuber, “Zacharias, or The Ousted Father,” for information about marriage contract negotiations. For examples of the evaluation of prospective brides by a Florentine widow, see Macinghi Strozzi, Letters to Her Sons. 123. MAP 140 189r-bisv. . 124. Pope Clement VII asked Maria to travel to Marseilles with Catherine de’ Medici as part of her wedding entourage.

104 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI Our Lord [the Pope], you don’t know yourself how important he is to you. Behave in a better way, as you are able to do what you have been requested and leave the remainder to him [Clement VII], because it is for Cosimo’s benefit to do so. I remind you to release me from my obligation to Santa Maria Nuova [Florentine hospital] because your affairs are better than you think.125 A short while ago, I did it for you, and for Cosimo there are matters that you are forced to do although you don’t want to [do them]. You would do well if you didn’t have to write so many times and do it with effect because words are not enough nor am I satisfied. Nothing more to say [and] farewell. In Rome 2nd day of August 1533. For Jacopo Salviati To my dearest Magnificent daughter Madonna Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence



Letter 74: 18 August 1533 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici from Francesca Salviati de’ Gualterotti126 Magnificent honored sister etcetera. The present [letter] is to ask you to willingly do me a favor of a letter to the Vicar of Scarperia in recommendation of Ser Francesco de’ Noferi from our fort.127 He is wounded and is asking the said vicar for a little sustenance and when you judge it appropriate [send] a letter to Prinzivalle [della Stufa] and it will give me most singular pleasure to have it done.128 Because I would be content if it were possible that the said Francesco, didn’t come to any harm. Again, I recommend him to you. I am nominating the said person as a client of your house, if it is very importune my being [your] sister and knowing such kindness in you not to fail anyone, which gives me great surety in asking you. To you I recommend myself as much as I can. May God keep you happy and healthy. On the 18th of August 1533. 125. On the Florentine hospital of Santa Maria Nuova and its charitable functions, see John Henderson, The Renaissance Hospital: Healing the Body and Healing the Soul (New Haven, CT, and London: Yale University Press, 2006). 126. MAP 140 191r, . 127. Vicars were judicial and administrative officials who represented the Florentine government in subject towns within its territory. Scarperia is a town about sixteen miles north of Florence in the Mugello region. On rural communities in Tuscany, including Scarperia, and their governance by representatives of the Florentine Government, see Cecilia Hewlett, Rural Communities in Renaissance Tuscany: Religious Identities and Local Loyalties (Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2008), with vicars at 18–19 and, in relation to Scarperia, 120–21. 128. The Vicar of Scarperia at the date of this letter was Francesco di Messer Luigi di Messer Agnolo della Stufa, who commenced office on 20 March 1533 and completed his term on 19 September 1533. See Hewlett, Rural Communities, 224. Prinzivalle was Francesco’s brother. For information on Prinzivalle della Stufa, see letter 12 and the references cited there.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 105 Your sister, Francesca Salviati de’ Gualterotti To Magnificent Madonna Maria Salviati de’ Medici, honored sister at home

Letter 75: 7 October 1534 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici from Caterina de’ Medici in Sottoleale129 My cousin, 130 This is only to send you my news and to tell you again that it is a long time since I have had your news, which surprised me as I have written more and more letters to you and never received a reply, which amazes me.131 Next, I ask you that if the items that remained to be done when I arrived, if they are finished, I want to send them by some trusted person and send me the inventory of what they cost and so [too] other items that cost that you sent me quite a while ago. Because I have lost the other account that you sent me so I ask you about the collar that Madonna Anna had made. If you arrange that you send it to me together with the other items that you have made for me: a pair of wide sleeves, all fully worked that have been worked with black and gold silk and send it together with the account of the other items and how much they cost.132 Nothing else, I recommend myself to you. From Sottoleale on the 7th of October 1534. [P.S.] I forgot to say to you to please send me all of these things as quickly as is possible and again I recommend myself to you. Your good cousin, Caterine [de’ Medici] To Madonna Maria de’ Medici

129. MAP 140 197r–v, . 130. A useful introduction to the life of Catherine de’ Medici is Robert J. Knecht, Catherine de’ Medici (London and New York: Longman, 1998). See now Susan Broomhall, The Identities of Catherine de’ Medici (Leiden: Brill, 2021), . 131. Maria accompanied Catherine to her wedding in 1533; see Tomas, Medici Women, 149; Catherine de’ Medici, Les Lettres de Catherine de Mèdicis, 10 vols., ed. Hector de la Ferrière, vol. 1, 1533–1563 (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1880), 2, . This letter appears to be the only surviving example of Catherine’s correspondence with Maria Salviati. It is not published in Medici, Lettres. 132. See letter 53 and the references cited there for a discussion of the processes for making silk garments.

Letters 76–150: Lady Maria, 1537–1543 The assassination of Duke Alessandro de’ Medici by his distant cousin, Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici, on 6 January 1537 changed Cosimo’s and Maria’s life forever. The nobly born seventeen-year-old youth became the “head of the Florentine republic,” by courtesy of the decree of the Florentine Senate on 9 January1537. According to Duke Cosimo I’s court biographer, Benedetto Varchi, Maria Salviati became known as “Lady Maria.”1 However, the stability of the regime was not yet assured, with Florentine exiles opposed to Cosimo’s regime threatening it. These exiles were led by Filippo Strozzi and his son, Piero, supported by the French king, Francis I, and Pope Paul III. This section opens with Maria exultingly informing a parish priest, Don Bernardo della Tassinara, a long-term acquaintance of Maria, of Cosimo’s election and asking him to be ready with men at arms to assist Cosimo if necessary. Maria reminded the Vicar of Pescia that the Florentine regime supported him. Cosimo I defeated the Florentine exiles at Montemurlo in August 1537, and in September the Spanish king, Charles V, as the overlord of Florence, recognized Cosimo’s claim to the Florentine duchy. However, key fortresses that had been seized by the Spanish after Alessandro’s death remained in Spanish hands to maintain security. After Cosimo’s successes, letters of congratulations were sent to Maria by the Governing Council of the Commune of Prato and Girolamo Benivieni, an old Salviati client. By doing so, both letter writers were recognizing Maria’s important role at her son’s court. This new-found authority was already evident in a letter of late January 1537, in which the Vicar of Scarperia was ordered to have wheat loaded at Trebbio, based on the direct order Maria obtained from the Foreign Affairs Committee. Maria’s letters in the period until the arrival of Cosimo’s bride, Eleonora di Toledo, in June 1539 illustrated her direct involvement in government business. For example, Maria asked Tassinara to speak to a commissar who would assist the regime. She wrote to the Florentine ambassador at the court of Charles V and read ambassadorial correspondence. She was aware that a government committee could not meet on a certain date because of a lack of a quorum. Maria was also aware of a visit by the Spanish envoy and tried to convince her son to return home early from a hunting expedition to meet him, pointing out the political implications for his rule if he did not. She consulted with a Medici secretary on political issues in Pistoia and Pescia, before providing advice to her son about it. At the same time, Maria also wrote recommendation letters on behalf of others to her son and received letters of supplication requesting assistance. Letters could contain information of both a domestic and political nature. For example, Maria requested the key to Cosimo’s room 1. Benedetto Varchi, Storia Fiorentina, ed. Michele Sartorio (Milan: Borroni e Scotti, 1846), vol. 2, 399, .

107

108 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI to tidy it up, at the end of a letter instructing the recipient to consult with Cosimo about contents of a letter he received from the Foreign Affairs Committee. In two letters, Maria discussed the number of pearls that Eleonora would be given as a wedding gift from Cosimo and ordered Riccio to send specific quantities to certain ambassadors, also directing him as to how many pearls were to be kept in Florence to await her arrival there. This wedding gift of pearls to Eleonora from Cosimo and the distribution of some of them to ambassadors highlights the fact that these pearls were also diplomatic gifts. They signified the high status of the bride and the importance of Eleonora’s conspicuous consumption of both dress and jewels, which enhanced her influence as a fashion trend setter. After Eleonora’s arrival, Maria’s influential position in the regime, as mother of its duke, altered. She was still influential and garnered tremendous respect from both Cosimo and Eleonora, but the focus of her correspondence generally no longer dealt with day-to-day politics. From that time onward it focused more on traditional areas of influence for women, especially widows. Her letters recommended supplicants be provided with positions, have debts forgiven, be released from prison, obtain vacant offices—of both a religious and political kind—and she arranged marriage alliances. After 1540, Maria was also responsible for the provision of servants’ clothing and the management of the ducal children’s court, which was based at Villa Castello. The health and welfare of family members was an important topic after 1540 and she wrote often about her own health and that of family members until about a week before her own death on 12 December 1543.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 109 Letter 76: 11 January 1537 To Bernardo della Tassinara in Dovadola from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence2 Our dearest reverend lord [Tassinara],3 As Your Lordship will have been able to hear via my other letters,4 [in] the aftermath of the death of His Excellency [Duke Alessandro de’ Medici] I want to make you aware that the Magnificent forty-eight [the Senate] of the Florentine Republic in voluntary agreement elected lord Cosimo, my son for their lord.5 He is a fine godchild of Your Lordship,. as you have always been most affectionate toward his late father, Lord Giovanni.6 We, because of the trust we have in you, thought to inform you so that you can participate with us in this joy; begging you besides, that if it proved necessary to use men [at arms] from over there you do not cease to remain vigilant. May God keep you from harm. In Florence, 11th day of January 1536 [1537]. To Your Lordship. As a sister, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To our dearest reverend Don Bernardo della Tassinara [in Dovadola] Our dearest reverend lord [Tassinara],7 As Your Lordship will have heard by other means of the election of lord Cosimo, my son, by the Magnificent forty-eight [the Senate] for their lord, without any contradiction, like an act of God. We haven’t wanted to fail to inform you, as we are certain that you will be as happy about it as we are, as Your Lordship has been most affectionate toward the blessed memory of Lord Giovanni, his father. Therefore, we don’t want to forget our need to serve Your Lordship, having firm 2. This letter is printed in Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 30. No earlier letters relating to Duke Alessandro de’ Medici’s assassination from Maria have survived. 3. Biographical information on the cleric Bernardo della Tassinara is available in Marietta Sbrilli, “Alcune lettere inedite di Maria Salviati Medici a Bernardo della Tassinara,” Annali della Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa 25, no. 4 (1995): 1459–73, . 4. These letters have not survived. 5. For the details of the assassination of Alessandro de’ Medici by his cousin, Lorenzino di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici on January 6, 1537, see Fletcher, Black Prince of Florence, 262–67; Dall’Aglio, Duke’s Assassin, 1–12. For Cosimo de’ Medici’s election, three days later, see Najemy, History of Florence, 446–47; Tomas, Medici Women, 149–50, which discusses contemporary accounts of Maria’s involvement in the negotiations to make Cosimo, Florence’s lord. 6. Bernardo della Tassinara was not Cosimo’s godfather. Sbrilli, “Alcune lettere,” 1469, suggests he may have performed the baptism, hence the reference to Cosimo as his godson. However, this reference may have been merely a rhetorical flourish on Maria’s part. 7. Guasti, “Alcuni fatti,” 30. This is an unsigned and undated draft of Maria’s letter to Bernardo. It is found at MAP 140 38r, .

110 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI faith in Your Lordship, we ask you that as you go about entertaining some of your friends to use it [our service] as necessary and we will make them understand our thoughts at the time, having firm faith in Your Lordship.

Letter 77: 12 January 1537 To Luigi Martelli in Pescia from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence8 Magnificent Lord Vicar [Martelli] as brother, etcetera.9 Your Lordship could not lack complaint about the bitter death of the most Illustrious lord Duke Alessandro [de’ Medici] of blessed memory in consideration of the servitude that you have always born towards him and his house. For such consideration and great dangers that overlay this afflicted city, the fortyeight [senators] consulted together to prepare [for] it and as it pleased God, they declared Lord Cosimo, my son, as their lord. He, because of his age, unwillingly agreed to such a burden, but convinced by the pleas of many friends and relatives, he accepted with good intentions.10 The governance of the city and its citizens as good brothers will be judged at the time and be most certain Your Lordship that you will be treated as a good brother. May God keep you very happy. In Florence on the 12th of January 1536 [1537]. To Your Lordship as a sister. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Magnificent Lord, Vicar of Pescia, Luigi Martelli, like a dearest brother, etcetera in Pescia

8. Archivio Martelli, 1478, ins. 3, doc. 494r, 527v. 9. The addressee is Luigi di Luigi Martelli (1494–1580). See Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, , for his service to the Medici court in various administrative and judicial roles. This list doesn’t refer to him as Vicar of Pescia, but it does refer to positions as vicar in other towns. On Martelli as Vicar of Pescia in 1536, see Michele Checchi and Enrico Coturri, Pescia ed il suo territorio nella storia nell’arte e nelle famiglie (Pistoia: Tipografia Pistoiese, 1961), 355. 10. Cosimo was only seventeen years old at the time and the language employed regarding his acceptance of his election is a Medicean topos. See Natalie R. Tomas, “ ‘With his authority she used to manage much business’: The Career of Signora Maria Salviati and Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici,” in Studies on Florence and the Italian Renaissance in Honor of F. W. Kent, ed. Peter Howard and Cecilia Hewlett (Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2016), 137.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 111 Letter 78: 24 January 1537 To Francesco Alberti in Scarperia from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence11 Our dearest Magnificent Lord Vicar [Alberti],12 A few days ago, I sent Your Lordship, through our order, a letter from the men of the Foreign Affairs Committee,13 so that you could make the Vicarate’s men understand, through one of your carriers that they must go to load wheat at Trebbio, which I thought will all be done diligently to obey Your Lordship. Now, since no one has appeared here, we want to ask you to compel them to come. Don’t fail to punish whoever has contradicted Your Lordship’s command, and, so that you can see who have followed your instructions, there will be a list enclosed. I return the others to Your Lordship as we are most certain that you will not fail to use all of your power to benefit the house to which you have always been most affectionate. Nothing else for now. May Christ protect you from harm. In Florence, the 24th day of January 1536 [1537]. To Your Lordship like a sister. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To the Magnificent Lord Vicar of Scarperia, Francesco degli Alberti, like an honored brother

Letter 79: 25 February 1537 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici from the Governing Council of Prato14 Most Illustrious and Most Excellent Lady, most honorable noble lady etcetera. Our ambassadors, Vannosso Rocchi and Bastiano Sacchagianini, 15 have reported to our office to having been before Your Excellency and they recommended this poor city on account of our expired exemptions. I ask you that you deign to supplicate your most illustrious and most excellent Lord your son to concede to us such favor previously promised by His Excellency the previous Duke [Alessandro] of blessed memory. That as Your Excellency gave them your most grateful audience, you would not fail to supplicate your most illustrious son. 11. MAP 140 34r–bis v, . 12. Francesco di Tommaso di Francesco Alberti held the office of the Vicar of Scarperia from 20 September 1536 until 11 April 1537. See Hewlett, Tuscan Communities, 224. 13. The Foreign Affairs Committee [Otto di Pratica], began in 1480 and rotated officers every six months. It was responsible for diplomatic matters and external security. After 1532, it was also given jurisdiction over disputes within communities in Florentine territories such as the Mugello. Duke Cosimo I abolished the committee on 26 February 1560 [1561]. For more detailed information see the on-line inventory for this collection in the Florentine State Archive, . 14. MDP 330 191r, . 15. Elena Fasano Guarini, ed., Prato: Storia di una città (Prato and Florence: Comune di Prato, Le Monnier, 1986), vol. 2, 400.

112 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI Because we remain obligated and grateful to you and all the more so when we have obtained the favor by way of the supplications and requests of Your Excellency which we know to be superior to all others. With much humility we ask you, as Messer Vincenzio Bissochi our ambassador16 expounds more fully [on our request], that we as good and most faithful servants recommend ourselves to you. May you be well and happy and farewell. Prato, the 25th day of February 1536 [1537]. To Your Excellent Illustrious Lady. [Your] Humble servants the Eight men and Standard Bearer of Justice of Prato17 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici

Letter 80: [. . .] February 1537 To Girolamo Benivieni from Maria Salviati de’ Medici18 May joy and peace be with you always. Magnificent Madonna Maria, I will do by letter what I have not let myself do until now, face to face, because of the great obstacle of my old age, which today is eighty-five years. That is, I congratulate Your Ladyship, and Illustrious Lord Cosimo your only son and by me a singularly beloved son on his accession to such a position as much as it is pleasing to God to exalt him. I believe it to be to the public benefit of our city and to his private worth and health when his raising by God [to the duchy] is principally known. Suitably its use is not for his comfort and private profit, but to the glory of his divine majesty and peace and health for this poor and afflicted city. As it is for this reason that God has elected and raised him to such dignity and placed such a burden upon his shoulders. A burden certainly insupportable for anyone without divine assistance presuming it is able to be sustained, but easy for whoever trusts in God and fears him as a Lord and loves him like a father. To you, Magnificent Madonna Maria, being his mother, you are expected to help him carry this burden, until he is able to bear it on his tender shoulders with appropriate strength. He being of an easy and kind nature you will be able to easily arrange advice from the best and most wise citizens of Florence, with praying 16. Guarini, Prato, vol. 2, 611. 17. The “nine men” were members of the governing council (Signoria) of Prato. The “eight men” were priors and the ninth man was the head of the council and was the Standard Bearer (or Gonfalonier of Justice). As with the Florentine Signoria, which was abolished under the duchy, the Prato Signoria officeholders occupied short-term, rotating offices. 18. This letter is printed in Olga Zorzi Pugliese, “Girolamo Benivieni, umanista riformatore (dalla corrispondenza inedita),” La Bibliofilia 72 (1970): 288, . For further information on Benivieni—a poet and Salviati client—see Tomas, Medici Women, 95 and the references cited there.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 113 and having [others] pray to God for him that he be sent along his governance route, and that he is shown what his duties are by some other prince or lord. But I don’t want to go on any more about it, because I know that Your Magnificence has no need to be reminded of what you know and understand by yourself. I only ask that it not be a burden for you to congratulate your illustrious son in my name for this added dignity for the most illustrious house of the Medici, from us again, offer him me and mine albeit weak faculties, if Your Ladyship didn’t know that I and their [. . .]19 reason for most just inheritance. Your Ladyship expected all the obligations and interest that passed between me and [Lord] Giovanni of happy memory, husband of Your Excellency and father of his and your son, besides the love and innumerable offices and benefits shared between us from the day of his [Cosimo’s] birth until it pleased God to call him [Giovanni] to himself, as Your Excellency knows too well. To whom I recommend myself, praying to God that he keeps you together with your son in his perpetual grace. At home on the [. . .] of February 1536 [1537]. To Your Excellency. a loyal Girolamo Benivieni To. Madonna Maria Salviati de’ Medici

Letter 81: 18 April 1537 To Bernardo della Tassinara in Dovadola from Maria Salviati in Florence20 Our dearest Magnificent [Tassinara], I haven’t forgotten to consult about your letter with my lord son [Cosimo], who I see doesn’t fail to arrange matters for you devotedly the same way he does for me. Because there will be one of His Lordship’s letters with this one, you will fully understand his intention by virtue of it. Whatever he writes to you about, Your Lordship, do send me back His Lordship’s letters, which I know will correspond to what I have promised you in many of mine. We are grateful that Your Lordship has satisfied the wishes of the commissar, especially those which result in a benefit to our regime. We thank you for it, praying you to always do the same whenever necessary. Nothing else to report. I recommend myself to Your Lordship and bid farewell. In Florence, the 18th day of April 1537. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To the Magnificent Messer Bernardo Tassinara, our dearest in Dovadola

19. Pugliese, “Girolamo Benivieni,” 288 n. 77, notes this gap and another gap in the text of the letter. 20. ASP Lettere di Maria Salviati de’ Medici unfoliated. This letter is printed in Sbrilli, “Alcune lettere,” 1471–72.

114 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI Letter 82: 30 May 1537 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici from Lucrezia Salviati in Rome21 Most beloved daughter, Our Messer Lattantio has returned to us very happy with the warm welcome that you [and] Lord Cosimo gave him. All that is left is to satisfy him with everything that awaits him as was promised by the aforesaid Lord Cosimo, that is, that his brother Paulino will have a place in His Excellency’s household that you think is most suitable. Yet with this they know that they are held and recognized for the servants they are. In truth, today we think that not only aren’t we removing hope from servants but increasing it for them to give to others that don’t have the opportunity to acquire for themselves [a place] in the service of a house of similar standard. It has been some time that you have thought to do some good for them because they deserve it, for our love you make them worthy of this favor and in every other situation you have recommended them. Certainly, we will have the greatest pleasure, because we are served by the aforesaid Messer Lattantio and we find him in all our business, most faithful and beloved. Nothing else for now. I bless you, asking our Lord God to keep you happy. From Rome on the 30th of May 1537. Your Lucrezia Medici de’ Salviati To Maria Salviati de’ Medici

Letter 83: 22 July 153722 To Giovanni Bandini from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence23 Our Dearest Magnificent Lord [Giovanni Bandini], Averardo Serristori is coming over there as legate to His Majesty [Charles V] on account of the present situation in our city.24 I thought to send with him the present letter, solely as evidence of the trust we have in Your Lordship for the many benefits and your great service towards this house, which we are most sure will always remain the same in the future. We offer ourselves now to show you that such deeds will not be regretted, and you know your good efforts will be employed by people who will want to give back to you with equal merit. We offer 21. MDP 331 310r, . 22. MAP 101 12r, . 23. For information on Alessandro Giovanni Bandini (1498–1568) (called Giovanni) the Florentine ambassador to the court of the Spanish king, Charles V, from 8 November 1536 until 1542, see Roberto Cantagalli, “Bandini, Alessandro Giovanni,” DBI 5 (1963), . 24. On Averardo Serristori, see Alessandra Contini, “Aspects of Medicean Diplomacy in the Sixteenth Century,” in Politics and Diplomacy in Early Modern Italy: The Structure of Diplomatic Practice, 1450– 1800, ed. Daniela Frigo (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), 49–94.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 115 to always keep Your Lordship well edified before our illustrious lord, our son, from whom our every honor and profit depend. Cavina will write fully about the situation here, and as he is very affectionate towards our house, and as a creature of Your Lordship, he will give you complete undoubted trust.25 We, besides his deeds that merit [him] being numbered amongst those of our friends, how much more so will we do it because we have seen through his [letters] the affection he bears you. Your Lordship will hear about our wellbeing soon from our aforesaid ambassador and bid farewell. In Florence the 22nd day of July 1537 To Your Lordship. [Your] Benefactress, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To the Magnificent Messer Giovanni Bandini, our dearest friend, [scribe records] 1537 from Florence, from Lady Maria de’ Medici of the 22nd of July had on the 25th of September, received on the 2nd of October.

Letter 84: 16 August 1537 To Bernardo della Tassinara at Dovadola from Maria Salviati de’ Medici at Castello26 Dearest reverend Don Bernardo [Tassinara], We have seen yours of the fourteenth of the same [month] and I have seen what you wrote about.27 We say to you that in every respect we will be pleased for you to arrange for us to see that horse that you spoke about. But it would be easier if it [the recommendation] could be from someone who was acquainted with it [the horse] so don’t forget it, if it is convenient for you. Concerning the benefit you talked about, because His Excellency [Cosimo I] will write about it to the Commissar of Castrocharo in reply, I don’t know his view of it as I am in the country [villa Castello], however for that reply I’ll come back to it. There is no need to tell you more other than to attend to that pastoral care with love and comfort, as you usually do and farewell. From Castello, the 16th of August 1537. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To our dearest Don Bernardo Tassinara at Dovadola 25. This man, a client of Bandini, may be Girolamo di Domenico da Cavina, who was an apothecary (pharmacist) connected to the foundling hospital in Florence. See Sistema informativo unificato per le Sopritendenze Archivistiche (SIUSA), “Da Cavina, Girolamo di Domenico,” . 26. ASP Lettere di Maria Salviati de Medici unfoliated. This letter is printed in Sbrilli, “Alcune lettere,” 1472. 27. This letter from Tassinara to Maria was dated 14 August 1537 and is MAP 140 206 bis r, .

116 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI Letter 85: 4 November 1537 To Pierfrancesco Riccio at Poggio a Caiano from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence28 Reverend Lord [Riccio] etcetera. We are sending over there with the little young friar as messenger, the enclosed letters, which you will be able to see, read and confer with His Excellency [Cosimo I] about, all as you see fit. Lapo del Tovaglia has gone to the country because there wasn’t the quorum for him to do anything this morning and he will tell everything to His Excellency.29 We don’t have anything else to write to you about. We recommend ourselves to Your Lordship and stay well. In Florence, on the 4th of November 1537. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To our dearest reverend Messer Pierfrancesco Ricci[o] with His Excellency at Poggio [a Caiano]

Letter 86: 17 November 1537 To Giovanni Bandini from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence30 Our dearest Magnificent Lord [Bandini], How much have we always been thankful for your very humane and dutiful letters, may God be my witness. For our love, you have made welcome Averardo Serristori, our ambassador, which is very satisfying.31 Because we are most certain that you will do the same in the future, we don’t intend otherwise to repeat it to you. Being certain that you will never (as is usual), fail to do those deeds [that] will be expedient for Lord Cosimo, as surely, you love him like a brother and our common homeland, to which we are all by natural law obligated. The news Your Lordship gives us, we are most grateful for, as we hope it will have that common end for us and for our friends that is desired. The heavens will leave the vendettas to our enemies as they will deserve their sins. Because you are most prudent, I won’t go into many more details, leaving the writing to the agents of my Lord son as they will not fail to fully inform you about everything that will happen. Recommending myself to Your Lordship, I end. 28. MAP 140 36r–bis v, . 29. Lapo del Tovaglia (1481–1549) was a Medici partisan who occupied several administrative and political offices under the Medici dukes. In 1537, he was a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, which on the day that Maria wrote this letter did not appear to have a quorum to conduct business. On Lapo del Tovaglia, see Sandra Pieri, “Del Tovaglia, Lapo,” DBI 38 (1990), . 30. MM 660 ins.12, c. 3r. 31. See letter 83 and the references cited there.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 117

1537.

May God keep you happy. From Florence on the 17th day of November To Your Lordship as a sister. To Giovanni Bandini

Maria Salviati de’ Medici

Letter 87: 24 November 1537 To Bernardo della Tassinara in Dovadola from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence32 Our dearest Reverend Lord [Tassinara], Having recommended to us through one of yours the former castellan of Monte Poggiolo and his son, we have arranged [positions] because of his faithful service and your good relations with Lord Cosimo, who doesn’t want them to lack for anything. Therefore, I think he [Cosimo] will write to the castellan of Castrocaro to put them on as his servants and we mean to fulfil their wishes, in full or in part.33 To the other part of your letter nothing else to answer except that you can’t keep the men who don’t say what they would want or that believe that every danger can’t be prevented as it will be our responsibility. Trusting always in the grace of God who never fails those who believe in him and farewell. In Florence 24th of November 1537. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Reverend Lord Bernardo della Tassinara, our dearest friend, in Dovadola

Letter 88: 4 December 1537 To Pierfrancesco Riccio at Poggio a Caiano from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence34 Our dearest reverend Lord [Riccio], No reply necessary except a short one to your letter of the fourth of the present month, carried by the carter, in response to the one you have written in the name of our Messer Ugolino [Grifoni].35 I am sorry for love of His Excellency 32. ASP–Lettere di Maria Salviati de Medici unfoliated. This letter is printed in Sbrilli, “Alcune lettere,” 1472–73. 33. Letter 87 may be the answer to Messer Bernardo’s request referred to in letter 84. 34. MDP 1169 20r, . 35. On Ugolino Grifoni, cleric, Medici secretary and curial diplomat, see Stefano Calonaci, “Grifoni, Ugolino,” DBI 59 (2002), ; Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Grifoni, Ugolino.” .

