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 and grand duchess of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Eleonora Gonzaga, was born a princess of Mantua as a member of the House of Gonzaga, and by marriage to Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, was Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia.
The Duchy of 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. The following year, the Duchy also acquired the March of Montferrat, thanks to the marriage between Gonzaga and Margaret Paleologa, Marchioness of Montferrat.
Vincenzo Ι Gonzaga was the ruler of the Duchy of Mantua and the Duchy of Montferrat from 1587 to 1612.
The War of the Mantuan Succession (1628–1631) was a conflict related to the Thirty Years' War and was caused by the death in December 1627 of Vincenzo II, the last male heir in the direct line of the House of Gonzaga and the ruler of the duchies of Mantua and Montferrat. Those territories were key to control of the Spanish Road, an overland route that allowed Habsburg Spain to move recruits and supplies from Italy to their army in Flanders. The result was a proxy war between France, which supported the French-born Duke of Nevers, and Spain, which backed a distant cousin, the Duke of Guastalla.
Margaret of Savoy was the last Habsburg Vicereine of Portugal from 1634 to 1640. In Portuguese she is known as Duquesa de Mântua, being by marriage the Duchess of Mantua and Montferrat. She was also regent of Montferrat during the minority of her daughter from 1612.
Margherita Barbara Gonzaga, was an Italian noblewoman, Duchess consort of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio between 1579 and 1597 by marriage to Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio. She was a significant cultural patron in Ferrara and Modena.
The Duchy of Montferrat was a state located in Northern Italy. It was created out of what was left of the medieval March of Montferrat after the last Palaeologus heir had died (1533) and the margraviate had been briefly controlled by the Emperor Charles V. After that brief interlude, it passed by marriage of the last heiress, Margaret of Montferrat, to the House of Gonzaga, already dukes of Mantua. In 1574 the fief was elevated from Marquisat to Duchy.
Ferdinand I Gonzaga was Duke of Mantua and Duke of Montferrat from 1612 until his death.
Eleonora Gonzaga, was by birth Princess of Mantua, Nevers and Rethel from the Nevers branch of the House of Gonzaga and was Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Queen consort of Hungary and Bohemia by marriage to Emperor Ferdinand III.
Charles I Gonzaga was Duke of Mantua and Duke of Montferrat from 1627 until his death. He was also Charles III as Duke of Nevers and Rethel, as well as Prince of Arche and Charleville.
Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga was the only child of Duke Charles II of Mantua and Montferrat, and the last ruler of the Duchy of Mantua of the House of Gonzaga.
Maria Gonzaga or Maria of Mantua was a reigning duchess of Montferrat from 1612 until 1660, and regent in Mantua during the minority of her son from 1637 until 1647.
Margherita Gonzaga was Duchess of Lorraine from 1606 until 1624 by marriage to Henry II, Duke of Lorraine. She was an agent of Pro-French and anti-Protestant policy in Lorraine, and is most known for her support of her daughter Nicole's right to the Duchy of Lorraine. She also claimed her right to the Duchy of Montferrat during the Mantuan war of succession.
Isabella Clara of Austria was a Duchess consort of Mantua, Montferrat, Nevers, Mayenne and Rethel by marriage to Charles II, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat.
Anna Isabella Gonzaga, was a Duchess consort of Mantua and Montferrat and heiress of the Duchy of Guastalla, including Luzzara and Reggiolo; married in 1671 to Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat. She was the regent of Mantua in the absence of her spouse in 1691-1692, and during the War of the Spanish Succession in 1702-1703.
Isabella Gonzaga, was an Italian aristocrat. She was Lady Consort of San Martino dall'Argine by marriage to Ferrante Gonzaga, Lord of San Martino dall'Argine, and Duchess consort of Mantua and Montferrat by marriage to Vincenzo II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua. She served as regent of San Martino dall'Argine during the minority of her son Scipione between 1605 and 1613.
The Marquisate or Margraviate of Mantua was a margraviate centered around the city of Mantua in Lombardy. Ruled by the Gonzaga family from its founding in 1433, it would later be raised to the rank of Duchy in 1530.
Ferdinand Gonzaga, Duke of Mayenne (1610–1632) was a French nobleman and Duke of Mayenne from the House of Gonzaga. He was the son of Charles I Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua.
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