Francesco Gonzaga (1444–1483)

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Portrait of Francesco Gonzaga by Andrea Mantegna, c. 1461.

Francesco Gonzaga (15 March 1444,

Sixtus IV
.

Background

Born in Mantua on 15 March 1444, Francesco Gonzaga was the second son of

Barbara of Brandenburg.[2] His mother was the daughter of John, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach and Barbara von Sachsen-Wittenberg,[2] and the niece of Emperor Sigismund of the Holy Roman Empire. His first education was in the "Ca' Giocosa" under Iacopo da San Cassiano, Ognibene da Lonigo, and Bartolomeo Platina
.

After completing his studies at

prothonotary apostolic in February 1454 and later of the Procurator of the Church for Mantua. Although he had chosen an ecclesiastical career, he led a mostly secular life. In 1477, when he had already been a Cardinal for eleven years, a certain Barbara[3]
bore him an illegitimate son, Francesco ( † 1511 ), nicknamed "il Cardinalino [ The Little Cardinal ]".

The Cardinal

Under Pope Pius II

At the request of his cousin,

consecration as a cardinal, was recorded in the frescoes of Andrea Mantegna's Camera degli Sposi ( Italian, "Chamber of the Bride" ). Francesco was the first of the ten members of the House of Gonzaga to be given the red biretta of the cardinal and he was assigned to Santa Maria Nuova,[5] a church near the Via Sacra in Rome
.

Under Pope Paul II

Appointed as the 39th

St. Peter by the new Pope.[6]

Two years later, on 18 July 1466, the Bishop of Mantua, Galeazzo Cavriani, died and Francesco was appointed a month later, on 20 August, to succeed him. His great grandfather's first cousin, Sagramoso Gonzaga ( 1360 – 1405 ), had been the Bishop of Mantua for four years ( 1386 – 1390 ). But Francesco's own title was the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Mantua. He would keep it until his death[7] but he was never raised to the rank of Bishop. He would be succeeded by five consecutive members of his family. The first two were Apostolic Administrators but the third, Ercole Cardinal Gonzaga, Francesco's grandnephew, was the first to be Bishop.[7]

Francesco participated in the secret

Emilia
on 21 July.

Under Pope Sixtus IV

Portrait of Francesco Cardinal Gonzaga from the Camera degli Sposi, a fresco by Andrea Mantegna.

Francesco then returned to Rome on 4 August of that year to participate in the

Louis XI, and the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold
.

In the spring of 1472, Francesco was appointed as the Apostolic Administrator of the Metropolitan See of

deaconry
of Sant'Agata dei Goti, a church on Via Mazzarino in Rome.

Francesco fled from Rome on 10 June 1476 because of the outbreak of the plague at the Papal Court. A month later, on 18 July, the Bishop of Bologna, Filippo Calandrini, died. He was replaced eight days later, on 26 July, by the Cardinal of Mantua as the Apostolic Administrator[8] but, in March 1477, he was still in Rome. He did not go to Bologna for the actual possession until 18 July 1478, two years late. On 20 March 1479, anti-Papal riots erupted in Bologna but Gonzaga was able to restore order. However, he was never made the Bishop of Bologna; that title went after his death to Giuliano Cardinal della Rovere, the future Pope Julius II.[8]

Francesco had already resigned his office of the

Blessed Virgin Mary
.

The Church of San Francesco in Mantua, the burial place of Cardinal Gonzaga.

From 1479 to 1480 Francesco hosted Angelo Poliziano at his court in Mantua, where the scholar poet wrote the Fabula of Orpheus ( Italian: Fabula di Orfeo ). Like other members of the family,[9] Francesco collected antiquities, including pieces of the treasures that belonged to Pope Paul II, himself a collector of gems.[10]

Besides painting Francesco in the Camera deli Sposi, Andrea Mantegna also did the

National Museum of Capodimonte ( Italian: Museo di Capodimonte ) in Naples
, Italy.

Death

He died from intoxication on 21 October 1483 at the Palazzo della Signoria in Bologna. In the original document attesting to his death, it was stated that the cause of death was per disordini; percioché bevendo l'acqua della Porretta non servò la guardia conveniente [ Of disorders; because drinking the water of the Porretta, he did not observe the necessary care ].[11] His body was transported to Mantua and buried in the family mausoleum at the Church of San Francesco. The funeral oration was delivered by Giovanni Lucido Cataneo.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ Lazzarini, "GONZAGA, Francesco", Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani.
  2. ^ a b Antenhofer 2001, p. 58.
  3. ^ Mantovani, Il castello di Castel d'Ario, no page given.
  4. ^ (in English) "Francesco Cardinal Gonzaga †", Catholic Hierarchy, retrieved 21 January 2014.
  5. ^ The titular church of Santa Maria Nuova was suppressed on 18 August 1661 by Pope Alexander VII, who replaced it with the new Church of Santa Maria della Scala.
  6. ^ (in English) "Diocese of Bolzano-Bressanone { Bozen-Brixen }", Catholic Hierarchy, retrieved 21 January 2014.
  7. ^ a b (in English) "Diocese of Mantova", Catholic Hierarchy, retrieved 21 January 2014.
  8. ^ a b (in English) "Diocese of Bologna", Catholic Hierarchy, retrieved 21 January 2014. The Diocese of Bologna did not become the Archdiocese of Bologna until 1582.
  9. ^ (in Italian) Francesco Rapaccioni, "Il Cammeo Gonzaga. Arti preziose alla corte di Mantova [ The Gonzaga Room. Precious Arts at the Court of Mantua ]", posted 31 October 2008, Teatro.org : Le Rubriche : Mostre Arte [ Theater.org : Categories : Art Exhibitions ], retrieved 21 January 2014.
  10. ^ (in Italian) "Il Cammeo Gonzaga. Arti preziose alla corte di Mantova", press release archived online, retrieved 21 January 2014.
  11. ^ The sulphurous waters of Porretta Terme produces an important healing effect for skin problems, from which the Cardinal probably suffered, but they must be taken with caution because of the minerals contained in the waters.
  12. ^ This Giovanni Lucido Cataneo ( 1462 – 1505 ), the archdeacon and ambassador from Mantua at the Papal Court, should not be confused with the later Giovanni Lucido Cataneo ( 1613 – 1685 ), the 46th Bishop of Mantua ( 1673 – 1685 ).

Bibliography

  • Antenhofer, Christina (2001). "From Local Signori to European High Nobility: The Gonzaga Family Networks in the Fifteenth Century". In Johnson, Christopher H.; Sabean, David Warren; Teuscher, Simon; Trivellato, Francesca (eds.). Transregional and Transnational Families in Europe and Beyond: Experiences. Berghahn books.
  • (in Italian) Isabella Lazzarini, "GONZAGA, Francesco", Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani [ Biographical Dictionary of the Italians ] – Volume 57 ( 2002 )
  • (in Italian) Gabriella Mantovani, Il castello di Castel d'Ario ( Mantua : Sometti, 2012 ),
    ISBN 9788874954377
  • (in German) Charlotte Zweynert, Ausgleichende Verfügungen, verbindende Gegenstände, konkurrierende Interessen. Das Testament des zweitgeborenen Francesco Gonzaga aus dem Jahr 1483, in: Christine Fertig, Margareth Lanzinger (Hg.), Beziehungen, Vernetzungen, Konflikte. Perspektiven Historischer Verwandtschaftsforschung, Köln, Weimar, Wien 2016, S. 37–65.

External links
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