Duchy of Mantua
Duchy of Mantua Ducato di Mantova ( Latin ) | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1530–1786 1791–1797 | |||||||||
Federico II Gonzaga (first) | |||||||||
• 1665–1708 | Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga | ||||||||
• 1708–1797 | Austrian Habsburgs (last) | ||||||||
Historical era | Margraviate of Mantua is raised to Duchy | 8 April 1530 | |||||||
25 December 1627 | |||||||||
1628–1631 | |||||||||
• Annexed to the Duchy of Milan | 26 September 1786 | ||||||||
• Restored | 24 January 1791 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 1797 | ||||||||
Currency | Monetazione di Mantova | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Today part of | Italy |
The Duchy of Mantua (Italian: Ducato di Mantova; Lombard: Ducaa de 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.[1] The following year, the Duchy also acquired the March of Montferrat, thanks to the marriage between Gonzaga and Margaret Paleologa, Marchioness of Montferrat.[2]
The Duchy's historic power and influence under the
In 1708, after the death of Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga, the last heir of the Gonzaga family, the Duchy ceased its existence. Their domains were divided between the House of Savoy, that obtained the remaining half of Montferrat, and the House of Habsburg, that obtained the city of Mantua itself.[4]
History
Background
After the fall of the
During the Investiture Controversy, Pinamonte Bonacolsi took advantage of the chaotic situation to seize power, as Captain General of the People, in 1273. His family, the Bonacolsi, ruled Mantua for the next century, making it more prosperous and artistically beautiful.[5]
On 16 August 1328, the last Bonacolsi, Rinaldo, was overthrown in a revolt backed by the House of Gonzaga, a family of officials, namely the 60-year-old Ludovico and his sons Guido, Filippino and Feltrino. Ludovico, who had been podestà of the city in 1318, was elected capitano del popolo ("people's captain"). The Gonzaga built new walls with five gates and renovated the architecture of the city in the 14th century, but the political situation in the city did not settle until Ludovico II eliminated his relatives, seizing power for himself in 1370.[6]
Through a payment of 120,000 golden
The Duchy
The first Duke of Mantua was
In 1624, Ferdinando Gonzaga moved the ducal seat to a new residence, the Villa La Favorita, designed by the architect Nicolò Sebregond, in Porto Mantovano.[9]
As many as eight hundred persons, including writers, artists, musicians, and even a troop of commedia dell'arte actors, enjoyed Gonzaga patronage in the early seventeenth century. In that time, the Gonzagas were patrons of the Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens. The duchy also played a key role in the development of opera; Claudio Monteverdi lived there from about 1590 to 1612, and his Orfeo (1607) and other works were first presented there.[3]
In 1625 Ferdinando Gonzaga founded the University of Mantua, where Jesuits taught humanities and philosophy, while laymen taught law and medicine. However, in order to pay for their splendid court, the Gonzaga family sold some of its assets, in 1627 Vincenzo Gonzaga sold the family collection of Renaissance paintings, including works of Titian, Andrea Mantegna, Correggio and Raphael to Charles I of England.[3]
In 1627, the direct line of the Gonzaga family came to an end with the vicious and weak
Mantua was briefly united with the
See also
- Duke of Mantua
References
- ^ "Il marchesato, poi ducato di Mantova (sec. XIV - 1530; 1530 - 1786) – Istituzioni storiche – Lombardia Beni Culturali". lombardiabeniculturali.it. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ^ Murgia, Adelaide. I Gonzaga. Mondadori. p. 67.
- ^ a b c "Mantua | Encyclopedia.com". encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
- ^ Fochessati, Giuseppe. I Gonzaga di Mantova e l'ultimo duca (in Italian). Ceschina. p. 300.
- ^ "Bonacòlsi, Pinamonte nell 'Enciclopedia Treccani'". www.treccani.it (in Italian). Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- ^ "Gonzaga, Ludovico in 'Dizionario Biografico'". www.treccani.it (in Italian). Retrieved 23 February 2023.
- ^ "Màntova, Dièta di- su Enciclopedia". www.sapere.it (in Italian). Retrieved 23 February 2023.
- ^ "Federico II Gonzaga, duca di Mantova e marchese del Monferrato in 'Dizionario Biografico'". www.treccani.it (in Italian). Retrieved 23 February 2023.
- ^ "Ferdinando Gonzaga, duca di Mantova e dei Monferrato in 'Dizionario Biografico'". www.treccani.it (in Italian). Retrieved 23 February 2023.
- ^ "Gonzaga Nevers". www.fermimn.edu.it. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
- ^ "1707, addio Gonzaga". Gazzetta di Mantova (in Italian). 27 February 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
External links
- (in English) "The House of Gonzaga, heirs to the sovereign marquessate of Mantua"
- (in Italian) I Gonzaga di Mantova