118 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI and of the company [with him] that the hunt did not live up to their expectations. Thanks to God that they find themselves in a good mood, because that above everything else is what we wish. Soon, we receive the prey of the young manservants from the previous night, whom you will thank on our behalf, following your desire to give news of it to Reverend Monseigneur d’Assisi,36 arranging with His Reverend Lordship your excuses. With this letter, will be one from Lorenzo Cambi, Commissar to the Magnificent Lords of the Foreign Affairs Committee,37 which you will confer with His Excellency [about] and re-writing it you will re-send it, without failing to say to Messer Carlo Fei that he send us the keys to His Excellency’s bed room because we want to clean and tidy it in your absence.38 We will keep them always with us until your return. Nothing else to report other [than] to ask the Lord to keep His Excellency very happy. Recommend us much to him and farewell. In Florence on the 4th day of December 1537. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To our dearest Reverend Pierfrancesco Riccio, Secretary to His Excellency at Poggio [a Caiano]

Letter 89: 5 December 1537 To Pierfrancesco Riccio from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence39 Our most dear Reverend Lord [Riccio], Through the carter, we received the two pheasants that are part of your hunting and we will eat them for love of His Excellency and you. The attached [letters] were given to Reverend Messer Ugolino [Grifoni] and Ser Bastiano, and also, in the evening, they were returned to the Magnificent Lords of the Foreign Affairs Committee.40 36. This refers to Angelo Marzi-Medici (1477–1546), who was Bishop of Assisi in 1537. See Vanna Arrighi, “Marzi, Angelo,” DBI 71 (2008), . 37. On Lorenzo Cambi (1479–ca 1554), see Paolo Orvieto, “Cambi, Lorenzo,” DBI 17 (1974), ; Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Cambi, Lorenzo,” . 38. Carlo Feo or Fei (1490–1556) was Duke Cosimo I’s paternal uncle and one of his courtiers. See Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Fei, Carlo,” . 39. MDP 1169 26r, . 40. This probably refers to a bundle of attached diplomatic correspondence that had survived the trip from Poggio a Caiano to Florence, and that had passed through various hands before being returned

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 119 We have the keys to the [duke’s] room close-by, which we will keep with us until your return. To Messer Carlo [Feo], the following items we send in two pillowcases sealed with our [seal]: Four shirts Four towels Eight handkerchiefs Four pairs of linen socks Advise of receipt and if they are as they should be. Recommend me to His Excellency as certainly we remain at peace, and we think we will be there when you are there. Don’t fail to greet him on our behalf, may God keep him very happy and farewell. From Florence on the 5th day of December 1537. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To our dearest most Reverend Messer Pierfrancesco Riccio, secretary to His Excellency

Letter 90: 20 January 1538 To Pierfrancesco Riccio from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence41 Our dearest Reverend Lord [Pierfrancesco Riccio], We shall not fail to do the preparations for Signor Lopez, tomorrow morning or tomorrow evening, according to your advice about his arrival.42 But we think that it would be more important that His Excellency [Cosimo I] be present considering that greater benefit would result from it than from the hunts, and His Lordship [de Soria] come here to negotiate and how much more so with respect to the arrival of Messer Lorenzo Pagni.43 Because it would seem to us appropriate that you were doing everything that you could do to persuade His Excellency to to the members of the Foreign Affairs Committee. 41. MDP 1169 36r, . 42. Lopez de Soria was the imperial envoy from the court of Charles V. He came to Florence to negotiate the return of the Florentine fortresses, which had been occupied by imperial troops since Alessandro de’ Medici’s assassination. The return of the fortresses to Florence was a key marker of Charles’s faith in Cosimo’s ability to govern his state in a manner that did not threaten the security of the Spanish king and his empire. The fortresses were not returned until mid-1543, by which time Cosimo had proved his fealty. See Najemy, History of Florence, 468, with reference to Charles V overlordship of Cosimo’s regime. 43. Lorenzo Pagni (1490–1568) was one of Cosimo I’s secretaries and a diplomat. On Pagni, see Contini, “Aspects of Medicean Diplomacy”; Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Pagni, Lorenzo di Andrea,” ; Vanna Arrighi, “Pagni, Lorenzo,” DBI 80 (2014), .

120 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI return at the latest tomorrow evening, so that My Lord most reverend Cibo and the Lord Ambassador [Serristori] would be unable to negotiate comfortably and persuade His Excellency to their wishes.44 All appear warned, so use all of your usual diligence to persuade His Lordship to return. We recommend ourselves to you a lot. Be well. From Florence the 20th day of January 1537 [1538]. With this letter there will be one for you from Messer Chiarissimo [de’ Medici].45 Maria Salviati de’ Medici

Letter 91: 23 July 1538 To Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici at Trebbio from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence46 Dearly beloved most Illustrious and most Excellent Lord son, I am sending to Your Excellency with this [letter], one from Filippo de’ Nerli, 47 on account of the situation in Pistoia, about which Campana and I have considered that it would be appropriate for you to be here [Florence],48 in order to remedy not only this [situation] but the situation in Pescia with the Lucchese, so that they won’t leave some small disorder,49 especially [having] seen the situation in Pistoia, [which] is not well set up and also Pisa. I have not failed, I think, to 44. Maria appears to imply that Cibo and Serristori would seek to persuade Cosimo not to return, which could harm negotiations with the Spanish. Cibo’s relations with Cosimo and his mother were sometimes fraught. The situation, which occurred in 1539, is discussed in Tomas, “ ‘With his authority,’ ” 139–40. 45. Chiarissimo di Bernardo de’ Medici (1509–1587) was a distant relative of Cosimo and member of the Medici court and bureaucracy. See Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Medici, Chiarissimo di Bernardo de,’ ” . 46. MAP 140 40r–bis v, . 47. Filippo di Benedetto de’ Nerli (1486–1557) was a Florentine provincial administrator, senator, historian, Medici loyalist, and Captain of Pistoia at the time this letter was written. He was also married to Maria’s sister, Caterina. On Nerli, see Vanna Arrighi, “Nerli, Filippo de,’ ” DBI 78 (2013), ; Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Nerli, Filippo di Benedetto de,’ ” . 48. Francesco Campana (ca. 1491–1546) had been a Medici secretary since 1516. On Campana, see Maria Gabriella Cruciani Troncarelli, “Campana, Francesco,” DBI 17 (1974), ; Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Campana, Francesco,” . 49. These “troubles” in subject towns were based on existing factional disputes that Cosimo was forced to address in order to be able to rule a stable state. See Giorgio Spini, Cosimo I e l’índipendenza del Principato Mediceo, 2nd ed. (Florence: Vallecchi, 1980). Cosimo also had an ongoing battle to bring the republic of Lucca under his rule, which he lost. See Mary Hewlett, “A Republic in Jeopardy:

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 121 make you understand everything, so that you with your usual prudence go think and resolve what seems to you most expedient for the benefit of Your Excellency’s situation, whose hands I kiss, and recommend myself to you. As I desire, may God make you very happy. In Florence, the 23rd of July 1538. To Your Illustrious and Most Excellent Lordship. [Your] most beloved mother, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To the most Illustrious and most Excellent Lord, Cos[imo] de’ Medici, Duke of Florence, my dearly beloved son at Trebbio

Letter 92: 21 December 1538 To Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence50 My dearest most Illustrious Lord son, This evening, the Lord Lorenzo Cibo was here with me asking me to intercede with Your Excellency for Antonio Cambini,51 to let him be released on his word or on another suitable person giving surety as determined by him. It would be desirable for Your Excellency to extract your grain soon from this territory, either way I’ll submit to what Your Excellency decides, because I didn’t want to miss writing to you, having promised you to do it. Messer Niccolò Bufolini has been here and he appears to want the same thing.52 Prepare Your Excellency to respond to him as tomorrow morning I think he will be with you, and there will be consequences for Lord Pirro [Musefilio].53 Attached in this [one] is a letter to me which I will send to Your Excellency so that you see what it contains. Nothing else to say except that Messer Pandolfo della Stufa also wishes that Your Excellency pardon his stewards and that the mature grain is returned to his requisition, promising immediately to send it away Cosimo I de’ Medici and the Republic of Lucca,” in The Cultural Politics of Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici, ed. Konrad Eisenbichler (Aldershot, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2001), 9–22. 50. MDP 335 546r, . 51. Lorenzo Cibo (1500–1549) was Maria’s maternal first cousin and brother of Cardinal Innocenzo Cibo. He was also governor of Pisa when this letter was written. On Lorenzo Cibo, see Franca Petrucci, “Cibo, Lorenzo,” DBI 25 (1981), ; Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Cibo, Lorenzo di Francesco,” . Antonio Cambini was a Pisan in Lorenzo Cibo’s circle; see Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Cambini, Antonio,” . 52. Messer Niccolò Bufolini was a knight in Cosimo’s army. See Giovambattista Adriani, Istoria de’ suoi tempi (Venice: Bernardo Giunti, 1587), 203, . 53. Pirro Musefilio (d. 1563) was one of Cosimo’s secretaries. See Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Musefilio, Pirro (Conte Della Sassetta),” .

122 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI and not to hold on to their [the stewards] service.54 Also about this [matter] I await Your Excellency’s deliberation, to whom I recommend myself much. I ask God to keep you very happy as such is my wish. From Florence the 21st of December 1538. To Your Illustrious and Excellent Lordship. [your] most cordial mother, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Cosimo I de’ Medici

Letter 93: 1 March 1539 To Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici in Pisa from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence55 Illustrious and most Excellent Lord, most honored son, Having come here our Messer Pierfrancesco [Riccio] in person, it is not necessary for me to write anything in reply to Your Excellency’s [letter]of the 27th of the past month, 56 knowing that he discusses everything with Campana, on whose relationship I rely upon confidently. About Captain Giuliano Strozzi,57 it is not possible to admonish him as Your Excellency has ordered me, it being preferable this time if Your Excellency is able to arrange for this job to be done by someone he will have greater belief in, whom he will fear more, so that he recognizes his innumerable defects.58 In the future he will be able to guard against it, which will be useful to him and a most great honor for us. Nothing else to say to Your Excellency. I recommend the cause of Francesco Benintendi, about which I have written to you in the enclosed.59 He desires nothing else except to receive justice, and as our affectionate servant I recommend him 54. Pandolfo della Stufa (1500–1569) was a colonel and diplomat. See Vanna Arrighi, “Della Stufa, Pandolfo,” DBI 37 (1989), ; Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Stufa, Pandolfo di Luigi della,” . 55. MDP 335 611r, . 56. This letter has not survived. 57. On Captain Giuliano Strozzi (d. 1550) see Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Strozzi, Giuliano,” . 58. Giuliano Strozzi’s infraction is revealed in an earlier letter of Maria to her son dated 27 February 1539. See MDP 5926 3r–4r, BIA doc. ID 3594, . In that letter’s postscript, she informed Cosimo I that Guiliano Strozzi had beaten a butcher who did not want to sell him meat on credit. 59. On the carter Francesco Benintendi, see Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Benintendi, Francesco,” .

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 123 to you. May God fulfil all his wishes as I want it for him. I recommend myself to you. In Florence, on the 1st day of March 1538 [1539]. To Your Illustrious and Excellent Lordship. [your] mother, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Duke Cosimo I [in Pisa?] Letter 94: 6 March 1539 To Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici in Pisa from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence60 Most Illustrious and most Excellent Lord, dearest son, The string of pearls has arrived from Venice that are one hundred in design,61 at present it is intended to send up to fifty [to Naples] and to reserve the remainder until the arrival here of Her Excellency.62 I expect however, that Your Excellency will advise if you are happy, we will follow whatever you order us [to do]. If anyone has asked Your Excellency [about] a scribe at the Monte della Pietà,63 who is about to leave because of certain wounds one of the officials received, Your Excellency will do me a great favor if it [the position] is given to a poor man who has six daughters. Besides it will please me to do such a charitable act as you will have the greatest merit from God, to whom I pray to keep Your Excellency very happy. I recommend myself to you. In Florence, the 6th day of March 1538 [1539].64 To Your Illustrious and Excellent Lordship. [your] mother, Maria Salviati Medici To Duke Cosimo I in Pisa 60. MDP 5926 8r. 61. There were actually two hundred pearls in this necklace as indicated in the BIA Database entry for this letter (BIA doc. ID 3598), which has a partial transcription in Italian and an English summary of part of the first paragraph of this letter, . This reference is repeated in a letter from Maria to Cosimo I dated the same day as this one. See letter 95. 62. This woman is Cosimo’s Spanish bride, Eleonora di (of) Toledo. A brief introduction to Eleonora’s life is in Bruce L. Edelstein, “Toledo, Eleonora di (ca. 1522–1562),” in Encyclopedia of Women in the Renaissance: Italy, France, and England, ed. Diana Maury Robin, Anne R. Larsen and Carole Levin (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC–CLIO, 2007), 362–67. See now, Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Toledo-de’ Medici, Leonor de (Eleonora),” . 63. The Monte di Pietà were charitable civic pawnshops that lent against pawns at low interest rates. See Carol Bresnahan Menning, Charity and State in Late Renaissance Italy: The Monte di Pietà (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1993). 64. This letter is annotated by one of Cosimo’s secretaries, who has summarized the key point of each paragraph in the margin of the letter.

124 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI Letter 95: 6 March 1539 To Duke Cosimo de’ Medici in Pisa from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence65 Most Illustrious and most Excellent Lord, dearest son, Now, I have received Your Excellency’s [letter] of the fifth, I understand your wish about you wanting to see the pearls that arrived from Venice, by order of Messer Ottaviano [de’ Medici] before they are consigned to be sent to Naples, so immediately I ordered Messer Pierfrancesco [Riccio] to send it over there with a trusted person. Through another one of mine, via Selbastrella, 66 Your Excellency will have seen how I deigned to send these ambassadors only fifty [pearls] and the rest will be reserved until the arrival of Her Excellency [Eleonora di Toledo].67 I will await your opinion and so it will be followed.68 I’m sorry that the times are proceeding in the way that they do and that Your Excellency has not been able to have those pleasures you were hoping for. On the other hand, I have much pleasure in hearing that the journey is providing for the needs of that city [Pisa?] that in truth they must have need of Your Excellency’s presence. I will pray to God that he keeps you very happy so that you are able to provide for the needs of your subjects as you wish. At first, Your Excellency’s recommendations will be made, and if the good intentions of Lord Lorenzo Cibo are understood, whose spirit is always satisfied by the future of his most reverend lordship, so that I know he will be pleased by it. With this letter, there will be one from Captain Pellegrino who has asked me to recommend [him] to Your Excellency, so that in addition to that [Captaincy?] he is provided with something so that he will be able freely to lay down his soul in the service of this illustrious house.69 Nothing else to report, I recommend myself to you. From Florence the 6th of March 1538 [1539]. To Your Illustrious and Excellent Lordship. [your] mother, Maria Salviati Medici To Duke Cosimo I [in Pisa?] 65. MDP 5926 9r. 66. This letter has not survived. Salbastrella (or Salvastrella) was a courier. See Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Selvastrella,” . 67. The ambassadors were Luigi Ridolfi and Jacopo de’ Medici, who were sent as proxies to Naples for the marriage of Eleonora di Toledo to Cosimo I (BIA doc. ID 3594). On Luigi di Piero Ridolfi (1495– 1556) a maternal cousin of Cosimo I and a member of his court, see Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Ridolfi, Luigi di Piero,” . For Jacopo di Chiarissimo de’ Medici (1501–1554), see Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Medici, Jacopo di Chiarissimo de,’ ” . 68. In the margin of the letter, one of Cosimo’s secretaries had written, “His Excellency is happy about this.” 69. In the margin one of Cosimo’s secretaries had written, “give him hope.”

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 125 Letter 96: 8 March 1539 To Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici in Pisa from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence70 Most Illustrious and Most Excellent Lord my dearest son, Madonna Ginevra di Lapi this morning has recommended Matteo di Sano from Cerretti Guidi, her laborer, to us. He is in prison for having shot a pheasant, she says with your license and alleges that Messer Ottaviano [de’ Medici] and Messer Carlo da Spelle had permitted [promised?] him such a license.71 Your Excellency will be able to be informed about it by the aforesaid Messer Carlo and warn him that it is reported that he grants the ability to hunt with his consent and to those people that extend their hands to him in times of cooperation. I tell you everything so that it is remedied, and I understand the truth. In case the aforesaid peasant is found to have erred by the order of the said Madonna Ginevra that he is recommended, and that the penalty imposed not cause any harm, as Your Excellency will see by the enclosed supplication. I recommend this [supplication] much to you. May God keep you very happy. From Florence the 8th of March 1538 [1539]. To Your Illustrious and Excellent Lordship. [your] mother, Maria Salviati Medici To Cosimo I [n Pisa?]

Letter 97: 26 April 1539 To Messer Girolamo da Cavina in Poggio a Caiano from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence72 Our dearest Magnificent [Messer Girolamo da Cavina], We have read Giovanni Bandini’s letter and I attest to what he writes. You can write to him freely that the Duke won’t fail to do what he has promised him. I will be his procurator in this and in all other of his matters. If His Excellency’s secretaries have not written his thoughts about this discussion, I think the fault is theirs, which will be completely healed, as by the grace of God it will end well. When you will be back, I will remind you of this letter, and you will be satisfied by what was missing in the past. 70. MDP 335 616r, . 71. The word in Italian is either “promessa” or “permessa.” The abbreviation in the text of the letter is “pmessa”. and its expansion into either “pro” or “per” has one of two meanings: permit or promise. Both of these options are possible for this letter. Carlo da Spelle was a member of Cosimo I’s court. See Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Venanzio da Spelle, Carl,” . 72. MAP 140 41r, .

126 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI After I understand what has to be done regarding this construction, you will see I certainly am sending you tomorrow Pirro [Musefilo] who was out, or early Monday morning, so you will not fail to know about what needs to be done. Await this charge as diligently as you usually do and be well. Two supplications were sent to me about the matters in Arezzo, read them and briefly advise us what you think to say in reply to them. From Florence 26th of April 1539. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Magnificent Messer Girolamo da Cavina our dearest friend at Poggio [a Caiano]

Letter 98: 17 June 1539 To Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici in Pisa from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence73 Most Illustrious and most Excellent Lord, my dearest son, I was much comforted [by] the letters of Your Excellency of the sixteenth of the present month,74 having understood from them that you have arrived well and in good spirits in Pisa, for which I thank God exceedingly. I pray to him to keep you very robust for the future, as I wish. I don’t wonder that you haven’t heard anything of Her Excellency [Eleonora di Toledo]. Having been fortunate on Tuesday, you must not prefer much [more] that you will have news of her, and may God answer Your Excellency’s wish and mine.75 With nothing else to report, I recommend myself to you much. In Florence, the 17th day of June 1539. To Your Illustrious and Excellent Lordship.  [your] most loving mother Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Cosimo I de’ Medici in Pisa

73. MDP 5926 62r. 74. These letters have not survived. 75. Maria is referring to news Cosimo had received about the progress of Eleonora di Toledo’s wedding journey from Naples, which began on 11 June. For a discussion of Eleonora’s wedding journey to Florence in June 1539, see Mary A. Watt, “Veni, Sponsa: Love and Politics at the Wedding of Eleonora di Toledo,” in The Cultural World of Eleonora di Toledo: Duchess of Florence and Siena, ed. Konrad Eisenbichler (Aldershot, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2004), 22–24.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 127 Letter 99: 22 June 1539 To Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici in Pisa from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence76 Most Illustrious and most Excellent Lord, my dearest son, As Your Excellency can imagine, with what pleasure I received yours of the twenty-second of the present month,77 for containing [news of] the arrival of the most Illustrious Lady duchess, your wife at Livorno, well and in good spirits and how everything was arranged to meet her for the entry into Pisa. Thanks to God for her safe arrival and that Your Excellency is well. I will soon have the pleasure of the arrival here, which not only me but the whole city desires.78 I wish Your Excellency well. Recommend me to the Lady Duchess and to yourself and may God keep both of you very happy. From Florence, the 22nd of June 1539. To Your most Illustrious and Excellent Lordship.  [your] mother, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Cosimo I de’ Medici in Pisa

Letter 100: 11 September 1539 To Cosimo I de’ Medici in Pisa from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence79 Most Illustrious and Excellent Lord my only son, Nothing else to report to you in reply to Your Excellency’s of the eleventh, sent in response to one of mine,80 solely to remind you of the same as the others, as everyone awaits your return with joy and especially by her most Illustrious Lady Duchess and by me. For this we wish it to be soon, having pleasure in hearing how you left the city well built,81 of which in truth I was most certain. Today, Messer Matteo Niccolini has been with me and others.82 They have asked me to order that prayers are said by convents and churches and pray the Lord to put an end to such rain, in view of the bad effect produced. I haven’t 76. MDP 5926 61r. 77. This letter has not survived. 78. Eleonora di Toledo arrived a week later in Florence on 29 June 1539. For the wedding festivities that followed immediately to celebrate her marriage to Cosimo I and their political symbolism, see Watt, “Veni, Sponsa,” 26–37. 79. MDP 5926 52r–v. 80. Maria’s letter has not survived. 81. This reference may refer to leaving a city well-fortified. 82. Matteo Niccolini was one of Cosimo I’s advisors and ambassadors. Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Niccolini, Matteo,” .

128 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI failed to order it [prayers] from the Reverend [Bishop]of Assisi [Agnolo Marzi de’ Medici] as is usual. I would wish that for such a result Your Excellency order them [the lords?] to pay me fifty scudi to give in alms to said places as certainly they will be well placed. The urgency of their need is expected; nonetheless, I will refer to your command. It seems that you should also order to send the [Madonna del] Impruneta83 [. . .], and for this I will attend to Your Excellency’s wish. These citizens are sad about this happening and are shouting about paying it, waiting for the sting, it seems to them that times do not auger well. I defend them the best I know how, given their good words, it seems to me in truth that being so weak, they should not be scandalized. Besides Alessandro Buonaccorsi has been with me and asked me if I had burdened Messer Niccolò and Mastro Andrea Pasquali.84 They replied that I wanted Your Excellency’s opinion of it and then I will answer them. So, I will await it, as it seems to me an injury has been done to them. Both of them are good servants of the [Medici] house especially medicating continuously now this or that illness, as happens without making some provision for such a consequence, nonetheless I will refer it to Your Excellency, who will give me your opinion of it. Nothing else to tell you except my good health and of the Illustrious Lady duchess recommending us infinite times to Your Excellency. May God keep you most strongly in his good grace as is my wish. From Florence, 11th of September 1539. To Your Illustrious and Excellent Lordship. [your] mother, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Cosimo I de’ Medici [in Pisa?]

Letter 101: 18 October 1539 To Pierfrancesco Riccio in Florence from Maria de’ Medici at Castello85 Our dearest Reverend Lord [Riccio], I have this morning yours of the eighteenth. Having heard about your illness much in Pisa, I thought a lot about your faithful service. But I took comfort and consolation much more from your letter and from the loving words you had 83. The image of Madonna del Impruneta was a sacred image of the Virgin Mary from the Tuscan town of Impruneta. The presentation of this painting was believed to work miracles when brought into Florence in times of crisis or because of adverse weather events, particularly relating to rain. See Richard C. Trexler, “Florentine Religious Experience: The Sacred Image,” Studies in the Renaissance 19 (1972): 7–41, . 84. Alessandro Buonacorsi is probably a Florentine nobleman. Messer Niccolò is unknown but may be a court employee. Mastro Andrea Pasquali (1496–1572) is the court physician. See Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Pasquali, Andrea,” . 85. MDP 338 136r, .

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 129 from my son. For in truth, I thought that I was fated to have the opposite response [from him]. I think your good deeds have caused a similar reply. Also, with all these good offers, I thank God that I have no need of him or anyone else. Thank him on my behalf, as I will be a good mother to him as I have always been in the past and I hope that he will [continue] to be that good son that he has been to me until now. Nothing else to report. To your good graces I recommend myself, reminding you that when I hadn’t endured this difficulty, I was happy for several days with such a reply. 86 You should be happy that to keep myself well, I will do anything to obtain relief. I will be grateful if illness does not impede me. Kiss the hand of the most reverend [Archbishop?] of Ferrara on my behalf.87 From Castello, the 18th of October 1539. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Messer Pierfrancesco Riccio in Florence

Letter 102: 7 March 1540 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici from Cosimo I de’ Medici in Pisa88 Most Illustrious Lady, most respected mother,89 I have been strongly urged by Captain Giano Strozzi to arrange that Jacopo Ginori, an agent of Messer Ottaviano [de’ Medici], be content to keep company with [marry] the daughter of Daniello Strozzi, the niece of the said Captain.90 Because I wish to satisfy them, it seemed to me that due to my absence that it should please your most Illustrious Ladyship to take on this office and, with your authority and mine, arrange with the said Jacopo and with the aforesaid Messer Ottaviano that it will happen, showing each of them that it will please us greatly. To your good graces with dutiful reverence I recommend myself. I pray that the Lord God protects you for a long time. From Pisa on the 7th day of March 1539 [1540]. To Your most Illustrious Ladyship. [Y]our son, Cosimo Medici To the Most Illustrious Lady, most respected mother, Madonna Maria Salviati de’ Medici 86. The background to Maria’s “difficulty” referred to in this letter is discussed in Tomas, “ ‘With his authority,’ ” 139–40. 87. Maria’s brother, Giovanni Salviati, held the archbishopric of Ferrara from 1520 until 1550. See . 88. MAP 140, 57r–bis v, . 89. The context and significance of this letter is analyzed in Tomas, “ ‘With his authority,’ ” 142–43. 90. “Giano” is a contraction of Giuliano. The Giano Strozzi referred to here may be the same Giuliano Strozzi referred to in letter 93.

