Early life and family
At the time of the Quattrocento, Florence was among the largest cities in Europe, considered rich and a successful economy. Life was "not idyllic" for all residents though, among whom there were great disparities in wealth. Lisa's family was old and aristocratic but over time had lost its influence. They were comfortable but not wealthy, and lived on farm income.
Antonmaria di Noldo Gherardini, Lisa's father, lost two wives, Lisa di Giovanni Filippo de Carducci, whom he married in 1465, and Caterina Rucellai, whom he married in 1473. Both died in childbirth. Lisa's mother was Lucrezia del Caccia, daughter of Piera Spinelli and Gherardini's wife by his third marriage in 1476. Gherardini at one time owned or rented six farms in Chianti that produced wheat, wine and olive oil and where livestock was raised.
Lisa was born in Florence on June 15, 1479 on Via Maggio, although for many years it was thought she was born on one of the family's rural properties, Villa Vignamaggio just outside Greve. She is named for Lisa, a wife of her paternal grandfather. The eldest of seven children, Lisa had three sisters, one of which was named Ginevra, and three brothers, Giovangualberto, Francesco, and Noldo.
The family lived in Florence, originally near Santa Trinita and later in rented space near Santo Spirito, most likely because they were not able to afford repairs to their former house when it was damaged. Lisa's family moved to what today is called Via dei Pepi and then near Santa Croce, where they lived near Ser Piero da Vinci, Leonardo's father. They also owned a small country home in St. Donato in the village of Poggio about 32 kilometres (20 mi) south of the city. Noldo, Gherardini's father and Lisa's grandfather, had bequeathed a farm in Chianti to the Santa Maria Nuova hospital. Gherardini secured a lease for another of the hospital's farms, and so that he could oversee the wheat harvest, the family spent summers there at the house named Ca' di Pesa.
Marriage and later life
On March 5, 1495, Lisa married Francesco di Bartolomeo di Zanobi del Giocondo, a modestly successful cloth and silk merchant, becoming his second wife at age 15. Lisa's dowry was 170 florins and the San Silvestro farm near her family's country home, a sign that the Gherardini family was not wealthy at the time and reason to think she and her husband loved each other. The property lies between Castellina and San Donato in Poggio, near two farms later owned by Michelangelo. Neither poor nor among the most well-to-do in Florence, the couple lived a middle-class life. Lisa's marriage may have increased her social status because her husband's family may have been richer than her own. Francesco is thought to have benefited because Gherardini is an "old name". They lived in shared accommodation until March 5, 1503, when Francesco was able to buy a house next door to his family's old home in the Via della Stufa. Leonardo is thought to have begun painting Lisa's portrait the same year.
Lisa and Francesco had five children: Piero, Camilla, Andrea, Giocondo, and Marietta, four of them between 1496 and 1507. Lisa also raised Bartolomeo, the son of Francesco and his first wife, Camilla di Mariotto Rucellai, who was about age 1 when his mother died. Lisa's stepmother, Caterina di Mariotto Rucellai, and Francesco's first wife were sisters, members of the prominent Rucellai family.
Camilla and Marietta became Catholic nuns. Camilla took the name Suor Beatrice and entered the convent of San Domenico di Cafaggio, where she was entrusted to the care of Antonmaria's sister, Suor Albiera and Lisa's sisters, Suor Camilla (who was not chaste and was acquitted in a scandalous visitation by four men at the convent) and Suor Alessandra. Beatrice died at age 18 and was buried in the Basilica di Santa Maria Novella. Lisa developed a relationship with Sant'Orsola, a convent held in high regard in Florence, where she was able to place Marietta in 1521. Marietta took the name Suor Ludovica and became a respected member of the convent in a position of some responsibility.
Francesco became an official in Florence. He was elected to the Dodici Buonomini in 1499 and to the Signoria in 1512, where he was confirmed as a Priori in 1524. He may have had ties to Medici family political or business interests. In 1512 when the government of Florence feared the return of the Medici from exile, Francesco was imprisoned and fined 1,000 florins. He was released in September when the Medici returned.
In one account, Francesco died in the plague of 1528. Lisa fell ill and was taken by her daughter Ludovica to the convent of Sant'Orsola, where she died about four years later at the age of 63. In a scholarly account of their lives, Francesco lived to be 80 years old. He died in 1539, and Lisa may have lived until at least 1551, when she would have been 71 or 72.
In June 1537 in his will among many provisions, Francesco returned Lisa's dowry to her, gave her her personal clothing and jewelry and provided for her future. Upon entrusting her care to their daughter Ludovica and, should she be incapable, his son Bartolomeo, Francesco wrote, "Given the affection and love of the testator towards Mona Lisa, his beloved wife; in consideration of the fact that Lisa has always acted with a noble spirit and as a faithful wife; wishing that she shall have all she needs...."
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