Francesco IV Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua

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Francesco IV Gonzaga (7 May 1586 – 22 December 1612) was duke of Mantua and Montferrat between 9 February and 22 December 1612.

Francesco IV Gonzaga
Francesco IV Gonzaga
Duke of Mantua and Montferrat
Reign9 February 1612 - 22 December 1612
PredecessorVincenzo I Gonzaga
SuccessorFerdinando Gonzaga
Born(1586-05-07)7 May 1586
Mantua, Duchy of Mantua
Died22 December 1612(1612-12-22) (aged 26)
Mantua, Duchy of Mantua
Spouse
(m. 1608)
IssueMaria Gonzaga
HouseGonzaga
FatherVincenzo I Gonzaga
MotherEleonora de' Medici

Biography

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Born in Mantua, he was the eldest son of Duke Vincenzo I and Eleonora de' Medici.[1]

In 1607, Claudio Monteverdi dedicated his opera L'Orfeo to Francesco. The title page of the opera bears the dedication "Al serenissimo signor D. Francesco Gonzaga, Prencipe di Mantoua, & di Monferato, &c."

Francesco became Duke upon his father's death on 9 February 1612. He died at Mantua on 22 December 1612 without male heirs. He was succeeded by his brother Ferdinand; however, Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, the father of Francesco's wife Margaret of Savoy, disputed this, leading to the War of the Montferrat Succession (1613–1617).

Family

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On 19 February 1608 he married in Turin, Margaret of Savoy (1589–1655),[1] daughter of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy.[2] They had:

Honours

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Ancestry

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References

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  1. ^ a b Bourne 2010, p. 182.
  2. ^ a b Raviola 2016, p. 59.
  3. ^ Bourne 2016, p. 162.

Sources

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  • Bourne, Molly (2010). "The Art of Diplomacy: Mantua and the Gonzaga". In Rosenberg, Charles M. (ed.). The Court Cities of Northern Italy: Milan, Parma, Piacenza, Mantua, Ferrara, Bologna, Urbino, Pesaro, and Rimini. Cambridge University Press. p. 138-195.
  • Bourne, Molly (2016). "From court to cloister and back again: Margherita Gonzaga, Caterina dé Medici and Lucrina Fetti at the convent of Sant'Orsola in Mantua". In Cavallo, Sandra; Evangelisti, Silvia (eds.). Domestic Institutional Interiors in Early Modern Europe. Routledge. p. 153-180.
  • Raviola, Blythe Alice (2016). "The Three Lives of Margherita of Savoy-Gonzaga, Duchess of Mantua and Vicereine of Portugal". In Cruz, Anne J.; Stampino, Maria Galli (eds.). Early Modern Habsburg Women: Transnational Contexts, Cultural Conflicts. Routledge. p. 59-78.
Francesco IV Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua
Born: 7 May 1586 Died: 22 December 1612
Regnal titles
Preceded by Duke of Mantua
1612
Succeeded by
Duke of Montferrat
1612