130 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI Letter 103: 4 July 1540 To Ugolino Grifoni at Cafaggiolo from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence91 Our dear Magnificent [Grifoni], We have heard through yours how His Excellency is feeling, and the discomfort suffered yesterday. It has given him pain around the waist, which hurts him and there is more pain there, which we knew was not caused by the discomfort of the litter. Don’t fail to always inform me about how His Excellency is. Make Madonna Caterina [Tornabuoni de’ Salviati] do it,92 to whom I recommend myself. Tell her we are giving her the responsibility. Kiss the hands of Her Excellency [Eleonora di Toledo] on our behalf, to whom I recommend myself without end. May God keep her safe. From Florence the 4th of July 1540. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Ugolino Grifoni [at Cafaggiolo]

Letter 104: 4 July 1540 To Ugolino Grifoni at Cafaggiolo from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence93 Our dearest Magnificent [Grifoni], Through yours, we have had pleasure in hearing about the most happy arrival of their Excellencies in Cafaggiolo.94 But through the stable master who showed up here, we understand that his Excellency had little rest tonight, which displeased us a lot. Because of that we tell you that Madonna Caterina [Tornabuoni de’ Salviati] is not happy. Do you intend from time to time to keep us alerted without giving you another burden? For our most illustrious son for whom we wish every good thing, may God keep him happy. Kiss the hands of the Illustrious Lady Duchess on my behalf. Encourage her to remain steadfast there, till she sees herself strengthening in health that will benefit her, which will be received [by me] with great pleasure. Nothing else to report. Keep us advised of His Excellency’s health. From Florence, the 4th of July 1540. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Ugolino Grifoni [at Cafaggiolo]

91. MDP 345 10r, . 92. Caterina Tornabuoni–Salviati (d. 1555) was a cousin of Maria’s who became a lady-in-waiting to Cosimo’s wife, Eleonora di Toledo. On Caterina Tornabuoni, see Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Salviati-Tornabuoni, Caterina,” . 93. MDP 345 11r, . 94. Cafaggiolo was a Medici villa and hunting lodge in the Mugello region of Tuscany, north of Florence.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 131 Letter 105: 4 July1540 To Eleonora di Toledo at Cafaggiolo from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence95 Most Illustrious and Excellent Lady [Eleonora], All the time I wish for the well-being of Your Excellency and that I see to its provision with nothing but a quiet and happy heart. This morning Messer Pierfrancesco [Riccio] read me a section of a letter from Messer Ugolino [Grifoni], which talked about your safe arrival in Cafaggiolo and the good evening you have had before going to bed; matters that made my heart rejoice, so I certainly thought. Then having Your Excellency’s stablemaster appear and report that you had suffered much, which bothered me a lot, fearing that I trusted him too much. I did not harm him because of [his] youth and compassion. Because my most Illustrious lady, you will have everything you want if you wish to do me a favor. Rest there in Cafaggiolo as you said for several days. As you rest there quietly so Your Excellency will be comforted, for you will not lack anything that I usually send you. Then Your Excellency will be able to take better care of yourself and joke with fortune as you go to see new things and doing so gives you cause to stay well. It will free me from the passion of the heart that will not let me rest because of the fear that I have for your well-being and that of His Excellency. May the Lord God keep you happy as you wish. Lady Maria, the daughter of Your Excellency, is as well as I was hoping. She does not lack the care that belongs to her and is sought after at her tender age.96 Lady Giulia kisses Your Excellency’s hand and reminds you to keep her in your good graces as she wishes also to be kept by Your most Illustrious Lord Duke, your husband.97 Both of us kiss the hand of Your Excellency. We recommend ourselves to you, begging you to not prefer a particular day to give us news

95. MDP 345 12r–v, . 96. Princess Maria de’ Medici (1540–1557) was Cosimo I de’ Medici’s eldest child, born on 3 April 1540. On Maria de’ Medici, see Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Medici, Maria di Cosimo I de,’ ” ; For further details of her short life, and a discussion of a portrait of her, see Gabrielle Langdon, Medici Women: Portraits of Power, Love and Betrayal from the Court of Duke Cosimo I (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2006), 109–15. Cosimo I told the ambassador, Agnolo Niccolini, that this birth order was a Medici family tradition and so he was not unhappy that his first child was a girl, because his maternal grandmother, Lucrezia Salviati, was a firstborn child and her next sibling was her brother, Piero. See BIA, doc. ID 12646 (MDP 4 14r), . 97. On Giulia de’ Medici (1534–1588), Duke Cosimo I’s ward and Duke Alessandro de’ Medici’s natural child, see Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Medici-Cantelmo, Giulia di Alessandro de,’ ” ; Langdon, Medici Women, 121–35.

132 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI of your well-being through the letters of Messer Ugolino [Grifoni] or others. From Florence the 4th of July 1540. To Your Illustrious and Excellent Lady as a mother Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Eleonora di Toledo [at Cafaggiolo]

Letter 106: 9 July 1540 To Ugolino Grifoni at Cafaggiolo from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence98 Our dear Magnificent [Grifoni], We are sending you the enclosed supplication of a nephew of Bongiani Taddei,99 who is in prison on account of [the possession] of weapons. Because we wish, on my recommendation, that His Excellency remits the sentence, we tell you that we foresee some good opportunities to read it [the supplication] to him. We are ourselves most certain that the truth will come out. It will be a great favor to fulfil his wish and bid farewell. From Florence the 9th of July 1540.100 Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Ugolino Grifoni [at Cafaggiolo]

Letter 107: 10 July 1540 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence from Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici at Cafaggiolo101 Most Illustrious and most Excellent Lady, most honored mother, We have seen in yours of the eighth,102 how much Your Excellency desires the [granting of] the pardon to Giovannino Taddei and we, wishing to satisfy you in all things possible wish to remit the financial penalty for Your Excellency, to reduce it or grant the entire favor, as you please. But if on the other hand, if you are happy to let him remain there in prison for a few days, he will have a reason that with this short detention, he will be able to change his life more calmly than he has been able to do up until now and, doing it for his sake, leave it up to us. If our most Illustrious Lady consort [Eleonora di Toledo] again does not deign to ask Your Excellency to speak to that Vincenzo from Prato about the conclusion of that marriage alliance, she knows we will not have it as we have 98. MDP 345 168r, . 99. On Bongianni Taddei, a captain of Arezzo; see Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Taddei, Bongianni,” . 100. After the letter was received, another person, writing in a different hand to Maria’s scribe, probably one of Cosimo I’s secretaries, indicated that this man remained in prison. 101. MDP 345 284r, . 102. This refers to Maria’s letter dated the previous day, that is the 9th rather than the 8th (letter 106).

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 133 written [it] and her most illustrious lady desires it a lot. It will be a great pleasure to us for you to arrange the situation and complete the task for us so that it has the desired effect. From that, it follows that you will give particular news of it, so that we can show our consort [that] the job is done and which we still feel very happy about. From the heart we recommend ourselves to you. May God keep you happy. From Cafaggiolo, the 10th of July 1540. To Your Illustrious Ladyship. Your son, Cosimo Medici To Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence

Letter 108: 21 July 1540 To Eleonora di Toledo from Maria Salviati de’ Medici at Castello103 My most Illustrious and most Excellent honored lady [Eleonora] di Toledo, Alfonso de’ Nerli is coming here to do his duty,104 I wanted him to accompany the present [letter], in which briefly I tell Your Excellency how the day before yesterday I went to Castello to see if after the [thermal] bath I can breathe better, and by the grace of God I am very well.105 As Alfonso, to whom I refer myself, will better explain to Your Excellency face to face. Lady Giulia [de’ Medici]’s boils on her forehead are still healing and she apologizes to Your Excellency, if she hasn’t done her duty by not writing to you. She will overcome this when she is healed, in addition to how much better she has learnt to write and, in the meantime, recommends to you her devoted service. Lady Maria, Your Excellency’s daughter, is very well and does not lack the endearments she deserves. So, I go on asking God to keep you well as I wish Your Excellency were. I kiss your hand, wishing to see you soon return to full strength. I recommend myself to you. From Castello, the 21st of July 1540. To Your Illustrious and Excellent Ladyship. Like a mother, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Eleonora di Toledo, Duchess of Florence 103. MDP 345 364r, . 104. I have no information about this man. Maria’s sister, Caterina, married into the noble Nerli family: it is possible that Alfonso de’ Nerli is a relative of Caterina’s by marriage. 105. Thermal baths were used for a range of therapeutic and social purposes in Renaissance Italy, and the Medici family were frequent visitors to various spas throughout Tuscany. See David S. Chambers, “Spas in the Italian Renaissance,” in Reconsidering the Renaissance, ed. M. A. Di Cesare (Binghamton, NY: Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies, 1992), 3–27; Charles R. Mack, “The Wanton Habits of Venus: Pleasure and Pain at the Renaissance Spa,” Explorations in Renaissance Culture 26, no. 2 (2000): 257–76, .

134 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI Letter 109: 22 July 1540 To Ugolino Grifoni from Maria Salviati de’ Medici at Castello106 Our Dearest Magnificent [Grifoni], We have yours of the nineteenth with one included from Mastro Andrea [Pasquali], of the same day, from which we remain satisfied about the well-being of their Excellencies. How much more so, the thought that Her Excellency is thought to be pregnant. May it please God to satisfy our desire that she have a safe delivery.107 We are pleased that their Excellencies are going to expedite their return as we truly think they are suffering endless discomfort. We will be able to be more quietly content and enjoy their presence with greater comfort than if they had written letters. It is not news that Lady Bia is the solace of this court.108 Often you don’t find yourself feeling such loving that yet we suffer to see her, but for the happiness of Her Excellency, we are satisfied [and] how much [Her] Magnificence[?] is well and in good spirits. We wonder that the discomfort of the journey does not make her unwell. May God care for the second heart.109 We kiss His Excellency’s hands for the pardon you have done for us for Giovanni Taddei, how much more is it a favor for the love of Bongiani [Taddei], who happens never to have written of it, he is very grateful and we are most certain that he will have supplicated His Excellency.110 He [Giovanni?] is released and is well. Nothing else to report. In Castello, the 22nd of July 1540. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Ugolino Grifoni

106. MDP 345 380r, . 107. Further references to the news of Eleonora di Toledo’s pregnancy appear in the Court’s correspondence shortly after Maria’s letter, in two letters of July 31 from two separate government officials to Ugolino Grifoni. See BIA, doc. ID 19366 (MDP 3263 157r), ; BIA, doc. ID 19118 (MDP 3263 161r), . Cosimo I announced the birth of his eldest son and heir, Francesco, on 25 March 1541. See BIA, doc. ID 22359 (MDP 652 206r), . 108. Bia (1537–1542) was Duke Cosimo I’s natural daughter. See Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Medici, Bia di Cosimo I de,’  ” . For details of Bia’s short life and her portraiture, see Langdon, Medici Women, 99–108. 109. This is a reference to the unborn child. 110. For the context, see letters 106–7.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 135 Letter 110: 31 July 1540 To Ugolino Grifoni from Maria Salviati de’ Medici at Castello111 Our dearest Magnificent [Grifoni], We have sent there with one of ours the present young man, so that he puts it [the letter] into the hands of His Excellency. Besides the letter, he has some matters to discuss face to face, on the sidelines pertaining to him, because we wish that when he speaks to His Excellency, it is in private. Therefore, we refer it to you so that he speaks to him in the easiest way as there will be an opportunity for him there. Nothing else to report except kiss the hand of the most illustrious lady Duchess with so much faith that very happily we await her return. May God grant it according to our wishes and farewell. From Castello, the 31st day of July 1540. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Ugolino Grifoni

Letter 111: 5 September 1540 To Duke Cosimo I from Maria Salviati de’ Medici at Castello112 Most Illustrious and excellent Lord only son, I pleaded with Your Excellency in the last few months at the time the Magnificent lords of the Foreign Affairs Committee were deliberating that you write to those Magnificent [men] about Messer Bardo Altoviti, who seems to me because of his excellent qualities and virtue to deserve it. You replied that at that time you were not able to fulfil it, but at the first election that comes next it would be done for sure. As it is now the time, I don’t want to fail to remind you of it by this [letter] of mine making me very certain they will not miss it. Because besides that he will be very well placed, he will receive a most singular benefit as surely he is a man who is able to be used a lot and who merits in every way to be recommended by Your Excellency as your affectionate servant that he is.113 I kiss your hands. I beg you to recommend me a lot to the Illustrious Lady Duchess. As I wish, may God keep both of you very happy. From Castello, the 5th day of September 1540. To Your Illustrious and Excellent Lord. [your] most affectionate mother, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Cosimo I de’ Medici 111. MDP 345 506r, . 112. MDP 343 513r, . 113. On Bardo Altoviti (1498–1546) and his service to the Medici regime, including his eventual appointment to the Foreign Affairs Committee in late March 1541, see Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Altoviti, Bardo di Giovanni,” .

136 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI Letter 112: 12 September 1540 To Duke Cosimo I from Maria Salviati de’ Medici at Castello114 Most Illustrious and excellent Lord only son, I cannot fail to not recommend to Your Excellency, Bartolomeo of Romagna, called Fracassa,115 brother of Ser Livo, the present [letter] bearer, on account of the tax that is discovered now. The said Ser Livo is keeping him to work on the farms of his parish, so he can therefore feed his four daughters and three sons as surely if he wasn’t helped, he would be forced to beg. The service he has had with my father of blessed memory compels me to recommend him to Your Excellency.116 Notwithstanding that we know because of what is reported to us that not only have they taxed him fifteen scudi as he is not very worldly. But to infinite others— and to those that are powerful [who] have little or any tax—the reports of the tax officials damage also those who cannot avail themselves of any merit. How can the whole countryside be trusted when Your most Illustrious Lordship was looking again for it,117 for it would be good if you were able to send out at times only faithful servants, so that the fiscal charges were distributed to those who can afford them. Those that distributed them [at] another time would proceed with more caution. With nothing more to report, I recommend myself to you. May God keep you happy. From Castello, the 12th of September 1540. To Your Illustrious and Excellent Lordship. [your] mother, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Cosimo I de’ Medici

Letter 113: 13 October 1540 To Duke Cosimo I from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence118 My dearest most illustrious and most excellent lord son, I have asked Your Excellency many times for some benefice for Ser Mattio Musico,119 who serves as tutor to the pages and also to Lady Giulia [de’ Medici]. 114. MDP 343 514r, . 115. “Fracassa” is a nickname meaning the noisy one. 116. Jacopo Salviati died in September 1533. See the report in Rinaldo Fulin et al., I diarii di Marino Sanuto (1496–1533), 58 vols. (1879–1903; reprint, Bologna: Forni; 1969–1970), vol. 58, column 677. 117. The Italian abbreviation actually means “your Illustrious Ladyship,” but as Maria is writing to her son, the feminine Italian ending is in error. 118. MDP 347 128r, . 119. Based on his title and surname, Ser Mattio Musico, was a priest and musician, who may have taught singing to Duke Cosimo I’s children. In Letter 121, he is also referred to as Maria’s “chaplain”. Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Mattio Mauro Fra Mauro,” .

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 137 An occasion has not yet ever arisen to be able to pay him, with the patrons of benefices always being recovered when a [benefice] was requested. Now in the present [letter] it is said that the chorister of Santa Maria del Fiore [the Florence cathedral] is sick, who is the patron of an entitled benefice in Santa Maria for many years and also of a chapter in Santa Maria del Fiore, whose patron is the chapter of the said place.120 Being one and the other of the same kind, I beg Your Excellency, for my love, arrange the favor for him as I am sure I will have the most singular pleasure. In addition to this, it has a house in the canonry, which I wish Your Excellency to make good for Ser Mattio, my chaplain.121 I cordially ask you for the chapter that is there.122 With nothing else to report, I kiss the hands of Your Excellency and I plead with you to recommend me to the most Illustrious lady duchess. May God keep her very happy. From Florence, the 13th day of October 1540. To Your Illustrious and Excellent Lordship. [your] mother, Maria Salviati de’ Medici

Letter 114: 30 January 1541 To the Governing Council of San Gimignano in San Gimignano from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence123 Our dearest magnificents [of San Gimignano], Ser Hieronimo Verrucci, your Lordships’ ambassador, has presented in your name the gift you ordered, accompanied truly by such humane and kind words as could be born from men reputed to be very affectionate towards us. Accepting you as such, we thank you for your good thoughts and the gift presented to us, as he [Verrucci] who will tell you face to face can better express our thoughts. To whom [the Lordships], at your request, we offer ourselves, so it happily succeeds. In Florence, the 30th day of January 1540 [1541]. To Your most Illustrious lord benefactors. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To the magnificent Lord Priors and Standard Bearers of Justice of Santo Gimignano, our dearest at Santo Gimignano

120. A chapter is a group of clerics. In a cathedral these clerics are called canons. 121. This appears to be the same man as the Ser Mattio mentioned at the beginning of the letter. 122. In the left-hand margin of the letter, one of the Medici secretaries had noted, in a different hand to that of Maria’s scribe: “I have the advice of the death [of the chorister], it will be resolved.” 123. Acquisti e Doni, 59, ins. 4, n. 6 (not numbered).

138 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI Letter 115: 22 April 1541 To Lorenzo Pagni at Poggio a Caiano from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence124 Our dearest [Lorenzo Pagni], We have heard how much you have negotiated with His Excellency in our name and how you replied to him about providing me with money that he would take with interest for our convenience, which is not our inclination, not having thought to burden fate, as needs be. As for what you say his Excellency will order for us, a provision for us and for the children,125 we say that even this is not enough, not having the courage to put aside any fee for its removal, but only that it is enough for us to know that we can have enough on a daily basis for the everyday costs that the children of his Excellency incur. Not on our account, it is enough for us and we are happy with one garment at a time. But we don’t want to go in any way to his Ministers as we do not think it is reasonable but assign us a banker that pays us the necessary requirement and His Excellency reviews the costs and when he sees extraordinary costs on our account, remove the assigned [amount]. Because every one of our wishes is for the honor and profit of His Excellency. Not to proceed as he would think we wish to do; we consent to a provision that we asked of him. It is enough for us at present that he provided for us fifty scudi to satisfy various debts and to provide adequately hour by hour for the house and for His Excellency’s children. As for satisfying the debts that I have with Francesco Benintendi,126 I don’t want to burden His Excellency for now, as it is increasing to almost 2,000 scudi, and now patience until we have the means to satisfy him. So that if you discuss everything with His Excellency, promise him that I have no other desire in this world than to satisfy both him and his children, but when I saw they lacked one thing more than another, it felt as if I lacked it myself. Without saying any more, kiss the hands of their Excellencies on my behalf, may the Lord God keep them happy.127 From Florence, the 22nd of April 1541. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Lorenzo Pagni, [at Poggio a Caiano]128

124. MDP 350 122, . This letter is also printed in C. O. Tosi, “Maria Salviati Medici,” Arte e Storia 27, nos. 9–10 (1908): 74–75. 125. The Medici children referred to here are the four-year-old Bia, the one-year-old Maria and the new born Francesco. 126. Francesco Benintendi is the carter referred to in letter 93. See the reference cited there. 127. “Their Excellencies” refer to Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici and the Duchess Eleonora di Toledo. 128. Tosi, “Maria Salviati,” 75, mentions that Lorenzo Pagni was with the ducal couple at Poggio a Caiano.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 139 Letter 116: 23 April 1541 To Lorenzo Pagni from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence129 Our dearest [Lorenzo Pagni], We are sending you the enclosed supplication from the poor captains of Santa Reparata.130 When you see the opportunity, read it to His Excellency and ask him afterward that outstanding matters are recommended to him for love of me. The promptness and favor that the canons are able to have, I didn’t harm them out of duty. So, Messer Lorenzo, don’t fail to negotiate it faithfully, as you usually do with our business. I recommend them to you and answer them with His Excellency in mind. Nothing else to report, farewell. From Florence, the 23rd of April 1541. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Lorenzo Pagni

Letter 117: 26 April 1541 To Lorenzo Pagni from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence131 Our dearest Magnificent [Lorenzo Pagni], We wrote to you yesterday,132 how we still haven’t had with us the count, our nephew [Jacopo de Luna],133 in order to see what was on his mind. Then having him here today I spoke with him; he relies on us and on His Excellency totally. Therefore, we are resolved that what must be given him at present is not more than twelve to fifteen scudi, calling it a provision, or other, as it will most please His Excellency, to whom we remit it. We see that to give him more now would be superfluous as he is still a lad. and they [the scudi] could be the reason to make him intemperate and turn him toward some vice, which would displease us a lot. Besides, if he is seen to be firmly placed in service, we will be able to increase for him each time how much we think is suitable. Therefore, discuss everything with His Excellency and content yourself to give him advice, because we don’t want to say anything to him. Accompanied by one of our letters, he [Jacopo] arrives in person to ask His Excellency, who he has to recognize, who together with the

129. MDP 350 134r, . 130. “Santa Reparata” refers to the Florence cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore; Santa Reparata was the name of the previous cathedral church that Santa Maria del Fiore was built over. 131. MDP 350 212r, . 132. That letter was MDP 350 190r, 25/4/1541, . 133. Jacopo de Luna was the son of Sigismondo II de Luna, Count of Caltabellotta. His mother was Maria’s sister, Luisa de’ Salviati (1497–1525). On the count and his family, see Giuseppe Scichilone, “Caltabellotta, Sigismondo de Luna, Conte di,” DBI 16 (1973), .

140 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI most illustrious Lady Duchess, we recommend ourselves much. Make them aware that the children are very well, farewell. From Florence the 26th of April 1541. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Lorenzo Pagni

Letter 118: 28 April 1541 To Lorenzo Pagni from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence134 Our dearest [Lorenzo Pagni], This morning the overseer of the incurables [hospital] presented us the two enclosed [letters] concerning matters about the charitable foundation, and since you have dealt with them till now, we will address them to you.135 Because you are advised to discuss them with His Excellency, treat them otherwise as they deserve concerning matters about the evident usefulness of the poor. Therefore, use your diligence that you usually have concerning our other matters and don’t fail to recommend yourself, on our behalf, to His Excellency, to whom we submit ourselves, who, better than us, will know about the provisions needed to be made for this dispatch and farewell. From Florence, the 28th of April 1541. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Lorenzo Pagni

Letter 119: 28 April 1541 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence from Filippo de’ Nerli in Cortona136 Most Illustrious Lady, most honored patron, I understand that His Excellency is at Poggio [a Caiano]. I send by post the attached [letters] that are important so that your illustrious Ladyship can arrange to have them sent quickly. Can you send those that were in His Excellency’s bundle [of letters] [that] were addressed to the Office of the Ducal Bands and make sure of the time the present [letter] bearer will arrive.137 Nothing else to report. I 134. MDP 350 247r, . 135. Florence and its territories contained many hospitals for the poor, which were charitable institutions. See Henderson, Renaissance Hospital; Sharon T. Strocchia, “Caring for the ‘Incurable’ in Renaissance Pox Hospitals,” in Hospital Life: Theory and Practice from the Medieval to the Modern, ed. Laurinda Abreu and Sally Sheard (Oxford: Peter Lang, 2013), 67–92. 136. MDP 350 254r, . 137. The “ducal bands” were the rural (peasant) militia and conscript labor force, who, some decades after this letter was written, built the Uffizi and extended the Palazzo Pitti. See now Suzanne B. Butters, “The Medici Dukes, Comandati and Pratolino: Forced Labour in Renaissance Florence,” in Communes and Despots in Medieval and Renaissance Italy, ed. John E. Law and Bernadette Paton (Farnham, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2010), 249–71.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 141 recommend myself to your most illustrious Ladyship and may our Lord God keep you very happy. From Cortona, the 28th of April 1541. To Your Illustrious Ladyship. Your servant Filippo de’ Nerli, Captain [of Cortona] To Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence

Letter 120: 29 April 1541 To Lorenzo Pagni from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence138 Our dearest Magnificent [Lorenzo Pagni], We send your way the said Jacopo de Luna, our nephew,139. and we direct him to you so that you give him advice regarding His Excellency, instructing him later in all those matters the court is looking for, so that on the day they are able to happen for him. We were of the view that as he will have presented our [letter] to His Excellency asking him about the provision of fifteen scudi a month and make it firm and firm it up over there within four to six days, so that he sees and learns the ways of the court. Therefore, see that he is given a suitable place, and second request the place, without disturbing anyone else’s peace. Don’t fail to keep him in His Excellency’s good graces. Do him those favors that are his due and that are necessary for him in our interests, and farewell. From Castello, the 29th of April 1541. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Lorenzo Pagni

Letter 121: 8 May 1541 To Cosimo I de’ Medici from Maria Salviati de’ Medici at Castello140 Dearest most illustrious and most excellent lord my son, Ser Bartholomeo Barcosi from Prato died the day before yesterday. He was patron of [the church of] Santa Maria ale [sic] Colonica,141 that His Excellency has gifted to the nephew of Messer Pierfrancesco [Riccio], the patrons [of the

138. MDP 350 275r, . 139. See letter 117. 140. MDP 351 84r, . 141. On this parish church, see Archivio di Stato di Prato, “Santa Maria a Colonica, pieve di S. Maria,” .

142 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI church] having consented to his election. Now the same person was patron of another benefice called Santa Lucia in Monte.142 This morning two men from Prato came to me, telling me [that] they wanted to give me a gift. I planned to accept it for interceding for a favor from Your Excellency for Ser Mattio, my chaplain who still has little income.143 As he told me he is worth little more than thirty scudi, but he intends that certain others become patrons. Already they have conferred with Messer Filippo Modesti, a Pratese canon, such that it is in dispute. However, when it pleases Your Excellency, coming from me I will remit it to Messer Lelio [Torelli] who will see who is right.144 As for those who don’t want to do the election with Ser Mattio, I’ll keep the matter so suspended, until Your Excellency tells me what you want. I recommend my chaplain very much to you. The children and I are very well. We understand the same of Your Excellency and of your safe arrival from Pisa, God be praised. Nothing else to report to Your Excellency, I recommend myself to you. I ask you to recommend me also to the most Illustrious Lady, your wife. May our Lord give you what you want. From Castello, the 8th of May 1541. To your illustrious and excellent lordship. [your] most affectionate mother, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Cosimo I de’ Medici

Letter 122: 11 May 1541 To Lorenzo Pagni from Maria Salviati de’ Medici at Castello145 Our dearest Magnificent [Lorenzo Pagni], The count Paulo from Cuiorio is coming over there,146 a friend and our servant, to expedite certain of his negotiations with His Excellency to which we have said make it your responsibility, and so we are addressing it with our [letter]. Therefore, don’t fail to introduce him to His Excellency, recommend him a lot on 142. On this parish church, see Archivio di Stato di Prato, “Santa Lucia, chiesa di S. Lucia in Monte”, . 143. On Fra Mauro Mattio, a friar and singer, see, . 144. Messer Lelio Torelli (1489–1576) was a Medici secretary and Cosimo I’s chief legal advisor. On Torelli, see Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Torelli, Lelio di Giovanni,” . 145. MDP 351 124r, . 146. This man, Count Paolo da Cuiorio, may be from Corio, a town north of Turin, in the Piedmont region of Italy.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 143 our behalf as we still do for you. Don’t fail to do him honorable favors as you are able, for our love. Nothing else to report except to recommend ourselves infinite times to their Excellencies, by making them aware of our good health and of the children’s. May Our Lord make them flourish no differently than we hope their Excellencies are thriving and farewell. From Castello on the 11th of May 1541. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Lorenzo Pagni

Letter 123: 17 May 1541 To Cosimo I de’ Medici from Maria Salviati de’ Medici at Castello147 My dearest most illustrious most excellent Lord son, Messer Alessandro Malegonelle today via one of his [letters] and via Lorenzo his brother, has informed me how this morning he concluded the marriage alliance of his daughter with Bartolommeo di Luca di Taddeo Ugolini, a young man of nineteen years old. He hadn’t wanted to publicize it, until he had made me aware of it, seeking me to write to you of what followed to Your Excellency, as I have done with this one.148 May our Lord grant him good fortune. I have felt quite unwell with my usual misfortune for the last two days. Still, I remain so. I hope in God to make it turn out well. I wanted to make everything known to Your Excellency, so that my illness resonates with you; on the other hand, you know my illness very well. I sent for Mastro Andrea [Pasquali] and I conferred with him as to how much was marked and so I will go [on] doing.149If anything else happens that doesn’t please God I will advise Your Excellency to whom I recommend myself much. I beg you also don’t fail to do [the same] to the most Illustrious Lady Duchess by making known to Your Excellencies that the children are in very good spirits. May it please God to keep them [well] for a long

147. MDP 351 240r, . 148. The Medici family were often informed of marriage alliances before they became public knowledge at this time and in earlier generations. Their approval could depend on the marriage going ahead, with Medici family members sometimes also acting as marriage brokers. See Tomas, Medici Women, 19, 26, 135. See letters 6, 102, 107 and Tomas, “ ‘With his authority,’ ” 143, for examples of Maria’s acting, or being asked to act, as a marriage broker. 149. On the progress of Maria’s illness in May 1541, as described in the court correspondence, see Gaetano Pieraccini, La stirpe de’ Medici di Cafaggiolo, 4 vols. (Florence: Vallechi, 1924–; reprint Nardini, 1986), vol. 1, 479–81. Riccio recorded the cost of sending for a specialist physician from Cremona for Maria on 30 May 1541 in his account book; see Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Ricordi di Pierfrancesco Riccio,” .

