In November 1565, she and her sister Barbara, who was betrothed to marry
Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, arrived in
Trento, where
Pope Pius IV sent his legates to conduct a double marriage ceremony; however, because of the renewed conflict between the grooms, the brides had to go to the respective capitals (
Ferrara and
Florence) of their future spouses to be wedded.
Giorgio Vasari was a womanizer who ignored Joanna and instead occupied himself with his mistress
Bianca Cappello. Joanna was also despised by the Florentines for her Austrian hauteur; she never felt at home in Florence. Her father-in-law,
Cosimo I de' Medici, was reasonably kind to Joanna. He had the courtyard of the
Palazzo Vecchio specially decorated for her; the lunettes were painted with murals of Austrian towns by pupils of Vasari, and
Verrocchio's
Putto with Dolphin fountain was brought down from the
Careggi villa where it had been set up in the garden by
Lorenzo de' Medici. The position of Joanna in the Florentine court was a difficult one: between 1567 and 1575, she gave birth to six daughters, of whom only three survived infancy. The absence of a male heir to continue the dynasty was the cause of constant conflict with her husband, who preferred the company of his mistress
Bianca Cappello, who gave birth to a son, Antonio, in 1576. Joanna now desperate to give birth to a son, in 1573 made a pilgrimage to
Loreto and the
Basilica della Santa Casa where she prayed to the Virgin Mary for a son. Finally, in 1577 Joanna gave birth to the long-awaited heir, baptised
Filippo in honour of King
Philip II of Spain, Joanna's first cousin. The birth was celebrated with great joy by the court, as now the succession of the grand duchy was secured and any ambitions of Bianca Cappello to have her son Antonio as heir of Tuscany were eliminated. However Filippo was to die young, and Joanna's brother-in-law,
Ferdinando, succeeded Francesco as grand duke. ==Death==