GIOVANNA, la Pazza, queen of CASTIGLIA and d'ARAGONA. — Born in 1479 at Toledo, died on 12 April 1555 at Tordesillas. Daughter of Ferdinando II Cattolico, king of Aragon, and of Isabella of Castile, she married in 1496 Filippo il Bello, son of Massimiliano I, emperor of Germany, and of Maria di Borgogna.
This marriage produced in 1500 the future emperor Carlo V and in 1503 Ferdinando I d'Asburgo. After her mother’s death, G. was recognized by the Cortes in 1505 as queen of Castile, but, having shown signs of mental illness, the regency was entrusted to her father. Three years after her husband’s death, which occurred in 1506, G. withdrew to the castle of Tordesillas, where she remained until her death.
BIBL.: For the bibliography, see B. Sánchez Alonso, Fuentes de la historia española e hispanoamericana, 2nd ed., Madrid 1927, and Apludice, there, 1946, see index: J. Prawdin, G. la Pazza, Italian translation, Rome 1945.