Bernadetto de' Medici


Bernadetto de' Medici was an Italian patrician who moved from Florence to Naples and established the Ottaiano branch of Medici - one of two Medici branches still extant.

Biography

A member of a cadet branch of the Medici family, he was the son of Ottaviano de' Medici and Francesca Salviati. In 1559, he married Giulia de' Medici, the illegitimate daughter of Duke Alessandro de' Medici by Taddea Malespina.
In 1567, he bought the seigniory of Ottaiano in the Kingdom of Naples from Cesare I Gonzaga and moved there, probably due to strife with Grand Duke Cosimo I. He died in Naples after 1576.
His son Alessandro was Lord of Ottaiano and General of the Papal States. His descendants unsuccessfully claimed the title of Grand Duke of Tuscany after the extinction of the main branch of the Medici family.

Marriage and descendants

Bernardetto married the illegitimate daughter of the Duke Alessandro de 'Medici, Giulia in 1559. It was her second marriage after the death of her first husband Francesco Cantelmi, Duke of Popoli. They had a son:
Alessandro. Lord of Ottaiano, general of the pontifical army since April 1605, governor of Borgo.