Maria I of Fidenza

Maria I Isabella (4th April 1579 - 12th July 1642), more commonly referred to as Queen Maria, and sometimes Maria the Good, was Queen Regnant of Fidenza and Milan from 1605 until her death in 1642. Her ascension followed the abdication of her brother, King Emmanuele I, at a time when he had no children. Her brother is often blamed for the nominal extinction of the senior line of the House of Visconti. Maria, alongside her husband and co-ruler Ludovico III, presided over one of the most stable periods in Fidenzan history.

She was one of the two founders of the current ruling house of Fidenza, the House of Visconti-Urbino. Her thirteen children would also go on to adopt this house, continuing the line of the Visconti Dynasty through this successor house. She is known now for her just policies and her forward-thinking nature. She is also considered to be one of the driving forces in beginning what is now modern Fidenza, alongside her son and successor, Francesco V.

Birth and Early Life
Maria Isabella was born the first child of Prince Francesco, the heir to King Cosimo II at Castello Visconti in Pavia. She was born during an incredibly turbulent time for Fidenza, with her grandfather King Cosimo considered a tyrant and an authoritarian by the realm. He had begun extorting his subjects for taxes, had gone on a brutal killing spree of anyone he believed was disloyal. As a result, the Kingdom was at breaking point. The crown seemed as unstable as it had ever been in its long history, as Cosimo the Terrible bumbled from bad decision to bad decision. When he began forcibly conscripting children into his armies, stripping them from their parents by force, that was the final spark. The peasants rose up from their farms and in their towns, and the lords revolted soon after, led by Alfonso, Duke of Urbino. Cosimo had gone and burnt down Urbino's castle, hence his position as leader.

During the Insurrection of 1580, Maria was taken from Pavia to Turin, which was a safer environment than in the midst of the fighting near Pavia. King Cosimo attempted to order that his granddaughter be brought to court, but fearing his delusions and his violence, Prince Francesco did not bring Maria to court in Milan. She was kept in Turin for the entirety of 1580, as her grandfather continued to bumble and lose the war. The war continued on, with a great loss of life on both sides.

Ascension of Francesco IV
At the end of the Insurrection of 1580, King Cosimo II was dead. It has been rumoured and believed that the King attempted to jump from the balcony, though he survived. It was said that Maria's father shoved his sword through the King's chest, either an act of mercy or an act of rage over the King's murder of Francesco's mother, the fair Queen Antoinette.

Nonetheless, the insurrection came to an end and life went on. Maria's father ascended the throne as King Francesco IV, when Maria was just one. As the only child of her father, she became heir presumptive to the throne for a time. After the Insurrection, Francesco IV refused to keep his seat in the city of Milan. He moved his seat to Rome, where had the now famous Palazzo Reale built, though not in its present form. Her father took his crown at St. Peter's officially, and she became known as Principessa Reale, indicating her status as first born child of King Francesco and heir presumptive to the throne.

Reign of Francesco IV and Education
Despite the kind and caring facade Maria always put on in public, she was always cunning and ambitious. She wished to assert a position of her own in her father's court, knowing most likely that she would receive a brother at some time and lose her position as heir presumptive to her father's throne. Her father possessed a certain love and care for his daughter and so unlike many princesses of the age, she was given expert and famed tutors from across Europe. She learned French, English, Spanish and even Latin. She became fluent in each of these languages, showing that she possessed a sharp and astute mind. Even from a young age, she was considered one of the sharpest minds in Rome, with her tutors praising her diligence and studious nature, as well as her natural tendency toward learning and knowledge. She understood that in post-Insurrection Fidenza, the nobility had to be satisfied and compromised with. Due to her facade of kindness, she became beloved in the court of Rome. Behind closed doors, however, she was always thinking of how she might go about ruling. She had extreme ambition on the throne, though she knew her gender would hinder her. In 1587, her mother gave birth to another child. This child was the long-awaited son and heir the Kingdom had been hoping for, thus the people rejoiced. Maria, meanwhile, lamented her fate of being sold off like livestock for some useless alliance, and never being able to live up to her full potential. Maria begged her father to be allowed to marry internally, so she would not have to leave Fidenza. She hoped she could exert some influence over her brother when he became King. Her father agreed, and in 1590 a betrothal was arranged between the 11 year old Maria and the 14 year old Ludovico, Duke of Urbino. It was seen as a strategic tactic of keeping the House of Urbino in line, as they had rallied the nation many times in uprising against the Visconti Monarchy, most recently in the Insurrection of 1580. Maria would, for a time, come to resent her brother for his denial of her crown. Though in time, she would come to warm to and love her younger brother. The young Prince Emmanuele, it became apparent, would be a tool for her political gain. The Prince, she determined, was easy to manipulate.

