Isabella de' Medici

Isabella Romola de' Medici (31 August 1542 – 16 July 1576) was the daughter of Cosimo I de' Medici, first Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Eleonora di Toledo. Beautiful, intelligent, witty and refined, she is often referred to as the Star of the House of Medici (La Stella di Casa Medici), in recognition of "her playfulness, vibrancy, often sarcastic sense of humour, sharpness and interest in a huge variety of topics - not to mention the great parties she held". She received a humanist education alongside her brother, Francesco de' Medici, who succeeded their father as the Grand Duke of Tuscany. To secure a relationship with the powerful Roman Orsinis, Isabella's father arranged her marriage to Paolo Giordano I Orsini when she was 16. She remained in her father's household after her marriage, giving her an unusual degree of independence for a woman of her period. Following the death of her father, Isabella was probably murdered by her husband, with the complicity of her brother, and in retribution for her relationship with Paolo Giordano's cousin Troilo Orsini.