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Gian Gastone, Grand Duke of Tuscany

Gian Gastone
Grand Duke of Tuscany
A peri-wigged man is resplendent in gold, ermine-fringed coronation robes. The man holds the royal sceptre of Tuscany in his right hand; at the same time clenching the royal crown. The cross of the order of Saint Stephen Pope and Martyr adorns his neck. The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore lies crumbling against a dark sky outside the window.
Grand Duke of Tuscany
Reign 31 October 1723 – 9 July 1737
Predecessor Cosimo III
Successor Francis Stephen
Born 24 May 1671
Pitti Palace, Florence, Tuscany
Died 9 July 1737(1737-07-09) (aged 66)
Pitti Palace, Florence, Tuscany
Burial Basilica of San Lorenzo
Consort Anna Maria Franziska of Saxe-Lauenburg
Full name
Giovanni Battista Gastone de' Medici
House House of Medici
Father Cosimo III de' Medici
Mother Marguerite Louise d'Orléans
Religion Roman Catholicism
Full name
Giovanni Battista Gastone de' Medici
Styles of
Gian Gastone de' Medici, Most Serene Grand Duke of Tuscany
Coat of arms of the Grand Duke of Tuscany.png
Reference style His Royal Highness
Spoken style Your Royal Highness
Alternative style Sir

Gian Gastone de' Medici (Giovanni Battista Gastone; 24 May 1671 – 9 July 1737) was the seventh and last Medicean Grand Duke of Tuscany. He was the second son of Grand Duke Cosimo III and Marguerite Louise d'Orléans. His sister, Electress Palatine Anna Maria Luisa, arranged his marriage to the wealthy and widowed Anna Maria Franziska of Saxe-Lauenburg in 1697. The couple despised each other and had no children. As Grand Prince Ferdinando, Gian Gastone's elder brother, predeceased Cosimo III, Gian Gastone succeeded his father in 1723.

His reign was marked by the reversal of his predecessor's conservative policy; he abolished taxes for poorer people, repealed penal laws which restricted Jews and discontinued public executions. The Medici were wanting in male heirs; his father, Cosimo III, wanted the Electress Palatine to succeed Gian Gastone. However, Spain, Great Britain, Austria and the Dutch Republic disregarded Cosimo's plan and appointed Charles of Spain—whose mother, Elisabeth Farnese, was a great-granddaughter of Margherita de' Medici—Gian Gastone's heir. Charles later transferred his claim to Francis Stephen of Lorraine pursuant to a preliminary peace that was finalized in 1738. Francis Stephen duly succeeded at Gian Gastone's demise, on 9 July 1737, ending almost 300 years of Medici rule over Florence. For the latter part of his reign, Gian Gastone chose to remain confined in his bed, tended by his entourage, the Ruspanti.

On 24 May 1671, the first anniversary of his grandfather Ferdinando II's death, Giovanni Battista Gastone de' Medici was born in Florence to Grand Duke Cosimo III and Marguerite Louise d'Orléans. He derived his baptismal name, Giovanni Battista Gastone, from his maternal grandfather, Gaston, Duke of Orléans. Cosimo and Marguerite Louise frequently quarreled. As a result, four years after his birth, Marguerite Louise returned home to France. Gian Gastone and his siblings were left in the care of their grandmother Vittoria della Rovere.


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