Reign of Emmanuele I, Marriage and Influence
Her father, King Francesco IV, died in a hunting accident in 1592. A stray gunshot, meant to hit a target animal, instead struck the King and killed him. Thus, her younger brother became King Emmanuele I, at the age of just five. Maria, by this time thirteen, was already extremely intelligent and cunning. Her mother became regent of the Kingdom, though she also heavily took Maria's advice. During the regency period, Maria's standing in court increased massively. She was married to Duke Ludovico in 1594, when she was fifteen and he was eighteen. They came to love one another deeply, one of the rare examples of a loving arranged marriage to be seen. They did, however, suffer through two stillbirths and one miscarriage between 1594 and 1598. Finally, in 1599, they had a son. The son was named Francesco Lamberto d'Urbino at birth and was beloved by Maria. She cherished her son as though he were the most precious thing in the world. She even spent time away from her intrigues and influencing to care for her son, unlike most noblewomen of the time. Maria was a devoted wife to her husband, and he was devoted to her. They had a loving relationship throughout their marriage and she herself said, ''"We are stronger together than we ever were apart". There was truth in her words, her standing at court increased as Duchess of Urbino and Principessa Reale'', and the Duke's standing increased due to his marriage into the House of Visconti. Nonetheless, Maria's first priority was her own social advancement and thus she did not remain in Urbino. Instead, she remained in the court of Rome to manipulate and control her younger brother in the ruling of the nation. In 1602, King Emmanuele came of age at the age of fifteen. Maria was twenty-three by this point, and was the mother of three. Francesco Lamberto, and the twins Giovanni Ludovico and Maria Ludovica. It was clear that King Emmanuele could not handle all the affairs of state by himself, so Maria did her best to help run the Kingdom. Emmanuele, meanwhile, went off to do hunting and over frivolous entertainments, while Maria diligently ran the Kingdom in her brother's name with no recognition, for a time.

Abdication of Emmanuele I
Eventually, King Emmanuele made his desire to abdicate known. Many attempted to talk him out of it, as they believed it would destabilise the nation. He explained that he believed his sister would make a better monarch than he would. This created shock and confusion in the court, as Maria was a married woman and this would lead to the end of the House of Visconti. When questioned on his intentions for the continuation of House Visconti, Emmanuele said he did not care what happened to the house so long as the Kingdom was ruled justly and fairly. Despite her own ambition and designs on the crown, Maria attempted to talk her brother out of this for the future of the house. Emmanuele's only response to his sister's pleas were, "I'm sure you'll think of something". The future of the House of Visconti seemed in doubt, and Duke Ludovico was ecstatic for the potential rise of his house.

Settlement of the Houses
Emmanuele's abdication officially went through on August 31st 1605, with the immediate ascension and proclamation of Maria as, ''"By the Grace of God, Maria, Queen of Fidenza and Milan, Queen of Bosnia and Serbia, Grand Duchess of Savoy, Princess of Roma, Princess of Venezia, Princess of Sicily and Duchess of Urbino". ''Maria attempted to maintain a confident demeanour on her first appearance as Queen before her court, wearing a specially designed royal tiara and a grandiose cape of red ermine. Inside, she would later confide in Ludovica d'Este, Duchess of Ferrara, she was terrified. Though she had waited for this moment for her entire life, she was worried for the future of her house. The Duchess wrote, "The Queen told me how fearful she had been on that fateful day. She told me of all the thoughts that had been going through her head. What will happen to House Visconti? How will people receive me? These questions were torturing her, she told me, though I recall her confident demeanour that entire day..."