144 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI time and may they receive what they themselves wish. From Castello, the 17th [of May] 1541. To your Illustrious and Excellent Lordship. [your] most affectionate mother, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Cosimo I de’ Medici

Letter 124: 19 May 1541 To Lorenzo Pagni from Maria Salviati de’ Medici at Castello150 Our dearest [Lorenzo Pagni], One Jacopo from [the town of] Poppi is ill with the French disease [syphilis], 151 and because of his bad luck he fell on the ground from a ladder, in a fashion that [means] he is about to die, but he has not died yet. In order to have in his position a [new] road marshal of the port,152 I recommend Benedetto di Marco Salucci, a young man of good family, who does one of the same jobs in exchange for another, and the road marshal, having given us a good report [about Benedetto], we want you to ask His Excellency for him [Benedetto] on our behalf, with much faith in what we say above. We are at about twenty hours [after sunset] and the pains have not subsided totally but are much lightened, so that we have great hope that it pleases God to grant us health we will see what will happen. We begin to do as much as we know [about], we won’t fail to advise you as everything is discussed with their Excellencies, to whom we recommend you infinitesimal times. They are aware that the children are strong and very well. May God keep them as we wish with every benefit and happiness and farewell. From Castello the 19th [of May] 1541. To your lordship. [your] benefactress, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Lorenzo Pagni

150. MAP 351 280r, . 151. On contemporary attitudes toward, and treatment of, the “French disease,” also known as the “Great Pox,” which first appeared in Europe in the 1490s, and which we now call syphilis, see Jon Arrizabalaga, John Henderson, and Roger K. French, The Great Pox: The French Disease in Renaissance Europe (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997). 152. The Italian literally means “in his person” but is referring to the position the person held.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 145 Letter 125: 28 May 1541 To Lorenzo Pagni from Maria Salviati de’ Medici at Castello153 Our dearest Magnificent Lord [Lorenzo Pagni], We wish to know to whom His Excellency has ordered and committed to pay Don Jacopo del Luna, our nephew, his stipend and when it must start. Because the poor young man is here and is not able to arrange anything without his position. Therefore, listen to everything from His Excellency, on our behalf, and immediately advise [us]. Don’t forget to kiss the hands of both their Excellencies. Make them aware that today we have been very calm with the best hope of better as God pleases. The children are well, and may God keep them so and farewell. From Castello, the 28th of May at the twenty–third hour [after sunset] [1541]. Your Benefactress, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Lorenzo Pagni

Letter 126: 20 September 1541 To Lorenzo Pagni from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence154 Our dearest Magnificent [Lorenzo Pagni], We have heard through your [letter] of the 19th of the present month of the well-being of His Excellency and the others, for which we are very grateful. We pray to God to keep them so in the future. May they be granted favor to return soon to us, healthy and in good spirits. Nothing else to report except [to tell you] of our good health and [that] of the illustrious grandchildren. We tell you to recommend us to His Excellency, may God keep him very happy. From Florence, the 20th of September 1541. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Lorenzo Pagni

Letter 127: 29 October 1541 To Cosimo I de’ Medici from Maria Salviati de’ Medici at Castello155 To most Illustrious and most Excellent Lord only son, The Captain, Piero Gori, came to [see] me and has asked me to recommend one of his relatives detained today in prison by the commissar of Pistoia for some crimes, as he recounts in a note given to us that is sent to Your Excellency enclosed in this letter. You know how worthy he is and I, as much as I can, recommend him to you. 153. MAP 351 468r, . 154. MDP 354 66r, . 155. MDP 354 296r, .

146 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI The illustrious children are here with me at Castello, who by the grace of God are in very good spirits, as am I, hoping to hear the same from Your Excellencies, whose hands I kiss and recommend myself to you from the heart. From Castello the 29th of October 1541. To your illustrious and excellent lord. [Your] most affectionate mother, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Cosimo I de’ Medici

Letter 128: 30 October 1541 To Cosimo I de’ Medici and Eleonora di Toledo from Maria Salviati de’ Medici at Castello156 Illustrious and most excellent lords, dearest children, Maestro Carlo Cerusico, husband of the wet nurse of Lord Don Francesco [de’ Medici], the son of Your Excellencies,157 has begged us for the two benefits that are included in the supplication to this letter. For one [benefit] that his son Cherubino has, his need is of the type that everyone in our house has noted. The merits of his service are of the sort that I can’t do anything else but recommend him, to beg Your Excellencies strictly not to forget his wish, which besides the benefit and his obligation toward Your Excellencies, I will be very happy [that] he is satisfied. I kiss your hands and heartily recommend myself. From Castello, the 30th of October 1541. To Your Illustrious and Excellent Lords. [Your] mother, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Cosimo I de’ Medici and Eleonora di Toledo

Letter 129: 21 November 1541 To Ugolino Grifoni from Maria Salviati de’ Medici at Castello158 Our dearest Magnificent [Grifoni], Yours of the 14th [of November] notified [us] of the well-being of Their Excellencies and the present one of their Lords [children], which has been of the 156. MDP 354 308r, . 157. Maestro Carlo Cerusico was a doctor and, together, with his wife, Francesco’s wet nurse, was a member of Duke Cosimo I’s household. Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Cerusico, Carlo,” ; Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Medici, Cosimo I de’ List of Household Members,” . 158. MDP 355 133r, .

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 147 greatest consolation. Little by little the disposition of the most Illustrious lady Duchess improved, so that it will be forgotten in a day. We usually take pleasure from these villas till our return and we are with the grandchildren, God be praised. We are as well as we can be, wishing for more. I expect to depart soon and farewell. From Castello, the 21st of November 1541 Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Ugolino Grifoni

Letter 130: 23 December 1541 To Cosimo I de’ Medici from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence159 Most illustrious and most excellent lord, dearest son, One of the officials who weighs salt has died, and I wish that Your Excellency grant me a favor for a young man of good standing, son-in-law of Mona Domenica, one of the women that is in my service and of the children.160 I am writing you the present [letter] and beg you dearly as much as I am able [for you] to want to give this vacancy on my recommendation, as he is a very good servant and I will be very grateful. Your children, by the grace of God, [together] with me, are in good spirits, so I wish for Your Excellency and the Duchess. May God keep you very happy and I recommend myself to you. From Florence the 23rd of December 1541. To Your Excellency. [Your] beloved mother, Maria Salviati de’ Medici161 To Cosimo I de’ Medici

Letter 131: 1 May 1542 To Ugolino Grifoni from Maria Salviati de’ Medici at Castello162 Our dearest reverend Lord [Grifoni], When Your Excellency was here at Castello, we recommended to you Briga, the present bearer [of this letter],163 for you to provide him with something to 159. MDP 355 309r–310r, . 160. Mona Domenica is listed amongst Cosimo I’s household. See the list in Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Medici, Cosimo I de’ List of Household Members.” 161. A postscript, not written or dictated by Maria, is on the back of the letter (310r). The postscript tells us that the young man’s name is Giovanalberto and that Maria says the duke and duchess have promised to give the vacancy to the son-in-law of Mona Domenica. 162. MDP 5926 11r. 163. “Briga” must be a nickname for this man as it means “trouble” in Italian.

148 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI enable him to sustain himself together with his wife and children. You replied that it would not be forgotten. However, you have failed still to have him remembered to His Excellency, on our behalf, by telling him [Cosimo I] that we would be very satisfied to hear that he [Briga] is provided with something. Recommend him as much as you can to assist him and farewell. From Castello the 1st of May 1542. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Ugolino Grifoni

Letter 132: 11 May 1542 To Cosimo I de’ Medici in Pisa from Maria Salviati de’ Medici at Castello164 Most Illustrious and most Excellent Lord my only son, Because I know that Your Excellency has been informed daily by letters from Mastro Andrea Pasquali of the progress of my illness, I won’t say anything else except that I’m at the end at present, which is very good. I feel the pain and sadness have ceased and I don’t have the fevers and I’ll help myself as much as I can, by praying to God that one day he frees me from this illness according to his will. Besides all my illnesses I quickly perceived that Monsignore [Francesco de’ Medici] Minerbetti has not failed often times to goad me with letters repeating what he said and soon I would not know what else to do, to make Your Excellency understand that I do not have the means to satisfy him.165 Because in part you see his request, I send you the enclosed letters and leave the rest to you, so that you will arrange it according to your wish. I will not respond to him before Your Excellency has replied, not knowing what I am able to say to him. Both of Your Excellency’s most Illustrious children are strong and in good spirits. May God keep them according to our wish. May it please Your Excellency to recommend me infinite times to the most illustrious Lady Duchess. May our Lord keep her happy. From Castello, the 11th of May 1542. To Your Illustrious and Excellent Lordship. [Your] most affectionate mother, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Cosimo I de’ Medici in Pisa

164. MDP 5926 14r. 165. A day earlier, Minerbetti wrote to Maria making requests of her. This letter is MDP 5926 16r–v (10 May). The first request concerned the death of a priest connected to the convent of San Silvestro. The second refers to the purchase of a villa Cosimo had refused to buy. This section of the letter is partially transcribed in Italian and its contents summarized in English at .

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 149 Letter 133: 12 May 1542 To Cosimo I de’ Medici from Maria Salviati de’ Medici at Castello166 Most Illustrious most Excellent Lord my only son, Daniello Strozzi,167 until the year ’37 [1537], paid the Eight [on Security] one hundred and fifty scudi for a broken truce with Vieri [de’ Medici] that was worth one thousand florins168 and half of them were expected to be for the offended party. Because of my intercession and for the love of God in consideration of his poverty, Cambio de’ Medici granted him a pardon,169 and I, then, at the request of Matteo Strozzi, of blessed memory, supplicated Your Excellency to grant him a pardon. I was content for him to pay the one hundred and fifty scudi and he was free of the rest.170 This much I remember, having been acquitted by way of Your Excellency’s clemency, he received the pardon. At present, it seems the superintendent of the Eight is bothering him for ten scudi on account of the bad faith, which is to be admired. I want to beg you, for love of Matteo, who then recommended him to us and for myself who obtained the pardon from you, once again grant the supremely generous pardon and so absolve him, as it will give me most singular pleasure. Nothing else to report to Your Excellency except that by the grace of God I am very well and also your illustrious nephews [wards] and your children.171 May God keep them as I wish. You the same, to whom together with the most illustrious Lady Duchess, I recommend myself from the heart. From Castello the 12th of May 1542. To your illustrious and most excellent lordship. [Your] most affectionate mother, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To the most Illustrious and Excellent Lord, the Duke of Florence, dearest son

166. MDP 5926 27r. 167. This is probably the same Daniello Strozzi referred to in letter 102. 168. This man may be Vieri di Cambio de’ Medici. See . 169. Cambio de’ Medici may be Vieri de’ Medici’s father. 170. Matteo Strozzi had died in March 1542, according to the BIA Database record for “Strozzi, Camillo di Matteo”; see . 171. Cosimo I did not have any siblings, so the reference to his niece or nephew refer to his wards, Giulio and Giulia de’ Medici, the natural children of the assassinated duke Alessandro de’ Medici.

150 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI Letter 134: 29 July 1542 To Lorenzo Pagni from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence172 Our dearest Magnificent [Lorenzo Pagni], We have heard from yours of the twenty-ninth of the present [month] what mood the most illustrious Lady Duchess is in because of the arrival of a new wet nurse for her future birth.173 To which I reply, that all our usual diligence shall not fail to be used to have a satisfactory birth. I commend her Excellency to whom on our behalf, kiss her hands while telling her that the most illustrious children are strong. May God keep them as we wish [and] also their Excellencies and farewell. From Florence, the 29th of July 1542. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Lorenzo Pagni

Letter 135: 20 September 1542 To Carlo Strozzi from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence174 Our dearest Magnificent [Carlo Strozzi], We leave it to every man of good standing and virtue to be obliged always to intervene by arrangement in matters that concern the enemy, and even more so when they are kin in order to maintain good relations, and also to give everyone what is right for them. We understand [that] you are to be called by the widow of Carlo di Matteo Strozzi as an arbitrator for the arrangement of her sons’ matters against the others, their uncles.175 We want to beg you for love of us to accept such a compromise as we promise you that for now you cannot do anything that will please us more, considering all the pleasure and convenience they have done for us. We will offer you the exchange each time, that we need to be of service to you to meet our action. Nothing else occurs to us except to hear from you that you are happy with such action, as we make ourselves very sure that you will not fail for convenience of those orphans or our service. 172. MDP 5926 29r. 173. Eleonora di Toledo gave birth to her third child, Isabella, on 31 August 1542. On Isabella MediciOrsini (1542–1576), see Medici Archive Project, BIA Database. “Medici-Orsini, Isabella di Cosimo I de,’ ” . For a summary of Isabella’s life and her portraiture, see Langdon, Medici Women, 108–9, 146–70. For a critical analysis of the notorious “black legend” surrounding Isabella with an important corrective interpretation, see Elisabetta Mori, “Isabella de’ Medici: Unraveling the Legend,” in Medici Women: The Making of a Dynasty in Grand Ducal Tuscany, ed. Giovanna Benadusi and Judith C. Brown (Toronto: Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies, 2015), 90–127. 174. C.S. III 82 271r. This is a later copy of an original letter that has not survived. 175. The arbitration process was designed to promote peace between warring parties. See Thomas Kuehn, “Arbitration and Law in Renaissance Florence,” Renaissance and Reformation / Renaissance et Réforme 11, no. 4 (1987): 289–319, .

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 151 From Castello the 20th of September 1542.

Maria Salviati de’ Medici To the Magnificent Carlo di Giovanni Strozzi, our dearest friend, at home176

Letter 136: 10 October 1542 To Lorenzo Pagni at Poggio a Caiano from Maria Salviati de’ Medici at Castello177 To our dearest Magnificent [Lorenzo Pagni], Shortly after our footman left on his way over there with letters [for you], the young priest appeared with yours for us from Florence of the ninth of the present [month], to which there is nothing else to report, having taken much pleasure from what you wrote about the well-being of their Excellencies, for which we thank God. I told you that almost until now the Lady Isabella [de’ Medici] has suffered from hiccups and from a darkened complexion and pulsing of the fontanel,178 which because it was further behind, was not seen, and I blame the passage of the moon, but last night we watched her carefully, and she has not rested quietly as usual, having had such hiccups many times. This morning after some rest she is quite well, the incision is purging as usual, we are not able to judge this illness as it manifests itself on the inside, which always frightens us more because the outside is much easier to understand and to remedy, as what is inside needs to await the time that God wishes to bring about for her health what we desire.179 Nothing else to report except kiss their Excellencies’ hands and recommend us to them. May our Lord keep them happy. From Castello the 10th of October 1542. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Lorenzo Pagni at [Poggio a Caiano]

176. C.S. III 82 271r also contained a later copy of a letter written to Carlo di Giovanni Strozzi and the other arbitrators of the dispute from Duke Cosimo I, on the same topic as his mother’s letter. In this letter, dated 7 December 1542, the duke exhorts the arbitrators to maintain unity and not to allow any other discord among the Strozzi or any litigation. On Cosimo I’s involvement in the legal system, see James E. Shaw, “Writing to the Prince: Supplications, Equity and Absolutism in Sixteenth-Century Tuscany,” Past & Present 215 no. 1 (2012): 51–83, . 177. MDP 5926 30r. 178. A fontanel is the “soft spot” on an infant’s skull, which usually closes up by the time the child reaches two years of age. 179. For a discussion of Maria Salviati as the overseer of the health of Cosimo’s children, see Sharon T. Strocchia, Forgotten Healers: Women and the Pursuit of Health in Late Renaissance Italy (New Haven and London: Harvard University Press, 2019), 16–41.

152 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI Letter 137: 28 October 1542 To Pierfrancesco Riccio in Florence from Maria Salviati de’ Medici at Castello180 Our dearest Reverend Lord [Riccio], We have heard that you are dressing the pages and footmen of their Excellencies, therefore, we are sending you the list of ours [servants]. We are taking care of it so that they also remove their Pratese cloth, but we do not want the stripes their Excellencies will have, having to be in color, but they can be replaced with black velvet, or make them simple. Il Ricciuolo [cup bearer], il Rossino [cup bearer of Giulia de’ Medici], Nardino [page], Sandrino [page], and il Pollastrino [page] and Lorenzo [page]; will have the livery of His Excellency’s pages and [that of] ours above. We want them to be the same as the pages of His Excellency, that they have the same as each other and not more, nevertheless they are decorated. Tommaso [wardrobe master] has as much as the falconers or footmen of His Excellency, to whom we give one scudo a month. Therefore, we write to you about our Betto di Monna Lucia, Betto Giallo, Bernadino, and Giannino lance-corporal, who will have the same made for them as for the footmen of their Excellencies.181 However, not with the stripes, but simple, or of velvet like the pages above, and nothing else to report to you except that you send Maestro Agostino [da Gubbio] [a tailor] to take the measurements of the pages and of the footmen. Tommaso will be able to consign to them what they will have to have and if they will be able to have it done after their own fashion and which one of them will better turn out. From Castello the 28th of October 1542. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Pierfrancesco Riccio in Florence

Letter 138: 14 January 1543 To Pierfrancesco Riccio in Florence from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Fiesole182 Our dearest Reverend Lord [Riccio], We wrote to you two or three days ago [asking] that you have the clothing made that His Excellency wanted us to give to Martino [a servant of] don Francesco [de’ Medici] as he wishes to leave in order to return home. You will give it to him and [if] it is not being provided, you will have them finish quickly

180. MDP 1170 153r. Double numeration with higher number at bottom right-hand corner of folio. . 181. See the list of some of Maria’s staff and their occupations in . 182. MDP 1170 287r. .

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 153 in order that he can leave when it pleases him and farewell.183 From the Badia [in Fiesole] the 14th of January 1542 [1543]. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Reverend Messer Pierfrancesco Riccio, secretary of His Excellency, our dearest etcetera, [in Florence] Letter 139: 1 March 1543 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici from Elena Salviati in Piombino184 Most illustrious Lady, honored sister, Even if it is superfluous to recommend to your ladyship His Excellency’s subjects, who for one and other honorable matters are much in [my] heart, nonetheless, because of the good service that continuously he has shown towards us, [for] many years now, and his other laudable qualities, I know it to be my official duty to recommend to you: Andrea di Mariano di Ceo from Cascina, a vassal of the most Illustrious Lord Duke, your son. 185 I beg you vigorously that because you are close to His Excellency, you can be of use to him, be happy to do it for love of me. In order to succeed. you know it to be necessary and appropriate [to use] your efficacy from which I will receive much pleasure. I remain much obligated to Your Illustrious Ladyship, to whom with all my heart I offer and recommend myself. From Piombino on March 1st 1542 [1543]. To Your most Illustrious Ladyship. [Your] sister [Elena Salviati d’Appiano], Lady of Piombino186 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici Letter 140: 29 April 1543 To Ugolino Grifoni from Maria Salviati de’ Medici at Castello187 Our dearest Reverend Lord [Grifoni], We have your letter of the twenty-eighth of the present [month] in which you charge [me] the receipt of a letter from your friend. I have conferred with His Excellency and there is nothing more to be said about it. 183. Servants were often provided with clothes as payment for their service when they left or returned home to their villages. For an earlier example, see the letter written by Nannina de’ Medici Rucellai (1447–1493) to her mother Lucrezia Tornabuoni de’ Medici (1427–1482), in which Nannina refers to paying a dismissed tutor in clothing. See Koborycha, Corresponding Renaissance, 136–37. 184. MM 528 4r. 185. I have been unable to find out anything about this man. Possibly he was acquainted with Francesco Fortunati, the parish priest of Cascina, and thus with Maria’s family, and therefore with Elena Salviati. 186. On Elena Salviati, see Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Salviati-d’Appiano, Elena,” . 187. MDP 5926 34r.

154 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI We have taken no small pleasure in the good health of their Excellencies; may our Lord keep them safe and healthy. Therefore, continue advising us also in the future so we are able to have peace of mind. All the children by the grace of God remain strong and we also feel very well, God be praised. Nothing else to report except to kiss their Excellencies’ hands on our behalf, recommending us to them without end. From Castello the 29th of April 1543. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Ugolino Grifoni

Letter 141: 30 April 1543 To Cosimo I de’ Medici from Maria Salviati de’ Medici at Castello188 Most Illustrious and most Excellent Lord my only son, The present letter-bearer will be Batista di Bastiano, a tailor, who has previously served Lord Giovanni [de’ Medici], your father of blessed memory. He comes here in order to obtain a favor from Your Excellency to liberate from the galleys a certain Piero d’Antonio Ciucci from Santo Casciano, who, according to what Your Excellency can see from the trial [transcript] that he [Batista] brings with him, that he [Piero] was confined for a year on a galley by the Eight [on Security] that sat at that time for having destroyed a certain orchard.189 Since it has already been four years and we are now into the fifth [year], he [Piero] is requesting the favor of liberation. Further, as he will be serving the above mentioned [Batista], it will also benefit Anna, daughter of the presenter [Batista], ready to marry, as he promised to take her for his wife for the love of God and dower her according to his small means as much as he can. So, I’m sure he doubly deserves to be liberated. I dearly beg this of you [for] he has already done enough penance. Nothing else to report. Kiss the hands of Your Excellencies, and I recommend myself from the heart. From Castello the 30th of April 1543. To your illustrious and Excellent Lordship. [Your] most affectionate mother Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Cosimo I de’ Medici

Letter 142: 7 June 1543 From Eleonora di Toledo at Poggio a Caiano to Maria Salviati Florence190 Most Illustrious Lady, most honored mother. 188. MDP 5926 35r. 189. On service in galleys as punishment, see Brackett, Criminal Justice. 190. MAP 140 225r, .

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 155 I have to tell Your Ladyship with the present [letter] that I have arrived at Poggio [a Caiano] this morning and I wish that you are pleased to come here with the children. I assure you there isn’t any danger, nor doubt of some sinister accident here, as someone has wanted to imagine.191 I did not come to Florence because I am weary because of the pregnancy and because of the absence of my Lord Duke.192 Therefore, Your Ladyship, you would please me much if you came here to stay with me and brought the children with you. Those [dispatches] that I have from Bologna, Venice and Pistoia, I am sending with Messer Pierfrancesco [Riccio] because they belong to the Lords of the Council [the Senate] and to Your Ladyship. Nothing else to report to you. I kiss your hands, praying to our Lord God that he keeps you healthy and happy. From Poggio [ a Caiano] the 7th of June 1543. [. . . ?]193 For Eleonora de Toledo The Duchess of Florence.194 To My most Illustrious Lady and honored mother, Lady Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence

Letter 143: 8 June 1543 To Eleonora di Toledo at Poggio a Caiano from Maria Salviati de’ Medici at Castello195 My unique most illustrious and most excellent lady [Eleonora], I am very pleased to have received one [letter] of Messer Lorenzo Pagni, your servant,196 and I have heard of the arrival of those lords safely, God be praised.197 Beyond that he says that Your Excellency doesn’t want me to leave for some time [as 191. The “someone” is an oblique reference to the key Medici secretary, Pierfrancesco Riccio, who opposed Eleonora’s trip to Poggio a Caiano on security grounds. For the context and background to this letter, see Tomas, ’ ” With his authority,”’ 144–45. 192. Eleonora was then pregnant with her second son, Giovanni, who was born on 28 September 1543. Cosimo I was absent from Florence at this time as he was fighting with Charles V of Spain against the French. Eleonora di Toledo was regent during his absence. On Eleonora as regent, see Natalie R. Tomas, “Eleonora di Toledo, Regency, and State Formation in Tuscany,” in Medici Women: The Making of a Dynasty in Grand Ducal Tuscany, ed. Giovanna Benadusi and Judith C. Brown (Toronto: Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies, 2015), 58–89. 193. The indecipherable Spanish text has a few words written after the main text in the same hand as the letter’s signature. 194. The signature lines are in a different hand from the main text of the letter, and they are in Spanish rather than Italian, using the Spanish form of her name, that is “Eleonora de Toledo.” 195. MDP 653 ins. 4, inchiostro rosso, 222r. 196. Lorenzo Pagni often acted as Eleonora di Toledo’s secretary. 197. The “lords” refer to the “Lord children,” that is, Maria, Francesco and Isabella de’ Medici.

156 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI you are] thinking of wanting to return the children since you will have enjoyed them for two days. To which I respond saying that regarding returning them, I don’t want Your Excellency to come back because I still wish to come over there in your company, having in mind for many days to go to Poggio [a Caiano] to stay there for several weeks. I would have already been there this morning as I wrote to Your Excellency if the mishap hadn’t impeded me.198 But finding myself in good condition, I hope to be able to come within two days, to enjoy myself with you present and the place and especially since it appears these tumults have resolved themselves.199 Nothing else being necessary, I kiss the hand of Your Excellency and I recommend myself to you heartily. May God keep you happy. From Florence the 8th of June 1543. To your Illustrious and excellent ladyship. Like a mother, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Eleonora di Toledo at [Poggio a Caiano] Letter 144: 10 June 1543 To Cosimo I de’ Medici from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence200 Most Illustrious most Excellent Lord, my only son, As Your Excellency will have heard, yesterday morning the [legal] case of Piero di Bernardo Carnesecchi took place contrary to good practice and in the manner noted. He has since been taken from court and is in the Bargello [prison]. Having been entreated to recommend him by his father and by Messer Christofano [Pagni], [and] his uncles, I have not wanted to fail to satisfy them. Your Excellency will deliberate in a manner that appears to you that is just.201 I submit to the mature deliberations of Your Excellency, to whom I recommend myself as much as possible, telling you that the children and I are very well as I hope is Your Excellency. May God keep you very happy. From Florence the 10th of June 1543. To your illustrious and most excellent Lordship. [Your] most affectionate mother, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Cosimo I de’ Medici 198. This letter has not survived. The unidentified mishap may refer to Maria’s state of health during this period, which was often not good. See Pieraccini, Stirpe de’ Medici, vol. 1, 482–83. 199. See letter 142. 200. MDP 5926 38r. 201. On Duke Cosimo I’s involvement in deciding legal punishments, see Elena Fasano Guarini, “The Prince, the Judges and the Law: Cosimo I and Sexual Violence, 1558,” in Crime, Society and the Law in Renaissance Italy, ed. Trevor Dean and K. J. P. Lowe (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 121–41; Shaw, “Writing to the Prince.”

