Origins and early years Born in
Camerino on 24 March 1523, Giulia was the only child of
Giovanni Maria da Varano, Lord and since 1515
Duke of Camerino and
Caterina Cybo. Her paternal grandparents were Giulio Cesare da Varano, Lord of Camerino and Giovanna Malatesta (daughter of
Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, Lord of
Rimini and
Fano, known by the nickname "the Wolf of Romagna"). Her maternal grandparents were
Franceschetto Cybo,
Duke of Spoleto (in turn illegitimate son of
Pope Innocent VIII) and
Maddalena de' Medici (daughter of
Lorenzo de' Medici,
Lord of Florence, nicknamed "the Magnificent" by his contemporaries as one of the most powerful and enthusiastic patron of
Renaissance culture in Italy). Soon after her birth, Giulia was baptized by Bishop Varino Favorino.
Duchess of Camerino Giovanni Maria da Varano died on 14 August 1527. Giulia, as his only legitimate child, succeeded him as Sovereign Duchess of Camerino, after being received the formal investiture from
Pope Clement VII. Her mother Caterina Cybo acted as regent for the underage Duchess. Before his death, Giulia's father arranged the betrothal between her and Mattia, the son of Ercole da Varano, a member of the Ferrarese branch of the Da Varano family and with close ties with the
House of Este; in this way Giovanni Maria wanted to secure the rule of his daughter with the support of the
Dukes of Ferrara and also kept Camerino in the hands of the Da Varano family. However, Giulia's mother refused to fulfill the will of her late husband. In order to protect the interests of her daughter against her relatives from Ferrara, Caterina Cybo promised his daughter in marriage to
Guidobaldo della Rovere, heir of the
Duchy of Urbino. On 14 December 1527, an agreement was signed in
Todi according to which, upon reaching marriageable age, Giulia was to marry Guidobaldo and bring a dowry of 30,000
ducats. Under this agreement, her husband also became in co-ruler of the Duchy of Camerino with half of the income from the domain as his personal property. and the second was a daughter, Virginia Feltria (born 17 September 1544 – died February 1571), who later married firstly in 1560 with Federico
Borromeo (1535-1562), Prince of
Oria and Count of
Arona (nephew of
Pope Pius IV), and secondly in 1569 with Ferdinando
Orsini,
Duke of Gravina. ==Portraits==