Valentina Visconti, Queen of Cyprus
| Valentina Visconti | |
|---|---|
| Queen consort of Cyprus | |
| Tenure | 1378–1382 |
| Born | Milan, Italy |
| Died | 1393 |
| Spouse | Peter II of Cyprus |
| House |
House of Visconti (by birth) House of Lusignan (by marriage) |
| Father | Bernabò Visconti |
| Mother | Beatrice Regina della Scala |
Valentina Visconti (died 1393) was a noblewoman, the daughter of Bernabò Visconti and his wife Beatrice Regina della Scala. She was Queen consort of Cyprus and titular Queen consort of Jerusalem.
Early life and family
Valentina was born in Milan and was the eleventh of seventeen children of a cruel and ruthless despot, and an implacable enemy of the Catholic Church.
Marriage
In 1363, King Peter I of Cyprus was visiting Milan, Valentina's father Bernabò promised Peter that his daughter would marry Peter's son the future Peter II of Cyprus. The first choice of Peter's marriage would have been to a daughter of John V Palaiologos; this suggestion was rejected for political reasons, since the Latins did not encourage the marriage of Peter to a Greek princess. The justification that was given to the Palaiologos messengers was that the king was busy with the dangers that threatened Cyprus because of the Genoese invasion of the island.
In 1373, Valentina was about to leave to Milan for Cyprus to marry Peter, but the wedding had to be postponed because of fighting between Cyprus and the Genoese.
In September 1377, the marriage was performed by proxy.[1] The bride left Milan the following year.
Peter and Valentina had one daughter who died at the age of two in Nicosia in 1382.[2]
It is known that Valentina did not get along with her mother-in-law Eleanor of Aragon [3] due to her being involved in many issues and scandals.
To prevent more problems between the two Peter had Eleanor sent back to her homeland of Catalonia, which she protested.
Widowhood
On 13 October 1382, Valentina was widowed. Cyprus tried to obtain a regent for their daughter and thus the government of the kingdom, and Valentina wished to take up this post. Even her mother-in-law Eleanor of Aragon had been regent to Peter when he was a minor. However, Valentina's daughter died along with all hopes of a regency. Cyprus should have gone to his sister Margaret and her children but it instead went to Peter's uncle, James I.
Some sources report that Valentina remarried in 1383, taking as her second husband a Count Galeazzo [4]
Queen Valentina died in 1393.
Ancestry
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References
- ↑ Marek, Miroslav. "Visconti 2". Genealogy.EU. External link in
|publisher=(help) - ↑ Marek, Miroslav. "Poitou 3". Genealogy.EU. External link in
|publisher=(help) - ↑ Cawley, Charles, MILAN, Medieval Lands, Medieval Lands database, Foundation for Medieval Genealogy,
- ↑ Visconti 2
| Preceded by Eleanor of Aragon |
Queen Consort of Cyprus 1378–1382 |
Succeeded by Helvis of Brunswick-Grubenhagen |