Philip of Hesse-Darmstadt
Encyclopedia
Philip of Hesse-Darmstadt (Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...

, July 20, 1671 – Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

, 11 August 1736) was a Prince of Hesse-Darmstadt, Imperial Field marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...

 and Governor of Mantua
Mantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...

.

Life

Philip was a younger son of Louis VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
Louis VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
Louis VI of Hesse-Darmstadt was Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt from 1661 to 1678.He was the eldest of three sons of the Landgrave George II of Hesse-Darmstadt and Sophia Eleonore of Saxony.- Marriage and children :...

 (1630–1678) and his second wife Elisabeth Dorothea of Saxe-Coburg (1640–1709), daughter of Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha.

Philip fought for the Habsburgs in the Spanish War of Succession and became in 1708 Field Marshal and Supreme Commander of the Imperial troops in newly conquered Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...

. After the war in 1714, under influence of Prince Eugene of Savoy, he became governor of the former Duchy of Mantua
Duchy of Mantua
The Duchy of Mantua was a duchy in Lombardy, Northern Italy, subject to the Holy Roman Empire.-History:After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Mantua was invaded by Byzantines, Longobards and Franks. In the 11th century it became a possession of Boniface of Canossa, marquis of Toscana...

 until his death.

Philip was a great lover of music. When he commanded the Austrian Army in Naples, he was patron of Nicola Porpora
Nicola Porpora
Nicola Porpora was an Italian composer of Baroque operas and teacher of singing, whose most famous singing student was the castrato Farinelli. One of his other students was composer Matteo Capranica.-Biography:Porpora was born in Naples...

, and when he was governor of Mantua, he made Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi , nicknamed because of his red hair, was an Italian Baroque composer, priest, and virtuoso violinist, born in Venice. Vivaldi is recognized as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and his influence during his lifetime was widespread over Europe...

 Maestro di Cappella of his court. Vivaldi wrote the opera Tito Manlio
Tito Manlio
Tito Manlio is an opera in three acts by Antonio Vivaldi, to a libretto by Matteo Noris. It was written in celebration of the marriage of Philip of Hesse-Darmstadt , the governor of Mantua, which he had announced at Christmas. Vivaldi quickly composed the opera within five days...

 in Philip's honor.

Marriage and Children

Philip married on March 24, 1693, in Brussels with Marie Therese of Croÿ
Croy
Croy may refer to:*Croy, Switzerland, a municipality in the canton of Vaud*One of several communities in Scotland, including:**Croy, Highland**Croy, North Lanarkshire*The House of Croÿ, an ancient and wealthy family originating in Belgium...

 (1673–1714), daughter of Ferdinand François Joseph, Duke of Croy-Havré. For this marriage, he converted to Catholicism, despite heavy protest of his mother.

They had 5 children :
  • Joseph (1699−1768), Bishop of Augsburg
  • Wilhelm Ludwig (1704, died young)
  • Theodora (February 6, 1706 – January 23, 1784), married in 1727 Duke Antonio Ferrante Gonzaga
    Antonio Ferrante Gonzaga
    Antonio Ferrante Gonzaga was Duke of Guastalla.He was the son of Vincenzo Gonzaga, Duke of Guastalla and Maria Vittoria Gonzaga...

     (1687–1729), no issue.
  • Leopold (1708–1764), Imperial Field marshal, married in 1740 Enrichetta d'Este
    Enrichetta d'Este
    Enrichetta d'Este was an Italian noblewoman. She was the Duchess of Parma by marriage to Antonio Farnese, Duke of Parma, who was her first cousin as well as an uncle of Elisabeth Farnese, Queen of Spain....

     from Modena
    Modena
    Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....

    (1702–1777)
  • Charles (1710-1710)

Literature

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