Fighting for Every Side: The Gonzaga Family’s Mercenary Empire
The Historical Context and the Origins of Military Power
From modest country lords, the Corradi di Gonzaga, originally from the rural area between the Po and the Oglio rivers, became a powerful seigneurial family that managed to dominate Mantua for four centuries. Over time, they rose to the rank of a European power, intermarried with the imperial family, and founded a court that attracted painters (Leon Battista Alberti, Andrea Mantegna), men of letters (Torquato Tasso), and musicians (Claudio Monteverdi): a seigniory that left a strong imprint on both Italian and European political, artistic, and cultural history. The Gonzaga dynasty conquered power and maintained it through unscrupulous management of the “profession of arms.” Having seized control of the city and the surrounding territory in 1328 through a violent coup against the Bonacolsi, its members became marquises with Gian Francesco, and dukes and marquises of Monferrato with Federico II: it was their work that transformed the city of Mantua, during the 15th and 16th centuries, from a simple municipality into an indispensable strategic buffer—depending on the circumstances—for one power or another.
Geographically wedged between the aggressive giants of the era—the Duchy of Milan to the west and the Republic of Venice to the east—the Gonzaga soon understood that their survival depended on their ability to make themselves necessary. Unable to compete in terms of demographics or wealth with their powerful neighbors, they specialized in supplying expert condottieri (military leaders) in various branches of the military (heavy cavalry, infantry, light cavalry). In this way, the family became a veritable forge of commanders and captains general: while the ruling lord in Mantua maintained a precarious diplomatic balance (often an “interested” neutrality), his younger brothers, cousins, and natural sons served with their companies in favor of one power or the other—whether initially the Duchy of Milan or the Republic of Venice, and subsequently the Empire, France, Spain, or the Papacy. This branching allowed the house to keep “a foot in every stirrup”; it further guaranteed that, whatever the final outcome of a war, there was always a Gonzaga in the victors’ camp to protect the interests of their kinsmen in the service of the losers.
GENEALOGICAL TABLE OF THE MAIN BRANCH
Ludovico I (1334-1382): Father of Francesco I. Killed his brothers Ugolino and Francesco to seize sole power. Married Alda d’Este. Captain of the People of Mantua.
Francesco I (1366-March 1407): Son of Ludovico I. Father of Gian Francesco. Married Agnese Visconti (killed on charges of adultery) and Margherita Malatesta. Count of Mantua.
Gian Francesco (June 1395-September 1444): Son of Francesco I. Father of Ludovico II and Carlo. Married Paola Malatesta. Marquis of Mantua.
Ludovico II (June 1414-June 1480): Son of Gian Francesco. Brother of Carlo. Father of Federico I, Giovanni Francesco and Rodolfo. Married Barbara of Brandenburg. Marquis of Mantua.
Carlo (May 1417-December 1456): Son of Gian Francesco. Brother of Ludovico II. Married Lucia d’Este and Ringarda Manfredi. Federico I (June 1441-July 1484): Son of Ludovico II. Brother of Giovanni Francesco and Rodolfo. Father of Francesco II and Giovanni. Married Margherita of Wittelsbach. Marquis of Mantua.
Giovanni Francesco (1443-1496): Son of Ludovico II. Brother of Federico I and Rodolfo. Father of Federico, Ludovico, Pirro, and Febo. Married Antonia del Balzo. Progenitor of the Sabbioneta and Bozzolo branch.
Rodolfo (1446-July 1495): Son of Ludovico II. Brother of Federico I and Giovanni Francesco. Father of Luigi. Married Anna Malatesta (killed on charges of adultery) and Caterina della Mirandola. Progenitor of the Luzzara and Castiglione delle Stiviere branch.
Francesco II (1466-1519): Son of Federico I. Brother of Giovanni. Father of Federico II. Married Isabella d’Este. Marquis of Mantua. Giovanni (1474-1516): Son of Federico I. Brother of Francesco II. Married Laura Bentivoglio. Progenitor of the Vescovato branch.
