Vincenzo Ι Gonzaga (21 September 1562 – 9 February 1612) was ruler of 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 ...
and the
Duchy of Montferrat
The Duchy of Montferrat was a state located in Northern Italy. It was created out of what was left of the medieval March of Montferrat after the last Palaeologus heir had died (1533) and the margraviate had been briefly controlled by the Emperor C ...
from 1587 to 1612.
Biography
Vincenzo was the only son of
Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua
Guglielmo Gonzaga (24 April 1538 – 14 August 1587) was Duke of Mantua from 1550 to 1587, and of Montferrat from 1574 to 1587. He was the second son of Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Margaret Palaeologina of Montferrat. In 1574, Montfe ...
, and
Archduchess Eleanor of Austria
Archduchess Eleanor of Austria (2 November 1534 – 5 August 1594) was Duchess of Mantua by marriage to William I, Duke of Mantua. She was the daughter of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary.
Life
Eleanor was the e ...
. His maternal grandparents were
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand I ( es, Fernando I; 10 March 1503 – 25 July 1564) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1556, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, Hungary, and List of rulers of Croatia, Croatia from 1526, and Archduke of Austria from 1521 until his death in 1 ...
, and
Anna of Bohemia and Hungary
Anna of Bohemia and Hungary (23 July 1503 – 27 January 1547), sometimes known as Anna Jagellonica, was Queen of Germany, Bohemia, and Hungary and Archduchess of Austria as the wife of King Ferdinand I (later Holy Roman Emperor).
Ea ...
.
In 1582, Vincenzo murdered in cold blood the brilliant young Scottish polymath
James Crichton
James Crichton, known as the Admirable Crichton (19 August 1560 – 3 July 1582), was a Scottish polymath noted for his extraordinary accomplishments in languages, the arts, and sciences before he was murdered at the age of 21.
Ear ...
, an employee of his father's court, of whom Vincenzo had become crazed with jealousy.
Vincenzo was a major patron of the arts and sciences, and turned
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 ...
into a vibrant cultural center. On 22 September 1587, Vincent was crowned the fourth Duke of Mantua, with a glitzy ceremony in which were present the highest authority of the duchy to pay homage to the new Duke of Mantua: he then moved with a ride through the city streets. Vincenzo employed the composer
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 ...
and the painter
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 ...
. In 1590 Monteverdi became a
viol
The viol (), viola da gamba (), or informally gamba, is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, and stringed instruments with hollow wooden bodies and pegboxes where the tension on the strings can be increased or decreased to adjust the pitc ...
-player and
cantor
A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds.
In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...
in the music chapel of Vincenzo; in 1602 Vincenzo appointed him ''master of music'' on the death of
Benedetto Pallavicino Benedetto Pallavicino (c. 1551 – 26 November 1601) was an Italian composer and organist of the late Renaissance. A prolific composer of madrigals, he was resident at the Gonzaga court of Mantua in the 1590s, where he was a close associate of Gia ...
. Vincenzo was also a friend of the poet
Torquato Tasso
Torquato Tasso ( , also , ; 11 March 154425 April 1595) was an Italian poet of the 16th century, known for his 1591 poem ''Gerusalemme liberata'' (Jerusalem Delivered), in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between ...
. A small book published in
Verona
Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...
in 1589 describes how a comic actor named Valerini in the service of Vincenzo imagines an ideal gallery of art, in which statues of the most important art collectors are featured rather than the work of the artists themselves. Vincenzo was described as a colossus who would dominate the entire ideal gallery, called the ''Celestial Gallery of Minerva''.
The astronomer
Giovanni Antonio Magini
Giovanni Antonio Magini (in Latin, Maginus) (13 June 1555 – 11 February 1617) was an Italian astronomer, astrologer, cartographer, and mathematician.
His Life
He was born in Padua, and completed studies in philosophy in Bologna in 1579. Hi ...
also served as tutor to Vincenzo's sons,
Francesco
Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name " Francis", is the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include:
People with the given name Francesco
* Francesco I (disambiguation), sev ...
and
Ferdinando.
Magini's life's work was the preparation of the ''Atlante geografico d'Italia'' (Geographic Atlas of Italy), printed posthumously by Magini's son in 1620. This was intended to include maps of each Italian region with exact nomenclature and historical notes. A major project, its production (begun in 1594) proved. Vincenzo, to whom the atlas is dedicated, assisted him with this project and allowed for maps of the various states of Italy to be brought to Magini.
During the winter of 1603–1604,
Galileo
Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...
visited the Mantuan court in an effort to obtain a position there, and was offered a salary, but could not agree on the terms with Vincenzo, who instead presented Galileo with a gold chain and two silver dishes.
Vincenzo's spendthrift habits are considered to have accelerated Mantua's economic and cultural decline.
At the age of 46, Vincenzo was rumored to have been impotent and he is said to have sent a secret expedition to the
New World
The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...
in order to obtain a legendary
aphrodisiac
An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases sexual desire, sexual attraction, sexual pleasure, or sexual behavior. Substances range from a variety of plants, spices, foods, and synthetic chemicals. Natural aphrodisiacs like cannabis or cocain ...
.
