The Council of Mantua of 1459, or Congress of Mantua, was a religious meeting convoked by

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 ...

, who had been elected to the Papacy in the previous year and was engaged in planning war against the Ottoman Turks, who had taken

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

in 1453. His call went out to the rulers of Europe, in an agonized plea to turn from internecine warfare to face Christendom's common enemy.

Process of the Council of 1459

Pius entered Mantua on 27 May; his long progress to the place of assembly resembled a triumphal procession. He opened the council on 1 June and waited in

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...

as the guest of

Ludovico III Gonzaga Ludovico III Gonzaga of Mantua, also spelled Lodovico (also Ludovico II; 5 June 1412 – 12 June 1478) was the ruler of the Italian city of Mantua from 1444 to his death in 1478. Biography Ludovico was the son of Gianfrancesco I Gonzaga and ...

until September for the various representatives to assemble. On 26 September he called for a new crusade against the Ottomans. The refugee Cardinal

Bessarion Bessarion ( el, Βησσαρίων; 2 January 1403 – 18 November 1472) was a Byzantine Greek Renaissance humanist, theologian, Catholic cardinal and one of the famed Greek scholars who contributed to the so-called great revival of letters ...

and Cardinal Juan de Torquemada were in attendance. The

Duke of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy (french: duc de Bourgogne) was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by France in 1477, and later by Holy Roman Emperors and Kings of Spain from the House of Habsburg ...

was represented at the Council by the duke of Clèves, who brought in his train the young Burgundian cleric

Ferry de Clugny Ferry de Clugny, Cardinal and Bishop of Tournai (Autun ca. 1430 – Rome 7 October 1483) was a highly placed statesman and ecclesiastic in the service of the Dukes of Burgundy. He was born at Autun, Burgundy, of a distinguished house that produ ...

. The humanist

Isotta Nogarola Isotta Nogarola (1418–1466) was an Italian writer and intellectual who is said to be the first major female humanist and one of the most important humanists of the Italian Renaissance. She inspired generations of artists and writers, among them ...

wrote and dispatched to Pope Pius an oration favoring a crusade.

Criticism and effects

Not all the leaders of the Church were in favor of a Crusade. The Venetian Cardinal

Ludovico Trevisan Ludovico Trevisan (November 1401 – March 22, 1465) was an Italian catholic prelate, who was the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, Patriarch of Aquileia and Captain General of the Church. He succeeded his rival Giovanni Vitelleschi, a fellow ...

, patriarch of Aquileia, met Pius in Siena, 16 March, and followed the pope to Mantua, although he opposed the aims of the Council. By the time the Council was disbanded in January 1460, an ineffectual call for a new crusade against the Infidel had been decided upon, and proclaimed by Pius on 14 January. One of the only European rulers to fully endorse the Crusade was

Vlad III Vlad III, commonly known as Vlad the Impaler ( ro, Vlad Țepeș ) or Vlad Dracula (; ro, Vlad Drăculea ; 1428/311476/77), was Voivode of Wallachia three times between 1448 and his death in 1476/77. He is often considered one of the most im ...

, though he was too preoccupied defending his native

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...

to contribute troops. The paper crusade was to last for three years and was to prove ineffectual. Pius would die in

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...

, making one last effort to launch this campaign by his own example. Historians of the

Tarot The tarot (, first known as '' trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a pack of playing cards, used from at least the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play card games such as Tarocchini. From their Italian roots ...

like Heinrich Brockhaus have asserted that the so-called Tarocchi di Mantegna were devised and made during the sitting of this council.

Artistic legacy

The painter Mantegna had been invited to Mantua by Ludovico in 1457; although remaining in

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

, he painted the ''Agony in the Garden'' that is in the National Gallery, London, for its

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 ...

; in Mantegna's picture, the disciples sleep in Gethsemane, while Jerusalem is envisaged as

, with the rising crescent moon signifying its capture by the Turk.J. H. Whitfield, "Mantegna and Constantinople" ''The Burlington Magazine'' 119 No. 886 (January 1977), p. 41. Long after the pope's death, the artist

Pinturicchio Pinturicchio, or Pintoricchio (, ; born Bernardino di Betto; 1454–1513), also known as Benetto di Biagio or Sordicchio, was an Italian painter during the Renaissance. He acquired his nickname (meaning "little painter") because of his sma ...

painted the convocation of the council among the scene's from Pius' life on the walls of the

Piccolomini Library Siena Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Siena) is a medieval church in Siena, Italy, dedicated from its earliest days as a Roman Catholic Marian church, and now dedicated to the Assumption of Mary. It was the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Siena, and ...

Siena Cathedral Siena Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Siena) is a medieval church in Siena, Italy, dedicated from its earliest days as a Roman Catholic Marian church, and now dedicated to the Assumption of Mary. It was the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Siena, and ...

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Council Of Mantua (1459) 1459 in Europe 15th century in Italy 15th-century crusades 1459 History of Mantua