Antonia del Balzo

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Portrait of Antonia del Balzo

Antonia del Balzo (* 1461 , † 16th January 1538 in Gazzuolo ) was an Italian aristocrat from one of the most important noble families of Naples, by her marriage to Gianfrancesco Gonzaga to the Countess of Sabbioneta and the ancestress of the line of Gonzaga to Sabbioneta and Bozzolo was .

origin

Coat of arms of the del Balzo family

Antonia came from the originally southern French family of the lords of Les Baux in Provence (today the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, Bouches-du-Rhone department, Arles arrondissement) who appeared in a document as early as the 10th century King of Arles and Prince of Orange (* around 1059, † around 1110) and was split into numerous lines. After the conquest of southern Italy by Charles of Anjou in the 13th century, a branch turned to Italy, called del Balzo, where it acquired the county of Avellino (in the Campania region, 40 km east of Naples) and in 1343 the city and rule of Andria (in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani), which was raised to a duchy in 1351. This branch of the family has therefore been one of the seven great houses of the Kingdom of Naples since the 14th century and continues to flourish in the line of the Dukes of Presenzano to this day.

Antonia was a granddaughter of Francesco II. Del Balzo († 1482), the third Duke of Andria, Count of Bisceglia, who was Grand Konnetable of the Kingdom of Naples and President of the Royal Council, and of Sancia di Chiaramonte, Countess of Copertino, whose sister Isabella was Wife of Ferdinand I , King of Naples (1458–1494), until 1465 Queen of Naples.

Antonia's father Pirro del Balzo († 1491) was the 1st Prince of Altamura (since 1467), 4th Duke of Andria, Duke of Venosa, 5th Count of Montescaglioso, 3rd Count of Bisceglie, 2nd Count of Copertino, Count von Acerra etc., Großkonnetable of the Kingdom of Naples and at the same time one of the leaders of the conspiracy of the barons who rose against the reforms of Ferdinand I, King of Naples (1458–1494) in 1485/86. He was arrested on July 4, 1487 and imprisoned in Castel Nuovo in Naples, where he died.

Medal with a representation of Antonia del Balzo by Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi, called “L'Antico”

Antonia's mother Maria Donata Orsini del Balzo, Duchess of Venosa and Countess of Montescaglioso , came from a younger branch of the Roman dynasty of Orsini , who controlled more land in the Kingdom of Naples than even the king and could claim to be able to travel from Taranto to Naples, without ever leaving your own country. Her parents were Gabriele Orsini del Balzo Duke of Venosa and Giovanna Princess Caracciolo. The wedding took place in Castel del Monte near Andria, built by order of Emperor Friedrich II. († 1250) .

The close connection to the ruling dynasty was established through the marriage of her sister Isabella del Balzo (born June 24, 1465 in Minervino, † May 22, 1533 in Ferrara) 3rd Duchess of Altamura, 5th Duchess of Andria etc., with Friedrich I. of Aragon, King of Naples, through whom Isabella was Queen of Naples from 1496 to 1501.

Life

youth

Gianfrancesco Gonzaga, husband of Antonia del Balzo (left), Mantua, Camera degli Sposi, from Mantegna

Antonia grew up in the kingdom of Naples in her father's castles as a member of one of the country's most powerful noble families. At the age of eighteen she was 1479 with the condottiere Gianfrancesco Gonzaga (* 1446, † 1496) the third son of Ludovico III. Gonzaga († 1478), Margrave of Mantua and Margravine Barbara of Brandenburg married. After the death of his father in 1478, who was followed by his eldest brother Federico I Gonzaga as Margrave of Mantua, together with his second brother, Cardinal Francesco Gonzaga, he inherited part of the father's possessions, over which on February 12, 1479 between the brothers a partition agreement was concluded. In the same year Gianfrancesco was made Count of Sabbioneta.

After the death of his brother Cardinal Francesco in 1483, Gianfrancesco became sole lord of Gazzuolo , Rivarolo, Bozzolo , San Martino dell'Argine, Isola Dovarese , Dosolo , and the county of Rodigo . Antonia therefore lived alternately in the Gonzaga Castle in Bozzolo and in Mantua, in the residence of the main Gonzaga line, the Marquis of Mantua.

Neapolitan conditions

Despite her permanent stay in Lombardy , Antonia was not spared the developments in the Kingdom of Naples. Ferdinand I of Aragon from the House of Trastámara , called Ferrante, ruled as King of Naples from 1458 to 1494 and tried through targeted reforms to gain the dominant power of the barons, who largely acted independently and controlled almost nine tenths of the communities in his empire, in favor of expansion to restrict royal power, at the same time to develop economic life and to promote the rising class of Neapolitan entrepreneurs and traders. This modernization opposed the country's leading families, such as the Orsini del Balzo, the del Balzo, the Sanseverino , Caracciolo , Guevara and the Acquaviva , each of whom owned more land than the king. They united - with the discrete support of the Pope - to resist the king, which led to the so-called conspiracy of the barons in Melfi in 1485 .

