Grand Ducal Crown of Tuscany
The Grand Ducal Crown of Tuscany (Italian: corona del Granducato di Toscana) was a ducal crown created by the Medicean Grand Dukes of Tuscany.
The old crown
Cosimo I de' Medici, duke of Florence, sought to achieve a title which removed him from his status as a feudatory of the Holy Roman Emperor and gave him more political independence. Getting nothing from the Emperor, he turned to the Papacy. Already he had attempted to get Paul IV to give him the title of king or archduke with no success. Finally in 1569, after many favours and dealings of differing levels of legitimacy, Pope Pius V released a Papal bull which conferred the style of Altezza Serenissima and the title of Grand Duke, a very rare title that placed the Sovereign of Tuscany above a Duke, but below a Prince.
In January 1570 Cosimo I was crowned by Pius himself at Rome, though by rights such an act was the prerogative of the Emperor. For this reason, Spain and Austria refused to acknowledge the new title, though France and England immediately acknowledged its validity. With time all Europe came around.
The crown of the Grand Duke of Tuscany was clearly distinct from both princely and ducal crowns. It was a gold circlet decorated with emeralds, rubies and pearls with rays projecting from the top.
Uniquely the crown had a large giglio bottonato, or Florentine lily – the florentine version of a fleur de lis which bears two tall stamens posed between the petals – positioned above the forehead.
The new crown
When Cosimo III, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1670–1723) received the "right to royal rank" from Vienna, he added arches and a globe to the top of the grand ducal crown, as these were the typical elements of a royal crown. The new status of the Grand Duchy included among other things a change of style from Altezza Serenissima to Altezza Reale.
The Grand Ducal Crown is only known from drawings and paintings, since it was lost during the Napoleonic Occupation. A copy of the crown was placed in the coffin of each of the Grand Dukes at their funerals. One of these, which belonged to Gian Gastone de' Medici (r. 1723–1737) was recovered during a survey of the corpse and is now conserved in Florence.
External links
- v
- t
- e
- Helmet of Skanderbeg (Vienna)
- Archducal hat of Austria (Klosterneuburg)
- Imperial Crown of Austria (Vienna)
- Brilliant Crown of Empress Elisabeth (de) (missing)
- Archducal hat of Tyrol (Mariastein)
- Ducal hat of Styria (Graz)
- Archducal hat of Joseph II (Vienna)
- Crown of Saint Wenceslas (Prague)
- Crown of the Środa Treasure (Środa Śląska)
- Crown of Pedro I (Petrópolis)
- Imperial Crown of Brazil (Petrópolis)
- Coronet of the Imperial Prince of Brazil
- Coronet of Laurels of Princess Isabel
- Crown of Princess Blanche (Munich)
- Crown of Margaret of York (Aachen)
- Crown of Scotland (Edinburgh)
- St Edward's Crown (London)
- State Crown of Mary of Modena (London)
- Tudor Crown (destroyed)
- State Crown of George I (London)
- Coronet of Frederick, Prince of Wales (London)
- Coronation Crown of George IV (London)
- Diamond Diadem
- Crown of Queen Adelaide (London)
- Imperial State Crown (London)
- Small Diamond Crown of Queen Victoria (London)
- Crown of Queen Alexandra (London)
- Coronet of George, Prince of Wales (London)
- Crown of Queen Mary (London)
- Imperial Crown of India (London)
- Crown of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (London)
- Coronet of Charles, Prince of Wales (London)
- Diamond Crown of Bulgaria (missing)
- Futou
- Yishanguan
- Tongtianguan
- Mianguan
- Crown of Zvonimir (missing)
- Crown of Christian IV (Copenhagen)
- Crown of Christian V (Copenhagen)
- Crown of the Queen (Copenhagen)
- Crown of Charlemagne (destroyed)
- Crown of Saint Louis (destroyed)
- Crown of Henry IV (destroyed)
- Crown of Louis XV (Paris)
- Crown of Napoleon I (Paris)
- Crown of Napoleon III (destroyed)
- Crown of Empress Eugénie (Paris)
- German State Crown (heraldic)
- Baden:
- Grand Ducal Crown of Baden (Karlsruhe)
- Bavaria:
- Royal Crown of Bavaria (Munich)
- Crown of the Queen of Bavaria (de) (Munich)
- Crown of Queen Therese of Bavaria (Munich)
- Brandenburg:
- Electoral Hat of Brandenburg (Berlin)
- Brunswick-Lüneburg:
- Ducal Crown of Brunswick-Lüneburg
- Hanover:
- Royal Crown of Hanover
- Mecklenburg:
- Wendish Crown (heraldic)
- Prussia:
- Crown of Frederick I (Berlin)
- Crown of Sophia Charlotte of Hanover (Berlin)
- Crown of Wilhelm I (missing)
- Crown of Queen Augusta (missing)
- Crown of Wilhelm II (Hohenzollern Castle)
- Saxony:
- Electoral Hat of Saxony (Dresden)
- Crown of Augustus II the Strong (Dresden)
- Funeral Crown of Augustus II the Strong (Dresden)
- Württemberg:
- Royal Crown of Württemberg (Stuttgart)
- Crown of Greece (Athens)
- Crown of King Kalākaua (Honolulu)
- Crown of Queen Kapiʻolani (Honolulu)
Empire
- Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire (Vienna)
- Iron Crown (Monza)
- Crown of Rudolf II (Vienna)
- Imperial Crowns of Charles VII (Munich)
- Essen Crown (Essen)
- Reliquary Crown of John the Baptist (Aachen)
- Reliquary Crown of Charlemagne (Aachen)
- Crown of Empress Cunigunde (de) (Munich)
- Lily Crown of Empress Cunigunde (Munich)
- Reliquary Crown of Henry II (Munich)
- Salian Funeral Crowns of Spires (Speyer)
- Reliquary Crown of Otto II (Halle (Saale))
- Papal tiaras
- Papier-mâché Tiara (Vatican City)
- Napoleon Tiara (Vatican City)
- Tiara of Pope Pius IX (1846) (Vatican City)
- Spanish Tiara (Vatican City)
- Tiara of Pope Pius IX (Notre Dame, Indiana)
- Palatine Tiara (Vatican City)
- Tiara of Pope John XXIII (Bergamo)
- Tiara of Pope Paul VI (Washington, D.C.)
