Vincenzo I. Gonzaga
Vincenzo I. Gonzaga (born September 22, 1562 in Mantua ; † February 18, 1612 ibid) was the son of Duke Guglielmo Gonzaga and ruled as his successor from August 14, 1587 to February 9, 1612 as Duke of Mantua and Montferrat .
He married Margherita Farnese in 1581 (* November 7, 1567, † April 13, 1643), daughter of the Duke Alessandro Farnese of Parma . The marriage ended in divorce the following year and remained childless.
In his second marriage, he married on April 29, 1584 Eleonora de 'Medici (* March 1, 1566, † September 9, 1611), daughter of the Grand Duke Francesco I of Tuscany . Vincenzo Gonzaga had six children with her:
- Francesco IV Gonzaga (1586–1612) Duke of Mantua and Montferrat from 1612 ⚭ 1608 Margaret of Savoy (1589–1655), daughter of Duke Charles Emanuel I
- Ferdinando Gonzaga (1587–1626) Cardinal 1607, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat from 1612 ⚭ 1) 1616 Camilla Faà di Bruno (1599–1662) daughter of Count Ardizzino Faà di Bruno from Casale Monferrato , ⚭ 2) 1617 (with dispensation from the Pope Paul V ) Catherina de'Medici (1593–1629) daughter of Grand Duke Ferdinando I of Tuscany
- Guglielmo Domenico Gonzaga (* August 4, 1589, † May 13, 1591)
- Margarita Gonzaga (October 2, 1591, † February 7, 1632) ⚭ April 24, 1606 Henry II, Duke of Lorraine (1563–1624)
- Vincenzo II Gonzaga (1594–1627) Cardinal 1615, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat 1626 ⚭ 1616 Isabella Gonzaga, daughter of Alfonso Gonzaga, Margrave of Novellara
- Eleonora Gonzaga (born September 23, 1598, † June 27, 1655) ⚭ February 4, 1622 Emperor Ferdinand II.
In addition, Vincenzo had several illegitimate children in several countries.
Life
Duke Vincenzo was the most important representative of his family. He was one of the great Renaissance princes. During his reign, Mantua became a center of art in Italy. He freed the poet Tasso from captivity and brought the young Claudio Monteverdi to his court. Although Vincenzo's financial support was very limited, Monteverdi developed into the greatest composer of his time at the Duke's court. Monteverdi lived at the court in Mantua for 25 years until the Duke's death. In addition to madrigals and motets from the Italian Renaissance, it was here that his first opera L'Orfeo was written . His second opera L'Arianna with the famous Lamento, which also premiered here, has been lost. It was received by contemporaries with an overwhelming storm of enthusiasm. For his representative performances, the duke built a theater building for over 1000 spectators. The building was destroyed in the War of the Mantuan Succession (Sacco di Mantova). Vincenzo discovered the young Peter Paul Rubens during a trip to Flanders and brought him to Mantua. Here Rubens received his first major painting commissions and carried out his first diplomatic mission to the Spanish court. Vincenzo had, due to his maternal descent from the Habsburgs, ambitions for the imperial crown, but these were completely unrealistic. For this aim and his claim to representation he owed his small country to ruin.
literature
- Rita Castagna: Mantua. History and art . Florence 1995; P. 26ff.
- Ulrike Stürzkober: The Gonzaga patronage of music. Claudio Monteverdi in the service of Vincenzo I. Thesis Grin, Norderstedt 2005
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Guglielmo |
Duke of Mantua 1587-1612 |
Francesco IV. |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gonzaga, Vincenzo I. |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Duke of Mantua and Montferrat |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 22, 1562 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Mantua |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 18, 1612 |
| Place of death | Mantua |