Early years Born in
Florence on 14 February 1545, Lucrezia was the fifth child and third daughter of
Cosimo I de' Medici,
Duke of Florence (and from 1569
Grand Duke of Tuscany), and
Eleanor of Toledo. Her paternal grandparents were the famous
condottiere Giovanni delle Bande Nere and
Maria Salviati (granddaughter of
Lorenzo the Magnificent). Her maternal grandparents were
Pedro Álvarez de Toledo,
Viceroy of Naples, and Maria Osorio, 2nd Marchioness of Villafranca del Bierzo. Lucrezia was named after her great-grandmother
Lucrezia de' Medici (1470–1553) (mother of Maria Salviati). Like all children of the Medici ducal couple, Lucrezia received a good education and was brought up in strict accordance with Spanish court ceremonial, which her mother followed. Only a duenna was permitted to be with the girls of the family in their chambers, and they could not leave without permission. In addition to their father and brothers, only elderly confessors were admitted to them privately. The marriage between a prince from the House of Este and a princess from the House of Medici was opposed by a pro-French party at the groom's court. King Henry II of France's sister,
Margaret, and daughter,
Elisabeth, were suggested instead to the Ferrarese court as wives for the hereditary Prince. And the ambassadors who arrived in Florence from Ferrara, who had not yet seen Lucrezia, had previously heard rumors deliberately spread around the Ferrara court as to her plain appearance and poor health. Nevertheless, on 13 April 1558, a marriage contract was signed in
Pisa, according to which a dowry of 200,000 gold
scudi was given for the bride. On 11 May Alessandro Fiaschi, the chief representative of Ferrara, presented a ring to Lucrezia as a sign of the betrothal. The ambassadors saw her then for the first time and were pleased with the appearance of the princess. She seemed to them a well-mannered and virtuous girl. Together with her sister
Isabella, the new hereditary Princess of Ferrara continued to live in the chambers of the Palazzo Pitti, isolated from the rest of the world. ==In culture==