Porzia de' Medici

Porzia de' Medici (1538 - 1565) was an Italian missionary and illegitimate daughter of Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence and an unknown mother. She was born after the assassination of Alessandro and was placed as a young child in the Augustinian convent of San Clemente in Via San Gallo. The convent was founded by Maria Salviati, the mother of Cosimo I de' Medici, to shelter the illegitimate daughters of Alessandro. Porzia took her final vows and became a Roman Catholic nun. Eventually she became the abbess of the convent.

Porzia was in close contact with members of the de' Medici family, including her half-sister Giulia de' Medici and her half-brother Giulio. A mural was painted depicting Porzia with Francesco, Ferdinando, Giovanni, and Garzia, the four sons of Cosimo I de' Medici. That mural has since been lost. Her half-sister Giulia often took retreats at the convent and visited Porzia there. She died in the convent at the age of twenty-seven. [Langdon (2006), p. 124]

Notes

References

*Langdon, Gabrielle (2006). "Medici Women: Portraits of Power, Love, and Betrayal". University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0802038255