Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua

Guglielmo Gonzaga
Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua
Duke of Mantua (as Guglielmo) Duke of Montferrat (as Guglielmo X)
Reign	1550 - 1587
Predecessor	Francesco III Gonzaga
Successor	Vincenzo I Gonzaga
Born	24 April 1538 Mantua
Died	14 August 1587 (aged 49) Goito
Spouse	Eleonora of Austria
Issue	Vincenzo I, Duke of Mantua Margherita Gonzaga Anna Caterina Gonzaga
Father	Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua
Mother	Margaret Palaeologina

Guglielmo Gonzaga (24 April 1538 – 14 August 1587) was Duke of Mantua and Montferrat from 1550 to 1587. He was the second son of Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Margaret Palaeologina of Montferrat. In 1574, Montferrat was elevated to a Duchy and he became its first duke. He was succeeded by his son Vincenzo.

Patron of music

Guglielmo was particularly interested in sacred vocal music, and is known particularly to music historians for his extensive correspondence with the composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. He built a large new church in Mantua, dedicated to Santa Barbara. He engaged in an unprecedented negotiation with the Papacy to create his own rite for Mantua, and devoted considerable resources to developing a musical repertoire for the church, commissioning works by Giaches de Wert and Palestrina. Part of his correspondence with Palestrina discusses the work commissioned in detail, stipulating Guglielmo's requirements, and therefore giving a sense of his musical preferences. Guglielmo's musical tastes were conservative for the day. He enjoyed imitative contrapuntal music but was concerned to maintain clarity of text, thereby showing the influence of Tridentine reforms. Upon his death, his son Vincent invited followers of the more modern trends to his court.

Marriage and children

On 26 April 1561 William married Eleonora of Austria, sixth daughter of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. They were parents to three children:

• Vincenzo I (21 September 1562 – 9 February 1612). Married Eleonora de' Medici (Eleanor's niece).
• Margherita Gonzaga (27 May 1564 – 6 January 1618). Married Alfonso II d'Este.
• Anna Caterina Gonzaga (17 January 1566 – 3 August 1621). Married her maternal uncle Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua

Ludovico III Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua               Federico I Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua                       Barbara Hohenzollern of Brandenburg               Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua                             Albert III Wittelsbach, duke of Bavaria               Margaret Wittelsbach of Bavaria                       Anna Welf of Brunswick-Grubenhagen               Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua                                   Niccolò III d'Este, Marquis of Ferrara               Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara                       Ricciarda da Saluzzo               Isabella d'Este                             Ferdinand I Ivrea-Trastamara, king of Naples               Eleanor Ivrea-Trastamara of Naples                       Isabella of Clermont               Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat                                         John Jacob Palaiologos, marquis of Montferrat               Boniface III Palaiologos, marquis of Montferrat                       Joanna of Savoy               William IX Palaiologos, marquis of Montferrat                             Stefan Branković, despot in Serbia               Maria Branković                       Angelina Arianit               Margaret Palaiologina                                   Jean II of Valois, duke of Alençon               Rene of Valois, duke of Alencon                       Marie of Armagnac               Anne Valois of Alençon                             Frederick II of Lorraine, count of Vaudemont               Margaret of Lorraine                       Yolande of Valois-Anjou

References and further reading

• Iain Fenlon, Music and Patronage in Sixteenth-Century Mantua, Cambridge University Press, 1980. ISBN 0-521-22905-7.