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Contessina de' Bardi (1390–October 1473 [1]), was an Italian noblewoman from the House of Bardi. Her marriage into the House of Medici provided her husband's family with much needed nobility, prestige, and military support as they established their power in Florence .
Detail of Contessina de' Bardi (1390-1473), wife of Cosimo de' Medici. Series title: The ... Depicted people: Lorenzo de' Medici ; Piero di Cosimo de' Medici; Date ...
Contessina de' Medici was born on 16 January 1478 in Pistoia, where her mother and her siblings had taken refuge after the Pazzi conspiracy. She was baptized in Florence shortly after her birth. Her first name, Contessina, was given to her in honor of her paternal great-grandmother, Contessina de' Bardi, wife of Cosimo de' Medici.
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The marriage of Contessina de' Bardi to Cosimo de' Medici around 1415 was a key factor in establishing the House of Medici in power in Florence. [7] Cosimo rewarded the Bardi family for their support, restoring their political rights upon his ascent in 1434. [8] In 1444, he exempted them from paying particular taxes. [8]
Cosimo de' Medici was born in Florence to Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici and his wife Piccarda Bueri on 27 September 1389. [6] At the time, it was customary to indicate the name of one's father in one's name for the purpose of distinguishing the identities of two like-named individuals; thus, Giovanni was the son of Bicci, and Cosimo's name was properly rendered Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici.
Only Cosimo I and the girl's paternal grandmother, Maria Salviati, knew the identity of the girl's mother, but Salviati refused to reveal it, though she did acknowledge Bia was the daughter of Cosimo. Staley wrote that the little girl was called La Bia, short for Bambina (little girl or baby).
She died in Livorno. Her father mourned for her deeply and kept her portrait in his bedroom until he died; he had now lost two of his daughters, Bia de' Medici—an illegitimate child born before Cosimo's marriage to Eleonora—being the other daughter. "She was of the same disposition as myself," said Cosimo, "and she was deprived of fresh air."