Giovanni Medici (1543-1562)

The early years

Giovanni Medici was born in Florence on the night of September 28-29, 1543. He was the fourth child and second son of Cosimo I , Duke of Florence, the future Grand Duke of Tuscany and Eleanor Alvarez de Toledo ^[2] . His father was the son of the famous condottier Giovanni delle Bande Nere and Maria Salviati , the granddaughter of Lorenzo the Magnificent ^[3] . Mother was the daughter of Viceroy of Naples Pedro the Great and , Marquis of Villafranca ^[4]

There are two children's portraits of Giovanni painted by Agnolo Bronzino , one depicts a sparrow in his hand ^[5] , the other next to his mother Eleanor Toledo ^[6] , both are in the Uffizi Gallery, and one portrait by Giorgio Vasari , in which he is depicted the younger brother Garcia ^[7] , is now on display at the Palazzo Vecchio .

Especially close since childhood, Giovanni developed with her older sister Isabella ^[8] . Like all children of the duke and duchess, he received a good education; studied humanities under the leadership of Antonio Angeli da Barga and Piero Vettori ^[2] .

Cardinal and Apostolic Administrator

According to the tradition that existed in those days in the families of aristocrats, parents intended the second son for a church career. His career growth was rapid. Even when Giovanni was six years old, Diego Laines , one of the founders of the society of Jesus and the confessor of his mother, proposed to assign him the title of cardinal ^[9] . In 1550, Giovanni was enrolled among the clergy of Florence and received a tonus . He was introduced to Pope Julius III , who died before being appointed cardinal. The next Pope Paul IV also did not do this ^[10] .

It was not until January 31, 1560 that the new Pope Pius IV awarded the fifteen-year-old Giovanni the title of Cardinal . During a trip to Rome in March of that year, Giorgio Vasari was in the prince's retinue, who described the journey in detail in his letters ^[11] . In Rome, Giovanni continued his education under the guidance of the prelate Alessandro Strozzi , and studied Latin and Ancient Greek . In April 1560, his father hired Giulio Salerno to teach him jurisprudence ^[2] .

Giovanni was awarded the title of Cardinal Deacon of Santa Maria in Domnica on April 26, 1560. In June, he returned to Florence, visiting Siena on the way. In his hometown he received a carnival hat in the presence of Cardinals and , who were visiting Cosimo I ^[12] .

On January 21, 1561, Giovanni was appointed apostolic administrator of the archdiocese of Pisa and primacy of Sardinia and Corsica without being ordained to the priesthood due to the candidate’s lack of canonical age ^[13] . The diocese was ruled by Ludovico Beccatelli, Archbishop of Ragusa. Giovanni held a diocesan synod. His extensive correspondence dedicated to the discussion of political and church issues between Italy and Spain dates to this time ^[12] .

Like all Medici, the young cardinal loved hunting and art, collecting antique items. During his first visit to Rome, he collected a collection of antique objects, mainly statues, which he sent by sea to Florence ^[2] .

Circumstances of death

In the fall of 1562, while traveling along the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea , he became infected with malaria in Maremma . He was transported to Livorno , where he died at exactly midnight on November 20, 1562 in the arms of his father ^[14] . Two days later, the body of Giovanni Medici was transferred to Florence and buried in the tomb of Medici in the Basilica of St. Lawrence ^{[12] [15]} .

After his death, the cardinal became the younger brother of Ferdinando Medici. A few years later, his father, Cosimo I, had another son, Giovanni, who is better known as don Giovanni Medici ^[2] .

• Signorotto, Gianvittorio. Visceglia, Maria Antonietta. Court and Politics in Papal Rome, 1492–1700 : [ eng. ] . - Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004 .-- P. 55, 253. - 310 p. - (Cambridge studies in Italian history and culture). - ISBN 0-511-03636-1 .
• Murphy, Caroline. Isabella de'Medici: The Glorious Life and Tragic End of a Renaissance Princess : [ eng. ] . - London: Faber and Fader Limited, 2008. - P. 21, 34, 38, 45, 47, 49, 59, 61, 74–75, 78–80, 91–103, 159. - 397 p. - ISBN 978-0-23031-0 .

• Paola Volpini. Medici, Giovanni de ' (neopr.) . Treccani - The article “Medici, Giovanni” by Paola Volpini on the site of the Italian Biographical Encyclopedia. Date of treatment April 9, 2015. (Italian)
• Giovanni Cardinal de 'Medici (Jr.) (neopr.) . Catholic Hierarchy. - Information about Cardinal Giovanni Medici on the website of the Roman Catholic hierarchy. Date of treatment April 9, 2015. (Italian)