Bia de' Medici 1536-1542

 Bia de' Medici 1536-1542.

This beautiful little girl was the illegitimate daughter of Cosimo I de' Medici, grand Duke of Tuscany.

She was born before his marriage to Eleonor di Toledo. The identity of her mother is unknown. She might have been a village girl from Trebbio, where the Medici had one of their villas. Other reports state that her mother was a noble woman from Florence.

Either way, only Cosimo and his mother, Maria Salviati, knew her identity.

Salviati refused to reveal it, although she acknowledged Bia as the daughter of Cosimo.

Bia was named as short for Bambina (little baby girl) or Bianca.

The child was raised together the legitimate offsprings of de' Medici under the strict supervision of their paternal grandmother. She grew up to be a high-spirited and loving little girl.

Cosimo adored her. Unfortunately, the girl contracted a fever in February 1542 and died a few weeks later.

Her legitimate half-sister Isabella de Medici was born only six months after her death. Bia was buried in the family crypt on San Lorenzo.

After her death, many historians believe her father commissioned a posthumous portrait of her by Agnolo Bronzino. The painting is now displayed in the Uffizi Galerry in Florence.