Queen Christina of Sweden

Timeline

1. 1632–1654Stockholm · SwedenChristina ascended the throne at age six; after taking personal rule in 1644 she promoted cultural flourishing, attracting scholars such as Descartes, and was relatively tolerant toward Protestant reformers. Weary of the burdens of war and the constraints of royal power, she voluntarily abdicated in June 1654, becoming one of the few monarchs in European history to abdicate of their own accord.
2. 1654–1689Rome · LazioIn 1655 Christina publicly converted to Catholicism in Rome, the ceremony presided over by Pope Alexander VII, and was granted the Villa Pamphilj as a residence. In the 1660s she continued to patronize music, theater, and scholarship, moving in close circles with Bernini and Scarlatti, and briefly intervened in the politics of Naples and Sweden. Her Roman salon became an important venue where Northern European Protestant conversions and Baroque art converged.