Caterina Pico


Caterina Pico della Mirandola was an Italian noblewoman, by marriage member of the House of Gonzaga.

Biography

She was born in Mirandola, into the House of Pico, the eldest of the seven children of Gianfrancesco I Pico, lord of Mirandola and Concordia and of Giulia Boiardo, daughter of Feltrino count of Scandiano and cousin of the poet and writer Matteo Maria Boiardo. Her most notable sibling was the humanist and philosopher Giovanni Pico della Mirandola.

Personal life

In 1473 she married, lord of Carpi, with whom she had three children:
The boys were later tutored by Aldus Manutius.
She was widowed in 1480 and remarried in 1484 to Rodolfo Gonzaga; he was killed at the battle of Fornovo in 1495. They had six children:

Death

She inherited the fiefdom of Luzzara, which on her death passed to Gianfrancesco. She died in Luzzara, in 1501, allegedly after being poisoned by one of her servants.