The Life of Maria Medici

The fate of the Florentine Maria Medici (1575-1642) is full of incredible ups and downs. Her ambition for power battled with her maternal duty and the honor of a queen. She had to endure tumultuous times: as the wife of Henry IV of Bourbon and regent queen to her underage son Louis XIII, she ended her life in solitude and poverty, moving from one country to another, becoming a hostage of her own son and unable to withstand his claims for independent rule...
How fair it is that her image stands apart from other outstanding women in history is for the reader to judge. But one should not forget that it is Maria Medici to whom France owes the Luxembourg Palace, the collection of Rubens paintings in the Louvre, and finally, a quality water supply in Paris…