Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici

Noble person

1667 – 1743

 Credit »
85

Who was Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici?

Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici was the last scion of the House of Medici. A patron of the arts, she bequeathed the Medici's large art collection, including the contents of the Uffizi, Palazzo Pitti and the Medicean villas, which she inherited upon her brother Gian Gastone's death in 1737, and her Palatine treasures to the Tuscan state, on the condition that no part of it could be removed from "the Capital of the grand ducal [sic] State....[and from] the succession of His Serene Grand Duke."

Anna Maria Luisa was the only daughter of Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Marguerite Louise d'Orléans, a niece of Louis XIII of France. On her marriage to Elector Johann Wilhelm II, she became Electress Palatine, and, by patronising musicians, she earned for the contemporary Palatine court the reputation of an important music centre. As Johann Wilhelm had syphilis the union produced no offspring, which, combined with her siblings' barrenness, meant that the Medici were on the verge of extinction.

In 1713 Cosimo III altered the Tuscan laws of succession to allow the accession of his daughter, and spent his final years canvassing the European powers to agree to recognise this statute. However, in 1735, as part of a territorial arrangement, the European powers appointed Francis Stephen of Lorraine as heir, and he duly ascended the Tuscan throne in her stead. After the death of Johann Wilhelm, Anna Maria Luisa returned to Florence, where she enjoyed the rank of first lady until the accession of her brother Gian Gastone, who banished her to the Villa La Quiete. When Gian Gastone died in 1737, Francis Stephen's envoy offered Anna Maria Luisa the position of nominal regent of Tuscany, but she declined. Her death, in 1743, brought the royal House of Medici to an end. Her remains were interred in the Medicean necropolis, the Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence, which she helped complete.

We need you!

Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web!

Born
Aug 11, 1667
Palazzo Pitti
Parents
Siblings
Spouses
Nationality
  • Italy
Died
Feb 18, 1743
Resting place
Basilica di San Lorenzo, Firenze

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

Citation

Use the citation below to add to a bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 9 May 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/anna_maria_luisa_de_medici>.

Discuss this Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici biography with the community:

0 Comments

    Browse Biographies.net