The Duchy of Mantua was a
duchy
A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a Middle Ages, medieval country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition.
There once exis ...
in
Lombardy
Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
,
northern Italy
Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...
. Its first duke was
Federico II Gonzaga
Federico II of Gonzaga (17 May 1500 – 28 August 1540) was the ruler of the Italian city of Mantua (first as Marquis, later as Duke) from 1519 until his death. He was also Marquis of Montferrat from 1536.
Biography
Federico was son of Francesc ...
, member of the
House of Gonzaga
)
, type = Noble house
, country =
, estates = Ducal Palace (Mantua) Ducal Palace (Nevers)
, titles =
* Prince of Arches
* Duke of Montferrat
* Duke of Mantua
* Duke of Guastalla
* Duke of Nevers
* Duke ...
that ruled
Mantua
Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard language, Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, province of the same name.
In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture ...
since 1328. The following year, the Duchy also acquired the
March of Montferrat
The March (also ''margraviate'' or ''marquisate'') of Montferrat was a frontier march of the Kingdom of Italy during the Middle Ages and a state of the Holy Roman Empire. The margraviate was raised to become the Duchy of Montferrat in 1574.
Or ...
, thanks to the marriage between Gonzaga and
Margaret Paleologa
Margaret Palaeologa ( it, Margherita Paleologa; 11 August 1510 in Casale Monferrato – 28 December 1566 in Mantua), was the ruling Marquise regnant of Montferrat in her own right between 1533 and 1536. She was also Duchess of Mantua by marri ...
, Marchioness of
Montferrat
Montferrat (, ; it, Monferrato ; pms, Monfrà , locally ; la, Mons Ferratus) is part of the region of Piedmont in northern Italy. It comprises roughly (and its extent has varied over time) the modern provinces of Alessandria and Asti. Mo ...
.
The Duchy's historic power and influence under the
Gonzaga family
)
, type = Noble house
, country =
, estates = Ducal Palace (Mantua) Ducal Palace (Nevers)
, titles =
* Prince of Arches
* Duke of Montferrat
* Duke of Mantua
* Duke of Guastalla
* Duke of Nevers
* Duke ...
has made it one of the main artistic,
cultural
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...
, and especially musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole. Mantua also had one of the most splendid courts of Italy and Europe in the fifteenth, sixteenth, and early seventeenth centuries.
In 1708, after the death of
Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga, the last heir of the Gonzaga family, the Duchy ceased its existence. Their domains were divided between the
House of Savoy
The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...
, that obtained the remaining half of
Montferrat
Montferrat (, ; it, Monferrato ; pms, Monfrà , locally ; la, Mons Ferratus) is part of the region of Piedmont in northern Italy. It comprises roughly (and its extent has varied over time) the modern provinces of Alessandria and Asti. Mo ...
, and the
House of Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
, that obtained the city of Mantua itself.
History
Background
After the fall of the
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period fr ...
, Mantua was invaded by
Byzantines,
Lombards
The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774.
The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 and ...
and
Franks
The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...
. In the 11th century it became a possession of
Boniface of Canossa,
marquis
A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...
of
Toscana
it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Citizenship
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 = Italian
, demogra ...
. The last ruler of the family was the countess
Matilde of Canossa (died 1115), who, according to legend, ordered the construction of the precious
Rotonda di San Lorenzo
The Rotonda di San Lorenzo is a religious building in Mantua, Lombardy (northern Italy).
It is the most ancient church in the city. It is now sunk below the level of the Piazza della Erbe. It probably stands on the site of a Roman temple that wa ...
(1082). After the death of Matilde of Canossa, Mantua became a
free commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
and strenuously defended itself from the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
in the 12th and 13th centuries.
During the
Investiture Controversy
The Investiture Controversy, also called Investiture Contest (German: ''Investiturstreit''; ), was a conflict between the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops (investiture) and abbots of monast ...
,
Pinamonte Bonacolsi took advantage of the chaotic situation to seize power—as
Captain General of the People—in 1273. His family ruled Mantua for the next century, making it more prosperous and artistically beautiful.
On 16 August 1328, the last Bonacolsi, Rinaldo, was overthrown in a revolt backed by the
House of Gonzaga
)
, type = Noble house
, country =
, estates = Ducal Palace (Mantua) Ducal Palace (Nevers)
, titles =
* Prince of Arches
* Duke of Montferrat
* Duke of Mantua
* Duke of Guastalla
* Duke of Nevers
* Duke ...
, a family of officials, namely the 60-year-old Luis and his sons Guy, Filippino and
Feltrino.
Ludovico
Ludovico () is an Italian masculine given name. It is sometimes spelled Lodovico. The feminine equivalent is Ludovica.
Persons with the name Ludovico Given name
* Ludovico D'Aragona (1876–1961), Italian socialist politician
* Ludovico Ariosto ...
, who had been
podestà
Podestà (, English: Potestate, Podesta) was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of Central and Northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a city ...
of the city in 1318, was elected
capitano del popolo
Captain of the People ( it, Capitano del popolo, Lombard: ''Capitani del Popol'') was an administrative title used in Italy during the Middle Ages, established essentially to balance the power and authority of the noble families of the Italian ci ...
("people's captain"). The Gonzaga built new walls with five gates and renovated the architecture of the city in the 14th century, but the political situation in the city did not settle until
Ludovico II Ludovico II may refer to:
* Ludovico II Gonzaga, capitano del popolo of Mantua (1334-1382)
* Ludovico II Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua (1412–1478)
* Ludovico II of Saluzzo
Ludovico II del Vasto (23 March 1438 in Saluzzo – 27 January 1504) ...
eliminated his relatives, seizing power for himself in 1370.
Through a payment of 120,000 golden
florins
The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purcha ...
in 1433,
Gianfrancesco was appointed
marquis
A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...
of Mantua by
Emperor Sigismund
Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was a monarch as King of Hungary and Croatia ('' jure uxoris'') from 1387, King of Germany from 1410, King of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in ...
, whose niece Barbara of
Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...
he married. In 1459
Pope Pius II
Pope Pius II ( la, Pius PP. II, it, Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini ( la, Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus, links=no; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August ...
held a
diet
Diet may refer to:
Food
* Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group
* Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake
** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...
in Mantua to proclaim a crusade against the
Turks
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...
.
The Duchy
The first Duke of Mantua was
Federico II, who acquired the title from
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (Crown of Castile, Castil ...
in 1530. The following year, the family acquired the
Marquisate of Montferrat
The March (also ''margraviate'' or ''marquisate'') of Montferrat was a frontier march of the Kingdom of Italy during the Middle Ages and a state of the Holy Roman Empire. The margraviate was raised to become the Duchy of Montferrat in 1574.
O ...
through marriage. Federico commissioned
Giulio Romano
Giulio Romano (, ; – 1 November 1546), is the acquired name of Giulio Pippi, who was an Italian painter and architect. He was a pupil of Raphael, and his stylistic deviations from High Renaissance classicism help define the sixteenth-centu ...
to build the famous
Palazzo Te
or is a palace in the suburbs of Mantua, Italy. It is a fine example of the mannerist style of architecture, and the acknowledged masterpiece of Giulio Romano. Although formed in Italian, the usual name in English of Palazzo del Te is not that ...
, in the periphery of the city, and profoundly improved the urbanistic assets of the city.
In 1624,
Ferdinando Gonzaga
Ferrante I Gonzaga (also Ferdinando I Gonzaga; 28 January 1507 – 15 November 1557) was an Italian condottiero, a member of the House of Gonzaga and the founder of the branch of the Gonzaga of Guastalla.
Biography
He was born in Mantua, the ...
moved the ducal seat to a new residence, the Villa La Favorita, designed by the architect Nicolò Sebregond, in
Porto Mantovano
Porto Mantovano ( Mantovano: ) is a town in the province of Mantua, Lombardy
Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located ...
.
As many as eight hundred persons, including writers, artists, musicians, and even a troop of commedia dell'arte actors, enjoyed Gonzaga patronage in the early seventeenth century. In that time, the Gonzagas were patrons of the Flemish artist
Peter Paul Rubens
Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...
. The duchy also played a key role in the development of opera;
Claudio Monteverdi
Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is considered ...
lived there from about 1590 to 1612, and his ''Orfeo (1607)'' and other works were first presented there.
In 1625 Ferdinando Gonzaga founded the University of Mantua, where
Jesuits
The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
taught humanities and philosophy, while laymen taught law and medicine. However, in order to pay for their splendid court, the Gonzaga family sold some of its assets, in 1627
Vincenzo Gonzaga
Vincenzo Ι Gonzaga (21 September 1562 – 9 February 1612) was ruler of the Duchy of Mantua and the Duchy of Montferrat from 1587 to 1612.
Biography
Vincenzo was the only son of Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, and Archduchess Eleanor of Au ...
sold the family collection of Renaissance paintings, including works of Titian, Andrea Mantegna, Correggio and Raphael to
Charles I of England
Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of ...
