History of Castel Goffredo

Last updated

Events in the history of Castel Goffredo, in Italy.

Contents

Ancient age

Palazzo Gonzaga-Acerbi Castel Goffredo Palazzo Gonzaga-Acerbi.jpg
Palazzo Gonzaga-Acerbi

The territory of Castel Goffredo [1] has been inhabited since the Bronze Age. The area was therefore affected by both Etruscan civilization, as evidenced by the discovery of some everyday utensils such as cups and jugs for water, which from Roman civilization starting from 1st century, with the discovery of some votive altar and of a sepulchral tombstone. This area was affected by the centuriation of Mantua and on the romanization of the historical center some scholars suppose that this was divided into twelve blocks and characterized by cardo and Decumanus Maximus and that at the intersection of "cardo maximum" and "decumanus maximus" were placed the forum, today represented by Mazzini Square.

Medieval age

The first mention of Castellum Vifredi as an urban agglomeration is from 8 July 1107. Between 800 and 1115 Castel Goffredo belonged to county of Brescia up to 1190.

Later the city gave the status of free commune and when Brescia was not able to offer its defense, in 1337 preferred to place itself under the protection of Mantua and Gonzaga.

After alternate dominations of the Visconti (1337), of the Gonzagas (from 1337 to 1348), again of the Visconti (from 1348 to 1404), of Malatesta (from 1404 to 1426), of the Republic of Venice (from 1426 to 1431 and again from 1439 to 1441) and finally of the Gonzagas (from 1441), in 1466 with Alessandro Gonzaga the village became an imperial fief autonomous and he saw the birth of Marquess of Castel Goffredo. During his term the village was enlarged, the second city walls was erected and the "Alessandrini Statutes" were issued, which bears his name and remained in force until 1796.

Modern age

The marquis Aloisio Gonzaga Ritratto di Aloisio Gonzaga 1494-1549.jpg
The marquis Aloisio Gonzaga

With the marquis Aloisio Gonzaga in 1511 began the cadet branch of "Gonzaga of Castel Goffredo" and Castel Goffredo became capital of the small state. In his palace of residence (Gonzaga-Acerbi Palace) he created a magnificent court, frequented by poets (Matteo Bandello, Lucrezia Gonzaga and Pietro Aretino), artists, diplomats (Cesare Fregoso) and ambassadors (Antonio Rincon). In 1516 passed through Castel Goffredo the emperor Maximilian I of Habsburg while he pursued the French troops, and another emperor, Charles V, he was a guest of Aloisio Gonzaga on June 28, 1543, and obtained the keys to the citadel. The marquis perhaps commissioned the school of Giulio Romano to fresco his domus: remain in the loggia of the palace important pictorial evidence of that period. Aloisio Gonzaga died on July 19, 1549, and his was a troubled succession. He was first succeeded by the eldest son Alfonso Gonzaga, who ruled the city from 1549 to 1592, when he died assassinated, for hereditary reasons, to Corte Gambaredolo by the hand of the nephew's assassins Rodolfo Gonzaga, brother of Aloysius Gonzaga. Rodolfo took possession of the fortress and ruled Castel Goffredo in terror. The castellan people did not accept the abuses and organized a conspiracy that led to the assassination of the marquis on January 3, 1593, while going to the religious services in the St. Erasmus church. With his death, without male sons, the history of the locality as an autonomous Gonzaga fief and the short lordship of the "Gonzaga di Castel Goffredo" also ended.

After a long dispute at the imperial court of Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor between the third marquis of Castiglione Francesco Gonzaga (1577-1616) and the duke of Mantua Vincenzo I Gonzaga, in which he intervened in 1602 as ambassador, without result, Lorenzo da Brindisi, the city was definitively aggregated by imperial decree in 1603 to Duchy of Mantua and it followed its destiny until 1707 when the last of the Gonzagas, the duke Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga, was deposed by the emperor Joseph I of Habsburg and forced into exile.

The Austrian domination determined the occupation of the city and the requisition of the warehouses of supplies and between the 1705 and 1706 Austrian soldiers sacked Castel Goffredo, taking hostage also some inhabitants. In 1796 Napoleon Bonaparte pushed the Austrians beyond Mincio and in 1797 Austria ceded Lombardy to the French. On May 13 of that year, Castel Goffredo was occupied by French troops.

Contemporary age

Castel Goffredo Town Hall Castel Goffredo-Palazzo comunale.JPG
Castel Goffredo Town Hall

The Austrian governments followed in 1799, French from 1801 to 1814 and again Austrians until 1866.

In the years of 1848 Castel Goffredo was the anti-Austrian conspiratorial center of the Upper Mantovano and counted the presence of numerous patriots, led by the Castellano Giovanni Acerbi, who later became the intendant of Expedition of the Thousand of Garibaldi. The conspiracy was discovered and resulted in the tragic page of Belfiore martyrs.

In 1859, after the Battle of Solferino and San Martino which also involved the territory of Castel Goffredo being here deployed the 3rd corps of the general François Certain de Canrobert, the city was aggregated to Kingdom of Sardinia and in 1861 became part of Kingdom of Italy. In 1871 was founded "Società di Mutuo Soccorso" which in 1900 counted three hundred members.

