Francesco Maria II della Rovere

Francesco Maria II
Rovere by Federico Barocci at Alnwick Castle
Duke of Urbino
Born	20 February 1549 Ducal Palace of Pesaro, Urbino
Died	Ducal Palace of Pesaro, Urbino
Spouse	Lucrezia d'Este Livia della Rovere
Issue	Federico Ubaldo, Duke of Urbino
Names Francesco Maria della Rovere
Father	Guidobaldo II della Rovere
Mother	Livia della Rovere

Francesco Maria II della Rovere (10 February 1549 – 23 April 1631) was the last Duke of Urbino.

Biography

Born at Pesaro, Francesco Maria was the son of Guidobaldo II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, Count of Montefeltro and Vittoria Farnese, Princess of Parma. He was raised between 1565 and 1568 at the Royal court of Philip II of Spain, and succeeded his father as Duke of Urbino after his death in 1574. In 1585 he was made a Knight in the Order of the Golden Fleece by Philip II.

In 1580 he sold his family heritage of the Duchy of Sora and Arce for 100,000 scudi to Giacomo Boncompagni, in order to face the economic difficulties in Urbino that his father has left.

In 1570 Francesco Maria married to Lucrezia d'Este, a daughter of Ercole II d'Este. The marriage remained childless. Francesco Maria needed a male heir to prevent the return of the Duchy to the Papal States. So he married in 1599, after the death of Lucrezia, his 36-years-younger cousin Livia della Rovere. On May 16, 1605 their long expected and only child Federico Ubaldo was born.

Federico Ubaldo married Claudia de' Medici in 1621 and was made Duke by his father. However, Federico died in 1623 from an epileptic attack, leaving only a daughter, Vittoria Della Rovere, wife of Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany; their child was Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany; none of Cosimo III's children had heirs.

The aging Francesco Maria took up the title of Duke again, but as there was no more hope for a male heir, he gave his Duchy back to Pope Urban VIII in 1625, which was annexed to the Papal States after Francesco's death at Urbania in 1631. The last member of the della Rovere family, Vittoria, inherited the Duke's art collection and had it transferred to Florence to the Uffizi Gallery.

Marriages

1. Lucrezia d'Este on 19 January 1570 , daughter of Ercole II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara and Renée of France.
2. Livia della Rovere on 29 April 1599, daughter of Ippolito della Rovere and Vitelli dei Signori.

Issue

1. Federico Ubaldo della Rovere (16 May 1605 – 28 June 1623) son of Livia della Rovere, was Duke of Urbino and the father of Vittoria della Rovere.