Gonzaga

The House of Gonzaga was an Italian princely family that ruled Mantua from 1328 to 1708, first as captains-general, then margraves and dukes. Already dominant in Mantua from the twelfth century, they overthrew their former allies the Bonacolsi in 1328, when Ludovico I Gonzaga, with Scaliger help from Verona, made himself capitano del popolo and imperial vicar under Louis IV.

In 1433 Gianfrancesco I won the title of Marquis of Mantua from Sigismund, and Federico II became its first duke in 1530; Montferrat followed by marriage in 1531. Cadet branches ruled Nevers in France and Guastalla, and the Gonzaga-Nevers inheritance of Mantua and Montferrat triggered the War of the Mantuan Succession.

Marie Louise Gonzaga was Queen of Poland from 1645 to 1667; two Gonzaga daughters married emperors Ferdinand II and Ferdinand III. Lavish patrons of art and learning, the Gonzaga made the Mantuan court a magnet for Renaissance artists and musicians through Isabella d'Este's collections, until the main line died out and their rule in Mantua ended in 1708.