King Emmanuele departed Rome on September 3rd, alongside his young wife Marie Louise of France. He was jeered and criticised heavily for his abdication, as many believed it cowardly and improper for a monarch to throw aside his crown and sceptre. Maria gave use of Castello Visconti to the former King and Queen, where they resided for the rest of their lives together. King Emmanuele never once returned to Rome, writing to his sister, ''"It would be improper for me, an abdicated King, to return to my former capital". ''Maria made her brother Duke of Pavia as a style to use after his abdication. She maintained a fond correspondence with her brother throughout her life and made frequent visits to Castello Visconti, where she met her nieces and nephew from her brother. Emmanuele's children were given the styles of Prince and Princess, despite the advice of many not to grant them such a privilege after Emmanuele's abdication. On September 8th, at Maria's first council meeting, the issue of the ruling house was brought up. Many thought that the House of Urbino was now the ruling house, including Maria's husband Ludovico, a situation which he relished in. Maria asserted, however, that the House of Visconti would not be removed from the throne, by continuing to display banners with the arms of House Visconti displayed on them. One councillor pointed out that her children were, by law, members of the House of Urbino. As a result, Maria drafted a solution. She decreed that all of her children would become members of the House of Visconti-Urbino, a successor house to House Visconti, which became part of the unofficially named "Visconti Dynasty", and in return Maria's husband would become co-monarch of Fidenza as King Ludovico III, sharing authority between the couple. The council accepted this idea, though Ludovico himself was weary of it. He believed it spelled the end for his house, though Maria assured him that a simple merging of houses was beneficial for both of them. Eventually, Ludovico relented, and Visconti-Urbino became the new ruling house of Fidenza, which it still is today.

Judicial and Social Reform
Maria recognised that the Judicial system of Fidenza was outdated and required much improvement. She began to look at ways the courts could be reformed, to help prevent corruption and bribe-taking which was running rampant in Fidenza at the time. First, she fired her Minister of Justice, the Count of Treviso, who was widely regarded as an arbitrary and uncouth man whom many suspected of embezzling state funds. There was little evidence behind these allegations against the Count, though Maria fired him nonetheless. She instead appointed her cousin, Prince Pietro, Duke of Spoleto. Pietro was widely acknowledged as being a kind, just and well-meaning man, quite unlike his predecessor. Maria then began a purge of the courts, ordering the arrests of many judges who were believed to be corrupt and bribe-takers. She stripped many of the judges of rank, some of the more notorious bribe-takers were kept in prison. Infamously, however, the Lord High Judge of Rome was executed for treason, after numerous documents and correspondences proved that he was embezzling and laundering money, as well as receiving bribes and failing to administer justice. Her actions against the courts made Maria a respected yet feared ruler, as she had proved that she had the strength to deal with corrupt officials. Socially, Maria attempted to improve the situation for lower-class peoples, as she felt for their strife and struggle. Maria was well-known for her kind nature and well-meaning personality, thus she ordered that her officials look into the lives of the common people of Fidenza and report to her on how they could be improved. She became known as a fair and just ruler in this time, earning her epithet, Maria the Good, from her subjects. She lowered taxes for the most impoverished in the realm, increasing her popularity greatly and made moves to increase freedom of townspeople and farmers. She sought to put an end to the old feudalistic traditions which still lingered in Fidenzan society. She understood, however, that the last time a monarch had attempted to lessen feudal privilege, civil war had broken out. She was thus unwilling to overstep her bounds with the nobility, though she continued demanding oaths of fealty as their suzerain monarch. Maria dealt with no uprisings over her reign, leading it to being one of the most prosperous periods in Fidenzan history.

