Lucrezia Donati

Lucrezia Donati (Florence, Italy; 1447-ibidem, 1501) was an Italian noblewoman, mistress of Lorenzo de' Medici.^[1]

Lucrezia Donati
Detail of the head of the painting Fortitude, by Sandro Botticelli. It is hypothesized that the painting was inspired by Lucrezia.
Coat of arms
Born	1447 Florence, Italy
Died	1501 Florence, Italy
Spouse(s)	Niccolò Ardighelli
Father	Manno Donati
Mother	Caterina Bardi

The identity of the woman in the sculpture Dama col mazzolino, at Bargello Museum in Florence could be attributed to Lucrezia Donati.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Also Sandro Botticelli's painting Fortitude would be another representation of her.^[7][8]

Biography

Lucrezia was the daughter of Manno Donati and Caterina Bardi, a Florentine dame^[9] who belonged to an extinct family tree, being the last descendant. From 1461 was the mistress of Lorenzo il Magnifico,^[9] a platonic love,^[10] until Lorenzo later married the Italian noble Clarice Orsini.^[11] In 1486 Lorenzo remembered the poems he had written for her when he was 16 in the poem Corinto.

Lucrezia married the Florentian businessman Niccolò Ardighelli, who died in exile in 1496.^[9]

Popular culture

The actress Laura Haddock starred as Lucrezia Donati in the television series Da Vinci's Demons.^[12][13] Alessandra Mastronardi played Lucrezia in Medici: The Magnificent.^[14]