Federico II, Duke Of Mantua
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Federico II of Gonzaga (17 May 1500 – 28 August 1540) was the ruler of the Italian city of
Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...
(first as
Marquis A marquess (; ) 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 with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wido ...
, later as
Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
) from 1519 until his death. He was also
Marquis of Montferrat The marquises and dukes of Montferrat were the rulers of a territory in Piedmont south of the Po River, Po and east of Turin. The March of Montferrat was created by Berengar II of Italy in 950 during a redistribution of power in the northwest o ...
from 1536.


Biography

Federico was son of
Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua Francesco II Gonzaga (10 August 1466 – ) was the ruler of the Italian city of Mantua from 1484 until his death. Biography Francesco was born in Mantua, the son of Marquis Federico I Gonzaga. Francesco had a career as a condottiero acting as V ...
and Isabella d'Este. Due to the turbulent politics of the time, from the age of ten, he spent three years as a hostage in Rome under
Pope Julius II Pope Julius II (; ; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death, in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope, the Battle Pope or the Fearsome ...
. From 1515 to 1517, Federico was the hostage of King
Francis I of France Francis I (; ; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once removed and father-in-law Louis&nbs ...
, to ensure Gonzaga assistance in Italy. On 3 April 1519, Federico succeeded his father as Marquis of
Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...
, initially under the regency of his mother and his uncles Sigismondo and Giovanni Gonzaga. He received the imperial investiture from emperor
Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...
on 7 April 1521. Pope
Leo X Pope Leo X (; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political and banking Me ...
named him
Captain General of the Church The captain general of the Church () was the ''de facto'' commander-in-chief of the Papal States' armed forces (generally, the Papal Army and the Papal Navy) from the Middle Ages into the early modern period. The post was usually conferred on ...
(commander in chief of the Papal Army) in July 1521, and he fought against the French at Parma in 1521 and at Piacenza in 1522. Federico signed a marriage contract with the heir to the Marquisate of Monteferrat, Maria Palaeologina, with the aim of acquiring that land. In 1528, however, in exchange for two prisoners, Pope Clement VII voided the marriage contract. Federico then signed another marriage contract with Charles V's third cousin, Julia of Aragon. In lieu of this move, in 1530 he was granted the ducal title, whereby their dynasty became Dukes of Mantua. However, when Boniface, Marquis of Montferrat, died from a fall from a horse on 25 March of that year, Federico paid 50,000 ducats to Charles in exchange for the annulment of the contract, and pushed the pope for the restoration of his earlier marriage agreement. When Maria also died, he was able to marry her sister
Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...
on 3 October 1531. At the death of the last legitimate male heir of the
Palaiologos The House of Palaiologos ( Palaiologoi; , ; female version Palaiologina; ), also found in English-language literature as Palaeologus or Palaeologue, was a Byzantine Greeks, Byzantine Greek Nobility, noble family that rose to power and produced th ...
family, Giovanni Giorgio (1533), the marquisate of Montferrat passed to the Gonzaga, who held it until the 18th century. Like his parents, he was a patron of the arts; he commissioned the Palazzo Te, designed and decorated by
Giulio Romano Giulio Pippi ( – 1 November 1546), known as Giulio Romano and Jules Romain ( , ; ), was an Italian Renaissance painter and architect. He was a pupil of Raphael, and his stylistic deviations from High Renaissance classicism help define the ...
, as his summer palace just outside Mantua. Romano spent 16 years as court artist under Federico's patronage. He also bought and commissioned several paintings from
Titian Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno. Ti ...
, and had his portrait painted by both Titian and
Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...
. Federico suffered long from
syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms depend on the stage it presents: primary, secondary, latent syphilis, latent or tertiary. The prim ...
, like his father. He died on 28 June 1540 at his villa at Marmirolo. His son
Francesco Francesco, the Italian language, Italian (and original) version of the personal name "Francis (given name), Francis", is one of the List of most popular given names, most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name inclu ...
briefly held the title of 2nd Duke of Mantua before dying in his teens; the second son, Gugliemo, became 3rd Duke of Mantua as well as Duke of Montferrat and carried on the line.


Family and issue

Federico and Margaret were parents to seven children: *Eleonora Gonzaga. *Anna Gonzaga. * Francesco III Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua (10 March 1533 - 22 February 1550) *Isabella Gonzaga, married Francesco Ferdinando d'Ávalos * Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua (24 April 1538 - 14 August 1587), married Archduchess Eleanor of Austria * Louis Gonzaga, Duke of Nevers (22 October 1539 - 23 October 1595). Father of Charles I, Duke of Mantua * Cardinal Federico Gonzaga (1540 - 21 February 1565).


Ancestry


See also

* Sack of Rome *
Italian Wars The Italian Wars were a series of conflicts fought between 1494 and 1559, mostly in the Italian Peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and Mediterranean Sea. The primary belligerents were the House of Valois, Valois kings o ...


References


Sources

* * * * * *


External links


Biography
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzaga, Federico 02 of 1500 births 1540 deaths Federico 2 Federico 2 Federico 2 Federico 2 of 16th-century Italian nobility Burials at the Palatine Basilica of Santa Barbara (Mantua) Captains General of the Church Jure uxoris officeholders