Gianfrancesco I Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua

Ruler of Mantua

Francesco I Gonzaga

Marquis of Mantua

Portrait of Francesco I Gonzaga, Ambras castle collection, Innsbruck, Austria

Born| 1395
Died| (1444-09-23)23 September 1444
Mantua, Margravate of Mantua
Noble family| House of Gonzaga
Spouse(s)| Paola Malatesta
Issue| Ludovico III
Cecilia Gonzaga
Carlo Gonzaga
Father| Francesco I Gonzaga
Mother| Margherita Malatesta

Gianfrancesco I Gonzaga (1395 – 23 September 1444) was Captain of the People from 1407 to 1433 and Marquis of Mantua from 1433 to 1444. He was also a condottiere.

## Biography

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Gianfrancesco was the son of Francesco I Gonzaga and Margherita Malatesta.[1] He inherited the rule of Mantua in 1407, when he was 12. In his first years, he was under the patronage of his uncle Carlo Malatesta and, indirectly, of the Republic of Venice. In 1409 he married Paola Malatesta,[1] daughter of Malatesta IV Malatesta of Pesaro, by whom he had two sons, Ludovico, who succeeded him as marquis of Mantua, and Carlo. He was the first Gonzaga to bear the title of marquis, which he obtained from Emperor Sigismund on 22 September 1433.[2]

He fought for the Papal States and the Malatestas in 1412 and 1417, respectively, and was capitano generale (commander-in-chief) of the Venetian Armies from 1434.[2] Later he left the alliance with Venice and entered at the service of the Visconti of Milan, starting an unsuccessful war against Venice which caused the loss of several Mantuan territories.

During his reign the famous humanist Vittorino da Feltre was invited to Mantua,[3] as well as numerous artists like Pisanello and others,[4] starting the traditional role of the city as a capital of Italian Renaissance. He founded the first workshop in Italy for the manufacture of tapestries.[5] Cecilia Gonzaga, his daughter, was a humanist and scholar who received instruction from Vittorino. He pushed for his daughter to marry Oddantonio da Montefeltro, the first duke of Urbino, but renounced the arrangement later when the Duke turned out to be a cruel ruler.[6]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Fletcher 2013, p. 78.
2. ^ a b Brinton 1927, p. 65.
3. ^ Woodward 1996, p. 24.
4. ^ Brown 1988, p. 74.
5. ^ Campbell 2002, p. 90.
6. ^ Wilson & Margolis 2004, p. 372.

## Sources

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* Brinton, Selwyn (1927). The Gonzaga - Lords of Mantua. Methuen & Co. Ltd.
* Brown, Alison (1988). The Renaissance. Routledge.74
* Campbell, Thomas P. (2002). Tapestry in the Renaissance: Art and Magnificence. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
* Fletcher, Stella (2013). The Longman Companion to Renaissance Europe, 1390-1530. Routledge.
* Wilson, Katharina M.; Margolis, Nadia, eds. (2004). "Gonzaga, Cecilia". Women in the Middle Ages. Greenwoods Press.
* Woodward, William Harrison (1996). Vittorino Da Feltre and Other Humanist Educators. University of Toronto Press.

## See also

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* Wars in Lombardy

Gianfrancesco I Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua

Gonzaga family

Born: 1395 Died: 23 September 1444

Preceded by

Francesco I

|  Lord of Mantua
1407–1433  | Became Marquis
New title |  Marquis of Mantua
1433–1444  | Succeeded by

Ludovico III

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House of Gonzaga

Generations start from Gianfrancesco I Gonzaga

1st Generation|

* Ludovico III, Marquis of Mantua
* Carlo

2nd Generation|

* Federico I, Marquis of Mantua
* Gianfrancesco, Count of Sabbioneta
* Francesco

3rd Generation|

* Clara, Countess of Montpensier
* Francesco II, Marquis of Mantua
* Sigismund
* Elisabetta, Duchess of Urbino

4th Generation|

* Eleonora, Duchess of Urbino
* Federico II, Duke of Mantua
* Ippolita Gonzaga
* Ercole
* Ferrante I, Count of Guastalla
* Paola

5th Generation|

* Francesco III, Duke of Mantua
* Guglielmo, Duke of Mantua
* Louis, Duke of Nevers
* Federico, Cardinal Gonzaga
* Cesare, Duke of Amalfi
* Francesco, Cardinal Gonzaga
* Gian Vicenzo, Cardinal Gonzaga

6th Generation|

* Vincenzo I, Duke of Mantua
* Margherita, Duchess of Modena
* Anne Juliana, Archduchess of Austria
* Charles, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat
* Ferrante II, Duke of Guastalla

7th Generation|

* Francesco IV, Duke of Mantua
* Ferdinando, Duke of Mantua
* Margherita Gonzaga, Duchess of Lorraine
* Vincenzo II, Duke of Mantua
* Eleonora, Holy Roman Empress
* Charles, Duke of Nevers
* Marie Louise, Queen of Poland
* Anne, Countess Palatine of Simmern
* Cesare II, Duke of Guastalla
* Vincenzo, Viceroy of Sicily
* Andrea, Count of San Paolo

8th Generation|

* Maria, Duchess of Montferrat
* Charles, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat
* Eleonora, Holy Roman Empress
* Vincenzo, Duke of Guastalla
* Ferrante III, Duke of Guastalla
* Vespasiano Vincenzo, Viceroy of Valencia

9th Generation|

* Ferdinando Carlo, Duke of Mantua
* Eleonora Luisa, Duchess of Rovere
* Antonio Ferrante, Duke of Guastalla
* Giuseppe, Duke of Guastalla
* Anna Isabella, Duchess of Mantua

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* Italy

People|

* Italian People
* Deutsche Biographie
* DDB

Other|

* Yale LUX

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