Children
Eleanor and Cosimo had eleven children, including five sons who reached maturity (Francesco, Giovanni, Garzia, Ferdinando, and Pietro); before this time the Medici line had been in danger of becoming extinct. Thus by providing an heir, and ample spares, as well as through her daughters' marriages into other ruling and noble families of Italy, she was able to inaugurate an era of strength and stability in Tuscany. Two of her sons, Francesco and Ferdinando, reigned as grand Dukes of Tuscany.
Eleonora's children were:
| Maria | 3 April 1540 – 19 November 1557 | |
| Francesco | 25 March 1541 – 19 October 1587 | Grand Duke of Tuscany |
| Isabella | 31 August 1542 – 16 July 1576 | Was murdered by her husband Paolo Giordano I Orsini because of her infidelity. |
| Giovanni | 28 September 1543 – 19 November 1562 | Bishop of Pisa and cardinal |
| Lucrezia | 7 June 1545 – 21 April 1561 | Wife (1560) of Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara and Modena |
| Pietro (Pedricco) | 10 August 1546 – 10 June 1547 | |
| Garzia | 5 July 1547 – 12 December 1562 | |
| Antonio | 1548 – 1548 | |
| Ferdinando | 30 July 1549 – 17 February 1609 | Grand Duke of Tuscany |
| Anna | 1553 – 1553 | |
| Don Pietro de' Medici | 3 June 1554 – 25 April 1604 | Murdered his wife because of her infidelity |
Read more about this topic: Eleanor Of Toledo
Famous quotes containing the word children:
“It’s important to remember that children who are facing a frightening situation have three fundamental concerns: Am I safe? Are you, the people who care for me, safe? How will this affect my daily life?”
—Lawrence Kutner (20th century)
“The middle years are ones in which children increasingly face conflicts on their own,... One of the truths to be faced by parents during this period is that they cannot do the work of living and relating for their children. They can be sounding boards and they can probe with the children the consequences of alternative actions.”
—Dorothy H. Cohen (20th century)
“My children cause me the most exquisite suffering of which I have any experience. It is the suffering of ambivalence: the murderous alternation between bitter resentment and raw-edged nerves, and blissful gratification and tenderness. Sometimes I seem to myself, in my feelings toward these tiny guiltless beings, a monster of selfishness and intolerance.”
—Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)