Fidenzan Involvement in the Thirty Years' War (1618 - 1623)
As an ally to the French Bourbons and a traditional rival to the Austrian Habsburgs, Maria joined the Anti-Habsburg coalition in the Thirty Years' War. She did not intend to fully mobilise Fidenzan forces, rather she provided supplies and aid to the coalition forces over the course of the war. She made no offensive manoeuvres during Fidenzan time in the war and she only spent five of the thirty years of the war with any sort of involvement. Maria was very anti-conflict, preferring peace time and internal growth and development over conquest and expansion. Fidenzan troops came to love Maria for keeping them home, calling her ''"the Good Mother". ''Nonetheless, Maria was conflicted regarding the war. She was a traditional rival of the Habsburgs, the Visconti had been their enemies for centuries, though the alternative of the Austrians was the Protestant League. The extremely pious Maria did not wish to aid the protestants, creating a personal conflict and dilemma. In the end, Maria did not officially join any side of the war. She only provided aid to her French allies against the Habsburgs, refusing to provide the same aid to the rest of the Protestant League for religious reasons. Eventually, her decision not to become involved in the war turned out to be wise, as in the end there were over 8,000,000 casualties from the war. Fidenza was never ravaged by war during Maria's reign.

Foreign and Internal Policy
In Foreign Policy, Maria had similar connections and views as her predecessors had. She retained Fidenza's long lasting rivalry with the Austrian Habsburgs, as well as being the first Fidenzan monarch to establish the Fidenzan-French Alliance, with the ascension of the House of Bourbon to the French throne, the long-lasting scars of the Valois Usurpation were no more. Maria also arranged numerous marriages between her children and foreign rulers, seeking to establish greater connections with the new House of Visconti-Urbino and other houses. She was renowned for her peaceful diplomatic solutions to conflicts, including when conflict seemed inevitable with the Portuguese over the control of certain colonies in South America, she instead sent envoys and managed to secure control of the colonies for just a small amount of gold payed to the King of Portugal. For the lack of conflict or war during her reign, the warlike ridiculed her as Maria the Timid or Maria the Craven, but most revered her as Maria the Mother or '''Maria the Caring. '''Overall, these actions have earned her a position as one of the most respected Fidenzan monarchs from a modern standpoint.

She also sought to maintain Fidenza's position and prestige on the European Stage, for which she built up her armed forces and also her economic position, with trade thriving during her reign. Fidenzan merchants prospered across all of Europe, with a massive tax profit going to the Fidenzan treasury. Maria accumulated more money across her 37 year reign than Francesco IV, Cosimo II and Francesco III combined. Her wealth made her renowned across Europe. She also collected art, accumulating so much that she saw fit to construct a new palace in Rome, the now famous Palazzo Reale was constructed during her reign. She moved her court to the Palazzo Reale, where the Fidenzan court has resided since. Later in her reign, Maria commissioned many works and sculptures herself, encouraging and promoting culture in Fidenza, which made Fidenza one of the centres of art and culture in Europe. She reworked the government too, doing away with unnecessary chancelleries and divisions of the bloated Fidenzan bureaucracy, seeking to continue centralising royal power, paving the way for the eventual completely absolute monarchy which would be declared by her son and successor, Francesco V. Maria's ambition and drive to complete tasks would make her infamous across Europe, with many of the European monarchs openly fearing to go against her. She became known by some as the "She-Wolf of Fidenza" for her strength and power.

Family Life
Maria and her husband, Ludovico III, had a very loving relationship. They had thirteen live-birth children together, with seventeen total pregnancies counting miscarriages and stillbirths. Their eldest living child was born in 1599 and their youngest living child was born in 1617. Both were faithful to one another, an uncommon sight in royal courts at the time. She was also extremely close to all of her children, favouring none over the others. She was a kind and caring mother and grandmother when the time came, often putting aside her work to spend time with her family. She gave each of her children the respect and status they deserved. She was a contented woman when it came to her family, wanting nothing back from them in return for her love and care. Maria would also ask for her children's opinions on matches and marriages, to the shock of many of her courtiers and advisors. Maria once stated, ''"The happiness of my children is more important to me than a crown. A crown is an object, a symbol, but love is eternal". ''Upon the death of her husband and co-ruler, Ludovico III in 1634, Maria was devastated. She wore black for the rest of her life, had her apartments draped in and decorated in black for the rest of her life and often withdrew from public life into her work. She took solace in her children during this time, however, creating a closer bond.

