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The Duchy of Mantua
Mantua

Mantua is a city in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the Province of Mantua of the same name.Mantua is surrounded on three sides by artificial lakes created during the 12th century....
 was a duchy
Duchy

A duchy is a territory, fiefdom, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess.Some duchies were sovereignty in areas that would become unified realms only during the Modern era ....
 in Lombardy
Lombardy

Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region....
, Northern Italy
Northern Italy

Northern Italy comprises two areas belonging to Italian NUTS level 1 regions:*North-West : Aosta Valley, Piedmont, Lombardy, Liguria;*North-East : Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto, Trentino-Alto Adige/S?dtirol, Emilia-Romagna....
, subject to the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early modern Europe under a Holy Roman Emperor....
.
r the fall of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, Mantua was invaded by Byzantines, Longobards and Franks
Franks

The Franks or Frankish people were a West Germanic ethnic group first identified in the 3rd century as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River....
. In the 11th century it became a possession of Boniface of Canossa, marquis
Marquis

Marquis is a French title of nobility. The English equivalent is Marquess, while in German, it is Markgraf.It may also refer to:Persons:...
 of Toscana. The last ruler of the family was the countess Matilde of Canossa
Matilda of Tuscany

Matilda of Canossa , called la Gran Contessa or the Great Countess, was an italy noblewoman, the principal Italian supporter of Pope Gregory VII during the Investiture Controversy....
 (died 1115), who, according to legend, ordered the construction of the precious Rotonda di San Lorenzo
Rotonda di San Lorenzo

The Rotonda di San Lorenzo is a religious building in Mantua, Lombardy .It is the most ancient church in the city, having been built during the reign of the Boniface of Canossa family in the late 11th century....
 (1082). After the death of Matilde of Canossa, Mantua became a free
Free Imperial City

In the Holy Roman Empire, a free imperial city was a city formally ruled by the emperor only — as opposed to the majority of cities in the Empire, which belonged to a List of states in the Holy Roman Empire and so were governed by one of the many princes of the Empire, such as dukes or prince-bishops....
 commune
Medieval commune

Communes in Europe during the Middle Ages were sworn allegiances of mutual defense among the citizens of a town or city. They took many forms, and varied widely in organization and makeup....
 and strenuously defended itself from the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early modern Europe under a Holy Roman Emperor....
 in the 12th and 13th centuries.

During the Investiture Controversy
Investiture Controversy

The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest was an 11th century dispute between Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor and Pope Gregory VII over who would control appointments of church officials ....
, Pinamonte Bonacolsi took advantage of the chaotic situation to seize power — as Captain General of the People — in 1273.






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What armies marched on Mantua about 1929-1930, and how was Venice involved?
Sorry, I meant: What armies marched on Mantua about 1629-1630, and how was Venice involved?








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The Duchy of Mantua
Mantua

Mantua is a city in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the Province of Mantua of the same name.Mantua is surrounded on three sides by artificial lakes created during the 12th century....
 was a duchy
Duchy

A duchy is a territory, fiefdom, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess.Some duchies were sovereignty in areas that would become unified realms only during the Modern era ....
 in Lombardy
Lombardy

Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region....
, Northern Italy
Northern Italy

Northern Italy comprises two areas belonging to Italian NUTS level 1 regions:*North-West : Aosta Valley, Piedmont, Lombardy, Liguria;*North-East : Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto, Trentino-Alto Adige/S?dtirol, Emilia-Romagna....
, subject to the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early modern Europe under a Holy Roman Emperor....
.

History

After the fall of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, Mantua was invaded by Byzantines, Longobards and Franks
Franks

The Franks or Frankish people were a West Germanic ethnic group first identified in the 3rd century as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River....
. In the 11th century it became a possession of Boniface of Canossa, marquis
Marquis

Marquis is a French title of nobility. The English equivalent is Marquess, while in German, it is Markgraf.It may also refer to:Persons:...
 of Toscana. The last ruler of the family was the countess Matilde of Canossa
Matilda of Tuscany

Matilda of Canossa , called la Gran Contessa or the Great Countess, was an italy noblewoman, the principal Italian supporter of Pope Gregory VII during the Investiture Controversy....
 (died 1115), who, according to legend, ordered the construction of the precious Rotonda di San Lorenzo
Rotonda di San Lorenzo

The Rotonda di San Lorenzo is a religious building in Mantua, Lombardy .It is the most ancient church in the city, having been built during the reign of the Boniface of Canossa family in the late 11th century....
 (1082).
Andrea Mantegna 058
After the death of Matilde of Canossa, Mantua became a free
Free Imperial City

In the Holy Roman Empire, a free imperial city was a city formally ruled by the emperor only — as opposed to the majority of cities in the Empire, which belonged to a List of states in the Holy Roman Empire and so were governed by one of the many princes of the Empire, such as dukes or prince-bishops....
 commune
Medieval commune

Communes in Europe during the Middle Ages were sworn allegiances of mutual defense among the citizens of a town or city. They took many forms, and varied widely in organization and makeup....
 and strenuously defended itself from the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early modern Europe under a Holy Roman Emperor....
 in the 12th and 13th centuries.

During the Investiture Controversy
Investiture Controversy

The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest was an 11th century dispute between Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor and Pope Gregory VII over who would control appointments of church officials ....
, Pinamonte Bonacolsi took advantage of the chaotic situation to seize power — as Captain General of the People — in 1273. His family ruled Mantua for the next century, making it more prosperous and artistically beautiful.

On August 16, 1328, the last Bonacolsi, Rinaldo, was overthrown in a revolt backed by the House of Gonzaga
House of Gonzaga

The Gonzaga family ruled Mantua in Northern Italy from 1328 to 1708. See Duchy of Mantua for a list of rulers.In 1433, Gianfrancesco I Gonzaga assumed the title of Marquis of Mantua, and in 1530 Federico II of Gonzaga received the title of Duke of Mantua....
, a family of officials, namely the 60-year-old Luigi and his sons Guido, Filippino and Feltrino. Luigi Gonzaga, who had been podestΰ
Podestΰ

Podest? is the name given to certain high officials in many Italy cities, since the later Middle Ages, mainly as Chief magistrate of a city state , but also as a local administrator, the representative of the Emperor....
 of the city in 1318, was elected 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 the third Gonzaga, Ludovico I, eliminated his relatives, seizing power for himself. Through a payment of 120,000 golden florins
Italian coin florin

The Italy florin was a coin struck from 1252 to 1523 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard. It had 54 grain of gold ....
 in 1433, Gianfrancesco I was appointed marquis
Marquis

Marquis is a French title of nobility. The English equivalent is Marquess, while in German, it is Markgraf.It may also refer to:Persons:...
 of Mantua by Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor

Sigismund was Holy Roman Emperor for four years from 1433 until 1437, and the last Emperor of the House of Luxemburg. He was also one of the longest ruling King of Hungary, reigning for fifty years from 1387 to 1437....
, whose daughter Barbara of Brandenburg
Brandenburg

Brandenburg is one of the sixteen states of Germany of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany....
 he married. In 1459 Pope Pius II
Pope Pius II

Pope Pius II, born Enea Silvio Piccolomini was Pope from August 19, 1458 until his death in 1464. Pius II, "whose character reflects almost every tendency of the age in which he lived", was born at Corsignano in the Siena territory of a noble but decayed family....
 held a diet
Diet (assembly)

In politics, a diet is a formal deliberative assembly. The term is derived from Medieval Latin dietas, and ultimately comes from the Latin dies, "day"....
 in Mantua to proclaim a crusade against the Turks
Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299?1923. It was Treaty of Lausanne by the Republic of Turkey, which was officially proclaimed on October 29, 1923....
.

The first duke of Mantua was Federico II, who acquired the title from Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I of Spain, of the Spanish realms from 1516 until his abdication in 1556....
 in 1530. The following year, the family acquired the Marquisate of Montferrat
Montferrat

Montferrat is part of the region of Piedmont in Northern Italy. It comprises roughly the modern provinces of Province of Alessandria and Province of Asti....
 through marriage. Federico commissioned Giulio Romano
Giulio Romano

Giulio Romano was an Italy Painting and Architecture. A prominent pupil of Raffaello Santi, his stylistic deviations from high Renaissance classicism help define the 16th-century style known as Mannerism....
 to build the famous Palazzo Te, in the periphery of the city, and profoundly improved the urbanistic assets of the city.

In 1624, Francesco IV moved the ducal seat to a new residence, the Villa della Favorita, designed by the architect Nicolς Sebregondi.

In 1627, the direct line of the Gonzaga family came to an end with the vicious and weak Vincenzo II, and the town slowly declined under the new rulers, the Gonzaga Nevers
Nevers

Nevers is a Communes of France in the Ni?vre Departments of France in central France.It is the principal city of the former Provinces of France of Nivernais....
, a cadet French
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 branch of the family. The War of the Mantuan Succession
War of the Mantuan Succession

The War of the Mantuan Succession was a peripheral part of the Thirty Years' War. Its casus belli was the extinction of the direct male line of the House of Gonzaga in December 1627....
 broke out, and in 1630 an Imperial
Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early modern Europe under a Holy Roman Emperor....
 army of 36,000 Landsknecht
Landsknecht

Landsknechts were European, most often Germany, mercenary pikeman and supporting infantrys from the late 15th to the late 16th century, and achieved the reputation for being the universal mercenary of the European Renaissance....
 mercenaries besieged Mantua, bringing the plague with them. Mantua never recovered from this disaster.

