The Medici Queens
Catherine de’ Medici
Born: April 13, 1519, Florence, Italy
Widow of Henry II, Mother of Francis II and Charles IX
Died: January 5, 1589, Château Royal de Blois, Blois, France
(buried at St. Denis Basilica, Paris)
Tuieries Palace Built in 1564 (Tuileries Garden)
Marie de’ Medici
Born: April 26, 1575, Pitti Palace, Florence, Italy
Marie de Medici‘s uncle married the granddaughter of French queen Catherine de Medici
Widow of King Henry IV, Mother of Louis XIII
(she ended being banished from the country by her son, Louis XIII)
Died: July 3, 1642, in poverty and exile, in Cologne, Germany
where her remains were held for a year after her death until her debts were paid
(buried at St. Denis Basilica, Paris)
Luxembourg Palace created beginning in 1612 (Luxembourg Garden)
In 1622–24 the Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens decorated its galleries with 21 paintings, portraying the events of her life, that rank among his finest work
Paris for the Holidays 