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 157 Letter 145: 9 September 1543 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici from Giulio de’ Rossi in Caiazzo202 Most Illustrious and most Excellent my most honored Lady, Messer Giovan Battista Galvano, my servant, will tell some things to Your Excellency in my name; I beg you, deign to believe him as if he were me. Because I don’t desire anything greater than being in the service of the most Illustrious and most Excellent Lord Duke your son. I beg you to arrange this with His Excellency [so] that I can have results to show you my service and fidelity, and know that Your Excellency has me for a servant, to whom with all my heart I recommend myself and I kiss your hands. From Gaiazzo the 9th of September 1543. Your Servant, The Count of Caiazzo [Giulio de’ Rossi] To Maria Salviati de’ Medici

Letter 146: 19 September 1543 To Ugolino Grifoni from Maria Salviati de’ Medici in Florence203 Our dearest Reverend Lord [Grifoni], The present [letter] bearer will have been sent by Count Giulio de Rossi,204 for whom we are sending you our letter, so that you can arrange a reply in our name, according to [the wishes] of His Excellency. Nothing else to report. From Florence the 19th of September 1543. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Ugolino Grifoni

Letter 147: 11 October 1543 To Pierfrancesco Riccio from Maria Salviati de’ Medici at Poggio a Caiano205 Our dearest reverend lord [Riccio], For good reason, we wish that upon receipt of this [letter] you arrange to have with you maestro Giuliano [Ristori], provincial of the [church of Santa Maria del] Carmine.206 Say to him, indeed, compel him with prayers to be 202. MDP 362 536r, . 203. MDP 5926 53r. 204. Giulio de’ Rossi was the Count of Caiazzo. The draft letter Maria sent Grifoni, is probably a reply to letter 145. 205. MDP 1170 707r [old numeration: fasc. 6, fol. 357r], . 206. Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Ristori, Giuliano Fra,” ; Jonathan Davies, Culture and Power: Tuscany and Its Universities, 1537–1609 (Leiden: Brill, 2009), app. 5, where he is listed as receiving payments for teaching astrology and mathematics.

158 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI happy to permit this time that the Prior of Pisa,207 confessor to the nuns of San Giovannino,208 arrives in Florence to confess them for the celebration of All Saints [Day].209 Because in the past days he [the confessor] resisted it,210 we hope more [that] he will do it at present, demonstrating the important respect for the Studio [University] of Pisa.211 We think that it doesn’t matter [now] as it did then, since matters are near and better instigated than in the past, as well as finding there His Paternity [Ristori], being appointed to lecture in said University.212 In sum, we know that to be the servant to us that he is, he will not fail because of the faith he has in you because of the service he has with our house. We are not able to say anything else securely[?] and farewell. From Poggio [a Caiano] the 11th of October 1543. Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Pierfrancesco Riccio

207. The Prior of Pisa was either Girolamo Angelucci, an Augustinian monk, who lectured in theology at the Pisan University, or Alessandro da Montefalco, reader in metaphysics. See Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Angelucci, Girolamo,” ; Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Montefalco, Alessandro da,” ; Davies, Culture and Power, app. 5. 208. On these nuns, see Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Church of San Giovannino dei Cavalieri”, . 209. All Saints Day is a Christian festival that celebrates all the saints in heaven, known and unknown. It falls on 1 November. 210. Fra Donato Acciaiuoli informed Duke Cosimo I in July 1544 that his mother had always been worried about the spiritual welfare of these nuns. Acciaiuoli tells Cosimo that these nuns had a licentious reputation and implies that they were lovers of the Carmine friars, who were no longer their confessors. See (MDP 653 ins. 1 7r) BIA doc. ID 26591, . 211. On the importance of the universities in Pisa and Siena to Duke Cosimo’s regime, see Davies, Culture and Power, 15–79. 212. The ecclesiastical title “His Paternity” was conferred on abbots or monks.

Figure 4. Letter 148 (ASF Mediceo del Principato 5296, 55r). With the permission of the Ministry for cultural activities and property and for tourism/Florentine State Archive.

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 159

160 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI Letter 148: 4 December 1543 To Eleonora di Toledo from Maria Salviati de’ Medici at Castello213 Most Illustrious and most Excellent Lady as my dearest daughter [Eleonora], I told Messer Stefano Romano sent by Your Excellency to visit me face to face,214 that I am upset because of your illness. I am sad that on my account, Mastro Andrea [Pasquali] has remained here and hasn’t followed Your Excellency in order to be able treat you, being at present more ill than I. Now I am learned in my illnesses, being very familiar to me and the measure of my life is very well known to me. Therefore, when your Excellency sees that you have need of his [Pasquali’s] treatment send for him, as I would be very displeased if you didn’t do it when Your Excellency requires one thing more than another. May God protect you no differently than I desire for myself. Nothing else to report to Your Excellency, I recommend myself. I’m not giving you any [more] news of my health, [as] I am recovering according to Mastro Andrea’s prescription. From Castello the 4th of December 1543.215 To Your Illustrious and Excellent Ladyship. As [your] mother, Maria Salviati de’ Medici To Eleonora di Toledo

Letter 149: 6 December 1543 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici at Castello from Lucrezia Salviati in Rome216 Most illustrious Lady and dearest daughter, I find myself replying to two of your [letters] one of the 25th of the past month, the other one being of the first [of the month], for which this one will be a brief response. First I will tell you about what you report in the first one, that I speak of a good figure with that boy [Giovanni], but I think it is good that he is swaddled too high, yet as I said I will do what is possible and I will advise Your Ladyship of everything.217 Although in the past [few] days I have had phlegm, thank God I am well, as it did not turn out as badly as I thought it [the illness] would. Previously, as I said, I got up and I am well.218 May Your Ladyship be 213. MDP 5926 55r. 214. Messer Stefano Romano was one of Cosimo I’s courtiers. See Medici Archive Project, BIA Database, “Medici, Cosimo I de’ List of Household Members,” . 215. This was the last letter Maria sent that has survived. 216. MDP 364 81r, . 217. This may be a reference to the swaddling of Maria’s youngest grandchild, Giovanni. 218. On 5 December 1543, Duke Cosimo I wrote to his ambassador in Rome, Averardo Serristori, inquiring after the health of Lucrezia, his grandmother. In that letter he mentioned that “our mother is at

Selected Letters, 1514–1543 161 healthy and happy. May our Lord God make your wishes propitious and keep you in his grace. From Rome on the 6th of December 1543. [Postscript] Your Ladyship is comforted in your illness and help yourself, as it is necessary to help yourself as much as you can. I am grateful to God that Your Ladyship has advised me that His Excellency is well. May he always be praised and so [too] his children and Lady Duchess. I pray he [God] keeps them and returns your health completely to Your Ladyship as you wish, and I ask you to comfort us. Madonna Lucrezia Salviati de’ Medici To Maria Salviati de’ Medici [at Castello]

Letter 150: 15 December 1543 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici from Jacopo Torsoli at Fontainebleau219 Most Illustrious and most Excellent Lady and most honored patron, Coming from these parts, the present [letter] bearer, Tomasso Strozzi, banker,220 has been for a time in Nantes in Brittany. He is going to Rome to expedite profits and sometimes stops there [Florence] for several days. I didn’t want to fail to write to your Excellency [about] the continued good health of Madama [Catherine de’ Medici] who in her pregnancy has not had any illness nor a care in the world. May it please God that she will give birth here in the middle of February and she recommends herself much to Your Excellency.221 My Lord Dauphin gifted me an abbey nearby two years ago with revenue of six or seven hundred scudi and there was a dispute about it,222 which because of God’s grace, I earned by virtue of reason and justice with the help of the abovementioned Tomasso, to whom I am much obligated.223 Therefore, I beg Your Excellency to deign for love of Madama and of me your most humble servant, to keep him in mind for all your needs. I as much as I can without saying more, Castello, unwell with her usual illness,” MDP 5 389r–v. It was her last illness. This letter from Cosimo is partially transcribed in Italian and summarized in English in the BIA Database (doc. ID 19788). See . 219. MDP 364 221r. . 220. Tomasso Strozzi (d. 1550) was from the Mantuan branch of the family. For a brief overview of his life, see Guido Rebecchini, Private Collectors in Mantua, 1500–1630 (Rome: Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, 2002), 36. 221. Catherine de’ Medici gave birth to her first child, a son, Francis, on 19 January 1544. 222. The dauphin (heir to the throne) of France was Catherine’s husband, Henri, Duke of Orléans (1519–1559). 223. This abbey was the Abbey du Relec in Brittany, which was given to the letter-writer in 1541. On this dispute and its eventual resolution, see Henri Perénnès, Notre-Dame du Relec en Plounéour-Ménez (Léon: Quimper, 1932), 16–17.

162 MARIA SALVIATI DE’ MEDICI humbly with all my heart I recommend myself to Your Excellency, and reverently I kiss your hands. From Fontainebleau, the 15th of December 1543.224 To Your Excellency. [Your] most humble servant, Jacopo Torsoli225 To Maria Salviati de’ Medici

224. Maria never received this letter, as she died at Villa Castello on 12 December 1543. For the announcement of her death, see MDP 1170 816r. That announcement is partially transcribed in Italian and summarized in English in the Medici Archive Project, BIA Database (doc. ID 6099), . For an analysis of contemporary reactions to her death, see Tomas, “Commemorating a Mortal Goddess.” A Medici courtier summarized the contents of this letter, mistakenly dated it 12 December 1543, perhaps confusing its actual date of 15 December with that of her death, . Catherine de’ Medici sent Duke Cosimo I a letter of condolence, dated February 1544, after hearing about Maria’s death from him in a letter of 17 December 1543. See Medici, Lettres, vol. 1, 7–8, . 225. Jacopo Torsoli (d. 1550), abbot of Relec in Brittany, was Italian and Catherine de’ Medici’s almoner and confessor until 1549. See Catherine’s advocacy for Torsoli with Cosimo I in order to exempt him from taxes on his ten benefices in Tuscany in 1546, in Medici, Lettres, vol. 1, 16, . For his position on Catherine’s staff see Medici, Lettres, vol. 10, 529, .

Appendix A: List of Selected Letters Abbreviations CI ET GM JS LP LS MS PFR UG

Cosimo I de’ Medici Eleonora di Toledo Giovanni di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici Jacopo Salviati Lorenzo Pagni Lucrezia Salviati Maria Salviati Pierfrancesco Riccio Ugolino Grifoni

All dates are listed in European style. See the note on Florentine dating style and conventions on p. 185 for further information.

163

Rome

Rome

MS

GM

MS

Francesco Suasio

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

Francesco Suasio

Cardinal Giovanni Salviati

MS

MS

MS

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

Florence

Trebbio

no place

no place

Florence

Florence

Sant’Orsola Florence

Florence

Florence

Florence

no place

Florence

Florence

MS

2

Florence

MS

Location

1

Sender

GM

GM

GM

MS

MS

GM

Francesco Fortunati

GM

GM

GM

MS

GM

MS

GM

GM

GM

Recipient

Rome

Castel Durante

Rome

Florence

Florence

Ferrara

Cascina

Ferrara

Ferrara

Ferrara

Sant’Orsola

no place

Florence

Rome

Rome

Rome

Location

Letters 1–40: Maria as Wife, 1514–1526

21 Mar 1521

24 Sep 1520

7 Apr 1520

6 Mar 1520

30 Jan 1520

11 Mar 1519

19 Nov 1518

5 Mar 1518

1 Mar 1518

28 Feb 1518

23 Feb 1518

22 Feb 1518

19 May 1517

3 Jan 1517

19 Nov 1516

4 May 1514

Date

164 Appendix A

San Secondo

Florence

Piacenza

Piacenza

MS

Francesco Sforza

MS

Costanza de’ Bardi

MS

MS

MS

MS

GM

Cardinal Silvio Passerini

Cardinal Giovanni Salviati

Cardinal Giovanni Salviati

GM

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

Piacenza

Rome

Rome

Florence

Florence

Florence

Trebbio

Luce

Florence

Florence

MS

Florence

MS

18

Location

17

Sender Rome

Rome

Location

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

GM

GM

GM

Pope Clement VII

MS

GM

MS

no place

no place

no place

no place

Rome

Milan

Milan

Milan

Rome

Rome

no place

no place

Francesco degli Albizzi Rome

GM

GM

Recipient

Letters 1–40: Maria as Wife, 1514–1526

24 Feb 1525

22 Feb 1525

7 Feb 1525

29 Sep 1524

6 Jun 1524

9 Mar 1524

28 Feb 1524

31 Dec 1523

5 Dec 1523

6 Apr 1523

19 Aug 1522

12 Jun 1522

18 May 1522

1 Apr 1522

10 Jan 1522

Date

List of Selected Letters 165

MS

MS

PFR

Anon.

Francesco Albizzi

MS

Pietro Aretino

MS

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

JS

PFR

MS

PFR

CI

41

42

43

44

45

Sender

MS

32

Sender

Pietro Aretino

MS

Pietro Aretino

MS

MS

MS

no place

Florence

Mantua

Florence

Florence

Florence

Rome Pope’s household

Venice

Venice

Florence

Venice

Rome

Location

MS

MS

JS

MS

MS

Recipient

Florence

Florence

Rome

Florence

Florence

Location

30 Jan 1527

23 Jan 1527

19 Jan 1527

11 and 15 Jan 1527

10 Jan 1527

Date

24 Dec 1526

10 Dec 1526

10 Dec 1526

8 Dec 1526

4 Dec 1526

3 Dec 1526

13 Jul 1526

19 Mar 1525

GM

18 May 1525

Date

no place

Location

Priora di San Giuseppe a Porta di Pinti Florence

GM

Recipient

Letters 41–75: Maria as Widowed Mother, 1527–1536

Florence

Mantua

Florence

Genezzano

Rome

Marradi

Florence

Florence

Rome

Location

Letters 1–40: Maria as Wife, 1514–1526

166 Appendix A

Casalmaggiore

Trebbio

Florence

Francesco Maria della Rovere

CI

PFR

PFR

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

Caterina Salviati de’ Nerli

MS

MS

MS

48

49

50

51

52

53

54

55

56

57

58

59

60

Florence

Imola

Imola

no place

Venice

Venice

Venice

Padua

Padua

Venice

Venice

CI

Rome

JS

47

Location

46

Sender

Giovanni

LS

JS

MS

Filippo Strozzi

Pope Clement VII

Francesco Suasio

Giovanni Gorretti

Francesco Fortunati

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

Recipient

Rome

Rome

Rome

Castello

Lyons

no place

Trebbio

Florence

Florence

no place

Pistoia

Florence

Florence

Florence

no place

Location

Letters 41–75: Maria as Widowed Mother, 1527–1536

3 May 1531

24 Aug 1530

7 May 1530

12 May 1529

2 Sep 1528

no day/no month 1527

23Aug 1527

1 Jun 1527

20 May 1527

11 May 1527

1 May 1527

2 Mar 1527

19 Feb 1527

17 Feb 1527

1 Feb 1527

Date

List of Selected Letters 167

Rome

no place

PFR

CI

MS

MS

MS

MS

PFR

CI

LS

MS

JS

Francesca de’ Gualterotti

Catherine de Medici

63

64

65

66

67

68

69

70

71

72

73

74

75

Sottoleale

Florence

Rome

Genoa

Bologna

Florence

Florence

Florence

Florence

Bologna

Bologna

Florence

MS

62

Florence

MS

Location

61

Sender

MS

MS

MS

LS

MS

MS

MS

PFR

PFR

PFR

PFR

MS

MS

PFR

PFR

Recipient

no place

Florence

Florence

Rome

Florence

Florence

Florence

Bologna

Bologna

Bologna

Bologna

Florence

Florence

Bologna

Bologna

Location

Letters 41–75: Maria as Widowed Mother, 1527–1536

7 Oct 1534

18 Aug 1533

2 Aug 1533

7 Jun 1533

20 May 1533

9 Apr 1533

21 Feb 1533

21 Feb 1533

10 Feb 1533

6 Feb 1533

20 Jan 1533

16 Jan 1533

16 Jan 1533

4 Jan 1533

26 Dec 1532

Date

168 Appendix A

Florence

Prato

MS

Eight and Standard Bearer of Justice

Girolamo Benivieni

MS

LS

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

78

79

80

81

82

83

84

85

86

87

88

Florence

Florence

Florence

Florence

Castello

Florence

Rome

Florence

no place

Florence

MS

77

Florence

MS

Location

76

Sender

Poggio a Caiano

Dovadola

Bernardo della Tassinara PFR

no place

Giovannni Bandini

Poggio a Caiano

Dovadola

Bernardo della Tassinara PFR

Madrid

Giovanni Bandini

Florence

Dovadola

Bernardo della Tassinara MS

no place

no place

Scarperia

MS

MS

Francesco Alberti

Pescia

Dovadola

Bernardo della Tassinara Luigi Martelli

Location

Recipient

Letters 76–150: Lady Maria, 1537–1543

4 Dec 1537

24 Nov 1537

17 Nov 1537

4 Nov 1537

16 Aug 1537

22 Jul 1537

30 May 1537

18 Apr 1537

no day/Feb 1537

25 Feb 1537

24 Jan 1537

19 Jan 1537

11 Jan 1537

Date

List of Selected Letters 169

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

CI

MS

MS

MS

90

91

92

93

94

95

96

97

98

99

100

101

102

103

104

105

Sender

MS

89

Location

Florence

Florence

Florence

Pisa

Castello

Florence

Florence

Florence

Florence

Florence

Florence

Florence

Florence

Florence

Florence

Florence

Florence

ET

UG

UG

MS

PFR

CI

CI

CI

Girolamo Cavina

CI

CI

CI

CI

CI

CI

PFR

PFR

Recipient

no place

no place

no place

no place

Florence

no place

Pisa

Pisa

Poggio a Caiano

no place

no place

no place

no place

no place

Trebbio

Poggio a Caiano

Poggio a Caiano

Location

Letters 76–150: Lady Maria, 1537–1543 Date

4 Jul 1540

4 Jul 1540

4 Jul 1540

7 Mar 1540

18 Oct 1539

11 Sep 1539

22 Jun 1539

17 Jun 1539

26 Apr 1539

8 Mar 1539

6 Mar 1539

6 Mar 1539

1 Mar 1539

21 Dec 1538

23 Jul 1538

20 Jan 1538

5 Dec 1537

170 Appendix A

CI

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

Filippo de’ Nerli

MS

MS

107

108

109

110

111

112

113

114

115

116

117

118

119

120

121

Sender

MS

106

Location

Castello

Castello

Cortona

Florence

Florence

Florence

Florence

Florence

Florence

Castello

Castello

Castello

Castello

Castello

Cafaggiolo

Florence

Location

CI

LP

MS

LP

LP

LP

no place

no place

Florence

no place

no place

no place

no place

San Gimignano

Commune di San Gimignano LP

no place

no place

no place

no place

no place

no place

Florence

no place

CI

CI

CI

UG

UG

ET

MS

UG

Recipient

Letters 76–150: Lady Maria, 1537–1543 Date

8 May 1541

29 Apr 1541

28 Apr 1541

28 Apr 1541

26 Apr 1541

23 Apr 1541

22 Apr 1541

30 Jan 1541

13 Oct 1540

12 Sep 1540

5 Sep 1540

31 Jul 1540

22 Jul 1540

21 Jul 1540

10 Jul 1540

9 Jul 1540

List of Selected Letters 171

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

MS

122

123

124

125

126

127

128

129

130

131

132

133

134

135

136

137

138

Sender

Badia di Fiesole

Castello

Florence

Castello

Florence

Castello

Castello

Castello

Florence

Castello

Castello

Castello

Florence

Castello

Castello

Castello

Castello

Location

PFR

PFR

LP

Carlo Strozzi

LP

CI

CI

UG

CI

UG

CI + ET

CI

UG

LP

LP

CI

LP

Recipient

no place

Florence

no place

no place

no place

no place

Pisa

no place

no place

no place

no place

no place

no place

no place

no place

no place

no place

Location

Letters 76–150: Lady Maria, 1537–1543

14 Jan 1543

28 Oct 1542

10 Oct 1542

20 Sep 1542

29 Jul 1542

12 May 1542

11 May 1542

1 May 1542

23 Dec 1541

21 Nov 1541

30 Oct 1541

29 Oct 1541

20 Sep 1541

28 May 1541

19 May 1541

17 May 1541

11 May 1541

Date

172 Appendix A

Florence

Gaiazzo

MS

MS

ET

MS

MS

Giulio Rossi, Conte di Caiazzo

MS

MS

MS

LS

Jacopo Torsoli

140

141

142

143

144

145

146

147

148

149

150

Fontainebleau

Rome

Castello

Poggio a Caiano

Florence

Florence

Poggio a Caiano

Castello

Castello

Piombino

139

Location

Sender Elena d’Appiano Salviati

MS

MS

ET

PFR

UG

MS

CI

ET

MS

CI

UG

MS

Recipient

no place

Castello

no place

no place

no place

no place

no place

Poggio a Caiano

no place

no place

no place

no place

Location

Letters 76–150: Lady Maria, 1537–1543

15 Dec 1543

6 Dec 1543

4 Dec 1543

11 Oct 1543

19 Sep 1543

9 Sep 1543

8 Jun 1543

8 Jun 1543

7 Jun 1543

30 Apr 1543

29 Apr 1543

1 Mar 1543

Date

List of Selected Letters 173

Appendix B: Genealogical Tables The four family trees presented here illustrate the key familial and marital relationships within the Medici, Salviati, and Sforza families in the fifteenth and the sixteenth centuries. The familial relationships of the main members of these families who are referred to in Maria Salviati’s selected correspondence are represented in these trees. I have included the minor branch of Ottaviano de’ Medici because of his children’s future status and links to the main Medici family line through marriage. This line is often omitted from standard genealogies of the Medici family. Ottaviano’s second marriage to the widowed Francesca Gualterotti (Maria Salviati’s sister) produced two sons. The elder, Bernadetto de’ Medici, became the Lord of Ottaiano (near Naples) and married a widowed Giulia de’ Medici. The descendants of that line are still living. The second son became the third Medici pope, Pope Leo XI. The four family trees are: 1. A Medici family tree to Duke Cosimo I 2. Ottaviano de’ Medici family tree (selected) 3. Salviati family trees (Florence and Rome branches) 4. Caterina Sforza family tree (selected)

175

176 Appendix B

A Medici Family Tree to Duke Cosimo I

(after Tomas, Medici Women, 7, and Langdon, Medici Women, Appendix A) Giovanni di Bicci 1360–1429 m. Piccardia di Orlando Bueri d. 1433 Antonio 1398?–1442? (poss. d. 1398) Giovanni

Damiano d. 1390

Francesco

Cosimo 1389–1464 m. Contessina di Giovanni de’ Bardi c. 1400–1473 Carlo

Maria Bianca Lucrezia (Nannina) d. before 3/1473 c. 1445–1488 1447–1493 m. Leonotto Rossi m. Guglielmo Pazzi m. 1466 Bernado Rucellai

Lucrezia Piero 1470–1553 1471–1503 m. 1488 m. Alfonsina Jacopo Orsini Salviati 1472–1520 Lorenzo 1492–1519 Duke of Urbino m. 1518 Maddalena de la Tour d’Auvergne

Piero 1416–1469 m. Lucrezia di Francesco Tornabuoni 1427–1482 Lorenzo 1449–1492 m. 1469 Clarice Orsini 1450–1488

Maddalena Giovanni Contessina Luisa Giuliano 1473–1519 1475–1521 1476–1515 1477–1488 1479–1516 m. 1488 Pope Leo X m. Piero Duke of Nemours Francesco Ridolfi m. Filiberta of Cibo Savoy

Clarice 1493–1528 m. 1508 Fillippo Strozzi

Ippolito 1511–1535

Caterina 1519–1589 m. 1533 Henri, Duke of Orléans Maria Pietro Garzia Lucrezia Antonio Isabella (Este) (Orsini) 1540–1557 1554–1604 1547–1562 (1548) 1545–1561 1542–1576

Genealogical Tables 177

Lorenzo 1395–1440 m. Ginevra di Giovanni Cavalcanti Giovanni 1421–1463 m. Maria Ginerva di Niccolò Allessandri d. after 2/8/1478 Giuliano 1453–1478 (assassinated)

Cosimo c. 1454–c.1459

Francesco d. before 1440 m. Maria di Bartolommeo Gualterotti

Pierfrancesco 1430–1476 m. Laudomia di Iacopo Acciaiuoli

Lorenzo 1463–1503 m. 1485 Semiramide di Giacomo Appiani

Giovanni 1467–1498 m. after 1496 Caterina Sforza

Giulio 1478–1534 Pope Clement VII

Laudomia Ginevra Giovanni Vincenzo Pierfrancesco Averardo m. 1508 1498–1526 d. 1485 1487–1525 1488– m. 1502 Francesco Salviati Giovanni di m. 1516 (young) m. 1511 Maria 1495 (or Salutati) Luca degli Maria di di Tommaso Albizzi Jacopo Salviati Soderini 1499–1543 Duke Alessandro 1510–1537 Maddalena Giuliano Lorenzino Laudomia (assassinated) Cosimo I 1514– d. 1538 1518–1583 d. 1588 m. 1536 Margaret 1519–1574 1547 m. 1539 m. 1534 Alammaof Austria m. Eleonora of no di Averardo Piero Toledo Salviati Strozzi m. Camilla Giulia Porzia Giulio m. 1539 Roberto Martelli c. 1534–1588 (rel.) 1533– di Filippo Strozzi m. Francesco 1600 Cantelmo m. Bernadetto de’ Medici Giovanni Ferdinando I Anna 1543–1562 1549–1609 (1553) Cardinal 1560

Francesco I Virginia (Este) Bia 1541–1587 1568–1615 c. 1536–1542

Giovanni 1567–1621

178 Appendix B

Ottaviano de’ Medici Family Tree (Selected)

(after https://www.geni.com/people/Ottaviano-de-Medici-signore-di-Ottajano/) Antonio de’ Medici m. Cilla de’ Bonaccorsi Bernadetto de’ Medici 1393–c.1465 m. Costanza de’ Guasconi

Lorenzo de’ Medici m. Caterina Nerli

Ottaviano de’ Medici 1482–1586 m. Bartolommea Giungi m. Francesca Salviati Costanza de’ Medici m. Ugo della Gherardesca

Bernadetto de’ Medici m. Giulia de’ Medici

Galeotto de’ Medici d. 1528

Alessandro de’ Medici 1535–1605 Pope Leo XI

Genealogical Tables 179

Salviati Family Tree – Florence Branch

(after Hurtubise, Une famille– témoin, with additions) Alamanno 1459–1510 m. Lucrezia Capponi Piero Averardo Madda- Costan1504–1564 1489–1553 lena za m. Matteo m. Giov. m. Givevra m. Maria Bardi Strozzi Cani- Bartolini m. Mad- m. Nannina giani dalena Alamanni Vettori

Alessandro d. 1555

Lucrezia m. Giovanni Bardi

Caterina Maria Ginevra Margherita Fiammetta Cassandra m. Giov. m. m. m. Fran- m. Giuliano m. GuTorna- Franceso cesco Alessanglielmo Averardo buoni Guicciar- Bandini Salimbeni drini Nasi dini

Alamanno Maddalena m. Piero d. 1590 Ridolfi

Alamanno Filippo 1513–? 1515–1572 m. Laudomina de’ m. Maria Gualterotti Medici

180 Appendix B

Salviati Family Tree – Rome Branch

(after Hurtubise, Une famille– témoin, with additions) Jacopo 1461–1533 m. Lucrezia de’ Medici Lorenzo Caterina Piero Luisa 1492–1539 m. Fillipo 1496–1523 m. Sigismondo m. Costanza Conti Nerli chev. de Malte della Luna m. Caterina Pallavicini Jacopo Gian Battista Antonio Ginevra 1535–1562 Maria m. m. Porzia Massimi 1537–1602 Astorre card. Baglioni

Alamanno 1510–1571 m. Costanza Serristori Jacopo 1537–1586

Giov. Battista 1498–1524 m. Costanza Bardi

Genealogical Tables 181

Francesca Maria Bernardo Giovanni Elena Jacopino m. Giovanni 1508–1568 1490–1553 1504–c. 1572 m. Pallavicino 1509– m. Pietro de’ Medici card. card. Pallavicini 1525 Gualerotti m. Jacopo m. Ottaviano Appiano Cosimo I Medici 1519–1574 m. Eleonora of Toledo Alessandro de’ m Camilla Medici (1535– Martelli 1605) Pope Leo XI

Jacopina d. 1509

182 Appendix B

Caterina Sforza Family Tree

(adapted from de Vries, Caterina Sforza, figure 1.1) Francesco Sforza m. Bianca Visconti Galeazzo Maria m. Bona of Savoy m. Lucrezia Landriani

Giangaleazzo

Ermes

Bianca Maria

Anna

Carlo

Caterina

Alessando

Chiara

Caterina Sforza m. Girolamo Riaro m. Giacomo Feo m. Giovanni di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici

Carlo di Giacomo Feo

Pier Maria

Giovangirolamo

Bianca m. Troilo de’ Rossi

Ottaviano

Cesare

????