1925 marked the economic and industrial turnaround of Castel Goffredo: in fact, he opened the first sock factory, the NO.E.MI., destined to write the history of the industrialization of the area. On 19 September 1926 Castel Goffredo was devastated by the assassination by the fascists of the catholic master Anselmo Cessi.

After the Second World War Castel Goffredo had a great economic development, becoming an industrial center of primary importance for the textile industry, thanks to the consistent production of socks for women, pantyhose and yarns.

He acquired the title of city in 2002.

Notes

  1. Mantua and its province.

Bibliography

In italian

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of Gonzaga</span> Italian royal family that ruled

The House of Gonzaga is an Italian princely family that ruled Mantua in Lombardy, northern Italy from 1328 to 1708. They also ruled Monferrato in Piedmont and Nevers in France, as well as many other lesser fiefs throughout Europe. The family includes a saint, twelve cardinals and fourteen bishops. Two Gonzaga descendants became empresses of the Holy Roman Empire, and one became queen of Poland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ludovico III Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua</span> Marquis of Mantua from 1444 to 1478

Ludovico III Gonzaga of Mantua, known as the Turk, also spelled Lodovico was the ruler of the Italian city of Mantua from 1444 to his death in 1478.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castel Goffredo</span> Comune in Lombardy, Italy

Castel GoffredoItalian pronunciation:[kaˈstɛlɡofˈfreːdo] is a comune in the province of Mantua, in Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 kilometres (22 mi) from Mantua and a few more from Brescia. It lies in a region of springs at the foot of the slopes that drain into Lake Garda, towards the plain of the Po. Castel Goffredo borders the following municipalities: Castiglione delle Stiviere, Medole, Ceresara, Casaloldo, Asola, Acquafredda, Carpenedolo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernabò Visconti</span> Medieval Italian statesman

Bernabò or Barnabò Visconti was an Italian soldier and statesman who was Lord of Milan. Along with his brothers Matteo and Galeazzo II, he inherited the lordship of Milan from his uncle Giovanni. Later in 1355, he and Galeazzo II were rumoured to have murdered their brother Matteo since he endangered the regime. When Galeazzo II died, he shared Milan's lordship with his nephew Gian Galeazzo. Bernabò was a ruthless despot toward his subjects and did not hesitate to face emperors and popes, including Pope Urban V. The conflict with the Church caused him several excommunications. On 6 May 1385, his nephew Gian Galeazzo deposed him. Imprisoned in his castle, Trezzo sull'Adda, he died a few months later, presumably from poisoning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piadena</span> Comune in Lombardy, Italy

Piadena is a former comune in the Province of Cremona, Italy. On January 1, 2019 it merged with Drizzona to form Piadena Drizzona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medole</span> Comune in Lombardy, Italy

Medole is a comune (municipality) is an Italian municipality of 4,122 inhabitants in the province of Mantua in Lombardy.

Costanzo Antegnati was an organist, organ builder and composer.

Gasparo Antonio Turbini was an Italian architect and Jesuit priest, mainly active in a Neoclassical-style in the Province of Brescia, Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ludovico Gonzaga (1480–1540)</span> Italian nobleman

Ludovico Gonzaga was an Italian nobleman and condottiero, a member of the House of Gonzaga branch of Sabbioneta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aloisio Gonzaga</span> Marquis of Castel Goffredo, Castiglione, Solferino

Aloisio Gonzaga was an Italian condottiero.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palazzo Gonzaga-Acerbi</span> Building in Castel Goffredo, Italy

Palazzo Gonzaga-Acerbi is a historic palace in Castel Goffredo in the Province of Mantua in Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castel Goffredo Town Hall</span> City hall in Province of Mantua, Italy

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piazza Mazzini, Castel Goffredo</span>

Piazza Mazzini is a public square in the center of Castel Goffredo, region of Lombardy, Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castelvecchio (Castel Goffredo)</span>

Castelvecchio is the ancient fortified village of Castel Goffredo, in the province of Mantua Lombardy region in Italy, surrounded by walls and a moat. The boundaries currently correspond to the garden of the Palazzo Gonzaga-Acerbi to the north, to vicolo Remoto and vicolo Cannone to the east, to Piazza Mazzini to the south and to piazzetta Castelvecchio and vicolo Castelvecchio to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Civic Tower (Castel Goffredo)</span> Historic structure in Mantua, Italy

The Civic Tower is a historic building in the town of Castel Goffredo, in the province of Mantua, Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caterina Anguissola</span> Italian noblewoman

Caterina Anguissola Trivulzio was an Italian noblewoman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ferrante Gonzaga (1544-1586)</span> Italian nobleman and condottiero

Ferrante or Ferdinando Gonzaga, first marquess of Castiglione was an Italian nobleman and condottiero.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sant'Erasmo, Castel Goffredo</span>

Sant'Erasmo is a Roman Catholic church located in Castel Goffredo, region of Lombardy, Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torrazzo of Castel Goffredo</span> Historic structure

The Torrazzo is a historic building in Castel Goffredo, in the province of Mantua.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upper Mantua</span> Geographical area in Lombardy, Italy

Upper Mantua is a geographical area located northwest of the city of Mantua in the province of the same name and bordering the provinces of Brescia and Verona, bordered to the north by the morainic hills of Lake Garda, to the east by the province of Verona, to the northwest by the province of Brescia, and to the south by the plains of Middle Mantua.