akingswhore: Simonetta da Collevecchio (c. 1795 – aft 1534) Mistress of: Lorenzo de’ Medici, Duke of
akingswhore: Simonetta da Collevecchio (c. 1795 – aft 1534) Mistress of: Lorenzo de’ Medici, Duke of Urbino (Disputed).Tenure: 1510. Bastards: One.Fall From Power: Unknown. Simonetta da Collevecchio is the mysterious mother of Alessandro de’ Medici, later first Duke of Florence. His father is assumed to be Lorenzo de’ Medici, who officially recognized the boy as his own, though there are some rumors that his true father was Giulio de’ Medici (later Pope Clement VII). Little is known about Simonetta, except that she was black - or perhaps mulatto - and of unknown origins. The prevailing theory was for many years that Simonetta was a slave in the Medici household, specifically serving Lorenzo’s mother, Alfonsina Orsini. More recent evidence; however, points to Simonetta being a (paid) servant, the confusion coming from the Italian words serva di casa and schiava that are used interchangeably as servant/slave since these people ‘performed the same tasks’. There was also little separation between a servant and a freed slave. Contemporary letters indicate that Simonetta “worked as a house servant in Urbino, and lived in another town called Colle Vecchio” which is near Rome. Laws at the time followed the logic that a child born to a slave mother and a free father was a slave, unless the mother was “living with the master as a recognized concubine” or the child was to become the father’s heir. The law in Florence supposedly changed so that the child followed to condition of his or her father, though there is no evidence if or when this law took effect. Simonetta gave birth to Alessandro in 1510 and Lorenzo acknowledged him shortly thereafter, hence why he is assumed to be the father. Many years later, in 1529, Simonetta wrote to her son asking for money to “support herself, two young children, and her coachman husband.” Her scanty means were in stark contrast to her son’s vast wealth. This letter; however, brings up several questions, including whether Simonetta was a slave at the time of Alessandro’s birth. It is possible that she was then freed when he became Lorenzo’s heir, and if she was married to the coachman in a union arranged by Lorenzo (many freed people of color lived in unfortunate poverty). Alessandro was known as il Moro (‘the Moor’) due to his dark complexion. His biography (that he commissioned to be written) doesn’t mention his mother’s race even indirectly. Contemporary sources state that “Alessandro was too much of a coward to recognize her” as his mother. The exact reason why is not specified, though it may probably due to her “peasant status and wretched poverty.” This is unfortunately for such a “beautiful and strong … woman” as she is also described. In 1531, Alessandro became Florence’s first hereditary monarch; his father’s marriage had produced only one child, a daughter (though she did become Queen of France after marrying Henry II). Alessandro was created Duke of Florence in 1530 by Pope Clement VII, who continued to show him favoritism throughout Alessandro’s short life (thus the speculation that Clement was his true father). Alessandro had many enemies, all of whom denounced him for being a “depraved and incompetent” ruler, though this assessment is debated by historians. The Duke was assassinated at the age of 26 in 1537 by a distant cousin, who lured him into a trap by promising sex with his beautiful and newly widowed sister. Sources A portrait of ”A Moorish Woman” in the style of Veronese Paolo, c. 1560s (left) beside an oil painting of ”Alessandro de’ Medici, Duke of Florence” by an unknown artist c. 1530s (right) Earle, T.F. Black Africans in Renaissance Europe. Cambridge University Press (2005). ISBN: 139780521815826. Rogers, J. A. World’s Great Men of Color (Volume 2). Touchstone (1996). ISBN 0684815826 Belozerskaya, Marina. Medusa’s Gaze: The Extraordinary Journey of the Tazza Farnese. Oxford University Press (2012). ISBN: 9780199739318. -- source link