Medici, Clarice de (1493–1528)

Florentine noblewoman . Name variations: Clarice Strozzi; Clarice de Medici degli Strozzi. Born Clarice di Pietro de' Medici in 1493; died on May 3, 1528; daughter of Pietro also known as Piero de Medici (1471–1503) and Alfonsina de Medici (d. 1520); married Philip Strozzi also known as Filippo Strozzi, in 1508; children—ten: three daughters and seven sons.

The Italian noblewoman Clarice de Medici has been the subject of high praise by her family's many historians and biographers. The granddaughter of the Florentine ruler Lorenzo the Magnificent de Medici, Clarice was born in the Medici Palace in Florence in 1493, daughter of Alfonsina de Medici , of the powerful Orsini family, and Piero de Medici. At her birth, her family was at the height of its power; yet when she was only one year old, the Medici were overthrown and exiled from the province of Tuscany, and spent the next 18 years moving between the palaces of their supporters across Italy. In 1508, the 15-year-old Clarice was married to Filippo Strozzi, the young head of the powerful Strozzi family of Florence. In making an alliance with an exiled family, 19-year-old Filippo was betting that the Medici would rise again; and indeed he was right. The Medici returned to power in 1522, and the Strozzi were connected closely to the major family in Florentine and Italian politics. Clarice divided her time over the next 15 years between the Strozzi palace in Florence and the papal palaces of Rome, where first her uncle Giovanni was pope as Leo X (1513–1521), and then her distant relative Guilio served as pope as Clement VII (1523–1534). She had an excellent relationship with Leo X, who admired her as an intelligent and spirited woman; he is quoted as saying that it would have been better for the Medici if she had only been born male so that she could lead the family. Altogether, Clarice gave birth to ten surviving children with Filippo.

But the peaceful times did not last in this era of almost constant warfare between the Italian states. In 1526, Filippo Strozzi was given by Pope Clement to his enemies, the Colonna, as a hostage to guarantee his good faith. When Clement instead attacked the Colonna, the Colonna planned to execute their hostage. But Clarice acted quickly, and, traveling to Rome from Florence, she negotiated Filippo's release from his captors. The next year, Clement, head of the Medici family, faced strong opposition to his corrupt and despotic rule from the Florentines. Despising Pope Clement and the other Medici who supported him, Clarice was not afraid to act for what she saw as the honor of the Medici name. Boldly, she instigated the expulsion of Clement's supporters from the Medici Palace, showing the people of Florence that the "true" Medici did not support Clement and his harsh rule. Although Clarice helped regain peace within the city, she could not solve the feuding among the Medici, and the fighting continued.

Clarice died the following year at the villa of Le Selve. She was only 35, and left behind seven sons and three daughters. Clarice de Medici was buried in a Strozzi chapel in Florence. In his will, Filippo Strozzi stipulated that a monument be erected in Clarice's memory.

sources:

Young, George F. The Medici. 2nd ed. NY: E.P. Dutton, 1911.

Laura York , M.A. in history, University of California, Riverside, California