Federico II (1500-1540): Son of Francesco II. Brother of Ercole and Ferrante. Married Margherita Paleologo. Marquis and Duke of Mantua, Marquis of Monferrato.
THE MANTOVA BRANCH
The main branch, holding the title first of Captain of the People, then of Marquis, and finally of Duke, represents the political apex of the family. For its members, war is often subordinate to reasons of state.
An emblematic figure of the transition between the 14th and 15th centuries, Francesco I embodies the family’s pendulum politics. He married Agnese Visconti (daughter of Bernabò) to seal the alliance with the powerful Lordship of Milan, bringing the biscione (serpent) into the family coat of arms. In any case, his loyalty was pragmatic and ruthless. With the rise to the Milanese lordship of the Count of Virtù, Gian Galeazzo Visconti (who seized power at the expense of his uncle Bernabò), he did not hesitate to have his wife beheaded on charges of adultery. He soon alienated the latter to reorient his politics toward Venice. His life was a continuous maneuvering between the superpowers of Northern Italy. Following the example of his father Ludovico I, he had his brother Febo killed in order to keep control of the seigniory firmly in his hands.
Son of Francesco I, he was the architect of the first great dynastic ascent. He obtained the title of Marquis from Emperor Sigismondo in 1433. One of the greatest condottieri of his time, he is remembered for commissioning Pisanello to fresco a hall in the Ducal Palace of Mantua and for inviting Vittorino da Feltre to the city, who founded the Cà Zoiosa, a school famous for its ability to combine humanistic ideals with Christian faith. The last years of his life were, however, unhappy: he had to witness the fierce rivalry dividing his sons Ludovico and Carlo and, at the same time, suffer a reduction in control of his lands due to his pro-Visconti policy, which lost out in the war with the Venetians.
Cadet brother of Ludovico II and son of Gian Francesco. Large in body, very eloquent, a condottiero aware of his rank, a turbulent man of little faith. He proved incapable of satisfying his insatiable thirst for dominion in the various attempts he perpetrated to conquer power, both in Milan (Captain of the People of the Ambrosian Republic) and in Mantua at his brother’s expense. In this latter struggle, he proved particularly cruel in the episode relating to the temporary occupation of Sabbioneta, when he sent all the defenders of the local garrison to his relative with their ears cut off.
Ludovico II Gonzaga
Known as the “Prudent Prince” or “The Turk.” An ambitious man and at the same time, according to contemporary sources, affable, liberal, eloquent, religious, as well as a skilled commander, prudent, loyal, a man who placed his honor and fidelity at the service of the commitments undertaken. Many were the embellishments he promoted in Mantua. Above all, he surrounded himself with artists and men of letters such as Mantegna, Leon Battista Alberti, Platina, Poliziano, and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola. Through his marriage to Barbara of Brandenburg (Barbara of Hohenzollern), he achieved the result of widening his house’s external relations. Upon his death, he divided the marquisate among his sons Federico I, Giovanni Francesco, and Rodolfo, effectively weakening the Gonzaga state and creating the premises for its fragmentation into small principalities and lordships.
Federico I Gonzaga
In his short life, like many other members of his family, he proved to be a wise and valiant captain. An enemy of idleness. Protagonist in his youth of a romantic flight to Naples with which he defied prevailing matrimonial logic. He left a good memory of himself as a fine connoisseur of letters and art.
