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| Ferdinando I | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church | |||||
 Ferdinando in 1590 | |||||
| Grand Duke of Tuscany | |||||
| Reign | 19 October 1587 –17 February 1609 | ||||
| Predecessor | Francesco I | ||||
| Successor | Cosimo II | ||||
| Born | 30 July 1549 Florence,Duchy of Florence | ||||
| Died | 17 February 1609(1609-02-17) (aged 59) Florence,Grand Duchy of Tuscany | ||||
| Spouse | Christina of Lorraine | ||||
| Issue | |||||
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| House | Medici | ||||
| Father | Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany | ||||
| Mother | Eleanor of Toledo | ||||
Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (30 July 1549 – 17 February 1609) wasGrand Duke of Tuscany from 1587 to 1609, having succeeded his older brotherFrancesco I. He expanded the culture of Tuscany, which included presenting the operaEuridice byJacopo Peri. Ferdinando supportedHenry IV of France following the assassination ofHenry III of France and provided him with financial support. He expanded theNaviglio canal and started an irrigation project in theVal di Chiana. Ferdinando died on 17 February 1609.
Ferdinando was the fifth son (the third surviving at the time of his birth) ofCosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, andEleanor of Toledo,[1] the daughter ofPedro Álvarez de Toledo, Marquis of Villafranca, the Spanishviceroy of theKingdom of Naples.
He was made aCardinal in 1562 at the age of 13,[2] but was never ordained into the priesthood. AtRome, he proved an able administrator. He founded theVilla Medici in Rome. He acquired the large collection of antiquities established byAndrea della Valle in 1584, as well as other works of art like theMedici lions.[3] These were subsequently divided among the various Medici estates.
When his brotherFrancesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, died in 1587, Ferdinando succeeded as grand duke at the age of 38.[3]
In many ways, Ferdinando was the opposite of his brother who preceded him. Approachable and generous, he set out to rule mildly. He re-established the justice system and was genuinely concerned about the welfare of his subjects. During his reign, Tuscany revived and regained the independence his brother had given up.
Ferdinando fostered commerce and gained great wealth through theMedici banks, which were established in all the major cities of Europe. He introduced policies supporting religious freedom, transforming Livorno into a safe haven for Spanish Jews and other marginalized groups fleeing persecution.[3] He established theMedici Oriental Press (Typographia Medicea), which published numerous books in the Arabic script.[4]
Ferdinando expanded the harbor built by Cosimo I and rerouted a portion of theArno River into theNaviglio canal, improving commercial links betweenFlorence andPisa.[5] He fostered an irrigation project in theVal di Chiana, which allowed the flatlands around Pisa andFucecchio and in theVal di Nievole to be cultivated.
Florence’s most significant cultural accomplishment under Ferdinando’s rule was the emergence ofopera in Europe.[5] In 1600, to mark the marriage of Ferdinando’s niece Marie de’ Medici to KingHenry IV of France, his court organized a grand staging ofEuridice byJacopo Peri, one of the first important operas.[5]
For the first two years of his reign, he retained position as cardinal, but Ferdinando gave it up in order to marryChristina of Lorraine in 1589.[6] The couple had a large reception at theVilla di Poggio a Caiano. Christina'sdowry was fairly large; it included 600,000 crowns in cash as well as jewellery with a value of 50,000 crowns.[7] Also, the rights of theDuchy of Urbino were transferred to Christina after the death of QueenCatherine de' Medici of France and thus assumed by future Medici rulers.[8]
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Ferdinando's foreign policy attempted to free Tuscany from Spanish domination. After the assassination ofHenry III of France in 1589, he supportedHenry IV of France in his struggles against theCatholic League.[9] Ferdinando provided Henry with financial support and urged him to embrace Catholicism, which Henry ultimately did.[5] Ferdinando also leveraged his influence over Pope Clement VIII to convince him to acknowledge Henry’s conversion.[5]
Henry showed no appreciation for these favours, and Ferdinando let the relationship cool, maintaining his cherished independence. He supportedPhilip III of Spain in his campaign inAlgeria andRudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor in his against theOttoman Empire. For these undertakings, he found it necessary to raise taxes on his subjects. He finally obtained the formal investiture ofSiena, which his father had conquered. Ferdinando sought to reconquerCyprus for the Christians and had similar designs on theHoly Land, while also seeking commercial ties with Aleppo. He sent Ottoman convertMichel Angelo Corai toAli Janbulad as an ambassador to fund rebellion inOttoman Syria.[10]
Ferdinando reinforced the Tuscan fleet, which achieved victories overBarbary pirates in 1607 and defeated a largerTurkish fleet the next year.[5]
Ferdinando also dreamed of a small African empire, and then considered the possibility of a colony inBrazil.[11] A few months before his death, Ferdinando organised anexpedition in 1608 under the command of CaptainRobert Thornton to northern Brazil and theAmazon River in order to create a colony.
Ferdinando and Christina had:
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