The widowed Duchess Leonora remained at Pesaro, stricken with grief,
from which she slowly recovered to find a solace in her children.
By her husband's will she had 28,000 scudi, besides the life-rent
of his Neapolitan fiefs at Sora, which were left in remainder to
their younger son Giulio. To each of the daughters were provided
20,000 scudi. She died at Gubbio, in 1543. Her devoted affection to
her husband was accompanied by much sterling worth of character;
but she was especially distinguished for that equanimity of temper
which marks the expression of her admirable portrait in the Florence
Gallery.
The children of Francesco Maria were these:--
1. FEDERIGO, born in March, 1511, and died young.
2. GUIDOBALDO, his successor, born 2nd April, 1514.
3. IPPOLITA, married in 1531, to Don Antonio
d'Aragona, son of the Duke of Montalto, in Naples.
4. GIULIA, married in 1548, to Alfonso d'Este,
Marquis of Montechio, son of Duke Alfonso I. From her
descend the sovereign Dukes of Modena and Reggio.
5. ELISABETTA, married in 1552, to Alberico Cibò,
Marquis of Massa, and died in 1561. From her descended the
sovereign Dukes of Massa Carrara.
6. GIULIO, who was born at Mantua on the 8th of
April, and created by his father Duke of Sora. He was
educated for the Church, where his talents and application
to business merited the shower of preferments which his
high birth insured him, and which began by his nomination
as Cardinal of S. Pietro in Vinculis by Paul III., when
fourteen years of age. In 1548 he was made Bishop of
Urbino, a dignity which he resigned three years later, on
being appointed Legate of Rieti and Terni. In 1560 he had
the see of Vicenza, but soon exchanged it for Recanati.
In 1565, he was promoted to be Archbishop of Ravenna, to
which was added, in 1570, the see of Tusculum; and, in
1578, when within a few months of his death, he became
Archbishop of Urbino, having for some years previously
been Legate of Umbria, and governor of Loreto. In these
high posts he united to excellent business habits, and
great energy in the discharge of his duties, a taste for
magnificence, which made him popular with all classes. By
his own family he was regarded as a valuable counsellor in
every difficulty, and he greatly promoted the government
of his brother and nephew, to whom he served as a sort of
prime minister. His career of honour and utility was closed
by a premature death, on the 5th September, 1578, when but
forty-three years of age. Under his superintendence was
drawn up a code of Regulations [_Riformazioni_] of Justice,
which was published with his name in 1549. It does not
appear in what way the dukedom of Sora and Arci passed
from him, but, before the end of the century, it had been
granted by Philip II. to Giacomo Boncompagno, natural son
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