Joanna of Austria (1546–1578)
Joanna of Austria (1546–1578)
Grand duchess of Tuscany. Name variations: Giovanna of Austria; Joanna, Archduchess of Austria; Joanna de Medici. Born on January 1, 1546, in Vienna; died on April 11, 1578, in Florence; daughter of Anna of Bohemia and Hungary (1503–1547) and Ferdinand I, Holy Roman emperor (r. 1558–1564); sister of Elizabeth of Habsburg (d. 1545) and Maximilian II, Holy Roman emperor (1527–1576); married Francesco I also known as Francis I de Medici (1541–1587), grand duke of Tuscany (r. 1574–1587); children: Romola (b. 1566, died young); Eleonora de Medici (1567–1611), duchess of Mantua; Isabella (b. 1567, died young); Caterina also seen as Anna (1569–1584, died young); Marie de Medici (c. 1573–1642); Filippo (b. 1577, died young).
Joanna of Austria was born in 1546, in Vienna, the daughter of Anna of Bohemia and Hungary (1503–1547) and Ferdinand I, Holy Roman emperor. She married Francesco I de Medici, grand duke of Tuscany. Condemned by the Florentines for her Austrian haughtiness, archduchess Joanna was never happy in Florence. She died age 30, in 1578, shortly after giving birth to her sickly son Filippo; he died five years later (1583). She left behind her 11-year-old daughter Eleonora de Medici (1567–1611), her nine-year-old daughter Caterina (who would also die young), and her five-year-old daughter, Marie de Medici . Francesco's second wife was Bianca Cappello (d. 1587).