ABSTRACT
Giovanna d’Austria arrived in Florence from her home city of Innsbruck in December 1565, as bride of Francesco, heir to the Medici dukedom, and was immediately made the focus of a spectacular bridal entrata. She died in Florence, as Tuscany’s grand duchess, in April 1578, the result of horrendous complications in childbirth. During the thirteen years of her residence there, Giovanna became particularly known for her piety. She was not, however, renowned as a patron of the arts and did not articulate her devoutness in conspicuous and tangible forms of art or architectural patronage. But Giovanna was active in Florence’s cultural and religious life. She supported religious causes with letters and visits and was a devotee of sacred sites, even making a pilgrimage to the Holy House of the Virgin at Loreto – the first secular member of the Medici family to do so.
