Lucrezia de' Medici, Duchess of Ferrara

Who was Lucrezia de' Medici, Duchess of Ferrara?

Lucrezia de' Medici was the daughter of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Eleanor of Toledo.

Born in Florence, she was the first wife of Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Modena and Ferrara, whom she married on 3 July 1558. She did not move to Ferrara until February 1560, for her husband Alfonso was fighting in France. Lucrezia died in 1561, probably from tuberculosis. For about a month her symptoms had been fever, severe weight loss, constant coughing and a permanently bleeding nose. Another possible cause of death, that is often speculated, is poisoning.

It is possible that she is the girl referred to in the poem "My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning.