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Violante Beatrice of Bavaria (Violante Beatrix; 23 January 167330 May 1731) was Grand Princess of Tuscany as the wife of Grand Prince Ferdinando of Tuscany and Governor of Siena from 1717 until her death. Born a Duchess of Bavaria, the youngest child of Elector Ferdinand Maria, she married the heir to the Tuscan throne, Ferdinando de' Medici, in 1689.〔Strathern, p 397.〕 Violante Beatrice loved him but Ferdinando did not return her affection, declaring her too ugly and too dull.〔Young, p 467.〕〔 Her brother-in-law, Prince Gian Gastone, befriended her out of sympathy, a friendship that lasted until Violante Beatrice's demise.〔 Grand Prince Ferdinando expired from syphilis in 1713, leaving his childless widow without purpose at the Tuscan court.〔Hale, p 188.〕 Upon the return of the Electress Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, daughter of the then reigning, Cosimo III, thus Violante Beatrice's sister-in-law, the Dowager Grand Princess contemplated retiring to her brother's court at Munich; however, Gian Gastone convinced her to stay, and Cosimo III appointed her Governor of Siena, where she then resided.〔Acton, pp. 265–267.〕 As Governor, she formally defined the boundaries, names and number of Sienese ''Contrade'' — akin to administrative divisions — in 1729.〔Parsons, p 48.〕 During Grand Duke Gian Gastone's rule, the Governor was responsible for formal court audiences.〔Acton, p 280.〕 Violante Beatrice, in collaboration with the Electress Anna Maria Luisa, attempted to withdraw Gian Gastone from the ''Ruspanti'', his salacious entourage, by arranging banquets and public appearances. Gian Gastone, however, was immune to these approaches and spent the last eight years of his reign confined to bed, entertained by the myriad ''Ruspanti''. == Childhood and marriage == Violante Beatrice, the youngest child of the Elector of Bavaria, Ferdinand Maria, and Henriette Adelaide of Savoy, was born on 23 January 1673 in Munich, the capital of Bavaria. Her siblings were Maria Anna Victoria, Dauphine of France, Elector Maximilian II and Joseph Clemens, Archbishop of Cologne. Grand Duke Cosimo III of Tuscany in 1688 sought Violante Beatrice as a prestigious bride — Bavaria was one of the most powerful states of the Holy Roman Empire — for his elder son and heir, Ferdinando, Grand Prince of Tuscany.〔 As Cosimo's father, Ferdinando II, had embroiled Elector Ferdinand Maria in an abortive financial venture costing him 450,000 ungheri worth of gold, relations between Munich and Florence were sour.〔Acton, p 163.〕 In order to acquire Violante Beatrice's hand for the Grand Prince, Cosimo was obliged to reimburse Ferdinand Maria's son Maximilian II.〔 With this obstacle surmounted, the marriage contract was signed on 24 May 1688, granting Violante Beatrice a dowry of 400,000 thalers in cash and the same amount in jewellery.〔Acton, p 170.〕 She married the Grand Prince by proxy in Munich on 21 November 1688 and was married in person on 9 January 1689.〔Acton, p 171.〕 The wedding reception was held at the Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence. The new Grand Princess was instantly enamoured with the bridegroom, in spite of the fact he loathed her.〔Young, pp. 466–467.〕 Cosimo III, however, could not find fault in his daughter-in-law, saying, "I have never known, nor do I think the world can produce, a disposition so perfect".〔Acton, p 172.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Duchess Violante Beatrice of Bavaria」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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