Perhaps the most famous and discussed condottiero of the dynasty. In the terrible events of Italian history in the early 1500s, one has the impression of constant uncertainty on Gonzaga’s part. With his lands squeezed between the Duchy of Milan and the Republic of Venice, his action (like that of his predecessors) was aimed at keeping a foot in both camps or, at least, allowing himself to always have an escape route available. He also proved to be a man substantially alien to interests of a spiritual nature, impulsive, an improviser, devastated by syphilis (the line of natural children is long), a lover of horses and jousts. His fame is linked to the Battle of Fornovo in 1495. In command of the Italian League, he tried to stop the retreat of the French army of King Charles VIII. Although the final outcome was uncertain (or unfavorable) because the French managed to break through the allied army’s lines, Francesco II celebrated the event as an absolute personal triumph, commissioning works of art to eternalize the “victory.” His work as an administrator was of little significance. Engaged in wars, he lived for a long time away from Mantua. In this field, his wife Isabella d’Este had the opportunity to assert her ability, often taking on the government of the state while her husband warred afar.
Federico II Gonzaga
As a condottiero, he proved not unlike his father. Although he obtained command of the papal troops, his interest was, above all, political, intended in a negative sense, characterized as it was by cunning and baseness. Through an unscrupulous marriage strategy and an iron alliance with Emperor Charles V, he obtained the coveted title of Duke and acquired the Marquisate of Monferrato, thereby doubling the extent of the Gonzaga domains almost without striking a blow. He maintained a court so numerous that it touched upon eight hundred people. With this premise, it is understandable how his financial needs were far greater than those of his predecessors. His military contracts managed to finance only a part of his needs; for the rest, he had to resort to taxes, a means that his parents had always carefully avoided.
THE SABBIONETA AND BOZZOLO BRANCH
If Mantua was the political mind of the house, Sabbioneta and Bozzolo were its armed arm. This cadet branch, originated by Giovanni Francesco Gonzaga, produced a lineage of restless warriors, in the service of France or the Empire, sometimes even in conflict with each other.
Giovanni Francesco Gonzaga (Count of Rodigo)
The founder of the branch. The third son of Ludovico II, he married Antonia del Balzo, inheriting profound ties with Southern Italy through the marriage. Upon his death, he left his sons Pirro, Ludovico, and Federico a strategically crucial territory in the lower Po Valley and a military vocation that would mark the family’s history for generations. Of a peaceful nature, he is attributed with humanistic, literary, and artistic activity.
Federico Gonzaga da Bozzolo
Son of Giovanni Francesco, Federico linked his destiny to France. He was a bold captain, famous for his fiery temperament which led him almost to duel with his brother Pirro before King Louis XII over a matter of honor. He took part in the Battle of Pavia, during which he was captured by the Imperials. Reported always at the side of the opposing captain, the Constable of Bourbon, he bribed some Spanish soldiers and fled with the Count of Saint-Pol (François de Bourbon) when the possibility of their transfer to Spain loomed. He resumed fighting against the Imperials. During the conflict, he moved from Bevagna towards Todi: due to the cold encountered on the journey, the colic that had tormented him for some time worsened. He died in the latter location amidst atrocious pain. His figure embodies the ideal of the knight through and through in the service of a foreign crown. He married Giovanna Orsini.
Pirro Gonzaga da Bozzolo
Brother of Federico, Febo, and Ludovico. Father of Carlo. Destined by his family for an ecclesiastical career, upon his father’s death he abandoned religious life to dedicate himself to the profession of arms. Due to his militancy with the French, his feudal possessions were confiscated by the Imperials and conferred upon his nephew Luigi Rodomonte, son of his brother Ludovico. Charged with the defense of Sant’Angelo Lodigiano, he was captured there by the Marquis of Pescara, Ferdinando d’Avalos. For his too-rapid surrender to the enemy, he was harshly reprimanded by the King of France, Francis I. Freed through the intervention of his mother Antonia del Balzo, he retired to Gazzuolo. He asked for pardon from Emperor Charles V and fought in favor of the Imperials against the French and Venetians. He married Emilia Bentivoglio.
