Justus Sustermans - Portrait of Vincenzo II Gonzaga - WGA21973

Vincenzo II Gonzaga (7 January 1594 – 25 December 1627) was

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 ...

and

Duke of Montferrat The Marquises and Dukes of Montferrat were the rulers of a territory in Piedmont south of the Po and east of Turin called Montferrat. The March of Montferrat was created by Berengar II of Italy in 950 during a redistribution of power in the no ...

from 1626 until his death. Vincenzo was the son of Duke Vincent I and

Eleonora de' Medici Eleanor de' Medici (28 February 1567 – 9 September 1611) was a Duchess of Mantua by marriage to Vincenzo I Gonzaga. She served as regent of Mantua 1595, 1597 and 1601, when Vincenzo served in the Austrian campaign in Hungary, and in 1602, whe ...

and inherited the duchy upon the death of his elder brother

Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...

, receiving the imperial investiture on 8 February 1627. He had also received a

cardinalate The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are appoi ...

upon Ferdinando's succession, but had dismissed it in 1616 in order to marry his relative Isabella Gonzaga, daughter of

Alfonso Gonzaga Alfonso Gonzaga (died 1649) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Titular Archbishop of ''Rhodus'' (1621–1649). ''(in Latin)''Count of Novellara Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

. Conscious of his poor health, the childless Vincenzo set up an inheritance for his lands through the marriage of his niece

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial *170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 *Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...

(daughter of the former Duke Francis IV) with Charles of Nevers' son

Charles of Gonzaga-Nevers Charles II Gonzaga (22 October 1609 – 30 August 1631) was the son of Charles I, Duke of Mantua, and Catherine de Lorraine-Guise-Mayen, Catherine de Lorraine-Guise (also known as Catherine de Mayenne). He was the Duke of Nevers and Rethel, togethe ...

. The elder Charles was a cousin of his father. Vincenzo died on the marriage day of Mary and Charles.

Family

Vincenzo II Gonzaga had no legitimate offspring from the wife, but he recognized four natural sons.Albero genealogico dei Gonzaga
/ref> By Paola Scarpelli: * Federico Gonzaga (1619–1630), Abbot of Lucledio. *Tiberio Silvio Gonzaga (1620 – 3 July 1630), Knight of the

Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

and Balì of Armenia. By Luigia "the Spanish": *Luigi Gonzaga (+1627), Infante. *Giovanni Gonzaga (+Malta 1645), Abbot of Lucledio, and Knight of the

Honours

Grand Master of the Order of the Redeemer

Ancestry

References

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzaga, Vincenzo 2 1594 births 1627 deaths Vincenzo 2 Vincenzo 2 Vincenzo 2 17th-century Italian cardinals 17th-century Italian nobility Resigned cardinals People from Gazzuolo