Background
His father, Cosimo II, died on 28 February 1621. He was succeeded by Ferdinando de" Medici, the elder son.
His father, Cosimo II, died on 28 February 1621. He was succeeded by Ferdinando de" Medici, the elder son.
He was governor of Siena, with interruptions, from 1629. Instead, he embarked on a military career at the age of 16. He arrived in his domain on 27 August and took up residence in the Piazza del Duomo.
Spending the bulk of his time in Siena, he was immensely popular among the Sienese.
In 1631, he joined the Austrian belligerency in the Thirty Years" War. He took part in the famous battle of Lützen, in October 1632, where he met Sienese politician Ottavio Piccolomini.
Upon his return to the grand duchy in 1641, he resumed the reins of Sienese government. He did not stay long, nevertheless, as the Wars of Castro broke out.
While in Germany, he acquired scientific instruments, such as dials, astrolabes and compasses.
All of which he later deposited in the Uffizi. In later life, suffering from gout, he pondered re-assuming ecclesiastical garb. However, he fell ill and died in Siena on 11 October 1667 at 54 years of age.
He was buried in the Medici tombs in San Lorenzo, Florence.
Bibliography
Young, G.F.: The Medici: Volume II, John Murray, London, 1920.
