Federico I Gonzaga (25 June 1441 – 14 July 1484) was

marquess 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 ...

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 ...

from 1478 to 1484, as well as a

condottiero ''Condottieri'' (; singular ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian captains in command of mercenary companies during the Middle Ages and of multinational armies during the early modern period. They notably served popes and other Europe ...

Biography

Federico was born in Mantua in 1441, son of Ludovico III and Barbara of Brandenburg. He was a good friend of the court painter

Andrea Mantegna Andrea Mantegna (, , ; September 13, 1506) was an Italian painter, a student of Roman archeology, and son-in-law of Jacopo Bellini. Like other artists of the time, Mantegna experimented with perspective, e.g. by lowering the horizon in order ...

and received an education from Mantegna's mother as well as from

Vittorino da Feltre Vittorino da Feltre (1378February 2, 1446) was an Italian humanist and teacher. He was born in Feltre, Belluno, Republic of Venice and died in Mantua. His real name was Vittorino Rambaldoni. It was in Vittorino that the Renaissance idea of the com ...

(d. 1446) and above all from

Iacopo da San Cassiano Iacopo da San Cassiano (between 1395 and 1410 – c. 1454), also known as Iacobus Cremonensis, was an Italian humanist and mathematician. He translated from Greek to Latin the writings of Archimedes and parts of Diodorus' '' Bibliotheca historic ...

(from 1446 to 1449) and Ognibene da Lonigo (from 1449). Federico fought for the

Sforza The House of Sforza () was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. They acquired the Duchy of Milan following the extinction of the Visconti family in the mid-15th century, Sforza rule ending in Milan with the death of the last mem ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

until 1470 and succeeded to the marquisate on 14 June 1478. He was, however, forced to split much of the Mantuan possessions with his brothers. Federico continued to fight as a condottiero, and during his frequent absences Mantua was administered by Eusebio Malatesta, while the local army was under his brother-in-law, Francesco Secco d'Aragona. Federico took part in numerous actions in defence of the Duchy of Milan, in particular against the aggressive

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

. During one of these wars Francesco Secco occupied

Asola Asola may refer to the following : Places and jurisdictions * Asola, Lombardy, in the province of Mantua, northwestern Italy ** its collegiate cathedral Sant'Andrea was the 'see' of a single-parish Abbey nullius of Asola (1509-1818) * Asola (D ...

and other Venetian territories. Later, after the peace,

Ludovico Sforza Ludovico Maria Sforza (; 27 July 1452 – 27 May 1508), also known as Ludovico il Moro (; "the Moor"). "Arbiter of Italy", according to the expression used by Guicciardini,

of Milan asked for the return of

to Milan, to which Frederick had to acquiesce. Federico died in Mantua at the age of 43, and was buried in the church of

Sant'Andrea Sant'Andrea is the Italian language, Italian name for List of saints named Andrew, St. Andrew, most commonly Andrew the Apostle. It may refer to: Communes in Italy *Castronuovo di Sant'Andrea, Basilicata *Cazzano Sant'Andrea, Lombardy *Mazzarrà ...

Family

In 1463 Federico married

Margaret of Bavaria Margaret of Bavaria (1363 – 23 January 1424, Dijon) was Duchess of Burgundy by marriage to John the Fearless. She was the regent of the Burgundian Low Countries during the absence of her spouse in 1404–1419 and the regent in French Burgundy d ...

, daughter of

Albert III, Duke of Bavaria Albert III the Pious of Bavaria-Munich (; 27 March 1401 – 29 February 1460), since 1438 Duke of Bavaria-Munich. He was born in Wolfratshausen to Ernest, Duke of Bavaria and Elisabetta Visconti, daughter of Bernabò Visconti. Life Albert was ...

and Anna, Duchess of Brunswick-Grubenhagen; and sister of

John IV, Duke of Bavaria John IV. of Bavaria-Munich (German: Johann IV., Herzog von Bayern), (4 October 1437, in Munich – 18 November 1463, in Munich) was duke of Bavaria-Munich from 1460 until his death. Biography John IV was a son of Albert III, Duke of Bavaria ...

. They had the following issue: *

Clara Clara may refer to: Organizations * CLARA, Latin American academic computer network organization * Clara.Net, a European ISP * Consolidated Land and Rail Australia, a property development consortium People * Clara (given name), a feminine giv ...

(1464–1503) married in 1482 to

Gilbert Gilbert may refer to: People and fictional characters * Gilbert (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Gilbert (surname), including a list of people Places Australia * Gilbert River (Queensland) * Gilbert River (South ...

of Bourbon-Montpensier Duke of Sessa *

Francesco II Francesco II may refer to: * Francesco II Ordelaffi (1300–1386) * Francesco II of Lesbos (c. 1365 – 1403/1404) * Francesco II Acciaioli (died 1460), last Duke of Athens * Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua (1466–1519), ruler of the Ita ...

(1466–1519), Marquess of Mantua; married in 1490 to

Isabella d'Este Isabella d'Este (19 May 1474 – 13 February 1539) was Marchioness of Mantua and one of the leading women of the Italian Renaissance as a major cultural and political figure. She was a patron of the arts as well as a leader of fashion, whos ...

granddaughter of King

Ferdinand I of Naples Ferdinando Trastámara d'Aragona, of the Naples branch, universally known as Ferrante and also called by his contemporaries Don Ferrando and Don Ferrante (2 June 1424, in Valencia – 25 January 1494, in Kingdom of Naples, Naples), was the only so ...

Sigismondo ''Sigismondo'' is an operatic 'dramma' in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Maria Foppa. The opera was not a success and Rossini later re-used some of its music in ''Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra'', ''The Barber ...

(1469–1525) * Elisabetta (1471–1526) married in 1489 to

Guidobaldo da Montefeltro Guidobaldo (Guido Ubaldo) da Montefeltro (25 January 1472 – 10 April 1508), also known as Guidobaldo I, was an Italian condottiero and the Duke of Urbino from 1482 to 1508. Biography Born in Gubbio, he succeeded his father Federico da Montefel ...

Duke of Urbino * Maddelena (1472–1490) married in 1489 to

Giovanni Sforza Giovanni Sforza d'Aragona (5 July 1466 – 27 July 1510) was an Italian condottiero, lord of Pesaro and Gradara from 1483 until his death. He is best known as the first husband of Lucrezia Borgia. Their marriage was annulled on claims of his impo ...

Lord of Pesaro and Gradara *

Giovanni Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...

(1474–1525) married in 1493 Laura Bentivoglio (d. 1523) and had issue. His descendants, the Marquises of Vescovato, have been the senior line of the House of Gonzaga since the 18th century.

Ancestry

References

Sources

* * * * *

External links

Biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzaga, Federico 1 Federico 1 Federico 1 15th-century condottieri Military leaders of the Italian Wars 1441 births 1484 deaths