Isabella de' Medici

Isabella Romola de' Medici (31 August 1542 – 16 July 1576) was a Tuscan noblewoman and the daughter of Cosimo I de' Medici, first Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Eleonora di Toledo. Beautiful, intelligent, witty and refined, she is often referred to as the Star of the House of Medici (La Stella di Casa Medici), in recognition of "her playfulness, vibrancy, often sarcastic sense of humour, sharpness and interest in a huge variety of topics - not to mention the great parties she held". She received a humanist education alongside her brother, Francesco de' Medici, who succeeded their father as the Grand Duke of Tuscany. To secure Tuscany's southern borders via a relationship with the powerful Roman Orsini family, Isabella's father arranged her marriage to Paolo Giordano I Orsini when she was 16. At her father's behest, she remained in Florence after her marriage, affording her an unprecedented level of independence for a woman of her era.

Following her mother's death and while Cosimo I was alive, Isabella served as the primary female figure in the Medici family and the First Lady of Florence, a role that was also recognised by other European courts during official occasions.

Isabella de' Medici's legacy epitomises the dawn of modernity in Renaissance Italy, embodying progressive ideals ahead of her time. Recognised as an exceptional figure among the Medici women, Isabella wielded a rare combination of qualities, shaping Florence's cultural landscape.

Practically a Grand Duchess in all but title, Isabella embodied beauty, culture, and intellect. Following in the footsteps of her Medici ancestors, she occupied a central role within Florence's vibrant cultural milieu, establishing a cultural circle including writers, poets, painters, and musicians, while championing the cause of female artists. Her dynamic spirit and cultural influence infused the Medici court with renewed vigour, propelling its second flourishing and transformation into a bustling hub of musical and literary innovation, all the while spearheading initiatives to establish vernacular Tuscan as Italy's official language.

Rejecting the conventional notion of being defined solely as her husband's possession, Isabella lived by her own principles, championing autonomy and personal freedom. Maintaining a distinct residence under her own name and continuing to use her maiden name after marriage, she defied societal norms that considered women as property of their husbands, asserting her autonomy and individuality. By reportedly engaging in a twelve-year long romantic relationship with her husband's cousin, Troilo Orsini, she sought parity with men, who enjoyed unrestrained liberties at the time.

Following the death of her father, Isabella was possibly murdered by her husband, with the complicity of her brother, in retribution for her relationship with Troilo. Despite her significant contributions to Tuscan scholarship and arts, Isabella, a prominent intellectual figure in the late Medici court, saw her legacy overshadowed and possibly intentionally erased following her untimely death, prompting scholars to suggest the issuance of a damnatio memoriae against her by her brother.