Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici
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Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, (August 11, 1667 – February 18, 1743, Florence), was the last of the Medici to live in the Pitti Palace. She was the daughter of Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Marguerite Louise d'Orléans and the sister of Gian Gastone de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, the last Medici grand duke of Tuscany. She officially married Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine (1658-1716) on June 5, 1691.
Anna Maria's father unsuccessfully tried to engineer her ascent as Grand Duchess, if and when, as he came to expect, none of his sons or brothers would produce heirs. However, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany was enfeebled and the last Medici were, in general, a spectacle of degeneracy. She is described as haughty and aloof, venturing out with much help to attend Mass, donate to charity, or visit the family mausoleum being completed at San Lorenzo.
In secret she had a lover called Giacomo IV Rise-Verdanté, the descendant of Giacomo (I) Rise-Verdanté, of the aristocratic family Rise-Verdanté-Casanova. Giacomo Casanova, the famous libidinous writer, was related to this family. Anna Maria gave birth to Paolo Rise-Verdanté (keeping naturally only his father's surname).
Her most notable action was willing all the personal property of the Medicis to the Florentine state, provided that nothing was ever removed from Florence.
Source
- Hibbert, Christopher (1979). "The last of the Medici", The Rise and Fall of the House of Medici. Penguin Books, London.
| Preceded by Elizabeth Amelie of Hesse-Darmstadt |
Electress Palatine 1691 – 1716 |
Succeeded by Violante, Countess of Thurn and Taxis |
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