marquise-de-montespan-blog: fancast -> Marta Gastini as Maria Mancini Anna Maria (
marquise-de-montespan-blog:fancast -> Marta Gastini as Maria Mancini Anna Maria (Marie) Mancini (August 28, 1639 – May 8, 1715) was the third of the five Mancini sisters; nieces to Cardinal Mazarin who were brought to France to marry advantageously. Along with two of their female Martinozzi cousins, the Mancini sisters were known at the court of King Louis XIV of France as the Mazarinettes.Mancini was born on 28 August 1639 and grew up in Rome. Her father was Baron Lorenzo Mancini, an Italian aristocrat who was also anecromancer and astrologer. After his death in 1650, her mother, Geronima Mazzarini, brought her daughters from Rome to Paris in the hope of using the influence of her brother, Cardinal Mazarin, to gain them advantageous marriages.The other Mancini sisters were:Laure (1636 - 1657), the eldest, who married Louis de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme, the grandson of King Henry IV and his mistress, Gabrielle d’Estrées, and became the mother of the famous French general Louis Joseph de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme,Olympe (1638 - 1708), who married Eugène-Maurice of Savoy-Carignano and became the mother of the famous Austrian general Prince Eugene of Savoy,Hortense (1646 - 1699), the beauty of the family, escaped her abusive husband, Armand-Charles de la Porte, duc de La Meilleraye, and went to London, where she became the mistress of King Charles II.Marie Anne (1649 - 1714) married Maurice Godefroy de la Tour d’Auvergne, duc de Bouillon, a nephew of the famous field marshal Turenne.The Mancinis were not the only female family members that Cardinal Mazarin brought to the French court. The others were Marie’s first cousins, daughters of Mazarin’s eldest sister. The elder, Laura Martinozzi, married Alfonso IV d’Este, duke of Modena and was the mother of Mary of Modena, second wife of James II of England. The younger, Anne Marie Martinozzi, married Armand, Prince de Conti.The Mancini also had three brothers: Paul, Philippe, and Alphonse.In France, Anna Maria’s name was gallicized to Marie. “Dark, vivacious and beautiful,” “Marie did not consummate her relationship with the Sun King. His love for her was a somewhat idealistic one, but he was so besotted that he wanted to marry her. Eventually, Cardinal Mazarin and the young king’s mother, Anne of Austria, separated the couple, banishing Marie into exile and arranging for Louis’ marriage to his cousin, Maria Theresa of Spain.Exile and marriageIn 1661, Marie was sent away to marry an Italian prince, Lorenzo Onofrio Colonna, who remarked after their wedding night that he was surprised to find her still a virgin. The bridegroom had not expected to find "innocence among the loves of kings.” (from Antonia Fraser’s book Love and Louis XIV).They had three children, all sons:Filippo, born in 1663 Marcantonio, born in 1664;Carlo, born in 1665.After the birth of her third child, relations between Marie and her husband deteriorated. On May 29, 1672, fearing that her husband would kill her, Marie left Rome accompanied by her sister Hortense. In 1677, in order to support herself, she wrote her memoirs. She did not return to Italy until her husband’s death in 1689.She died in Pisa and is buried in the church of the Holy Sepulchre there. -- source link
#history#maria mancini#17th century