Duke Carlo III Ferdinando
Charles IV, Duke of Mantua

Charles IV, Duke of Mantua was the only child of Duke Charles III, Duke of Mantua of Mantua and Montferrat, and the last ruler of the Duchy of Mantua of the House of Gonzaga....
, an inept ruler whose only aim was to hold parties and theatrical representations, allied with France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 in the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession

War of the Spanish Succession was a war fought in 1701-1714, in which several European powers combined to stop a possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under a single Bourbon monarch, upsetting the European Balance of power in international relations....
. After the latter's defeat, he was declared deposed by Emperor Joseph I and took refuge in Venice
Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy, the capital city of the Italian regions Veneto, a population of 271,251 . Together with Padua, Italy, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area ....
, carrying with him a thousand pictures. At his death, in 1708 his family lost Mantua forever in favour of the Habsburg
Habsburg

The House of Habsburg was an important royal house of Europe and is best known as supplying all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1452 and 1740, as well as rulers of Spanish Empire and the Austrian Empire....
s of Austria
Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west....
. Montferrat's territories were ceded to the Duke of Savoy, and Mantua was united with the Duchy of Milan
Duchy of Milan

The Duchy of Milan was a state in northern Italy from 1394 to 1797. It was part of the Holy Roman Empire, by then a decentralised entity, and was ruled by several dynasties, most of them major powers from outside Italy....
 in 1737. The emperor compensated the Duke of Lorraine, heir in female line of the Gonzaga, for the loss of Montferrat by ceding him the Duchy of Teschen.

Rulers of Mantua


Lords of Mantua

  • Luigi (ruled 1328–60)
  • Guido (ruled 1360–69), son of Luigi
  • Ludovico I (1369–82)
  • Francesco I (ruled 1382–1407), son of Ludovico I
  • Gianfrancesco I (ruled as Lord 1407–1433), son of Francesco I


Marquises of Mantua

  • Gianfrancesco I (ruled as the first Marquis 1433–1444), son of Francesco I
  • Ludovico II
    Ludovico II of Gonzaga

    Ludovico II of Gonzaga, also spelled Lodovico was the marquis of Mantua of the Italy city of Mantua from 1444 to his death in 1478....
     (ruled 1444–78), son of Gianfrancesco I
  • Federico I (ruled 1478–84), son of Ludovico II
  • Francesco II (ruled 1484–1519)
  • Federico II (ruled as Marquis 1519–1530), son of Francesco II


Dukes of Mantua

  • Federico II (ruled as the first Duke 1530–40; also Marquis of Montferrat from 1536)
  • Francesco III (ruled 1540–50), son of Federico II
  • Guglielmo I (ruled 1550–87; also Duke of Montferrat from 1574), brother of Francesco III
  • Vincenzo I (ruled 1587–1612), son of Guglielmo I — his daughter, Eleonora (1598–1655) married Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
    Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor

    Ferdinand II , of the House of Habsburg, Holy Roman Emperor , King of Bohemia , King of Hungary ....
  • Francesco IV
    Francesco IV Gonzaga

    Francesco IV Gonzaga , was Duke of Mantua and Duke of Montferrat between february 9 and December 22 1612.He was the eldest son of Duke Vincenzo I Gonzaga and Eleonora de' Medici....
     (ruled 1612), son of Vincenzo I
  • Ferdinando I
    Ferdinando I Gonzaga

    Ferdinando I Gonzaga was Duke of Mantua and Duke of Montferrat from 1612 until his death....
     (ruled 1612–26), brother of Francesco IV
  • Vincenzo II (ruled 1626–27), brother of Ferdinando I


The Duchy of Mantua then fell to the junior branch
Cadet branch

Cadet branch is a term in genealogy to describe the lineage of the descendants of the younger sons of a monarch or patriarch. In the ruling dynasty and nobility families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets – titles, realms, fiefs, property and income – have historically been passed from a father to his firstborn...
 of Gonzaga Dukes of Nevers.

  • Carlo I (ruled 1627–37)
  • Carlo III
    Charles III, Duke of Mantua

    Charles III, Duke of Mantua was the son of Duke Charles II Gonzaga of Duke of Rethel, Duke of Nevers, Mantua and Montferrat and Maria Gonzaga....
     (ruled 1637–65), grandson of Carlo I (Carlo II predeceased his father) — his sister, Eleonora married Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor
    Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor

    Ferdinand III was Holy Roman Emperor February 15, 1637 – 1657. King of Hungary, King of Bohemia, Archduke of Austria, King of the Romans....
  • Carlo III Ferdinando
    Charles IV, Duke of Mantua

    Charles IV, Duke of Mantua was the only child of Duke Charles III, Duke of Mantua of Mantua and Montferrat, and the last ruler of the Duchy of Mantua of the House of Gonzaga....
     (ruled 1665–1708), son of Carlo III


Gonzaga family tree (1360–1708)

Luigi I | +-Guido | +-Luigi II | +-Francesco I | +-Gianfrancesco | +-Luigi III | +-Federico I | +-Francesco II | +-Federico II | +-Francesco III | +-Guglielmo | | | +-Vincenzo I | | | +-Francesco IV | | | +-Ferdinando | | | +-Vincenzo II | +-(Luigi di Nevers) | +-Carlo I | +-(Francesco) | +-(Carlo) | +-Carlo II | +-Carlo III Ferdinando

External links