Accident and Death
By 1642, Maria had been on the Fidenzan throne for 37 years. These almost close to four decades had been the most prosperous ones that Fidenza had ever had, thanks to the shrewd administration and acts of Queen Maria. She was sixty-three by this point, though her health had began to decline many years earlier. Her health first started to decline in 1636, when it was discovered that she was suffering from arthritis of the hips and had difficulty walking. She began to deal with breathing difficulties later in life, so much so that she had to always keep the windows opened in any room she was in. Eventually, her arthritis became so bad that a specially designed wheelchair had to be created so that she could be moved between rooms. She was in almost constant pain for her ailments, though she never stopped working until the day before her death. This was a testament to the diligent of the Queen and her resilience when it came to her duty. She became obese in later life, largely attested to her lack of ability to move around and exercise.

On July 10th 1642, Maria suffered a fall down a small flight of stairs in her Palazzo Reale. She had attempted to pull herself up and walk to visit her daughter on the other side of the Palace, hoping to assert that she was still strong and mobile, refusing to give up to her ailments. She made it to the stairs, until she lost her balance and fell down the flight. She was stuck on the floor for an excruciating three hours, when a servant finally came across the Queen at the bottom of the stairs, still very much conscious and in great pain. Six servants had to be brought to lift the Queen and carry her to her bed. On the next day, July 11th, Maria was back at work at her desk, which shocked and surprised many. She had moved to the desk against the advice of her physicians, though she had stated that, ''"The realm never rests, and so neither shall I!". ''Her physicians worried about what she could be doing to herself with this, but there was no persuading the Queen. She eventually passed out at her desk in the early afternoon, and had to be lifted back into bed.

She regained consciousness on July 12th, where her physicians informed her she would most likely not survive. She remained composed for this news, requesting that the Crown Cardinal be brought in to administer her last rites. She received the last rites, while her family were called. With her family and loved ones around her, she gave her final farewells to them all. She said, ''"I am ready now to go to the Lord. I have finished my work, and I leave it to you [Francesco V]. Do me proud, all of you. I hope I have done you proud". ''She fell out of consciousness once more, where she briefly regained it later on. Her final words were, ''"May the good Lord receive me, I am his loving servant". ''With that, Maria I, Queen of Fidenza and Milan, passed away at the age of 63 with her family and loved ones around her. She left behind a Kingdom more stable and prosperous than it had ever been before, a Kingdom going through a golden age. The age of Queen Maria's peace and prosperity were over, however, and her warlike son Francesco V would shatter her peaceful focus, taking Fidenza into numerous wars once more.

Issue
With her husband, Ludovico III, she had thirteen children:
 * Francesco V Lamberto, King of Fidenza and Milan (2nd February 1599 - 25th September 1672)
 * Giovanni Ludovico, Principe di Fidenza (3rd April 1600 - 19th July 1652)
 * Maria Ludovica, Queen of Spain (3rd April 1600 - 22nd September 1641)
 * Isabella Giovanna, Principessa di Fidenza (18th October 1602 - 24th December 1602)
 * Maria Sofia, Electress Palatine (4th January 1604 - 13th March 1688)
 * Benedetta Maria, Principessa di Fidenza (27th December 1604 - 12th January 1605)
 * Carlo Emmanuele, Principe di Fidenza (6th February 1607 - 18th October 1657)
 * Gian Galeazzo, Principe di Fidenza (17th November 1608 - 2nd January 1610)
 * Maria Anna, Queen of Poland-Lithuania (31st March 1610 - 10th June 1643)
 * Maria Alessandra, Principessa di Fidenza (15th May 1611 - 16th May 1611)
 * Antonio Francesco, Principe di Fidenza (8th October 1613 - 6th February 1625)
 * Aurelio Gian, Principe di Fidenza (6th August 1615 - 14th January 1616)
 * Bianca Maria, Abbess of Santamaria (10th June 1617 - 17th May 1662)

Titles and Styles

 * 4th April 1579 - 2nd March 1594: Sua Altezza Reale, Il Principessa Reale
 * 2nd March 1594 - 31st August 1605: Sua Altezza Reale, Il Duchessa d'Urbino
 * 31st August 1605 - 12th July 1642: Sua Maesta, Il Regina Regnante di Fidenza

Honours

 * Grand Mistress of the Order of St. Maria 
 * Grand Mistress of the Order of the Sacred Heart
 * Grand Mistress of the Order of the Crown of Milan