Angela

Giovanni Livio

Genealogical Tables 183

Lodovico

Galeazzo

Francesco (called Sforza)

Giovanni di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici m. Maria Salviati Cosimo I de’ Medici

Appendix C: Names, Dates, Measures, Currency, and Time Names Italian names during this period included the identification of the patronymic (father’s name) and sometimes the grandfather’s name. Each element of this patronymic was separated by “di” (of). Where possible, on first identification, I have provided this information. For example, Galeotto di Lorenzo di Bernadetto de’ Medici is Galeotto, the son of Lorenzo (father), the son of Bernadetto (grandfather) de’ Medici. Another example is Giovanni di Giovanni di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici. Giovanni the son of Giovanni (the father) the son of Pierfrancesco (the grandfather) de’ Medici. I refer to women born into the Medici family who appear throughout Maria’s correspondence by their married name. However, on first identification I have referred to their patronymic and natal surname as well as their married name. For example, Lucrezia Salviati is also referred to as Lucrezia di Lorenzo di Piero de’ Medici on first identification. Married women referred to themselves by their married name or by their natal surname and then married name. For example, Lucrezia Medici de’ Salviati. Maria sometimes referred to herself only with her married name Maria de’ Medici and sometimes as Maria Salviati de’ Medici. I have standardized her signature to Maria Salviati de’ Medici in the text of her correspondence. Eleonora di (of) Toledo is referred to by her place name because that is how historians have generally referred to her.

Dates Florentines began their new year on 25 March, the Feast of the Annunciation. All letters written between 1 January and 24 March are dated in the correspondence using both Florentine and a simple form of the modern (European) style. I put the modern-style date in the header of each letter and Florentine style in the text of the letter and in the footnotes. For example, 3 January 1517 (modern style) is given in the letter header and 3 January 1516 [1517] in the text of the correspondence (letter 3). I used modern-style dates in my analysis of the correspondence. Venice began its new year on 1 March, but Cosimo continued to use Florentine style when writing to his mother from there (letter 49). Rome and Piacenza began their new year on 1 January. All letters from those cities are in modern style (letters 12, 29). 185

186 Appendix C

Measures Stàio (bushel). A bushel is a unit of dry measure used for grain, which is equivalent to 24.4 liters.1

Currency The Florentine monetary system was based on a bimetallic standard (gold and silver), as well as monies of account. A “money of account” was an abstraction, a paper proxy that enabled merchants to calculate the value and exchange rate of different currencies and to transfer credits from one account to another.2 Various types of monies of account are referred to throughout Maria’s correspondence. Ducat: A silver or gold coin produced under the jurisdiction of a duke or doge. Florin: A gold florin that fluctuated over time in value. The florin was the most common gold coin in the early sixteenth century in Florence. It gradually became displaced by the ducat or scudo in Florence after the establishment of the Medici Duchy in 1532. Lira (plural lire) existed only as a money of account. One lira was divided into twenty soldi; each soldo was divided into twelve denari. Therefore, a lira was equivalent to 240 denari. Scudo: Gold coin under the Medici Duchy. A scudo was worth seven lire.3

Telling Time Maria told time according to a twenty-four-hour solar clock that began at sunset. This meant that times of the day were seasonally varied. In the winter months, a reference to “twenty-two hours after sunset” could refer to the mid-afternoon

1. See the glossary on weights and measures in Alessandra Macinghi Strozzi, Letters to Her Sons, 1447–1470, ed. and trans. Judith Bryce (Toronto: Iter Press; Tempe, AZ: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2016), 246; “Stàio” in “Vocabolario treccani,” . 2. For a description of Florence’s complex system of monetary values, see Carlo M. Cipolla, Money in Sixteenth-Century Florence (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989); Richard Goldthwaite, The Economy of Renaissance Florence (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009), 356–57, 609–14. For brief discussions of the currency system during this period, see also Macinghi Strozzi, Letters to Her Sons, 247; Isabella d’Este, Selected Letters, ed. and trans. Deanna Shemek (Toronto and Tempe: Iter Press and Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies 2017), 583. 3. “Scudo,” ; Sharon T. Strocchia, Forgotten Healers: Women and the Pursuit of Health in Late Renaissance Italy (New Haven and London: Harvard University Press, 2019), xi.

Names, Dates, Measures, Currency, and Time 187 (letter 30). By contrast, the “twenty-third hour” after sunset in late May could refer to the mid-evening (letter 125).4

4. For further information on this topic, see Macinghi Strozzi, Letters to Her Sons, 248 and the references cited there. In particular, see Elizabeth S. Cohen and Thomas V. Cohen, Daily Life in Renaissance Italy (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2001), 167–68.

Bibliography Primary Sources Manuscripts Archivio di Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore di Firenze (AOSMFF) Registri battesimali, 225. Archivio di Stato di Firenze (ASF) Acquisti e Doni, 59, ins. 4. Archivio Martelli. 1478. Carte Strozziane Series I, 335. Carte Strozziane Series III, 30, 82. Manoscritti 321. Mediceo Avanti il Principato. 6, 66, 69, 71, 85, 86, 101, 106, 112, 119, 120, 121, 137, 140. Mediceo del Principato. 2, 5, 330, 331, 335, 338, 343, 345, 347, 350, 351, 354, 355, 362, 364, 653, 1169, 1170, 4050, 5926. [The folders 653, 4050, and 5926 are not yet digitized.] Miscellanea Medicea. 528, 660. Archivio Salviati, Pisa (ASP) Salviati di Roma Lettere di Maria Salviati de’ Medici. Libri di Commercio, 11, 12. Miscellanea II,1 fasc. 23.

Printed Primary Sources Aragona, Tullia d’. The Poems and Letters of Tullia d’Aragona and Others: A Bilingual Edition. Edited and translated by Julia L. Hairston. Toronto: Iter Press and Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies, 2014. Aretino, Pietro. Lettere. Edited by Francesco Erspamer. 2 vols. Parma: Ugo Guanda, 1995–1998. ———. Lettere scritte a Pietro Aretino. Edited by Teodorico Landoni from edition by Francesco Marcolini, Venice, 1551. Bologna: Romagnoli, 1873–1875. ———. Lettere scritte a Pietro Aretino. Edited by Paolo Procaccioli. Rome: Salerno, 2003. ———. Lettere di Pietro Aretino. Edited by Paolo Procaccioli. Rome: Salerno, 1997. 189

190 Bibliography ———. The Letters of Pietro Aretino. Translated by Thomas C. Chubb. Hamden, CT: Archon Books, 1967. Barbaro, Francesco. The Wealth of Wives: A Fifteenth-Century Marriage Manual. Edited and translated by Margaret L. King. Toronto: Iter Press; Tempe, AZ: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2015. Cellini, Benvenuto. My Life. Translated by Julia Conway Bondanella and Peter Bondanella. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. Coppi, Enrico, ed. Cronaca fiorentina, 1537–1555. Florence: Olschki, 2000. Datini, Margherita. Letters to Francesco Datini. Translated by Carolyn James and Antonio Pagliaro. Toronto: Iter Press and Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies, 2012. Este, Isabella d’. Selected Letters. Edited and Translated by Deanna Shemek. Toronto: Iter Press; Tempe, AZ: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2017. Franceschi, Giovanni. Vita della S. Maria Salviata de’ Medici. Rome: Antonio Blado, 1545. Fulin, Rinaldo, et al. I diarii di Marino Sanuto (1496–1533). 58 vols. (1879–1903; reprint Bologna: Forni, 1969–1970. Gauthiez, Pierre. “Nuovi documenti intorno a Giovanni de’ Medici detto delle Bande Nere.” ASI 30, no. 227 (1902): 71–107; . ———. “Nuovi documenti intorno a Giovanni de’ Medici detto delle Bande Nere.” ASI 30, no. 228 (1902): 326–62; . ———. “Nuovi documenti intorno a Giovanni de’ Medici detto delle Bande Nere.” ASI 31, no. 229 (1903): 97–126; . Guasti, Cesare. “Alcuni fatti delle prima giovinezza di Cosimo I de’ Medici.” GSAT 2 (1858): 13–64; 295–320; . Guicciardini, Francesco. Le lettere. Edited by Pierre Jodogne. 11 vols to date. Rome: Istituto Storico Italiano per L’Età Moderna e Contemporeanea, 1986–. Kaborycha, Lisa, ed. A Corresponding Renaissance: Letters Written by Italian Women, 1375–1650. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016. Klapisch-Zuber, Christiane. “Florentine Marriage in the Fifteenth Century.” In Medieval Christianity in Practice, edited by Miri Rubin, 35–41. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2009. Landucci, Luca. Diario fiorentino dal 1450 al 1526 continuato da un anonimo fino al 1542. Edited by Iodico Del Badia. Florence: Sansoni, 1883; . Macinghi Strozzi, Alessandra. Letters to Her Sons, 1447–1470. Edited and translated by Judith Bryce. Toronto: Iter Press; Tempe, AZ: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2016.

Bibliography 191 Medici, Catherine de’. Les Lettres de Catherine de Mèdicis. Edited by Hector de la Ferrière. 11 vols. Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1880–1943; . Medici, Cosimo I de’. Lettere. Edited by Giorgio Spini. Florence: Vallecchi, 1940. Milanesi, Carlo. “Lettere di Giovanni de’ Medici detto delle Bande Nere.” ASI 8, no. 1 (1858): 3–40; . ———. “Lettere di Giovanni de’ Medici detto delle Bande Nere.” ASI 9, no. 1 (1859): 3–29; . ———. “Lettere di Giovanni de’ Medici detto delle Bande Nere.” ASI 9, no. 2 (1859): 109–47; . Moisè, Filippo, and Carlo Milanesi. “Lettere inedite e testamento di Giovanni de’ Medici detto delle Bande Nere con altri di Maria e di Iacopo Salviati.” ASI 7, no. 2 (1858): 3–48; . Pugliese, Olga Zorzi. “Girolamo Benivieni, umanista riformatore (dalla corrispondenza inedita).” La Bibliofilia 72 (1970): 255–88; . Sbrilli, Marietta. “Alcune lettere inedite di Maria Salviati Medici a Bernardo della Tassinara.” Annali della Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa 25, no. 4 (1995): 1459–73; . Segni, Bernardo. Istorie fiorentine, dall’anno MDXXVII al MDLV. Edited by G. Gargani. Florence: Barberà Bianchi., 1857. Varchi, Benedetto. Storia fiorentina. Edited by Michele Sartorio. Milan: Borroni e Scotti, 1846; .

Secondary Sources Adriani, Giovan Battista. Istoria de’ suoi tempi. Venice: Bernardo Giunti, 1587. Archivio di Stato di Firenze. Archivio Mediceo avanti il Principato: Inventario. 4 vols. Rome: Publicazioni degli Archivi di Stato, 1957–1963. Archivio di Stato di Prato. “Santa Lucia, chiesa di S. Lucia in Monte.” . ———. “Santa Maria a Colonica, Pieve di S. Maria.” . Arfaioli, Maurizio. The Black Bands of Giovanni: Infantry and Diplomacy During the Italian Wars (1526–1528). Pisa: Pisa University Press, Edizioni Plus, 2005. ———. “Medici, Giovanni de’.” DBI 73 (2009); .

192 Bibliography Arrighi, Vanna. “Della Stufa, Pandolfo.” DBI 37 (1989); . ———. “Della Stufa, Prinzivalle.” DBI 37 (1989); . ———. “Fortunati, Francesco.” DBI 49 (1997); . ———. “Marzi, Angelo.” DBI 71 (2008); . ———. “Nerli, Filippo de’.” DBI 78 (2013); . ———. “Orsini, Alfonsina.” DBI 79 (2013); . ———. “Pagni, Lorenzo.” DBI 80 (2014); . Arrivo, Georgia. “Scritture delle donne di casa Medici nei fondi dell’Archivio di Stato di Firenze (Mediceo Avanti Il Principato, Mediceo Del Principato, Miscellanea Medicea, Guardaroba Medicea, Carte Strozziane Ia e IIIa Serie, Depositeria Generale, Ducato d’Urbino, Acquisti e Doni)”; . Arrizabalaga, Jon, John Henderson, and Roger K. French. The Great Pox: The French Disease in Renaissance Europe. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1997. Assonitis, Alessio, and Henk Th. van Veen, eds. A Companion to Cosimo I de’ Medici. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2022; . Baernstein, P. Renée. “ ‘In My Own Hand’: Costanza Colonna and the Art of the Letter in Sixteenth-Century Italy.” RQ 66, no. 1 (2013): 130–68; . Baker, Nicholas Scott. The Fruit of Liberty: Political Culture in the Florentine Renaissance, 1480–1550. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2013. Ballerini, Isabella Lapi, and Mario Scalini. The Medici Villas: Complete Guide. Florence: Giunti, 2003. Benzoni, Gino. “Federico II Gonzaga, duca di Mantova e marchese del Monferrato.” DBI 45 (1995); . ———. “Francesco Maria I Della Rovere.” DBI 50 (1998); . ———. “Medici, Lorenzo de’, Duca d’Urbino.” DBI 66 (2006); . Black, Robert. Machiavelli. London: Taylor and Francis, 2013.

Bibliography 193 Black, Robert, and John E. Law, eds. The Medici: Citizens and Masters. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2015. Booth, Cecily. Cosimo I, Duke of Florence. London and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1921. Bowd, Stephen D. Renaissance Mass Murder: Civilians and Soldiers During the Italian Wars. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2018. Brackett, John K. Criminal Justice and Crime in Late Renaissance Florence, 1537– 1609. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992. Broomhall, Susan. The Identities of Catherine de’ Medici. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2021; . Brunelli, Giampiero. “Silvio Passerini.” DBI 81 (2014); . Bryce, Judith. “ ‘Les Livres des Florentines’: Reconsidering Women’s Literacy in Quattrocento Florence.” In At the Margins: Minority Groups in Pre-Modern Italy, edited by Stephen J. Milner, 133–61. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2005. Bullard, Melissa M. Filippo Strozzi and the Medici: Favor and Finance in SixteenthCentury Florence and Rome. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980. Buoni, Tommaso. Thesoro degli prouerbii italiani. Vol. 2. Venice: Giovanni Battista Ciotti, 1606. Butters, Suzanne. “The Medici Dukes, Comandati and Pratolino: Forced Labour in Renaissance Florence.” In Communes and Despots in Medieval and Renaissance Italy, edited by John E. Law and Bernadette Paton, 249–71. Farnham, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2010. Byatt, Lucinda M.C. “Niccolò Ridolfi.” DBI 87 (2016); . Calonaci, Stefano. “Grifoni, Ugolino.” DBI 59 (2002); . Cambridge Dizionario Italiano–Inglese, Inglese–Italiano, Signorelli: Dal ‘Cambridge Italian Dictionary’ di Barbara Reynolds. New York and Milan: Cambridge University Press and Signorelli, 1985. Cantagalli, Roberto “Bandini, Alessandro Giovanni.” DBI 5 (1963); . Carmichael, Ann G. Plague and the Poor in Renaissance Florence. London and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1986. Cecchi, Alessandro. “Il maggiordomo ducale Pierfrancesco Riccio e gli artisti della corte Medicea.” MKIF 42, no. 1 (1998): 115–43; . Chabot, Isabelle. “Lineage Strategies and the Control of Widows in Renaissance Florence.” In Widowhood in Medieval and Early Modern Europe, edited by

194 Bibliography Sandra Cavallo and Lyndan Warner, 127–44. Harlow, UK, and New York: Longman, 1999. ———. “Widowhood and Poverty in Late Medieval Florence.” Continuity and Change 3, no. 2 (1988): 291–311; . Chambers, David S. “Spas in the Italian Renaissance.” In Reconsidering the Renaissance, edited by M. A. Di Cesare, 3–27. Binghamton, NY: Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies, 1992. Checchi, Michele, and Enrico Coturri. Pescia ed il suo territorio nella storia nell’arte e nelle famiglie. Pistoia: Tipografia Pistoiese, 1961. Cheney, David M. “The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church: Current and Historical Information about Its Bishops and Dioceses”; . Cipolla, Carlo M. Money in Sixteenth-Century Florence. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989. Cohen, Elizabeth S., and Thomas V. Cohen. Daily Life in Renaissance Italy. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2001. Cohn, Samuel K. Cultures of Plague: Medical Thinking at the End of the Renaissance. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. Contini, Alessandra. “Aspects of Medicean Diplomacy in the Sixteenth Century.” In Politics and Diplomacy in Early Modern Italy: The Structure of Diplomatic Practice, 1450–1800, edited by Daniela Frigo, 49–94. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Cox-Rearick, Janet. Dynasty and Destiny in Medici Art: Pontormo, Leo X, and the Two Cosimos. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984. Cruciani Troncarelli, Maria Gabriella. “Campana, Francesco.” DBI 17 (1974); . The Crusca Online. Florence: Accademia della Crusca; . Dall’Aglio, Stefano. The Duke’s Assassin: Exile and Death of Lorenzino de’ Medici. Translated by Donald Weinstein. New Haven, CT, and London: Yale University Press, 2015. ———. L’assassino del duca: Esilio e morte di Lorenzino de’ Medici. Florence: Olschki, 2011. Davies, Jonathon. Culture and Power: Tuscany and Its Universities, 1537–1609. Leiden: Brill, 2009. Devonshire Jones, R. “Lorenzo de’ Medici, Duca d’Urbino, ‘Signore’ of Florence?” In Studies on Machiavelli, edited by M. P. Gilmore, 299–315. Florence: Sansoni, 1972.

Bibliography 195 Di Stefano, Laura Grazia. “Donne che vanno, patrimoni che restano: Studio sulle strategie e alleanze matrimoniali nell’archivio della famiglia Salviati.” Tesi di laurea magistrale, University of Pisa, 2013. Dizionario biografico degli italiani. Rome: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, 1960–; . Eckstein, Nicholas A. “ ‘Florence on Foot’: An Eye–Level Mapping of the Early Modern City in Time of Plague.” RS 30, no. 2 (2016): 273–97. Edelstein, Bruce L. “Eleonora di Toledo e la gestione dei beni familiari: Una strategia economica?” In Donne di potere nel Rinascimento, edited by Letizia Arcangeli and Susanna Peyronel, 743–64. Rome: Viella, 2008. ———. “Miraculous Encounters: Pontormo from Drawing to Painting.” In Miraculous Encounters: Pontormo from Drawing to Painting, edited by Bruce L. Edelstein and Davide Gasparetto, 17–61. Florence: Giunti, Firenze musei Los Angeles: Getty Publications, 2018. ———. “Toledo, Eleonora di (ca. 1522–1562).” In Encyclopedia of Women in the Renaissance: Italy, France, and England, edited by Diana Maury Robin, Anne R. Larsen, and Carole Levin, 362–67. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC–CLIO, 2007. Eisenbichler, Konrad, ed. The Cultural Politics of Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici. Aldershot, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2001. Epstein, Steven A. “Slaves in Italy, 1350–1550.” In At the Margins: Minority Groups in Premodern Italy, edited by Steven. J. Milner, 219–35. Minneapolis and London: University of Minnesota Press, 2005. Fantozzi-Micali, Osanna, and Piero Roselli. Le soppressioni dei conventi a Firenze: riuso e trasformazione dal sec. XVIII in poi. Florence: Libreria Editrice Fiorentina, 1980. Fasano Guarini, Elena. Prato: Storia di una città. Prato and Florence: Comune di Prato, Le Monnier, 1986. ———. “The Prince, the Judges and the Law: Cosimo I and Sexual Violence, 1558.” In Crime, Society and the Law in Renaissance Italy, edited by Trevor Dean and K. J. P. Lowe, 121–41. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994. Felice, Berta. “Donne Medicee avanti il Principato: [V]: Maria Salviati, moglie di Giovanni delle Bande Nere.” Rassegna Nazionale 152 (1906): 620–45. Fletcher, Catherine. The Black Prince of Florence: The Spectacular Life and Treacherous World of Alessandro de’ Medici. London: Bodley Head, 2016. Florio, John. Queen Anna’s New World of Words, or Dictionarie of the Italian and English Tongues, Collected, and Newly Much Augmented by Iohn Florio, Reader of the Italian unto the Soueraigne Maiestie of Anna, Crowned Queene of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, &c. And One of the Gentlemen of Hir Royall Priuie Chamber. Whereunto Are Added Certaine Necessarie Rules

196 Bibliography and Short Obseruations for the Italian Tongue. London: Edw. Blount and William Barret, 1611; . Fosi, Irene. “Medici, Lucrezia de’.” DBI 73 (2009); . Fosi, Irene, and Guido Rebecchini. “Medici, Ippolito de’.” DBI 73 (2009); . Fragnito, Gigliola. “Riccio, Pierfrancesco.” DBI 87 (2016); . ———. “Un pratese alla corte di Cosimo I: Riflessioni e materiali per un profilo di Pierfrancesco Riccio.” Archivio Storico Pratese 62 (1986): 31–83. Gaeta, Franco. “Averoldi, Altobello.” DBI 4 (1962); . Giusti, Antonella. “Gheri, Gregorio.” DBI 53 (2000); . Goldthwaite, Richard. The Economy of Renaissance Florence. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009. Gouwens, Kenneth, and Sheryl E. Reiss, eds. The Pontificate of Clement VII: History, Politics, Culture. Aldershot, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2005. Grendler, Paul. F. Schooling in Renaissance Italy: Literacy and Learning, 1300– 1600. Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989. Guarini, Elena Fasano, ed. Prato: Storia di una città. Vol. 2. Prato and Florence: Comune di Prato, Le Monnier, 1986. Gullino, Giuseppe. “Foscari, Marco.” DBI 49 (1997); . Harris, Barbara J. English Aristocratic Women 1450–1550: Marriage and Family, Property and Careers. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. Henderson, John. The Renaissance Hospital: Healing the Body and Healing the Soul. New Haven, CT, and London: Yale University Press, 2006. Hewlett, Cecilia. Rural Communities in Renaissance Tuscany: Religious Identities and Local Loyalties. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2008. Hewlett, Mary. “A Republic in Jeopardy: Cosimo I de’ Medici and the Republic of Lucca.” In The Cultural Politics of Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici, edited by Konrad Eisenbichler, 9–22. Aldershot, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2001. Hughes, Steven C. “Soldiers and Gentlemen: The Rise of the Duel in Renaissance Italy.” Journal of Medieval Military History 5 (2007): 99–152. Hurtubise, Pierre. “Salviati, Bernardo,” DBI 90 (2017); . ———. Une famille-témoin: Les Salviati. Vatican City: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 1985. Innamorati, Giuliano. “Aretino, Pietro.” DBI 4 (1962); .

Bibliography 197 James, Carolyn. “Letters.” In Early Modern Emotions: An Introduction, edited by Susan Broomhall, 121–24. London and New York: Routledge, 2017. ———. “Marriage by Correspondence: Politics and Domesticity in the Letters of Isabella d’Este and Francesco Gonzaga, 1490–1519.” RQ 65, no. 2 (2012): 321–52. James, Carolyn, and Jessica O’Leary. “Letter Writing and Emotions.” In Routledge History of Emotions 1100–1700, edited by Andrew Lynch and Susan Broomhall, 256–68. London and New York: Routledge, 2019. Kaborycha, Lisa. “Brigida Baldinotti and Her Two Epistles in Quattrocento Florentine Manuscripts.” Speculum 87, no. 3 (2012): 793–826; . Kambaskovic, Danijela. “Humoral Theory.” In Early Modern Emotions: An Introduction, edited by Susan Broomhall, 39–41. London and New York: Routledge, 2017. Kent, Francis William and Patricia Simons. “Renaissance Patronage: An Introductory Essay.” In Patronage, Art, and Society in Renaissance Italy, edited by Francis William Kent and Patricia Simons, 1–21. Oxford: Clarendon, 1987. King, Margaret L. “The School of Infancy: The Emergence of Mother as Teacher in Early Modern Times.” In The Renaissance in the Streets, Schools and Studies, edited by Konrad Eisenbichler and Nicholas Terpstra, 41–86. Toronto: Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies, 2008. Klapisch-Zuber, Christiane. “The ‘Cruel Mother”: Maternity, Widowhood and Dowry in Florence in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries.” In KlapischZuber, Women, Family, and Ritual, 117–31. ———. “San Romolo: Un vescovo, un lupo, un nome alle origini dello stato moderno,” ASI 55, no. 1 (1997): 3–48; . ———. Women, Family, and Ritual in Renaissance Italy. Translated by Lydia G. Cochrane. Chicago and London: Chicago University Press, 1985. ———. “Zacharias, or The Ousted Father: Nuptial Rites in Tuscany between Giotto and the Council of Trent.” In Klapisch-Zuber, Women, Family, and Ritual, 178–212. Knecht, Robert J. Catherine de’ Medici. London and New York: Longman, 1998. Kruse, Jeremy. “Hunting, Magnificence and the Court of Leo X.” RS 7, no. 3 (1993): 243–57; . Kuehn, Thomas. “Arbitration and Law in Renaissance Florence.” Renaissance and Reformation / Renaissance et Réforme 11, no. 4 (1987): 289–319; . Langdon, Gabrielle. Medici Women: Portraits of Power, Love and Betrayal from the Court of Duke Cosimo I. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2006. Lowe, K. J. P. Nuns’ Chronicles and Convent Culture in Renaissance and CounterReformation Italy. New York and Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.

