Isabella de' Medici

by Caroline Murphy

Charming and funny, intelligent and immensely wealthy, Isabella was the true star of the powerful house of Medici. Her father, Duke Cosimo de' Medici, allowed her a freedom that was experienced by few - if any - women in Italy. She spent her life on a quest for beauty, love and pleasure, determined always to hold her own among men. With her husband conveniently absent from Florence for much of the time, Isabella held sway over a court of nobles, musicians and artists who were committed above all to decadent living. But Isabella's golden existence could not last forever. When her father died he was succeeded as head of the Medici clan by her unforgiving brother Francesco, and Isabella's life took a very different and tragic turn. Based on documents newly discovered in Italian archives, this illustrated biography reveals Isabella's extraordinary true story for the first time.