Antonia was personally affected as her father Pirro del Balzo was one of the leading members of the conspiracy and her brother-in-law, Pietro di Guevara, Count of Ariano and Margrave of Vasto, Grand Seneschal of the Kingdom, was also involved in the conspiracy aimed at with the help of the Pope to prevent the successor of the reform-oriented heir to the throne Alfonso II (* 1448, † 1495) Duke of Calabria (King of Naples January 1494 - January 1495) and instead appoint a pretender from France.

After King Ferdinand had uncovered the conspiracy, he took strict action against those involved, having them arrested, tried, executed or imprisoned one after the other. In order to be able to seize the remaining rebellious barons, he resorted to a ruse: he invited them to a reconciliation on July 4, 1487 to a wedding celebration in the Castel Nuovo in Naples, where he arrested them after a friendly reception and subsequently executed or imprisoned. Antonia's father, Pirro del Balzo, was one of those summoned; he was arrested and imprisoned and had to spend the rest of his life in prison until he died there on December 24, 1491. The loss of her father was a severe blow to Antonia. At the same time, however, it also meant the extinction of their branch of the del Balzo family, as their only brother, Federico del Balzo, Count of Acerra, had died in 1487 before his father.

Even from a distance, Antonia was directly affected by the developments in Naples, because for her it was a question of who should inherit his important possession of territories and principalities after the death of her father, since only three daughters had survived him. The decision was made by King Ferdinand, who passed the eldest surviving sister of Antonia, Isotta-Ginevra del Balzo, the second princess of Altamura († 1530), as well as Antonia because he chose the youngest sister Isabella († 1533) as the heir of the huge fortune. This was done with the intention of marrying her to one of his sons in order to substantially expand the crown's holdings.

After the death of King Ferdinand I, the rulers of Naples changed rapidly. He was followed in 1494 by his son Alfons II, who was temporarily ousted by King Charles VIII of France in 1495 and died in 1495, after which his son Ferdinand II reigned for almost a year and died in 1496, whereupon Friedrich I (* 1452, † 1504 ) - a younger son of King Ferdinand - followed, who in 1501 in favor of Louis XII. King of France (1498–1515) resigned after Ferdinand II “the Catholic” King of Aragón (1479–1516) took over the crown of Naples in 1504 .

For Antonia it was crucial that her sister Isabella had been married to Friedrich I , the younger son of King Ferdinand, who ruled as King of Naples from 1495 to 1501, from November 28, 1486 . Antonia was therefore the king's sister-in-law. Her hope of receiving parts of her father's inheritance, however, turned out to be in vain.

Panorama of Gazzuolo with the arches of the Gonzaga

Mistress in Gazzuolo

Since her husband Gianfrancesco Gonzaga had chosen Gazzuolo as his residence town and made significant efforts to develop the small town into a credible residence, to beautify and fortify the town, Antonia lived mainly in this town in later years. There she surrounded herself - following the spirit of the times and probably also following the example of her famous sister-in-law Isabella d'Este - Gonzaga (* 1474, † 1539) - with important artists such as Andrea Mantegna , Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi (“L'Antico”) who died in Gazzuolo in 1528 and Francesco Bonsignori, as well as literary figures such as Matteo Bandello and Mario Equicola, who was also a welcome guest in Ferrara, at the court of Isabella d'Este and that of Lucrezia Borgia . Antonia continued this tradition of promoting artists even after her husband's death, although the latter had bequeathed her only 1,000 ducats in his will of August 25, 1496, and thus only an eighth of the amount that she herself brought into the marriage as a dowry would have.

Demise

Antonia died in Gazzuolo in 1538 and was buried there in the Oratorio di San Pietro in Belforte.

Afterlife

Through her descendants, she became the ancestor of two younger lines of the Gonzaga family, the line of Sabbioneta (margraves since 1565, princes since 1574 and dukes of Sabbioneta since 1577), which died out in the male line in 1591 with Vespasiano I Gonzaga, Duke of Sabbioneta, and the line to Bozzolo and Gazzuolo, since 1530 margraves of Gazzuolo, since 1591 princes of Bozzolo, since 1640 princes of Sabbioneta, which died out in a male line in 1703 with Gianfrancesco Gonzaga, the 3rd prince of Sabbioneta. Antonia's descendants spread through their daughter Eleonora Barbara Gonzaga via the Counts of Fürstenberg in Germany and Austria.

Marriage and offspring

Gianfrancesco Gonzaga (left), Mantua, Camera degli Sposi

On July 17, 1479, Antonia married the Italian condottier Gianfrancesco Gonzaga (* October 4, 1446 in Mantua, † August 27, 1496 in Bozzolo) from the house of the Marquis of Mantua, including Count of Sabbioneta and Rodigo, Lord of Bozzolo and Luzzara was.

