A Cyclopaedia of Female Biography/Martinozzi, Laura
MARTINOZZI, LAURA.
Francesco the First, Duke of Modena, became possessed of the sovereignty, in 1629, by the resignation of his father, Alphonso the Third; who entered a convent of Capuchins, and, under the name of brother Giambattesta, renounced all worldly pomps and vanities. Overtures had been made to the young prince, by Cardinal Mazaiin, for an alliance with his niece, Laura Martinozzi. These had been rather evaded; when an autograph letter, from Louis, King of France, urgently pressing the marriage, determined the affair; and, in 1655, attended by the most magnificant pomp, Laura was received at Modena as the wife of its sovereign. At the end of six. years of conjugal happiness, Alphonso died, appointing his widow regent, and guardian of his son and daughter. The duchess held the reins of empire, for thirteen years, with a firm hand, and appears to have governed with more ability than her predecessor or her successor. In 1676 she retired to Rome, where she lived in comparative seclusion till 1687, when she died. Her daughter, Mary Beatrice, was the wife of the unfortunate James the Second, whose reverses and exile she shared.