Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany

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Cosimo I de' Medici
Cosimo I in Armour by Agnolo Bronzino.
Duke of Florence
Reign1537-1569
PredecessorAlessandro I
Successorhimself as Grand Duke
Grand Duke of Tuscany
Reign1569-1574
Predecessorhimself as Duke
SuccessorFrancesco I
Born(1519-06-12)12 June 1519
Florence, Republic of Florence
Died21 April 1574(1574-04-21) (aged 54)
Palazzo Pitti Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany
SpouseEleanor of Toledo
Camilla Martelli
IssueBia de' Medici
Princess Maria
Francesco I, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Isabella, Duchess of Bracciano
Cardinal Giovanni
Lucrezia, Duchess of Modena
Prince Pedricco
Prince Garzia
Ferdinando I, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Princess Anna
Prince Pietro
Virginia, Duchess of Modena
HouseMedici
FatherGiovanni dalle Bande Nere
MotherMaria Salviati

Cosimo I de' Medici (12 June 1519 – 21 April 1574) was Duke of Florence from 1537 to 1574 and then the first Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1569. He was the son of Giovanni dalle Bande Nere and Maria Salviati.

Marriage and family[change | change source]

In 1539, he married Eleonora di Toledo (1522–1562). She died, with her sons Giovanni and Garzia, in 1562, aged forty. All three of them died from malaria while traveling to Pisa.

Before his first marriage, Cosimo fathered an illegitimate daughter with an unknown woman:

With Eleonora, Cosimo fathered eleven children:

After Eleonora's death in 1562, Cosimo fathered two children with his mistress Eleonora degli Albrizzi:

In 1570, Cosimo married Camilla Martelli: