Ferrante II Gonzaga (1563 – 5 August 1630) was

Count of Guastalla This is a list of rulers of Guastalla, a town in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, on the right bank of the Po River. The County of Guastalla was established in 1406 for the Torelli family. In 1456, the county was partitioned, with Montechiarugolo and Cas ...

and, from 1621,

Duke of Guastalla This is a list of rulers of Guastalla, a town in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, on the right bank of the Po River. The County of Guastalla was established in 1406 for the Torelli family. In 1456, the county was partitioned, with Montechiarugolo and Casei ...

He was the son of

Cesare I Gonzaga Cesare I Gonzaga (1530 – 15 February 1575) was count of Guastalla from 1557 until his death. He was a member of the House of Gonzaga, the first-born son of the imperial condottiero Ferrante Gonzaga and Isabella di Capua. From the latter, he inh ...

, Count of Guastalla and

Duke of Amalfi Medieval Amalfi was ruled, in the tenth and eleventh centuries, by a series of dukes ( la, duces), sometimes called ''dogi'' (singular: ''doge''), corresponding with the republic of Venice, a maritime rival throughout the Middle Ages. Before the t ...

, and Donna Camilla

Borromeo Borromeo is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * House of Borromeo, an aristocratic family in Milan Members of the House of Borromeo * Andrea Borromeo (c. 1615 – 1683), Theatine priest * Charles Borromeo (1538 – 1584), cardina ...

. He succeeded his father in 1575. On 2 July 1621, the County of Guastalla was elevated to a Duchy and Ferrante was subsequently deemed a Duke. 1624 Ferdinand II appointed Ferrante as General Commissar in Italy to reinforce imperial authority.Runschke, Florian (2019), "Das Generalkommissariat in Italien von 1624-1632. Auftrag, Arbeit und Akzeptanz der ersten beiden Amtsinhaber". ''Quellen und Forschungen aus italienischen Archiven und Bibliotheken'' (in German). 99: 214
online
. Ferrante played a part in 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 ...

when, as a distant Gonzaga cousin, he claimed the

Duchy of Mantua The Duchy of Mantua was a duchy in Lombardy, northern Italy. Its first duke was Federico II Gonzaga, member of the House of Gonzaga that ruled Mantua since 1328. The following year, the Duchy also acquired the March of Montferrat, thanks to ...

after the extinction of the senior male branch 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 ...

in December 1627. He was nominally supported by Habsburg

Emperor Ferdinand II Ferdinand II (9 July 1578 – 15 February 1637) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia from 1619 until his death in 1637. He was the son of Archduke Charles II of Inner Austria and Maria of Bavaria. His parents were dev ...

, who really sought to re-attach the Duchy of Mantua to the Holy Roman Empire. His attempt failed as the French candidate Charles of Nevers became the new Duke.

Issue

Ferrante II married Vittoria

Doria Doria or Dória may refer to: People Surname * Doria (family), a prominent Genoese family ** Andrea Doria (1466–1560), Genoese admiral ** Ansaldo Doria, 12th century Genoese statesman and commander ** Brancaleone Doria (died c. 1409?), husband ...

(1569–1618), daughter of

Giovanni Andrea Doria Giovanni Andrea Doria, also known as Gianandrea Doria, (1539–1606), was an Italian admiral from Genoa. Biography Doria was born to a noble family of the Republic of Genoa. He was the son of Giannettino Doria, of the Doria family, who died whe ...

, and had 3 children : *

Cesare II Gonzaga Cesare II Gonzaga (Mantua, 1592 – 26 February 1632) was Duke of Guastalla. He was the son of Ferrante II Gonzaga, Duke of Guastalla and Duke of Amalfi and of Vittoria Doria. He succeeded his father in 1630, but died 2 years later. From 1630 to ...

(1592–1632), next Duke of Guastalla, married Donna Isabella

Orsini Orsini is a surname of Italian origin, originally derived from Latin ''ursinus'' ("bearlike") and originating as an epithet or sobriquet describing the name-bearer's purported strength. Notable people with the surname include the following: *Angel ...

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 ...

(1602–1697),

Viceroy of Sicily This is a list of viceroys of Sicily: Aragonese direct rule 1409–1516 * John of Aragon, Duke of Peñafiel, later king John II of Aragon, 1458–1479, acted 1409–1416. * Domingo Ram y Lanaja, Bishop of Lleida 1416–1419 * Antonio de Cardona ...

(1677–1678) *

Andrea Gonzaga Andrea Gonzaga, Count of San Paolo (died 1686), was a member of the Italian House of Gonzaga, belonging to the cadet branch which ruled the Duchy of Guastalla. Biography He was the ninth son of Ferrante II Gonzaga, Duke of Guastalla, and his wi ...

, Count of San Paolo (died 1686), father of

Vincenzo Gonzaga, Duke of Guastalla Vincenzo Gonzaga (1634 – 28 April 1714) was the reigning Duke of Guastalla and a member of the House of Gonzaga. Early life Vincenzo was born as the second son of Andrea Gonzaga, Count of San Paolo (d. 1686) and his wife, Laura Crispano dei ma ...

(1692–1714) * Zenobia de Gonzaga y Doria (1588–1618), married in 1607 don Giovanni Tagliavia d'Aragona,

Duke of Terranova Duke of Terranova ( es, Duque de Terranova) is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1502 by Ferdinand II to "El Gran Capitán" (Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba), a general who negotiat ...

References

* {{Italy-noble-stub 1563 births 1630 deaths Ferrante 2 Ferrante 2 Ferrante 2 16th-century Italian nobility 17th-century Italian nobility Dukes of Amalfi (Spanish title)