198 Bibliography ———. “Redrawing the Line between Suicide and Murder in Renaissance Italy.” In Murder in Renaissance Italy, edited by Trevor Dean and K. J. P. Lowe, 189–210. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017. ———. “Towards an Understanding of Goro Gheri’s Views on Amicizia in Early Sixteenth-Century Medicean Florence.” In Florence and Italy: Renaissance Studies in Honour of Nicolai Rubinstein, edited by Peter Denley and Caroline Elam, 91–106. London: Westfield College, 1988. Mack, Charles R. “The Wanton Habits of Venus: Pleasure and Pain at the Renaissance Spa.” Explorations in Renaissance Culture 26 no. 2 (2000): 257–76; . Mallett, Michael, and Christine Shaw. The Italian Wars, 1494–1559: War, State and Society in Early Modern Europe. Harlow, UK: Longman; New York: Pearson, 2012. Martelli, Francesco. “Salviati, Maria”, DBI 90 (2017); . McKee, Sally. “Domestic Slavery in Renaissance Italy.” Slavery & Abolition 29, no. 3 (2008): 305–26; . Medici Archive Project, BIA Database. “Andelucci, Girolamo”; . ———. “Benintendi, Francesco”; . ———. “Caccia, Alessandro del”; . ———. “Cambi, Lorenzo”; . ———. “Cambini, Antonio”; . ———. “Cerusico, Carlo”; . ———. “Church di San Giovannino dei Cavalieri”; . ———. “Cibo, Innocenzo (Cardinal Cibo)”; . ———. “Cibo, Lorenzo di Francesco”; . ———. “Fei, Carlo”; . ———. “Grifoni, Ugolino”; . ———. “Guicciardini, Iacopo”; .

Bibliography 199 ———. “Martelli, Luigi di Luigi”; . ———. “Mattio, Mauro Fra”; . ———. “Mediceo del Principato”; . ———. “Medici, Bia di Cosimo I de’ ”; . ———. “Medici, Chiarissimo di Bernardo de’ ”; . ———. “Medici, Cosimo I de’ List of Household Members”; . ———. “Medici, Galeotto di Lorenzo de’ ”; . ———. “Medici, Jacopo di Chiarissimo de’ ”; . ———.“Medici, Maria di Cosimo I de’ ”; . ———. “Medici, Ottaviano di Lorenzo de’ ”; . ———. “Medici, Vieri di Cambio de.;” . ———. “Medici-Cantelmo, Giulia di Alessandro de’ ”; . ———. “Medici-Orsini, Isabella di Cosimo I de’ ”; . ———. “Minerbetti-Medici, Francesco”; . ———. “Montefalco, Alessandro da”; . ———. “Musefilio, Pirro (Conte Della Sassetta);” . ———. “Nerli, Filippo di Benedetto de’ ”; . ———. “Niccolini, Matteo”; . ———. “Pagni, Lorenzo di Andrea”; . ———. “Pasquali, Andrea”; . ———. “Ricordi di Pierfrancesco Riccio”; .

200 Bibliography ———. “Ridolfi, Luigi di Piero”; . ———. “Ristori, Giuliano Fra”; . ———. “Salviati-d’Appiano, Elena”; . ———. “Salviati-Tornabuoni, Caterina”; . ———. “Selvastrella”; . ———. “Strozzi, Camillo di Matteo”; . ———. “Strozzi, Giuliano”; . ———. “Stufa, Pandolfo di Luigi della”; . ———. “Torelli, Lelio di Giovanni”; . ———. “Venanzio da Spelle, Carlo”; . Menchini, Carmen. Panegirici e vite di Cosimo I de’ Medici: Tra storia e propaganda. Florence: Olschki, 2005. Menning, Carol Bresnahan. Charity and State in Late Renaissance Italy: The Monte di Pietà. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1993. Molà, Luca. “A Luxury Industry: The Production of Italian Silks, 1400–1600.” In Europe’s Rich Fabric: The Consumption, Commercialisation and Production of Luxury Textiles in Italy, the Low Countries and Neighbouring Territories Fourteenth–Sixteenth Centuries, edited by Bart Lambert and Katherine Anne Wilson, 205–34. Farnham, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2016. Moran, Megan. “Female Letter Writing and the Preservation of Family Memory in Early Modern Italy.” EMWJ 6 (2011): 195–201; . Moreni, Domenico. Continuazione delle memorie istoriche del l’Ambrosiana imperial Basilica di S. Lorenzo di Firenze. Vol. 2. Florence: Francesco Daddi, 1817. Moreno, Paola. “Guicciardini, Iacopo.” DBI 61 (2004); . Mori, Elisabetta. “Isabella de’ Medici: Unraveling the Legend.” In Medici Women: The Making of a Dynasty in Grand Ducal Tuscany, edited by Giovanna Benadusi and Judith C. Brown, 90–127. Toronto: Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies, 2015.

Bibliography 201 ———. L’archivio Orsini: La famiglia, la storia, l’inventario. Rome: Viella, 2017. Muir, Edward. “The Double Binds of Manly Revenge.” In Gender Rhetorics: Postures of Dominance and Submission in Human History, edited by Richard C. Trexler, 65–82. Binghamton, NY: Medieval Renaissance Texts and Studies, 1994. Murray, Alexander. Suicide in the Middle Ages. Vol. 2, The Curse on Self–Murder. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Najemy, John M. Between Friends: Discourses of Power and Desire in the Machiavelli–Vettori Letters of 1513–1515. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993. ———, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Machiavelli. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010; . ———. A History of Florence: 1200–1575. Malden, MA: Wiley Blackwell, 2006. Orvieto, Paolo. “Cambi, Lorenzo.” DBI 17 (1974); . Oxford English Dictionary. . Pellegrini, Marco. “Leone X, Papa.” DBI 64 (2005); . Perénnès, Henri. Notre-Dame du Relec en Plounéour-Menez. Léon: Quimper, 1932. Petrucci, Franca. “Cibo, Innocenzo.” DBI 25 (1981); . ———. “Cibo, Lorenzo.” DBI 25 (1981); . Pieraccini, Gaetano. La stirpe de’ Medici di Cafaggiolo. 3 vols. Florence: Vallechi, 1924; reprint Nardini, 1986. Pieri, Sandra. “Del Tovaglia, Lapo.” DBI 38 (1990); . Prosperi, Adriano. “Clemente VII, Papa.” DBI 26 (1982); . Rebecchini, Guido. Private Collectors in Mantua, 1500–1630. Rome: Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, 2002. Rocke, Michael. Forbidden Friendships: Homosexuality and Male Culture in Renaissance Florence. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996. Ruggiero, Guido. The Renaissance in Italy: A Social and Cultural History of the Rinascimento. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2015; . Saalman, Howard, and Phillip Mattox. “The First Medici Palace.” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 44, no. 4 (1985): 329–45; .

202 Bibliography Salvador, Miranda. “The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church”; . Scichilone, Giuseppe. “Caltabellotta, Sigismondo de Luna, Conte di.” DBI 16 (1973); . Shaw, James E. “Writing to the Prince: Supplications, Equity and Absolutism in Sixteenth–Century Tuscany.” Past & Present 215, no. 1 (2012): 51–83; . Simonetta, Marcello. “Salviati, Giovanni.” DBI 90 (2017); . ———. “Salviati, Jacopo.”. DBI 90 (2017); . Sistema informativo unificato per le Sopratendenze Archivistiche, (SIUSA). “Da Cavina, Girolamo di Domenico”; . Spackman, Barbara. “Machiavelli and Gender.” In The Cambridge Companion to Machiavelli, edited by John M. Najemy, 223–38. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Spini, Giorgio. Cosimo I e l’índipendenza del Principato Mediceo. 2nd ed. Florence: Vallecchi, 1980. Strocchia, Sharon T. “Caring for the ‘Incurable’ in Renaissance Pox Hospitals.” In Hospital Life: Theory and Practice from the Medieval to the Modern, edited by Laurinda Abreu and Sally Sheard, 67–92. Oxford: Peter Lang, 2013. ———. Forgotten Healers: Women and the Pursuit of Health in Late Renaissance Italy. New Haven and London: Harvard University Press, 2019. ———. “Learning the Virtues: Convent Schools and Female Culture in Renaissance Florence.” In Women’s Education in Early Modern Europe: A History, 1500–1800, edited by Barbara J. Whitehead, 3–46. New York and London: Garland, 1999. ———. “The Melancholic Nun in Late Renaissance Italy.” In Diseases of the Imagination and Imaginary Disease in the Early Modern Period, edited by Yasmin Haskell, 139–58. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2011. ———. Nuns and Nunneries in Renaissance Florence. Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009. ———. “Taken into Custody: Girls and Convent Guardianship in Renaissance Florence.” RS 17, no. 2 (2003): 177–200; . ———. “Women on the Edge: Madness, Possession, and Suicide in Early Modern Convents.” Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies 45, no. 1 (2015): 53–77; . Sullivan, Erin. “Melancholy.” In Early Modern Emotions: An Introduction, edited by Susan Broomhall, 56–61. London and New York: Routledge, 2017.

Bibliography 203 Symonds, John Addington. The Life of Michelangelo Buonarroti: Based on Studies in the Archives of the Buonarroti Family at Florence. Vol. 1. 1893. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002. Talvacchia, Bette. “Giulio Romano.” Grove Art Online; . Terpstra, Nicholas. Lost Girls: Sex and Death in Renaissance Florence. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010. Tomas, Natalie R. “Commemorating a Mortal Goddess: Maria Salviati de’ Medici and the Cultural Politics of Duke Cosimo I.” In Practices of Gender in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe, edited by Megan Cassidy-Welch and Peter Sherlock, 261–78. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2008. ———. “Eleonora di Toledo, Regency, and State Formation in Tuscany.” In Medici Women: The Making of a Dynasty in Grand Ducal Tuscany, edited by Giovanna Benadusi and Judith C. Brown, 58–89. Toronto: Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies, 2015. ———. The Medici Women: Gender and Power in Renaissance Florence. Aldershot, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2003. Reprint London and New York: Routledge, 2017. ———. “ ‘With his authority she used to manage much business’: The Career of Signora Maria Salviati and Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici.” In Studies on Florence and the Italian Renaissance in Honour of F. W. Kent, edited by Peter Howard and Cecilia Hewlett, 133–48. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2016. ———. “Woman as Helpmeet: The Husband-Wife Relationship in Renaissance Florence.” Lilith: A Feminist Historical Journal 3 (1986): 61–75. Tosi, C. O. “Maria Salviati Medici.” Arte e Storia 27, nos. 9–10 (1908): 74–75. Trexler, Richard C. “Florentine Religious Experience: The Sacred Image.” Studies in the Renaissance 19 (1972): 7–41; . Turchini, Angelo. “Giberti, Gian Matteo.” DBI 54 (2000); . Vecchio, Silvana. “The Good Wife.” Translated by Clarissa Bostsford. In A History of Women in the West, vol. 2, Silences of the Middle Ages, edited by Christiane Klapisch-Zuber, 105–35. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1992. Verstegen, Ian F. “Francesco Maria and the Duchy of Urbino, between Rome and Venice.” In Patronage and Dynasty: The Rise of the Della Rovere in Renaissance Italy, edited by Ian F. Verstegen, 141–60. Kirksville, MO: Truman State University Press, 2007. Vocabolario Treccani. . Vries, Joyce de. Caterina Sforza and the Art of Appearances: Gender, Art and Culture in Early Modern Italy. Farnham, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2010.

204 Bibliography Watt, Mary A. “Veni, Sponsa: Love and Politics at the Wedding of Eleonora di Toledo.” In The Cultural World of Eleonora di Toledo: Duchess of Florence and Siena, edited by Konrad Eisenbichler, 18–39. Aldershot, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2004. Weinstein, Donald. “Fighting or Flyting? Verbal Duelling in Mid-Sixteenth-Century Italy.” In Crime, Society and the Law in Renaissance Italy, edited by Trevor Dean and K. J. P. Lowe, 204–20. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994. Welch, Evelyn S. Shopping in the Renaissance: Consumer Cultures in Italy, 1400– 1600. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2005. Zingarelli, Nicola. Lo Zingarelli 2003: Lo vocabolario della lingua italiana di Nicola Zingarelli. Bologna: Zanichelli, 2002. Zorzi, Andrea. “The Judicial System in Florence in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries.” In Crime, Society and the Law in Renaissance Italy, edited by Trevor Dean and K. J. P. Lowe, 40–58. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994.

Index The names of people who sent letters to Maria Salviati are indexed here. The names of people to whom Maria Salviati wrote letters are individually listed in Appendix A. Names that include particles (d’, da, de, de’, della, degli, di) are filed with the particle in the last position: e.g. Aragona, Tullia d’. Page numbers in italics refer to illustrations. Averoldì, Altobello (papal legate to Venice), 77, 77n16

Acciaiuoli, Donato (friar), 158n210 Agnoletta (servant), 84 Alberti, Francesco degli (Vicar of Scarperia), 111n12 Albizzi, Francesco degli, 12, 31, 49–50, 64, 67n140; letter-writer (to Maria), 65 Alessandro de’ Medici, Duke of Florence, 15–16, 53, 57n101, 71–72, 96, 98, 99, 99nn110–11, 101, 107, 109, 109n2, 110, 111, 149n171 Alexandra di Mona Ginevra (servant novice), 61 Altoviti, Bardo di Giovanni (Messer), 135 Andrea di Mariano di Ceo, 153 Angelucci, Girolamo (monk), 158n207 Anna, Madonna (Maria’s employee), 105 Antonio, Messer (priest), 33–34 Antonio, Michele (Marquis di Saluzzo), 80 Appiano, Camillo d’, 8, 37n17, 40n31 Appaiano-Salviati, Elena di. See Salviati, Elena di Jacopo di Giovanni de’ Aragona, Tullia d’, 20 Aretino, Pietro, 12, 23, 31, 66, 68–69; letter-writer (to Maria), 66–68

Bandini, Giovanni, 16, 17, 114–15, 116–17, 125 Barcosi, Bartolomeo, Ser, 141 Bardi, Costanza de’, 11; letter-writer (to Maria), 51–52 Bartolino (servant), 84 Bartolomeo di Romagna, “Fracassa,” 136 Bastiano, Anna di, 154 Bastiano, Batista di (tailor), 154 Bastiano, Ser, 118 baths, thermal, 133 Bencio, Ser (employee of Maria), 36, 49 Benedetto (servant), 85 Benintendi, Francesco (carter), 122, 138 Benivieni, Girolamo, 107 Bernardo (Cardinal Giovanni Salviati’s secretary), 45 Bernardo, Ser (priest), 33 Bissochi, Vincenzio (ambassador), 112 Briga, “trouble” (supplicant), 147–48 Bufolini, Niccolò (Messer), 121 Buonaccorsi, Alessandro, 128 Busbacca (courier), 60 205

206 Index Caccia, Alessandro del (soldier and diplomat at Cosimo I’s court), 91, 91n78 Cambi, Lorenzo, 118 Cambini, Antonio, 121 Campana, Francesco (Medici secretary), 120, 122 Canigiani, Domenico, 92 Carnesecchi, Piero di Bernardo, 156 Castel Sant’Angelo (Rome), 14, 44, 44n44, 82n42 Catherine de’ Medici, Queen of France, 13, 15, 20, 55n95, 72, 95n97, 101, 103, 103n124, 161–62; letter-writer (to Maria), 105; pregnancy, 161; silk garments made for (by Maria’s servants), 105; Torsoli, Jacopo, advocate for with Duke Cosimo I, 162n225 Cavina, Girolamo di Domenico da (pharmacist), 115 Cecchi, Lorenzo, “Cecchino,” 76,79 Cerusico, Carlo (maestro), 146 Cerusico, Cherubino, 146 Cesano, Gabriel, 90 Charles V, King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor, 14n44, 15, 16, 57, 58, 67, 71, 72, 93, 101, 107, 114, 119n42, 155n192 Cibo, Innocenzo (cardinal), 15, 36, 38n24, 39, 42n39, 95, 98, 99n110, 100, 120, 120n24, Cibo, Ippolita (countess of Caiazzo), 95n96 Cibo, Lorenzo, 121, 121n51, 124, Cibo, Maddalena (countess of Caiazzo), 95n96, 98 Ciucci, Piero d’Antonio, 154 Clement VII (pope), 5, 11, 14, 14n44, 30, 43n42, 52n82, 53, 53n87, 54, 55, 55n95, 57, 57n101, 64, 64n125, 65, 67n140, 71, 73, 76, 82n42,

85–86, 86n60, 88, 89, 93, 93n85, 94, 95, 96, 97–100, 101, 103n124, 103–4. See also Medici, Giulio di Giuliano di Piero de’ clients, 2, 5, 11, 19, 29 Corsetto (Il) (soldier), 37n17, 40, 40n31 Cosimo I, Duke of Florence, 4, 16–22, 111–17, 119–28, 135–37, 138, 139, 141–49, 151n76, 152, 153, 154, 156, 157, 158n210, 161, 162n225; biographies of, posthumous, 21; children of, 18, 131, 131nn 96–97, 150–51; elected as ducal ruler, 16, 107, 109–10; engagement with, 135; Foreign Affairs Committee (Otto di Pratica), abolition of, 111n13; letters of condolence (on Maria’s death), 20, 162n224; letter-writer (to Maria), 129, 132–33; pearls, wedding gifts of (to Eleonora), 17, 108. See also Medici, Cosimo di Giovanni di Giovanni de’ Cuppano, Lucantonio (Giovanni de’ Medici’s lieutenant), 80 Dini, Agostino, 97 Domenica, Mona, 147 duels, 8, 30, 37n17 Eleonora di Toledo, Duchess of Florence, 3, 4, 107, 108, 123, 124, 126, 127–28, 130, 132, 134, 135, 140, 143, 148, 149, 150, 161; “foreign” status of, 19; illness of, 147, 160; pearls, wedding gifts of (from Cosimo), 17, 108; pregnancies, 134, 155; regent, 155n192; together with Maria at villa Castello, beekeeping, 18n51

Index 207 Este, Isabella d’ (Marchioness of Mantua), 46n53, 50n69, 79n23 Fei (or Feo), Carlo, 118–19 Fino (stone mason), 83 Florence, 47 —churches: San Lorenzo, 20; Santa Maria del Carmine, 157; Santa Maria del Fiore, 137, 139 —Commune of, 86 —convents: as custodial institutions for girls and women, use of, 37–38n19; San Giovannino, 158; San Giuseppe (Franciscans), 61; Santa Caterina da Siena (Dominican tertiaries), 84n52; Sant’Orsola (Franciscan tertiaries), 9–10, 39–40, 41 —Eight on Security (police magistracy), 56, 149, 154 —hospitals: incurables hospital, 140; Santa Maria Nuova, 104 —literacy (female), extent of, 6–7n18, 22 —prison (Bargello), 156 —prison galleys, 154 —scribes and secretaries, as letterwriters, role of, 22 —the Senate, 16, 107, 109, 155 Franceschi, Giovanni, 21 Francis I, King of France, 4, 13, 15, 57, 58, 58n105, 65, 67, 71, 73, 75, 78, 79, 107 Francis II, King of France, birth of, 161n221 Franze, Francesco (Messer), 73 “French disease.” See syphilis Galvano, Giovan Batista (Messer), 157 Gamberelli, Francesco, 92

Giberti, Giovan Matteo (papal datary of pope Clement VII), 56, 56n98 Ginevra, Mona (servant), 84 Ginevra di Lapi, Madonna, 125 Giovanalberto (son-in-law of Mona Domenica), 147n161 Giovanni (butcher), 84 Giovanni (Messer), 89–91 Giovanni, Ser (scribe), 53 Girolami, Jacopo (courier), 58 Girolamo da Cavina (Messer), 125–26 Giuliano (falconer), 35 Gondi, Marcantonio, 74 Gonzaga, Federico II (Marquis of Mantua), 51, 67n136, 68, 69, 80 Gonzaga, Lord Piero, 46 Goretti, Giovanni, 14, 83–85 Gori, Dante (employee of Giovanni de’ Medici), 48 Gori, Piero (captain), 145 Gouiffier, Guillaume (Admiral of France), 58 Grega (poor woman), 80 Grifoni, Ugolino (Medici secretary, cleric and diplomat), 117, 118, 130, 131–32, 134–35, 146–48, 153–54, 157 Gualterotti, Francesca, 6, 88; letterwriter (to Maria), 104–5 Gualterotti, Magdalena, 102 Gualterotti, Pier, 88 Guicciardini, Jacopo, 62 Guiducci, Antonio (Messer), 100 Guiducci, Francesco (Messer), 99 hawking. See hunting Henri, Duke of Orléans (Dauphin of France), 161 hunting, 16, 35, 35n9, 41n36, 107, 118, 119, 130n94

208 Index intercession, letters of, 2, 19, 23–25, 50, 88, 149 Landucci, Luca (pharmacist), attitude to suicide, 34n7 Lattantio (Messer) (Lucrezia Salviati’s servant), 114 Lattantio, Paulino (Lucrezia Salviati’s servant), 114 Leo X (pope), 10, 29, 43n43, 43–44, 44n47, 49n67, 45, 52n83, 54. See also Medici, Giovanni di Lorenzo di Piero de’ Livo, Ser, 136 Lopez, Soria de (imperial envoy), 119 Luna, Jacopo de, 139, 141, 145 Luzzasco, Paolo (lieutenant and mercenary soldier), 51 Madonna della Impruneta (sacred image), 128 Malegonnelle, Alessandro (Messer), 143 Malegonnelle, Lorenzo, 143 Martelli, Luigi (Vicar of Pescia), 107 Martia (Maria’s servant), 84 Martino (Francesco de’ Medici’s servant as baby), 152–53 Marzi-Medici, Angelo (Bishop of Assisi), 118 Matteo (Lorenzino de’ Medici’s servant), 94 Matteo di Sano (labourer), 125 Mauro, Mattio, Ser, “Musico,” 136–37, 142 Medici, Alessandro di Giulio di Giuliano de’. See Alessandro de’ Medici, Duke of Florence Medici, Bia di Cosimo di Giovanni de’, 18, 134, 138n125 Medici, Cambio de’, 149

Medici, Caterina di Lorenzo di Piero de’. See Catherine de’ Medici, Queen of France Medici, Chiarissimo di Bernardo de’ (Messer), 120 Medici, Clarice di Piero di Lorenzo de’. See Strozzi, Clarice Medici, Contessina di Lorenzo di Piero de’. See Ridolfi, Contessina Medici, Cosimo di Giovanni di Bicci de’ (the Elder), 10 Medici, Cosimo di Giovanni di Giovanni de’, 3– 5, 10–15, 44–51, 53, 57–58, 63, 66, 68, 71, 73–76, 83, 85, 87, 88, 89, 91, 92, 93 102, 104; advocacy (by Maria) to relatives at papal court for Cosimo, 10–11; affection shown to him by others, 54–55, 59, 74, 79; Bologna, trip to, 15; College of Cardinals, godparents of, 10; illnesses, 47; inquires from his father about Cosimo’s health, 11; letter-writer (to Maria when he was a child/teenager), 14, 77–78, 78n18, 79, 80, 80n32, 81, 95, 101; marriage alliance (proposed), 94–101; Naples, trip to, 15–16; as noble scion, 10; pet dog, “La Mosca,” 92; slave, unnamed Turkish boy, gift of, 102; Venice, trip to, 12, 14, 63, 74, 77, 81. See also Cosimo I, Duke of Florence Medici, Francesco di Cosimo di Giovanni de’ (later Francesco I de’ Medici), 18, 134n107, 138,n125, 146, 146n157, 152, 155n197 Medici, Galeotto di Lorenzo di Bernadetto de’, 64 Medici, Giovanni di Cosimo di Giovanni de’, 18, 155n192, 160 Medici, Giovanni di Giovanni di Pierfrancesco de’, 1, 2, 3, 109, 154;

Index 209 appearance at banquet and joust in Rome, 43–44; belongings given to poor in memory of, 80; Bernardo della Tassinara, friend of, 109 (see also Tassinara, Bernardo Don della); betrothal and marriage (to Maria), 4, 7–8; career as a mercenary soldier, 5n13, 57; clothing and goods for, 35–36; convent guardianship of, 37–38n19; death of, 12, 37nn17–18, 38, 42, 63–64, 65, 113; exile of, 9–10, 29–30, 37; failure as patron, 34; fostering of, 7; Girolamo Benivieni, friend of, 113 (see also Benivieni, Girolamo); letter-writer (to Maria), 8, 36, 56, 59–60; litigation with Medici cousins, 97n102; memorialization and mythologization of, 12, 31, 65–69; name change after birth, 7; Piombino and its territories (Campiglia and Volterra), banishment from, 9; relationship with Maria, 8–11, 24, 41–42; unhappy at Maria’s absence from home without permission, 45–46; University of Pisa, banishment from, 9; wounding of, 11, 30, 58–60 Medici, Giovanni di Lorenzo di Piero de’, 10, 29, 43n43. See also Leo X Medici, Giulia di Alessandro di Giulio de’, 18, 131, 133, 136, 149n171, 152 Medici, Giuliano di Pierfrancesco di Lorenzo de’, 11, 14, 47, 47n61, 63, 77, 79 Medici, Giulio di Alessandro di Giulio de’, 18, 149n171 Medici, Giulio di Giuliano di Piero de’ (cardinal), 5, 11, 43n12, 45, 49n67, 50, 50n72, 51n78, 52n82. See also Clement VII

Medici, Ippolito di Giuliano di Piero de’ (cardinal), 15, 53, 72, 94, 97, 99, 99n110–11, 100, 103 Medici, Isabella di Cosimo di Giovanni de’, 18, 150, 151, 155n197 Medici, Laudomia di Pierfrancesco di Lorenzo de’, 63n120 Medici, Lorenzo II de’, 3, 8, 10, 29, 30, 35, 36–37, 40, 42, 50n72 Medici, Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco di Lorenzo de’ (called Lorenzino), 14, 63, 63n120, 77, 79, 107 Medici, Lorenzo di Piero di Cosimo de’, “the Magnificent,” 6 Medici, Lorenzo di Piero di Lorenzo de’, Duke of Urbino. See Medici, Lorenzo II de’ Medici, Lucrezia di Lorenzo di Piero de’. See Salviati, Lucrezia Medici, Maddalena di Pierfrancesco di Lorenzo de’, 63n120 Medici, Maria di Cosimo di Giovanni de’, 18, 131, 155n197 Medici, Maria di Jacopo di Giovanni di Alemanno de’. See Salviati, Maria Medici, Ottaviano di Lorenzo di Bernadetto de’, 64, 88, 95, 124, 125, 129 Medici, Vieri di Cambio de’, 149 Medici duchy, 2, 4, 18, 21, 71, 107, 112, 112n17; letter-writing, practices of, 24 Medici family: biography, propaganda for, 21; exile of, 1, 6, 29, 71; impact of Sack of Rome, 71; marriage brokers, 143; political fortunes of, 1–2, 6, 7, 8, 29 Medici grand duchy. See Medici duchy