.
In 1627, the direct line of the Gonzaga family came to an end with the vicious and weak
Vincenzo II, and the town slowly declined under the new rulers, the
Gonzaga Nevers, a cadet French branch of the family. The
War of the Mantuan Succession
The War of the Mantuan Succession (1628–1631) was a related conflict of the Thirty Years' War, caused by the death in December 1627 of Vincenzo II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, Vincenzo II, last male heir in the direct line of the House of Gonzaga ...
broke out, and in 1630 an
Imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imperial, Nebraska
* Imperial, Pennsylvania
* Imperial, Texa ...
army of 36,000
Landsknecht
The (singular: , ), also rendered as Landsknechts or Lansquenets, were Germanic mercenaries used in pike and shot formations during the early modern period. Consisting predominantly of pikemen and supporting foot soldiers, their front line wa ...
mercenaries besieged Mantua, bringing the plague with them. Mantua never recovered from this disaster.
Duke Ferdinand Charles, an inept ruler whose only aim was to hold parties and theatrical representations, allied with France in the
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...
. After the latter's defeat, he was declared deposed by
Emperor Joseph I
, father = Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
, mother = Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Vienna, Austria
, death_date =
, death_place = Vienna, Austria
, burial_place = Imperial Crypt, Vienna
, r ...
and took refuge in
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
, carrying with him a thousand pictures. At his death, in 1708 his family lost Mantua forever in favour of the
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
s of
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. Montferrat's territories were ceded to the
Duke of Savoy
The titles of count, then of duke of Savoy are titles of nobility attached to the historical territory of Savoy. Since its creation, in the 11th century, the county was held by the House of Savoy. The County of Savoy was elevated to a Duchy of Sav ...
, and the emperor compensated the
Duke of Lorraine
The rulers of Lorraine have held different posts under different governments over different regions, since its creation as the kingdom of Lotharingia by the Treaty of Prüm, in 855. The first rulers of the newly established region were kings of t ...
, heir in female line of the Gonzaga, for the loss of Montferrat by ceding him the
Duchy of Teschen
The Duchy of Teschen (german: Herzogtum Teschen), also Duchy of Cieszyn ( pl, Księstwo Cieszyńskie) or Duchy of Těšín ( cs, Těšínské knížectví), was one of the Duchies of Silesia centered on Cieszyn () in Upper Silesia. It was split o ...
. The Gonzagas of the
Duchy of Guastalla
The Duchy of Guastalla was an Italian state which existed between 1621 and 1748. It was bordered by the Duchy of Modena and Reggio and the Po River to the north, on the opposite bank of the Duchy of Mantua.
History
On 2 July 1621, Emperor Fe ...
were passed over entirely despite having the strongest claim, themselves dying out in 1746, marking the end of the Gonzaga family.
Mantua was briefly united with the
Duchy of Milan
The Duchy of Milan ( it, Ducato di Milano; lmo, Ducaa de Milan) was a state in northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti family, which had been ruling the city sin ...
by an edict of
Emperor Joseph II
Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...
on 26 September 1786 but later restored in its separated administration by
Emperor Leopold II
Leopold II (Peter Leopold Josef Anton Joachim Pius Gotthard; 5 May 1747 – 1 March 1792) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and Bohemia, and Archduke of Austria from 1790 to 1792, and Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1765 to 1790. He was a son ...
on 24 January 1791. Mantua was besieged by Napoleon's French army in 1796, before falling in 1797. With the
Treaty of Campo Formio
The Treaty of Campo Formio (today Campoformido) was signed on 17 October 1797 (26 Vendémiaire VI) by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of the French Republic and the Austrian monarchy, respectively. The treat ...
, Mantua was annexed to the
Cisalpine Republic
The Cisalpine Republic ( it, Repubblica Cisalpina) was a sister republic of France in Northern Italy that existed from 1797 to 1799, with a second version until 1802.
Creation
After the Battle of Lodi in May 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte organized t ...
becoming the
Department of Mincio.
See also
*
Duke of Mantua
During its history as independent entity, Mantua had different rulers who governed on the city and the lands of Mantua from the Middle Ages to the early modern period.
From 970 to 1115, the Counts of Mantua were members of the House of Canoss ...
References
External links
*
"The House of Gonzaga, heirs to the sovereign marquessate of Mantua"*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duchy of Mantua
1797 disestablishments in Italy
States and territories established in 1273
Christian states
Italian city-states
Italian states
House of Gonzaga
Dukes of Mantua
Former monarchies of Europe
Former duchies