Eleanor of Toledo

Eleanor of Toledo
Portrait by Agnolo Bronzino
Duchess consort of Florence
Tenure	29 March 1539 – 17 December 1562
Born	11 January 1522 Alba de Tormes, Spain
Died	17 December 1562 (aged 40) Pisa, Duchy of Florence
Burial	Medici Chapel
Spouse	Cosimo I de' Medici ​ (m. 1539)​
Issue see details...	Francesco I, Grand Duke of Tuscany Isabella, Duchess of Bracciano Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici Lucrezia, Duchess of Modena Ferdinando I, Grand Duke of Tuscany Pietro de' Medici
Names Leonor Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel-Osorio
House	Alba de Tormes
Father	Pedro de Toledo y Zúñiga
Mother	María Osorio y Pimentel
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Eleanor of Toledo (Spanish: Leonor Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel-Osorio, Italian: Eleonora di Toledo; 11 January 1522 – 17 December 1562) was a Spanish noblewoman who became a Duchess of Florence^[a] as the first wife of Cosimo I de' Medici. A keen businesswoman, she financed many of her husband's political campaigns and important buildings like the Pitti Palace. She ruled as regent of Florence during his frequent absences: Eleanor ruled during Cosimo's military campaigns in Genoa in 1541 and 1543, his illness from 1544 to 1545, and again at times when the war for the conquest of Siena (1551–1554). She founded many Jesuit churches. She is credited with being the first modern first lady or consort.^[2]

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