Guidobaldo II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino

Guidobaldo II della Rovere (2 April 1514 28 September 1574) was an Italian condottiero, who succeeded his father Francesco Maria I della Rovere as Duke of Urbino from 1538 until his death in 1574. He was a member of the House of La Rovere. Guidobaldo was an important patron of the arts in general, and of Titian in particular, commissioning his own portrait, and buying Titian's Venus of Urbino.

Guidobaldo II
Guidobaldo II by Agnolo Bronzino
Duke of Urbino
Reign20 October 1538 – 28 September 1574
PredecessorFrancesco Maria I
SuccessorFrancesco Maria II
Born(1514-04-02)2 April 1514
Urbino, Duchy of Urbino
Died28 September 1574(1574-09-28) (aged 60)
Pesaro, Duchy of Urbino
SpouseGiulia da Varano
Vittoria Farnese
IssueVirginia, Duchess of Gravina
Francesco Maria II, Duke of Urbino
Isabella, Princess of Bisignano
Lavinia, Princess of Francavilla
HouseRovere
FatherFrancesco Maria I della Rovere
MotherEleonora Gonzaga
The portrait of Venus of Urbino has acquired its name from the Duchy of Urbino through Guidobaldo's title as the Duke of Urbino.

Early life

Guidobaldo was the son of Francesco Maria I della Rovere and Eleonora Gonzaga.[1] In 1535, despite a papal ban, he married Giulia da Varano, daughter of the duke of Camerino and Caterina Cybo.[2] In response to his marriage with Giulia, Pope Paul III excommunicated Guidobaldo, his bride, Giulia, his mother-in-law, Caterina Cybo, in 1535.[2] Upon his installation as duke of Camerino, Paul III placed the duchy under interdict.[3] Upon the assassination of his father, Guidobaldo became duke of Urbino in 1538.

Career

Portrait of The Duke of Urbino wearing an Armor by Filippo Negroli, ca. 1580–85, Metropolitan Museum of Art

In 1546, he received a condotta as military leader (Governatore) by the Republic of Venice, for which his father had been a valiant commander during the Italian Wars. After the 1547 death of Giulia da Varano, in 1548 he married Vittoria Farnese - the daughter of Pier Luigi Farnese, Duke of Parma and Gerolama Orsini, daughter of Lodovico Orsini and wife and first cousin Giulia Conti. Later he was made Papal governor of Fano, receiving also the title of capitano generale (commander-in-chief) of the Papal States, as well as that of Prefect of Rome.

In 1559, he was hired by the King of Spain, helping Bernardo Sanseverino (who had married Isabella, one of Guidobaldo's daughters) in the war against the Ottoman Turks.

On 1 January 1573, a revolt rose against Guidobaldo in Urbino, due to the excessive tax burden that he was exerting over his state. He reacted by bloodily suppressing the riot.

Personal life

His additional children included:

After falling ill during a voyage to Ferrara and Pesaro, he died in the latter town in 1574.

Ancestry

References

  1. Reiss 2013, p. 177.
  2. Robin 2007, p. 277.
  3. Brigden 2013, p. 227.

Sources

  • Brigden, Susan (2013). "Henry VIII and the Crusade against England". In Betteridge, Thomas; Lipscomb, Suzannah (eds.). Henry VIII and the Court: Art, Politics and Performance. Ashgate.
  • Reiss, Sheryl E. (2013). "A Taxonomy of Art Patronage in Renaissance Italy". In Bohn, Babette; Saslow, James M. (eds.). A Companion to Renaissance and Baroque Art. Wiley-Blackwell.
  • Robin, Diana (2007). Publishing Women: Salons, the Presses, and the Counter-Reformation in Sixteenth-Century Italy. The University of Chicago Press.
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