Vincenzo Gonzaga (1634 – 28 April 1714) was the reigning

Duke of Guastalla This is a list of rulers of Guastalla, a town in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, on the right bank of the Po River. The County of Guastalla was established in 1406 for the Torelli family. In 1456, the county was partitioned, with county of Montechiarugolo ...

and by birth member of the

House of Gonzaga The House of Gonzaga (, ) is an Italian princely family that ruled Mantua in Lombardy, northern Italy from 1328 to 1708 (first as a captaincy-general, then Margraviate of Mantua, margraviate, and finally Duchy of Mantua, duchy). They also ruled M ...

Early life

Vincenzo was born as the second son of Andrea Gonzaga, Count of San Paolo (d. 1686) and his wife, Laura Crispano dei marchesi di Fusara. He was also paternal grandson of

Ferrante II Gonzaga, Duke of Guastalla Ferrante II Gonzaga (1563 – 6 August 1630) was count and, from 1621, duke of Guastalla. He was the son of Cesare I Gonzaga, count of Guastalla and duke of Amalfi, and Donna Camilla House of Borromeo, Borromeo. He succeeded his father in 1575. O ...

his wife, Donna Vittoria Doria, daughter of

Giovanni Andrea Doria Giovanni Andrea Doria (1539 – 1606), also known as Gianandrea Doria, was an Italian admiral from Genoa, the Marquis of Tursi and Prince of Melfi. Biography Doria was born to a noble family of the Republic of Genoa. He was the son of Giann ...

, 8th

Prince of Melfi A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The fe ...

Heir of the Duchy of Guastalla

When Duke Ferrante III of Guastalla died in 1678 without a male heir, Guastalla was ruled by Ferdinando Carlo, Duke of Mantua, who had married Princess

Anna Isabella Gonzaga Anna Isabella Gonzaga (12 February 1655 – 11 August 1703) was a Duchess consort of Mantua and Montferrat and heiress of the Duchy of Guastalla, including Luzzara and Reggiolo; she married in 1671 to Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and M ...

, Duke Ferrante III's oldest daughter. In 1692, the reigning Duke of Guastalla was accused of felony, and

Emperor Leopold I Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; ; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia, and List of Bohemian monarchs, Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Rom ...

gave Guastalla and its territories to Vincenzo Gonzaga, who became the new

Marriages and issue

Vincenzo married firstly to Donna Porzia Guidi di Bagno (d. 1672), who was also his first cousin as daughter of Nicola

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 ...

of Bagno and Montebello by his aunt, Princess Teodora Gonzaga of Guastalla. After the death of his first wife, Vincenzo married to another relative, Princess Maria Vittoria Gonzaga di Guastalla (1659–1707), the youngest daughter of his cousin, Duke Ferrante III Gonzaga of Guastalla (1618-1678) and his wife, Princess Margherita d’Este of

Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

(1619-1692). The marriage was supported by Spain and was arranged as an effort to depose

Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga (31 August 1652 – 5 July 1708) was the only child of Duke Charles II of Mantua and Montferrat, and the last ruler of the Duchy of Mantua of the House of Gonzaga. Biography Born in Revere, In 1665 Ferdinand Charles rec ...

,the husband of his wife's sister Anna Isabella. Ferdinando Carlo had with the support of emperor Leopold taken control over Mantua after Maria Vittoria's father's death. Through Vincenzos being a close relative of Ferrante and through his marriage to an heir Maria Vittoria , her new husband would have a stronger claim on Mantua and Spain would gain an important ally once Vincenzo became the new duke of Mantua. The couple were married in September, 1679 and Vincenzo proclaimed himself

. Mantua protested, after which Spain intervened and threatened Mantua. In 1691, Spain attacked Mantua, and Ferdinando Carlo fled to Venice with his ministers. Mantua defended itself against Spain and Vincenzo was forced to give up his claim. Maria Vittoria had been rejected as a bride for the widowed emperor Leopold I, because she was thought to be "delicate" to be able give birth to any children. Nevertheless Vincenzo and Maria Vittoria would go on to have three children.

Issue

* Eleonora Luisa Gonzaga (1686–1742), married in 1709

Francesco Maria de' Medici Francesco Maria de' Medici (12 November 1660 – 3 February 1711) was a member of the House of Medici. He was successively a Governor of Siena, cardinal and later the heir of the duchy of Montefeltro by right of his mother. Biography Medici ...

* Antonio Ferrante Gonzaga (1687–1729), next Duke of Guastalla from 1704, married 1) Margherita

Cesarini Cesarini is an Italian surname and the name of an Italian noble family. Notable people mostly include members of the noble Cesarini family, who held various ecclesiastical titles. Notable members *Alessandro Cesarini (died 1542), Italian cardina ...

, and 2) Princess Theodora of Hesse-Darmstadt * Giuseppe Gonzaga (1690–1746), next Duke of Guastalla from 1729, married Princess Eleonore von

Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Wiesenburg 240px , Wiesenburg Castle in Saxony gave its name to this branch of the ducal family The House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Wiesenburg was one of the many cadet branches of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg, itself a junior line of t ...

. Vincenzo Gonzaga inherited in 1707

Bozzolo Bozzolo ( Mantovano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Mantua in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan and about southwest of Mantua. Bozzolo borders the following municipalities: Acquanegra sul Chiese, ...

and

Pomponesco Pomponesco ( Casalasco-Viadanese: ) is a ''comune'' in the Italian Province of Mantua. As of 2007, the estimated population of Pomponesco was 1,770. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). The experiment ...

, and in 1710

Sabbioneta Sabbioneta () is a town and in the province of Mantua, Lombardy region, Northern Italy. It is situated about north of Parma, not far from the northern bank of the Po River. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages o ...

Relatives

*His uncle was also called

Vincenzo Vincenzo is an Italian male given name, derived from the Latin name Vincentius (the verb ''vincere'' means to win or to conquer). Notable people with the name include: Art * Vincenzo Amato (born 1966), Italian actor and sculptor * Vincenzo Bel ...

(1602–1694) and was

Viceroy of Valencia This is a list of viceroys of the Kingdom of Valencia from 1520 to 1707. *1520 : Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, 1st Count of Melito *1523 : Germaine of Foix and Johann of Brandenburg-Ansbach *1526 : Germaine of Foix and Ferdinand of Aragon, Duque ...

in 1663,

Viceroy of Catalonia This is a list of Spanish viceroys (also called lieutenants) of the Principality of Catalonia from 1479 to 1713. *1479–1493: Enrique de Aragón *1493–1495: Juan de Lanuza y Garabito *1495–1496: Juan Fernández de Heredia *14 ...

between 1664 and 1667 and

Viceroy of Sicily A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

in 1678. *His cousin, Vespasiano-Vincenzo (1621–1687) was

in 1669.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzaga, Vincenzo Duke Of Guastalla 1634 births 1714 deaths Vincenzo, Guastalla

17th-century Italian nobility 18th-century Italian nobility Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria