European Royalty: Italian States--Mantua



Figure 1.--Mantegna painted this image of Itlaoan court life in 1474. It is the court of Lodovico III (Gonzaga). Here we see Lodovico and his German wife, Barbara of Brandenburg. Lodovico has just received word that his eldest son has been appointed a cardinal. Barbara is with their two children. One source suggests that both are boys. We are not sure about that, one looks like a girl. The work was was painted for a decorated room, the manificent Camera degli Sposi. Click on the image to see the rest of the painting.

Mantua was a fortified city in norther Italy occupying two islands formed by the Mincio River. Mantua became a dukedom in the late Medieval period. The city was ruled for some time by the Bonacorsi family The history of Mantua is intertwined with that of the Gonzaga family, amajor Italian princely family. The family descended from Filippo Gonzaga (c1150- ) through Abramino di Conradis di Gonzaga ( -1210). Luigi Gonzaga (1267/68-1360) was a leading Guelph nobleman who in 1328 became Captain of Mantua after expelling the Bonacorsi. The Gonzaga family then ruled as sovereigns of Mantua 1328-1708 in part through support by the German rulers of the Holy Roman Empire. The Gonzagas supported one of the most glitering courts in Europe. The family was deposed when during a rare instance in Gonzaga family history the family supported the French (1708).

Background

Mantua was a fortified city in norther Italy occupying two islands formed by the Mincio River.

Roman Era


Early Medieval Era


Bonacorsi

The city was ruled for some time by the Bonacorsi family

Gonzaga

The history of Mantua is intertwined with that of the Gonzaga family, a major Italian princely family. The Gonzaga family then ruled as sovereigns of Mantua 1328-1708 in part through support by the German rulers of the Holy Roman Empire. The Gonzagas supported one of the most glitering courts in Europe. The family was deposed when during a rare instance in Gonzaga family history the family supported the French (1708).

Origins

The Gonzaga family descended from Filippo Gonzaga (c1150- ) through Abramino di Conradis di Gonzaga ( -1210).

Luigi Gonzaga (1267/68-1360)

Luigi Gonzaga was a leading Guelph nobleman who in 1328 became Captain of Mantua after expelling the Bonacorsi. After Luigi seized power in Mantua, the Emperor made him Vicar General of the Hily Roman Empire (1329). He was inscribed as Patrician of Venice on a hereditary basis (1332). He was then invested with the Lordship of Mantua by the Pope (1340) and by the Emperor (1349).

Giovanni (Gian) Francesco (1395-1444)

His descendent Giovanni (Gian) Francesco, 5th Sovereign Lord of Mantua, was created a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire by the Emperor Sigismund as a reward for military service (1432). Until this point the position of the Gonzaga family was based essentially on usurptation. This action by the Emperor rendered te Gonzaga a legitimate princely family. Mantua became a Marquessate fief of the Empire by Patent of September 29, 1433, with the title of Marquess for all descendants.

Lodovico III ( -1478)

Giovanni's successor was Lodovico III, Marquis of Mantua (1444-78). Lodovico was Educated by Vittorino da Feltre. He accepted his teachings that a prince should be just, pious, and learned. As a young man he served as a officer in the wars with neighnoring states. He served in the Milanese wars against Venice with some destinction. His record was mared by a temprary deserted to Venice (1437-40), apparently jealous of his brother Carolo. He allied himself with Duke Francesco Sforza. He married a Hohenzollern Princess--Barbara of Brandenberg (about 1458). He convinced her that he was a committed family man. In factvhe had many mistresses. His two younger sons, Gian Francesco ( -1498) and Rodolfo ( -1494) founded the lines of Princes of Bezzola (extinct 1703), and Castiglione & Solferino (extinct 1819). As he grew older he became an invalid. The image here shows the court of Lodovicio about 1474, although we can not identify all the individuals involved we do know some. The man in the pink (or faded red) robe is Lodovicio, with his German princess at his side. The boys at her side are Gian Francesco and Rodolfo. Unfortunately we do not see much of how they were dressed, except for the boy's red cap looking ratherlike a fez and the garland worn by the other boy (figure 1). Surely some of the individuals behind mother and father are some other family members. Lodovico wanted to associate himself with the Remaisance and engaged Mantegna to decorate one of the rooms of his palace--the Camera degli Sposi. The result is a glorious view of Italian court life in the 15th century high Renaissance.

Federico I (1440-1484)

Lodovico's eldest son, Federico I married Margaret of Bavaria and is the founder of the present line of the Gonzaga family through his younger son Giovanni (1474-1519/25). He is probably the adult appearing behind his father's shoulder in the image here (figure 1).

Giovanni Francesco II ( -1519?)

Giovanni Francesco II ruled from 1484 until his death. He commanded the Italian forces whivh defeated King Charles VIII at the battle of Fornovo. He married Isabella d'Este and the two were prominent patrons of the arts. They also retained Mantegna as court painter and several paintings were done for Isabella. Giovanni was made Captain-General of the Emperor Maximilian I, Lord of Vescovato, at the order of Emperor Charles V (1521).

Federico II ( -1540)

Giovanni Francesco II's son Federico II ( -1540) was elevated to the status of Sovereign Duke of Mantua by Charles V for his military aid fighting King Francis I of France (1530). Federico II's court was said to be one of the most splendid in Europe. He married Margaret Paleologus, Marchioness of Monferrato, and conferred the Sovereign County of Guastalla on his younger son Ferdinando I ( -1557).

French branch

A branch of the senior Gonzaga Mantua line settled in France and received the French Duke-Peerages of Nevers and Rethelois, but returned to Mantua on succeeding to the Sovereign Duchy (1627).

Carlo IV ( -1708)

The French branch brought French associationa and loyalties to the Mantua court. This proved to be the undoing of the Gonzaga family in Mantua. Carlo IV sided with French King Louis XIV in the War of the Spanish Succession and was subsequently deposed by the Austrians (1708). His territories which were permanently confiscated and divided between Austria and Savoy by the Treaty of Utrecht (1713). The male line of this branch became extinct in 1708, when its rights passed to the line of Guastalla.










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Created: March 31, 2004
Last updated: March 31, 2004