She had ten children with him:

  • Ludovico Gonzaga (* 1480 in Bozzolo, † June 1540 in Sabbioneta) 2nd Count of Sabbioneta, ⚭ 1497 Francesca Fieschi († August 1528), daughter of Gian Luigi Fieschi. Count of Lavagna
  • Barbara Gonzaga (* around 1482, † 1558 in Viadana), ⚭ Gianfrancesco Sanseverino (* 1450, † 1501), since 1487 2nd Count of Caiazzo, since 1483 Count of Colorno, a son of the famous condottiere Roberto Sanseverino d'Aragona Count von Caiazzo and Colorno († 1487)
  • Federico Gonzaga (* 1483, † December 28, 1527) Lord of Bozzolo, Rivarolo and Isola Dovarese, condottiere, ⚭ 1503 in Asola, Giovanna Orsini, a daughter of Lodovico Orsini Count of Pitigliano
  • Dorotea Gonzaga (* 1485, † 1538), ⚭ Gian Francesco Acquaviva, marchese di Bitonto (in Apulia)
  • Susanna Gonzaga (* 1485, † 1549), ⚭ Pietro di Cardona, conte di Collesano
  • Camilla Gonzaga (* 1488, † 1529), ⚭ 1518 Alfonso Granai Castriota, marchese di Atripalda, governor of Calabria († 1544)
  • Eleonora Barbara Gonzaga (* 1488, † 1512), ⚭ March 30, 1500 Christoph Graf von Werdenberg-Sargans Count of Heiligenberg, on Jungnau and Trochtelfingen, † on Sigmaringen January 29, 1534
  • Pirro Gonzaga (* 1490, † January 22, 1529), Lord of Bozzolo, Gazzuolo and San Martino dall 'Argine ⚭ Camilla Bentivoglio (* after 1487, † November 19, 1529), a daughter of Annibale II Bentivoglio (* 1466, † 1540) Lord of Bologna and Lucrezia d'Este (⚭ January 28, 1487), an illegitimate daughter of Ercole I. d'Este († 1505) Duke of Ferrara , Modena and Reggio
  • Antonia Gonzaga (* 1493, † 1540), ⚭ Alfonso Visconti , signore di Saliceto
  • Gianfrancesco Gonzaga (* 1493, † 1500).

literature

  • Clifford M. Brown; Paola Tosetti Grandi (a cura di), I Gonzaga di Bozzolo, Mantova, 2011. ISBN 978-88-95490-11-3
  • Giuseppe Coniglio “I Gonzaga”; dall'Oglio editore, 1967
  • Jacob Burckhardt: The culture of the Renaissance in Italy - an attempt. Basel 1860 *
  • Casimir von Chledowski, Neapolitan Culture Images XIV - XVIII. Century, Bruno Cassirer, Berlin 1920
  • Camillo Portio, La congiura de 'Baroni del regno di Napoli contra il re Ferdinando I, Napoli, Pe' tipi del cav. Gaetano Nobile, 1859. [5]
  • Enciclopedia Treccani Dizionario Biografico [6]

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Genealogia Maison del Balzo / des Baux (Italian) [1]
  2. ↑ Camillo cervix, La congiura de 'Baroni del Regno di Napoli contra il re Ferdinando I, Napoli, page 34; Pe 'tipi del cav. Gaetano Nobile, 1859.
  3. ^ Jacob Burckhardt: The culture of the Renaissance in Italy - An attempt. Basel 1860. p. 35 f.
  4. ↑ Sitio ufficiale della famiglia del Balzo (de Baux) [2]
  5. ↑ Enciclopedia Treccani, Dicionario Biografico, Salvatore Fodale: Isabella del Balzo regina di Napoli [3]
  6. ^ Giuseppe Coniglio: I Gonzaga. Page 90; dall'Oglio, editore, 1967
  7. ↑ Enciclopedia Treccani Dizionario Biografico [4]
  8. ↑ J. Siebmacher's Grosses Wappenbuch, Volume 26. “The arms of the nobility in Lower Austria” Part 2 S - Z, page 549; Verlag Bauer and Raspe, Neustadt ad Aisch, 1983
  9. ^ Giuseppe Coniglio “I Gonzaga”, page 474 f .; dall'Oglio editore 1967

Web links

Camillo Portio, La congiura de 'Baroni del regno di Napoli contra il re Ferdinando I, Napoli, Pe' tipi del cav. Gaetano Nobile, 1859. [7]

See also

personal data
SURNAME Balzo, Antonia del
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Balzo-Gonzaga, Antonia del
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Countess of Sabbioneta
DATE OF BIRTH 1461
DATE OF DEATH January 16, 1538
Place of death Gazzuolo