Felice della Rovere

Felice della Rovere
Felice portrayed by Raphael in The Mass at Bolsena (1511), as identified by Murphy[1]
Born	c. 1483 Rome, Papal States
Died	27 September 1536(1536-09-27) (aged 52–53) Rome, Papal States
Spouse	Gian Giordano Orsini ​ ​ (m. 1506; died 1517)​
Children	Giulia Giulio Francesco Girolamo Clarice
Parents	Pope Julius II (father) Lucrezia Normanni (mother)

Felice della Rovere (c. 1483 – 27 September 1536^[2]), also known as Madonna Felice, was the illegitimate daughter of Pope Julius II. One of the most powerful women of the Italian Renaissance, she was born in Rome around 1483 to Lucrezia Normanni and Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere (later Pope Julius II). Felice was well educated, became accepted into close courtly circles of aristocratic families, and formed friendships with scholars and poets through her education and genuine interest in humanism. Through the influence of her father, including an arranged marriage to Gian Giordano Orsini, she wielded extraordinary wealth and influence both within and beyond the Roman Curia. In particular, she negotiated peace between Julius II and the Queen of France, and held the position of Orsini Signora for over a decade following the death of her husband in 1517. Felice further increased her power through a castle that she bought with money received from her father, the Castle at Palo, and through her involvement in the grain trade.

Felice gave birth to two surviving sons, Francesco and Girolamo, choosing the second as the heir to the Orsini fortune (and thus ensuring a rivalry with her stepson, Napoleone), as well as two daughters, Giulia and Clarice; another child died during infancy. Felice's children married into prominent families: the Colonna, Sforza, Borghese, Gonzaga, and Appiani. Her Orsini offspring became the dukes of Bracciano and their lines maintained this role until 1699, when the family line became extinct. Felice's legacy lasts to this day, as the scholar Caroline Murphy has identified her in two artworks: Raphael's The Mass at Bolsena, and a portrait of an unknown woman by Sebastiano del Piombo.^[3] Felice had an influence on other renaissance icons as well, evident from her correspondences with figures such as Catherine de' Medici.^[4]