- Holy Crown of Hungary (Budapest)
- Crown of Stephen Bocskai (Vienna)
- Sasanian crowns
- Empress's Crown (Tehran)
- Kiani Crown (Tehran)
- Pahlavi Crown (Tehran)
- Iron Crown (Monza)
- Royal Crown of Savoy (it) (Turin)
- Crown of Theodelinda (it) (Monza)
- Grand Ducal Crown of Tuscany (missing)
- Crown of Constance of Sicily (Palermo)
- Crown of Baekje (Gongju)
- Crown of Gaya (Yongin)
- Crowns of Silla
- Gold Crown of Geumgwanchong (Gyeongju)
- Gold Crown of Cheonmachong (Gyeongju)
- Gold Crown of Hwangnamdaechong (Seoul)
- Gold Crown of Geumnyeongchong Tumulus (Seoul)
- Gold Crown of Seobongchong Tumulus (Gyeongju)
- Silver Crown (Gyeongju)
- Ducal hat of Liechtenstein (missing; replica: Vaduz)
- Gediminas' Cap (missing)
- Crown of Madagascar
- Crown of Ranavalona III
- Norwegian Crown Prince's Coronet (Trondheim)
- Crown of Norway (Trondheim)
- Crown of the Queen of Norway (Trondheim)
- Crown of Bolesław I the Brave (destroyed; replica: Stará Ľubovňa)
- Swedish Crown (destroyed)
- Muscovy Crown (destroyed)
- Hungarian Crown (destroyed)
- Homagial Crown (destroyed)
- Funeral Crown (missing)
- Queen's Crown (destroyed)
- Crown of Augustus II (Dresden)
- Funeral Crown of Augustus II (Dresden)
- Crown of Augustus III (Warsaw)
- Crown of Maria Josepha (Warsaw)
- Płock Diadem (Płock)
- Crown of João VI (Lisbon)
- Diadem of the Stars (Lisbon)
- Crown of Elisabeta (Bucharest)
- Crown of Maria (Bucharest)
- Steel Crown of Romania (Bucharest)
- "Cap of Monomakh"
- Crown of Kazan Tzardom
- Crown of Tsar Michael Fyodorovich
- Cap of Monomakh of the second set
- Diamond Crown of Tsar Peter I
- Diamond Crown of Tsar Ivan V
- Altabas crown of the third set
- Crown of Empress Catherine I
- Crown of Empress Anna Ivanovna
- Great Imperial Crown
- Maltese Crown
- Small Imperial Crown
- Karađorđević Crown (Belgrade)
- Nemanjić Crowns
- Crown of Stefan Uroš III (Cetinje)
- Crown of Stephen Bocskai (Vienna)
- Royal Crown of Spain (heraldic)
- Royal Crown of Spain (Tumular Crown) (Madrid)
- Crown of Sancho IV (Toledo)
- Crown of Isabella I of Castile (Granada)
- Crown of the Crowned Virgin of the Kings (Seville)
- Crown of the Virgin of the Tabernacle of Toledo (Toledo)
- Crown of Eric XIV (Stockholm)
- Crown of the Queen (Stockholm)
- Crown of Queen Christina (Stockholm)
- Crown of the Heir Apparent (Stockholm)
- Crown of Tahiti (Punaauia)
- Crown of Tonga (Nukuʻalofa)
- Crown of Rus (missing)
- Crowns of Egypt
- Silver Crown of Emperor Tewodros (Ethiopia)
- Raven Crown (Bhutan)
- Shripech (Nepal)
- Crown of Sri Vikrama Rajasinha of Sri Lanka
- Great Crown of Victory (Thailand)