Catherine (Italian: Caterina) was born on 13 April 1519, in Florence. She was the only child of Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino, and his wife, Madeleine de la Tour d'Auvergne, Countess of Boulogne. According to a contemporary chronicler, when Catherine was born, her parents were as pleased as if it has been a boy . However, within a month of Catherine's birth, both her parents were dead: Madeleine died on 28 April, possibly of puerperal fever, and Lorenzo died on 4 May. King Francis I of France wanted Catherine to be raised at the French court, but Pope Leo X had other plans for her. Catherine was first cared for by her paternal grandmother, Alfonsina Orsini. After her death in 1520, Catherine was raised by her aunt, Clarice Strozzi. The death of the Pope in 1521 interrupted Medici power until the election of Pope Clement VII in 1523. Clement housed Catherine in the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, in Florence. In 1527, the Medici were overthrown in Florence; Catherin...