Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbino

Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici (September 12 , 1492 – May 4 , 1519) was the ruler of Florence from 1513 to his untimely death from syphilis in 1519. He was also Duke of Urbino for a short while. Niccolò Machiavelli's "The Prince" was dedicated to him, though the true intent behind this dedication is shrouded in mystery.

Born in Florence, he was a son of Piero di Lorenzo de' Medici and Alfonsina Orsini. His paternal grandparents were Lorenzo the Magnificent and Clarice Orsini. His maternal grandparents were Roberto Orsini, Conte Tagliacozzo and Catherine San Severino.

His uncle, the Medici Pope Leo X, made "Lorenzino" duke of Urbino in 1516. After the short reconquest by the former duke, Francesco Maria I della Rovere, Lorenzo was named commander of the 10,000 men sent to recapture it, but was wounded and retired to Tuscany. Lorenzo regained the duchy by a treaty short in the September of the same year (see also War of Urbino). The territory reverted to the Della Rovere family after Lorenzo's death.

As Duke of Urbino, he married Madeleine de la Tour, daughter of the Count of Auvergne, on June 13, 1518; the marriage produced a daughter, Caterina, who was born 21 days before his death. She went on to become Catherine de' Medici, the famous queen of Henry II of France, in a marriage arranged by her distant cousin, the Medici pope Pope Clement VII, in his last successful move.

His tomb in the Medici Chapel in the Church of San Lorenzo is ornamented with the "Twilight" and "Dawn" of Michelangelo, along with a statue of Lorenzo by Michaelangelo. Due to the identical name he shares with his grandfather (they are both Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici), whose tomb is also in the Medici chapel, this tomb is often mistaken for that of his grandfather.

External links

* [http://www.paradoxplace.com/Perspectives/Italian%20Images/Montages/Firenze/Medici%201.htm The Medici (The Senior or 'Cafaggiolo') Family Line - The Glorious 1400s]