Duchy of Mantua

Duchy of Mantua
Ducato di Mantova (Italian)
Ducatus Mantuæ (Latin)
1530–1786
1791–1797
Flag of Mantua
Flag
Coat of arms of Mantua
Coat of arms
The Duchy of Mantua in the early 18th century
The Duchy of Mantua in the early 18th century
CapitalMantua
Common languagesLombard
Italian
Latin
Religion
Roman Catholicism
GovernmentPrincely hereditary monarchy
Duke 
• 1530–1540
Federico II Gonzaga (first)
• 1665–1708
Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga
• 1708–1797
Austrian Habsburgs (last)
Historical eraEarly Modern
• Margraviate of Mantua is raised to Duchy
8 April 1530
• Gonzaga-Nevers' ascent to throne
25 December 1627
1628–1631
• Annexed to the Duchy of Milan
26 September 1786
• Restored
24 January 1791
• Disestablished
1797
CurrencyMonetazione di Mantova
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Margraviate of Mantua
Habsburg monarchy
Today part ofItaly

The Duchy of Mantua (Italian: Ducato di Mantova; Lombard: Ducaa de Mantua) was a duchy in Lombardy, northern Italy. Its first duke was Federico II Gonzaga, member of the House of Gonzaga that ruled Mantua since 1328.[1] The following year, the Duchy also acquired the March of Montferrat, thanks to the marriage between Gonzaga and Margaret Paleologa, Marchioness of Montferrat.[2]

The Duchy's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family has made it one of the main artistic, cultural, and especially musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole. Mantua also had one of the most splendid courts of Italy and Europe in the fifteenth, sixteenth, and early seventeenth centuries.[3]

In 1708, after the death of Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga, the last heir of the Gonzaga family, the Duchy ceased its existence. Their domains were divided between the House of Savoy, that obtained the remaining half of Montferrat, and the House of Habsburg, that obtained the city of Mantua itself.[4]

  1. ^ "Il marchesato, poi ducato di Mantova (sec. XIV - 1530; 1530 - 1786) – Istituzioni storiche – Lombardia Beni Culturali". lombardiabeniculturali.it. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  2. ^ Murgia, Adelaide. I Gonzaga. Mondadori. p. 67.
  3. ^ "Mantua | Encyclopedia.com". encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  4. ^ Fochessati, Giuseppe. I Gonzaga di Mantova e l'ultimo duca (in Italian). Ceschina. p. 300.

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