On 20 July 1588, Emperor
Rudolf II
Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg), Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–160 ...
granted Vincenzo the right to an escutcheon 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 ...
, surmounted by an archducal coronet. Vincenzo created the Order of the Redemptor (or of the
Most Precious Blood), approved by
Pope Paul V
Pope Paul V ( la, Paulus V; it, Paolo V) (17 September 1550 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death in January 1621. In 1611, he honored ...
, on 25 May 1608.
In 1608, to appease the continuous demands of 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 ...
, Vincenzo agreed to a political marriage between his first son and heir,
Francesco Gonzaga, and the Duke of Savoy's daughter,
Margaret of Savoy. For Vincenzo, this marriage had the political objective of warming the "cold" relations that existed between the two courts of
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 ...
and
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
.
Issue
![Elenora de Medici](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Elenora_de_Medici.jpg)
Vincenzo married
Margherita Farnese
Margherita Farnese (7 November 1567 – 13 April 1643), was an Italian noblewoman member of the House of Farnese and by marriage Hereditary Princess of Mantua during 1581–1583.
Her marriage with the heir of the Duchy of Mantua was annulled af ...
in 1581; their marriage was childless and they divorced. On 29 April 1584 he married his first cousin
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 ...
, the daughter of
Francesco I de' Medici
Francesco I (25 March 1541 – 19 October 1587) was the second Grand Duke of Tuscany, ruling from 1574 until his death in 1587. He was a member of the House of Medici.
Biography
Born in Florence, Francesco was the son of Cosimo I de' Medic ...
and
Joanna of Austria.
Vincenzo and Eleonora's marriage produced six children. They were:
*Francesco (7 May 1586 – 22 December 1612), who ruled as
Francesco IV Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua
Francesco IV Gonzaga (7 May 1586 – 22 December 1612), was Duke of Mantua and (as Francesco II) Duke of Montferrat between 9 February and 22 December 1612.
Biography
Born in Mantua, he was the eldest son of Duke Vincenzo I and Eleonora de' Medic ...
, 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 n ...
between 9 February and 22 December 1612.
*Ferdinando (26 April 1587 – 29 October 1626), who ruled as
Ferdinando I Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua
Ferdinand I Gonzaga (26 April 1587 – 29 October 1626) was Duke of Mantua and Duke of Montferrat from 1612 until his death.
Biography
Born in Mantua, he was the son of Vincenzo I and Eleonora de' Medici.
He was appointed a cardinal at the a ...
, and Duke of Montferrat from 1612 until his death.
*Guglielmo Domenico (4 April 1589 – 12 May 1591), nicknamed "(Lungaspada)", Marquis of
Monferrato
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 Province of Alessandria, ...
. Died in infancy.
*
Margherita
Margherita is an Italian feminine given name. It also is a surname. As a word, in Italian it means " daisy".
Given name
As a name, it may refer to:
*Margherita Aldobrandini (1588–1646), Duchess consort of Parma
*Margherita de' Medici (1612 ...
(2 October 1591 – 7 February 1632), wife of
Henry II, Duke of Lorraine
Henry II ( French: ''Henri II''; 8 November 1563 – 31 July 1624), known as "the Good (''le Bon'')", was Duke of Lorraine from 1608 until his death. Leaving no sons, both of his daughters became Duchesses of Lorraine by marriage. He was a brother ...
*Vincenzo (7 January 1594 – 25 December 1627), ruled as
Vincenzo II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua
Vincenzo II Gonzaga (7 January 1594 – 25 December 1627) was Duke of Mantua and Duke of Montferrat from 1626 until his death.
Vincenzo was the son of Duke Vincent I and Eleonora de' Medici and inherited the duchy upon the death of his elder ...
, and Marquess of Montferrat from 1626 until his death.
*
Eleonora
Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages.
The name was introd ...
(23 September 1598 – 27 June 1655), second wife of
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II (9 July 1578 – 15 February 1637) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, Hungary, and List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia from 1619 until his death in 1637. He was the son of Charles II, Archduke of Austria, Archd ...
.
He had several illegitimate children, including:
By the noble , wife of Prospero del Carretto:
*
Francesco Gonzaga (1588-1673),
bishop of Nola in 1657
* Silvio (1592-1612), Knight of Malta, the court poet Mantovana, and Marquis
Cavriana
* Giovanni (? -1679), Minister of
Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga to
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
, where he was the 'task to prevent the riding of
Ercole Mattioli for the sale of the
Monferrato
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 Province of Alessandria, ...
to
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
of
Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Vers ...
* Eleanora, nun.
By the noble , daughter of Tullo Guerrieri:
* Francesca.
Honours
*
Grand Master of the Order of the Redeemer
*
![Order of the Golden Fleece Rib](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Order_of_the_Golden_Fleece_Rib.gif)
Knight of the
Order of the Golden Fleece
The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...
Ancestry
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
References
External links
Is Vincenzo I Gonzaga impotent?: The Medici ArchivesMuseo di Mantova: Heraldic Arms
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzaga, Vincenzo 01 of
1562 births
1612 deaths
Vincenzo 1
Vincenzo 1
Vincenzo 1
16th-century Italian nobility
17th-century Italian nobility
People of the Long Turkish War