210 Index Medici regime, 9, 14, 15, 19, 29, 30, 50n72, 56n100, 71, 82n42, 99n110 (see also Medici duchy); antiMedicean government attitude to, 1, 6, 14, 29 Medici villas: Cafaggiolo, 130n94; Castello, 14, 18, 40, 71, 84, 84n51, 93n87, 108, 115, 133, 146, 147, 161n218, 162n224; Poggio a Caiano, 84n53, 118n40, 143n191, 156; Topaia, 93n87; Trebbio, 10, 15, 16, 41, 42n36, 47, 51, 84, 107, 111 Mezoprete (servant), 36, 39, 40, 41 Minerbetti-Medici, Francesco de’ (Bishop of Arezzo), 74, 148, 148n165 Modesti, Filippo (Messer), 142 Monte della Pietà, 123 Montefalco, Alessandro da (cleric), 158n207 Musefilo, Pirro (Conte della Sassetta), 121, 126 Nerli, Alfonso de’, 133 Nerli, Caterina de’ (Maria’s sister and letter-writer to Maria), 15, 71, 87, 133 n104 Nerli, Filippo di Benedetto de’, 91; letter-writer (to Maria), 140–41 Niccolini, Matteo (Messer), 127 Niccolò (from Poggibonsi), 56 Niccolò di Mariotto (carter), 101 Noferi, Francesco de’, Ser, 104 Office of the Ducal Bands (Florence), 140 Orlandini, Niccolò “Pollo,” 47, 47n56 Orsini, Alfonsina, 3, 38, 39, 44n44, 50n72

Pagni, Christofano, 156 Pagni, Lorenzo (ducal secretary and diplomat), 119, 138–40, 141, 142–43, 144–45, 150, 151, 155 Pantaleoni, Giovanni, 87 Pantaleoni, Pantaleone, 87–88 Pasquali, Andrea (Mastro), 128, 134, 143, 148, 160 Passerini, Silvio (cardinal), 11, 57n101; letter-writer (to Maria), 56–57 Paul III (pope), 107 Paulo, Cuorio da, Count, 142 Pellegrino (captain), 124 Piacentino (servant), 57 Pio, Lionello, 90–91 Pippi, Giulio, “Giulio di Rafaello” (artist), 67, 67n136 Pistoia (Umbria), 14, 17, 81, 82n38, 107, 120, 155 plague, bubonic, 84, 84n50 Pontormo, Jacopo da (Jacopo Carucci), 20 Poppi, Jacopo da, 144 Prato (Tuscany), 46n53, 111, 112n17 —churches: Santa Lucia in Monte, 142; Santa Maria ale [sic] Colonica, 141 —Governing Council of the Commune of, 107 Rafael, Sanzio, 67n136 recommendation, letters of. See intercession, letters of Riario-Sforza, Francesco de’ (bishop of Lucca), 11, letter-writer (to Maria), 50 Riccio, Magdalena, 83 Riccio, Pierfrancesco, 17, 108, 122 124, 131, 141, 143n149, 155; letterwriter (to Maria), 62–63, 73–74,

Index 211 76–77, 81–83, 93–95, 100–101; tutor (to Cosimo), 3, 12–15, 25, 31, 71, 72, 77 Ridolfi, Andrea di Gismondo, 93, 93n89, 96 Ridolfi, Contessina, 93n90 Ridolfi, Luigi di Piero (ambassador), 124n67 Ridolfi, Niccolò (cardinal), 53 Ridolfi family, 93n90 Ristori, Giuliano, maestro (cleric), 157–58 Rocchi, Vannosso (ambassador), 111 Romano, Giulio. See Pippi, Giulio, “Giulio di Rafaello” Romano, Stefano (Messer), 160 Rossi, Giulio de’ (Count of Caiazzo), 157 Rovere, Francesco Maria I della (duke of Urbino), 20, 79–80 Rovere, Guidobaldo II della (duke of Urbino), 20 Sacchagianini, Bastiano (ambassador), 111 Salucci, Benedetto di Marco, 144 Salvadore, Giovanbattista (weaver and master of the Servite novices), 87 Salvestro, Benedetto di (chaplain), 48 Salviati, Alamanno di Averardo, 62n119 Salviati, Alamanno di Jacopo di Giovanni, 78n18 Salviati, Averardo, 62 Salviati, Bernardo (Cardinal and Knight of Malta), 102, 102n117 Salviati, Elena di Jacopo di Giovanni de’ (Lady of Piombino), letterwriter (to Maria), 153 Salviati, Filippo di Averardo, 62n119

Salviati, Francesca di Jacopo di Giovanni de’. See Gualterotti, Francesca Salviati, Giovanbattista di Jacopo di Giovanni, 11, 52n80 Salviati, Giovanni di Jacopo di Giovanni (cardinal), 4, 11, 55, 73, 77, 81, 82, 89, 90, 91, 95, 97n104, 103, 129n87; letter-writer (to Maria), 44–45, 58–59 Salviati, Jacopo di Giovanni di Alemanno, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40, 55, 90, 92, 93, 96, 97, 99, 100; anger at Maria’s disrespect, 13–14, 73, 76, 78, 103–4; betrothal of Maria to Giovanni de’ Medici, attitude to, 7–8; Castel St Angelo, imprisonment in, 14; Cosimo’s (as teenager’s) proposed marriage, attitude to, 15, 95–96; death of, 136; Giovanni de’ Medici, foster-parent and guardian of, 7; influence with Medici, 29, 50, 93; letter-writer (to Maria), 73, 78–79, 103; republican sympathies and ties to antiMedicean Government, 6, 29; view on Giovanni’s placement of Maria in convent, 41n33 Salviati, Lorenzo di Jacopo di Giovanni, 102, 102n119 Salviati, Lucrezia, 6, 29, 34, 35, 52n79, 63, 72, 90, 93n90, 102n121, 160n218; betrothal of Maria, attitude to, 8; birth order of, 131n96; Cosimo’s inquiry after Lucrezia’s health, 160n218; Cosimo’s view of, 131n96; education of, 7, 7n19; Giovanni de’ Medici, foster-parent of, 7, 7n22; letter-writer (to Maria), 101, 114, 160; in Venice after Sack of Rome, 14

212 Index Salviati, Maria —Bernardo della Tassinara, friend of, 107 (see also Tassinara, Bernardo Don della) —betrothal and marriage of (to Giovanni), reasons for, 7–8 —biography of, posthumous, 21 —birth and baptism of, 6 —convent dowries, donator of, 61 —death of, 20, 162n224 —death of husband, compensation received for, 65, 73n3 —debts owed (by Maria), 13n40, 15, 64, 86, 86n61, 91, 92, 138 —dowry, 7 —education of, 6–7, 27 —emotions, 1, 9, 11, 24 —familial pressure to remarry, 13, 89–91 —flees Florence after Medici regime falls in May 1527, 14, 17, 71 —Foreign Affairs Committee, engagement with, 107, 108, 111, 116, 118 —funeral and remembrance of, 20 —healthcare manager for ducal family, 18, 133, 151 —household staff in Cosimo I’s court, clothing and occupations of, 152 —illnesses of, 129, 143, 144, 148, 160–61 —influence of relationship with Cosimo (son), 3, 19 —intermediaries, use of, 4 —legal issues of late husband, dealt with, 94 —letters: holograph and dictated images of, 32, 75, 159; locations of, 25–26; number of, 4; online repositories of, 26; oral character of writing style, 23

—Maria’s life as example of “female career,” 5 —marriage broker and mediator in family disputes, 5, 19, 39, 129, 132, 150–51 —patronage obligations and strategies, understanding of, 2, 4, 19 —portrait of, posthumous, 20, 21 —power and influence, understanding of use of, 4 —relationship: with Eleonora di Toledo, 3, 4, 18n51; with nuns of Santa Caterina da Siena, 84n51 —role in Duke Cosimo I’s court, 3, 4–5, 16–19, 108 —self-portrayal, of, 3 —senior member of Medici family, 3–4, 11 —threats of suicide (by Maria), 34, 40 —trope of maternal duty, use of, 24 —widows, duties of, 3, 12–14, 67, 71, 76, 103n22, 108 —wife, obligations of, 3, 10, 24, 45–46, 46n53, 66 Salviati-Tornabuoni, Caterina, 130 Santa Maria of Loreto (Ancona), church of, 45 Schönberg, Nikolaus von (Archbishop of Capua), 54, 54n92 Selbastrella (courier), 124 Serristori, Averardo (diplomat), 114, 116, 120, 160n128 Sforza, Caterina, 7 silk manufacturing processes, silkworms, use of, 84, 84n52 Soderini, Maria, 47n61, 63, 63n120, 87n64 Soderini, Pagoloantonio, 62 Spelle, Carlo da (Messer), 125 Spina, Giovanni (employee of Salviati Bank in Rome), 85

Index 213 Strozzi, Carlo di Giovanni degli (Messer), 150–51 Strozzi, Carlo di Matteo degli, 150 Strozzi, Clarice, 77n15, 86n62 Strozzi, Daniello, 129, 149 Strozzi, Filippo degli (banker), 15, 71, 86–87, 107 Strozzi, Giuliano (Giano) degli, 122, 129 Strozzi, Lorenzo degli, 77 Strozzi, Matteo degli, 149 Strozzi, Piero degli, 107 Strozzi, Tomasso degli (banker), 161 Strozzi family, 19 Stufa, Francesco della (Vicar of Scarperia), 104, 104n127 Stufa, Pandolfo della (Messer), 121–22n54 Stufa, Prinzivalle della, 44, 104 Suasio, Francesco, 10, 14, 33n5, 34, 36, 61n114, 71, 85; letter-writer (to Maria), 39, 44 suicide, attitudes to, 34n7 syphilis, 144 Taddei, Bongianni, 132, 134 Taddei, Giovanni, 19, 132, 134 Tassinara, Bernardo Don della (parish priest), 107, 109n6 taxation collection, complaints about, 136 Torelli, Lelio (Messer), 142 Torsoli, Jacopo, 162n225; letter-writer (to Maria), 161–62 Tovaglia, Lapo del, 116 Ugolini, Bartolommeo di Luca di Taddeo, 143 University of Pisa (Studio), 158 Valdinoce (messenger), 39 Varchi, Benedetto, 20, 107

Venanzio da Spelle, Carlo. See Spelle, Carlo da Verrucci, Hieronimo, Ser, 137 vicars (judicial and administrative officers), 104n128 Vincenzo (from Prato), 132, 141 Virgilio (courier), 48 Vitelli, Alessandro (mercenary soldier), 65 wet nurses, 146, 150 widows: evaluators of prospective brides, 103n122; open reclusion as third order nuns or tertiaries, 39n27; poverty of and pressure to remarry, 12–13. See also Florence: convents; women women, 45n52, 68, 94, 103; calfskin gloves for, purchase of by male intermediaries, 49–50; exile, negative impacts of, 9; healthcare, providers of, 18; home tutoring of, 7n18; intercessors with powerful men, 2, 17; letter-writers, 22–23, 27; marriage negotiations, men usually preferred over women for conducting of, 103; melancholy negatively gendered female, 38–39n23; power and influence (aristocratic), exercise of, 4; shopping, men used as intermediaries for, 50n69; silk manufacturing processes, involvement in, 84, 84n52; vernacular education of, 23. See also Florence: convents; wet nurses; widows Zenobi (Messer), 97 Zuchero (Messer) (captain), 53

.

The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe: The Toronto Series

SENIOR EDITOR SERIES EDITORS Jaime

Margaret L. King

Goodrich, Elizabeth H. Hageman

Series Titles Madre María Rosa Journey of Five Capuchin Nuns Edited and translated by Sarah E. Owens Volume 1, 2009 Giovan Battista Andreini Love in the Mirror: A Bilingual Edition Edited and translated by Jon R. Snyder Volume 2, 2009 Raymond de Sabanac and Simone Zanacchi Two Women of the Great Schism: The Revelations of Constance de Rabastens by Raymond de Sabanac and Life of the Blessed Ursulina of Parma by Simone Zanacchi Edited and translated by Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski and Bruce L. Venarde Volume 3, 2010 Oliva Sabuco de Nantes Barrera The True Medicine Edited and translated by Gianna Pomata Volume 4, 2010 Louise-Geneviève Gillot de Sainctonge Dramatizing Dido, Circe, and Griselda Edited and translated by Janet Levarie Smarr Volume 5, 2010

Pernette du Guillet Complete Poems: A Bilingual Edition Edited with introduction and notes by Karen Simroth James Poems translated by Marta Rijn Finch Volume 6, 2010 Antonia Pulci Saints’ Lives and Bible Stories for the Stage: A Bilingual Edition Edited by Elissa B. Weaver Translated by James Wyatt Cook Volume 7, 2010 Valeria Miani Celinda, A Tragedy: A Bilingual Edition Edited with an introduction by Valeria Finucci Translated by Julia Kisacky Annotated by Valeria Finucci and Julia Kisacky Volume 8, 2010 Enchanted Eloquence: Fairy Tales by Seventeenth-Century French Women Writers Edited and translated by Lewis C. Seifert and Domna C. Stanton Volume 9, 2010

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Sophie, Electress of Hanover and Queen Sophie Charlotte of Prussia Leibniz and the Two Sophies: The Philosophical Correspondence Edited and translated by Lloyd Strickland Volume 10, 2011 In Dialogue with the Other Voice in Sixteenth-Century Italy: Literary and Social Contexts for Women’s Writing Edited by Julie D. Campbell and Maria Galli Stampino Volume 11, 2011 Sister Giustina Niccolini The Chronicle of Le Murate Edited and translated by Saundra Weddle Volume 12, 2011 Liubov Krichevskaya No Good without Reward: Selected Writings: A Bilingual Edition Edited and translated by Brian James Baer Volume 13, 2011 Elizabeth Cooke Hoby Russell The Writings of an English Sappho Edited by Patricia Phillippy With translations from Greek and Latin by Jaime Goodrich Volume 14, 2011 Lucrezia Marinella Exhortations to Women and to Others If They Please Edited and translated by Laura Benedetti Volume 15, 2012 Margherita Datini Letters to Francesco Datini Translated by Carolyn James and Antonio Pagliaro Volume 16, 2012

Delarivier Manley and Mary Pix English Women Staging Islam, 1696–1707 Edited and introduced by Bernadette Andrea Volume 17, 2012 Cecilia del Nacimiento Journeys of a Mystic Soul in Poetry and Prose Introduction and prose translations by Kevin Donnelly Poetry translations by Sandra Sider Volume 18, 2012 Lady Margaret Douglas and Others The Devonshire Manuscript: A Women’s Book of Courtly Poetry Edited and introduced by Elizabeth Heale Volume 19, 2012 Arcangela Tarabotti Letters Familiar and Formal Edited and translated by Meredith K. Ray and Lynn Lara Westwater Volume 20, 2012 Pere Torrellas and Juan de Flores Three Spanish Querelle Texts: Grisel and Mirabella, The Slander against Women, and The Defense of Ladies against Slanderers: A Bilingual Edition and Study Edited and translated by Emily C. Francomano Volume 21, 2013 Barbara Torelli Benedetti Partenia, a Pastoral Play: A Bilingual Edition Edited and translated by Lisa Sampson and Barbara Burgess-Van Aken Volume 22, 2013

François Rousset, Jean Liebault, Jacques Guillemeau, Jacques Duval and Louis de Serres Pregnancy and Birth in Early Modern France: Treatises by Caring Physicians and Surgeons (1581–1625) Edited and translated by Valerie WorthStylianou Volume 23, 2013 Mary Astell The Christian Religion, as Professed by a Daughter of the Church of England Edited by Jacqueline Broad Volume 24, 2013 Sophia of Hanover Memoirs (1630–1680) Edited and translated by Sean Ward Volume 25, 2013 Katherine Austen Book M: A London Widow’s Life Writings Edited by Pamela S. Hammons Volume 26, 2013 Anne Killigrew “My Rare Wit Killing Sin”: Poems of a Restoration Courtier Edited by Margaret J. M. Ezell Volume 27, 2013 Tullia d’Aragona and Others The Poems and Letters of Tullia d’Aragona and Others: A Bilingual Edition Edited and translated by Julia L. Hairston Volume 28, 2014 Luisa de Carvajal y Mendoza The Life and Writings of Luisa de Carvajal y Mendoza Edited and translated by Anne J. Cruz Volume 29, 2014

Russian Women Poets of the Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries: A Bilingual Edition Edited and translated by Amanda Ewington Volume 30, 2014 Jacques Du Bosc L’Honnête Femme: The Respectable Woman in Society and the New Collection of Letters and Responses by Contemporary Women Edited and translated by Sharon Diane Nell and Aurora Wolfgang Volume 31, 2014 Lady Hester Pulter Poems, Emblems, and The Unfortunate Florinda Edited by Alice Eardley Volume 32, 2014 Jeanne Flore Tales and Trials of Love, Concerning Venus’s Punishment of Those Who Scorn True Love and Denounce Cupid’s Sovereignity: A Bilingual Edition and Study Edited and translated by Kelly Digby Peebles Poems translated by Marta Rijn Finch Volume 33, 2014 Veronica Gambara Complete Poems: A Bilingual Edition Critical introduction by Molly M. Martin Edited and translated by Molly M. Martin and Paola Ugolini Volume 34, 2014 Catherine de Médicis and Others Portraits of the Queen Mother: Polemics, Panegyrics, Letters Translation and study by Leah L. Chang and Katherine Kong Volume 35, 2014

Françoise Pascal, MarieCatherine Desjardins, Antoinette Deshoulières, and Catherine Durand Challenges to Traditional Authority: Plays by French Women Authors, 1650–1700 Edited and translated by Perry Gethner Volume 36, 2015 Franciszka Urszula Radziwiłłowa Selected Drama and Verse Edited by Patrick John Corness and Barbara Judkowiak Translated by Patrick John Corness Translation Editor Aldona Zwierzyńska-Coldicott Introduction by Barbara Judkowiak Volume 37, 2015 Diodata Malvasia Writings on the Sisters of San Luca and Their Miraculous Madonna Edited and translated by Danielle Callegari and Shannon McHugh Volume 38, 2015 Margaret Van Noort Spiritual Writings of Sister Margaret of the Mother of God (1635–1643) Edited by Cordula van Wyhe Translated by Susan M. Smith Volume 39, 2015 Giovan Francesco Straparola The Pleasant Nights Edited and translated by Suzanne Magnanini Volume 40, 2015 Angélique de Saint-Jean Arnauld d’Andilly Writings of Resistance Edited and translated by John J. Conley, S.J. Volume 41, 2015

Francesco Barbaro The Wealth of Wives: A Fifteenth-Century Marriage Manual Edited and translated by Margaret L. King Volume 42, 2015 Jeanne d’Albret Letters from the Queen of Navarre with an Ample Declaration Edited and translated by Kathleen M. Llewellyn, Emily E. Thompson, and Colette H. Winn Volume 43, 2016 Bathsua Makin and Mary More with a reply to More by Robert Whitehall Educating English Daughters: Late Seventeenth-Century Debates Edited by Frances Teague and Margaret J. M. Ezell Associate Editor Jessica Walker Volume 44, 2016 Anna StanisŁawska Orphan Girl: A Transaction, or an Account of the Entire Life of an Orphan Girl by way of Plaintful Threnodies in the Year 1685: The Aesop Episode Verse translation, introduction, and commentary by Barry Keane Volume 45, 2016 Alessandra Macinghi Strozzi Letters to Her Sons, 1447–1470 Edited and translated by Judith Bryce Volume 46, 2016 Mother Juana de la Cruz Mother Juana de la Cruz, 1481–1534: Visionary Sermons Edited by Jessica A. Boon and Ronald E. Surtz Introductory material and notes by Jessica A. Boon Translated by Ronald E. Surtz and Nora Weinerth Volume 47, 2016

Claudine-Alexandrine Guérin de Tencin Memoirs of the Count of Comminge and The Misfortunes of Love Edited and translated by Jonathan Walsh Foreword by Michel Delon Volume 48, 2016 Feliciana Enríquez de Guzmán, Ana Caro Mallén, and Sor Marcela de San Félix Women Playwrights of Early Modern Spain Edited by Nieves Romero-Díaz and Lisa Vollendorf Translated and annotated by Harley Erdman Volume 49, 2016 Anna Trapnel Anna Trapnel’s Report and Plea; or, A Narrative of Her Journey from London into Cornwall Edited by Hilary Hinds Volume 50, 2016 María Vela y Cueto Autobiography and Letters of a Spanish Nun Edited by Susan Diane Laningham Translated by Jane Tar Volume 51, 2016 Christine de Pizan The Book of the Mutability of Fortune Edited and translated by Geri L. Smith Volume 52, 2017 Marguerite d’Auge, Renée Burlamacchi, and Jeanne du Laurens Sin and Salvation in Early Modern France: Three Women’s Stories Edited, and with an introduction by Colette H. Winn Translated by Nicholas Van Handel and Colette H. Winn Volume 53, 2017

Isabella d’Este Selected Letters Edited and translated by Deanna Shemek Volume 54, 2017 Ippolita Maria Sforza Duchess and Hostage in Renaissance Naples: Letters and Orations Edited and translated by Diana Robin and Lynn Lara Westwater Volume 55, 2017 Louise Bourgeois Midwife to the Queen of France: Diverse Observations Translated by Stephanie O’Hara Edited by Alison Klairmont Lingo Volume 56, 2017 Christine de Pizan Othea’s Letter to Hector Edited and translated by Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski and Earl Jeffrey Richards Volume 57, 2017 Marie-Geneviève-Charlotte Thiroux d’Arconville Selected Philosophical, Scientific, and Autobiographical Writings Edited and translated by Julie Candler Hayes Volume 58, 2018 Lady Mary Wroth Pamphilia to Amphilanthus in Manuscript and Print Edited by Ilona Bell Texts by Steven W. May and Ilona Bell Volume 59, 2017 Witness, Warning, and Prophecy: Quaker Women’s Writing, 1655–1700 Edited by Teresa Feroli and Margaret Olofson Thickstun Volume 60, 2018

Symphorien Champier The Ship of Virtuous Ladies Edited and translated by Todd W. Reeser Volume 61, 2018 Isabella Andreini Mirtilla, A Pastoral: A Bilingual Edition Edited by Valeria Finucci Translated by Julia Kisacky Volume 62, 2018 Margherita Costa The Buffoons, A Ridiculous Comedy: A Bilingual Edition Edited and translated by Sara E. Díaz and Jessica Goethals Volume 63, 2018 Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle Poems and Fancies with The Animal Parliament Edited by Brandie R. Siegfried Volume 64, 2018 Margaret Fell Women’s Speaking Justified and Other Pamphlets Edited by Jane Donawerth and Rebecca M. Lush Volume 65, 2018 Mary Wroth, Jane Cavendish, and Elizabeth Brackley Women’s Household Drama: Loves Victorie, A Pastorall, and The concealed Fansyes Edited by Marta Straznicky and Sara Mueller Volume 66, 2018 Eleonora Fonseca Pimentel From Arcadia to Revolution: The Neapolitan Monitor and Other Writings Edited and translated by Verina R. Jones Volume 67, 2019

Charlotte Arbaleste DuplessisMornay, Anne de Chaufepié, and Anne Marguerite Petit Du Noyer The Huguenot Experience of Persecution and Exile: Three Women’s Stories Edited by Colette H. Winn Translated by Lauren King and Colette H. Winn Volume 68, 2019 Anne Bradstreet Poems and Meditations Edited by Margaret Olofson Thickstun Volume 69, 2019 Arcangela Tarabotti Antisatire: In Defense of Women, against Francesco Buoninsegni Edited and translated by Elissa B. Weaver Volume 70, 2020 Mary Franklin and Hannah Burton She Being Dead Yet Speaketh: The Franklin Family Papers Edited by Vera J. Camden Volume 71, 2020 Lucrezia Marinella Love Enamored and Driven Mad Edited and translated by Janet E. Gomez and Maria Galli Stampino Volume 72, 2020 Arcangela Tarabotti Convent Paradise Edited and translated by Meredith K. Ray and Lynn Lara Westwater Volume 73, 2020 Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve Beauty and the Beast: The Original Story Edited and translated by Aurora Wolfgang Volume 74, 2020

Flaminio Scala The Fake Husband, A Comedy Edited and translated by Rosalind Kerr Volume 75, 2020 Anne Vaughan Lock Selected Poetry, Prose, and Translations, with Contextual Materials Edited by Susan M. Felch Volume 76, 2021 Camilla Erculiani Letters on Natural Philosophy: The Scientific Correspondence of a SixteenthCentury Pharmacist, with Related Texts Edited by Eleonora Carinci Translated by Hannah Marcus Foreword by Paula Findlen Volume 77, 2021 Regina Salomea Pilsztynowa My Life’s Travels and Adventures: An Eighteenth-Century Oculist in the Ottoman Empire and the European Hinterland Edited and translated by Władysław Roczniak Volume 78, 2021 Christine de Pizan The God of Love’s Letter and The Tale of the Rose: A Bilingual Edition Edited and translated by Thelma S. Fenster and Christine Reno With Jean Gerson, “A Poem on Man and Woman.” Translated from the Latin by Thomas O’Donnell Foreword by Jocelyn Wogan-Browne Volume 79, 2021

Marie Gigault de Bellefonds, Marquise de Villars Letters from Spain: A Seventeenth-Century French Noblewoman at the Spanish Royal Court Edited and translated by Nathalie Hester Volume 80, 2021 Anna Maria van Schurman Letters and Poems to and from Her Mentor and Other Members of Her Circle Edited and translated by Anne R. Larsen and Steve Maiullo Volume 81, 2021 Vittoria Colonna Poems of Widowhood: A Bilingual Edition of the 1538 Rime Translation and introduction by Ramie Targoff Edited by Ramie Targoff and Troy Tower Volume 82, 2021 Valeria Miani Amorous Hope, A Pastoral Play: A Bilingual Edition Edited and translated by Alexandra Coller Volume 83, 2020 Madeleine de Scudéry Lucrece and Brutus: Glory in the Land of Tender Edited and translated by Sharon Diane Nell Volume 84, 2021 Anna StanisŁawska One Body with Two Souls Entwined: An Epic Tale of Married Love in Seventeenth-Century Poland Orphan Girl: The Oleśnicki Episode Verse translation, introduction, and commentary by Barry Keane Volume 85, 2021

Christine de Pizan Book of the Body Politic Edited and translated by Angus J. Kennedy Volume 86, 2021 Anne, Lady Halkett A True Account of My Life and Selected Meditations Edited by Suzanne Trill Volume 87, 2022 Vittoria Colonna Selected Letters, 1523–1546: A Bilingual Edition Edited and annotated by Veronica Copello Translated by Abigail Brundin Introduction by Abigail Brundin and Veronica Copello Volume 88, 2022 Michele Savonarola A Mother’s Manual for the Women of Ferrara: A Fifteenth-Century Guide to Pregnancy and Pediatrics Edited, with introduction and notes, by Gabriella Zuccolin Translated by Martin Marafioti Volume 89, 2022