Lucrezia de' Medici, Duchess of Ferrara


Lucrezia de' Medici was Duchess consort of Ferrara by marriage to Alfonso II d'Este. She was the daughter of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Eleanor of Toledo.

Life

Born in Florence on 14 February 1545. She was the first wife of Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Modena and Ferrara, whom she married on 3 July 1558. She did not move to Ferrara until February 1560, for her husband Alfonso was fighting in France. Lucrezia died in 1561. She was likely poisoned by her husband, the Duke of Ferrara. For about a month her symptoms had been fever, severe weight loss, constant coughing and a permanently bleeding nose.

Legacy

It is possible that she is the wife referred to in the poem "My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning.

Ancestry