The son of Girolamo Orsini and Francesca Sforza, he was grandson, on his father's side, of
Felice della Rovere (illegitimate daughter of
Pope Julius II) and
Gian Giordano Orsini and, on his mother's side, of Count Bosio
Sforza and
Costanza Farnese, an illegitimate daughter of
Pope Paul III. On 3 September 1558 he married
Isabella de' Medici, daughter of
Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, at
Poggio a Caiano. Paolo Giordano lived mostly in Rome and his castle at
Bracciano, rather than with his wife, who stayed mostly at
Florence. In 1571 he took part in the
Battle of Lepanto. A year later, in October 1572, he served as a general of the Spanish infantry, in a campaign that tried to reclaim the garrison of
Navarino in the
Peloponnese. After enduring several miscarriages (in 1559, 1560, two in 1564 and the last in 1570), Isabella eventually gave birth to two children. On 1 March 1571, their daughter Francesca Eleonora Orsini was born, followed by their son
Virginio Orsini in September 1572. On 16 July 1576 his wife died unexpectedly at the
Medici villa of
Cerreto Guidi during a hunting holiday. According to her brother, Grand Duke
Francesco I de' Medici, this occurred "while she was washing her hair in the morning ... She was found by Signor Paolo Giordano on her knees, having immediately fallen dead, but the Signor ensures that she had time to confess her soul to God." This official version of events was not generally believed, and the
Ferrarese ambassador, Ercole Cortile, obtained information that Isabella was "strangled at midday" by her husband in the presence of several named servants. Isabella was the second sudden death in an isolated country villa in the Medici family, her cousin
Leonora having died of a similar "accident" only a few days before. Most historians assume that Paolo Giordano killed his wife, in reprisal for carrying on a love affair with his cousin Troilo Orsini, or that he acted on instructions of Isabella's brother, the grand duke. Most historians assume that Paolo Giordano killed Isabella, in reprisal for carrying on a love affair with Troilo Orsini, and the evidence of the crime has been traced by the historian
Caroline P. Murphy, in the correspondence between Ercole Cortile, Ferrarese ambassador, and
Alfonso II d'Este, where there is mention of strangulation with the help of a "Massimo",
knight of Malta who was a friend of the Orsini. After these events, Paolo Giordano returned to Rome, where he started a relationship with
Vittoria Accoramboni, wife of Francesco Peretti, the nephew of the future
Pope Sixtus V. Peretti was assassinated, it was believed by Paolo Giordano's order, in April 1581. Wanted by both the
Papal and
Tuscan police, Paolo Giordano took refuge in northern Italy, first in
Venice and then in
Abano and
Salò with his mistress, whom he married on 20 April 1585. He died at Salò on 13 November 1585. On 22 December Vittoria was herself assassinated by Ludovico Orsini of the
Monterotondo line, on the instigation of Grand Duke Francesco. The Medici (Francesco and
Cardinal Ferdinando) wished to secure movable assets in possession of Vittoria for their nephew
Virginio Orsini, Paolo Giordano's son from his first marriage and principal heir. == Issue ==