He is the Gonzaga who had to manage his family’s difficult position in the Italian Wars of the time. While his brothers Federico and Pirro fought for the French cause, he remained always faithful to the Imperial one. The Marquis of Mantua, Federico II Gonzaga, handed him the castles formerly belonging to his brother Federico, who had just died in Todi. He also had to face the painful rebellion of his son Cagnino, who sided with the adversaries. None of his five sons survived him. He then named his nine-year-old nephew Vespasiano, son of Luigi Rodomonte, as his heir. He married Francesca Fieschi.
The giant of the family. Son of Ludovico da Bozzolo, Luigi was nicknamed “Rodomonte” for his extraordinary physical strength, capable of breaking horseshoes and striking down enemies with his bare hands. An Imperial captain, he was a protagonist of the Sack of Rome in 1527. Among the most spirited in unleashing his men against the defenders and among the first to enter the city, he managed, at the same time, after the surrender of the papal forces, to help Pope Clement VII in his escape from Rome, disguised as a vegetable gardener, and to bring him to safety in Orvieto. A friend of Ludovico Ariosto and a poet himself, he died young, struck by an arquebus ball in the left shoulder at the siege of Vicovaro. He left his son, Vespasiano, to the care of his sister Giulia, widow of Vespasiano Colonna. The son would prove to be the founder of the ideal city, Sabbioneta, a project completed entirely within the span of thirty-five years. He married Isabella Colonna. His wife, for whom he had fought hard against the Pope himself to unite in marriage, remarried Filippo di Lannoy, Prince of Sulmona, two years later.
Cagnino Gonzaga
Named Gianfrancesco, called Cagnino by his father Ludovico because, as a child, small in stature, he proved lively as a puppy (cagnolino). Unlike his brother Luigi Rodomonte, he chose to fight in favor of the French against the Imperials. His decision caused an incurable rift with his father, who disinherited him and drove him from the ancestral fiefs. A rebellious spirit, he managed to quarrel with his captain general, Guido Rangoni, over the possession of some fiefs in the Parma area. Following an inquiry by the French, many infantrymen belonging to his companies were dismissed. To take revenge, he divulged some letters by Pietro Aretino that mocked Cesare Fregoso, Rangoni’s brother-in-law. There was a new inquiry, at the end of which he obtained permission to return to his possessions for health reasons. He married Luigia Pallavicini. One year after his death, the woman contracted a new marriage with the nephew of Pope Paul III, Sforza Sforza di Santa Fiora.
Febo Gonzaga
Natural half-brother of Federico, Pirro, and Ludovico. On a military level, Febo was no less than his kinsmen. In the service of the Venetians, and under the orders of the Marquis of Mantua Francesco II Gonzaga, he took part in the Battle of Fornovo with the task of managing the logistics of the Italian League troops. His figure demonstrates how, in the Gonzaga military “firm,” valor on the field was capable of compensating for even an illegitimate birth, guaranteeing command roles and prestigious marriages. He married Margherita d’Este.
Ippolito Gonzaga
Son of Febo, he continued the paternal military tradition in the service of the French against the Imperials.
Carlo Gonzaga
Son of Pirro. Like his cousin Luigi Rodomonte, to whom he was entrusted as a child, he left behind the memory of an indomitable man, the author of feats that smack of the legendary. He proved to be a great horseman, especially when, passing with his steed under a gate where a chain hung from the vault, he hung from it with his hands and, compressing the mount’s back with his legs, lifted it from the ground. His entire life (he died at 33) was spent in the exercise of arms in the service of the Imperials.
THE LUZZARA AND CASTIGLIONE DELLE STIVIERE BRANCH
Originated by Rodolfo, son of Ludovico III (Ludovico II), this branch is also distinguished by solid and often tragic condottieri, linked to the defense of the state’s northern borders.
Rodolfo Gonzaga
The figure of Rodolfo is one of the darkest and most fascinating. A war hero (his first military experiences were in Burgundy in the service of Charles the Bold) and a refined diplomat in his youth, he stained himself with a horrendous crime by brutally killing his first wife, Antonia Malatesta, out of jealousy. Surprising her with her lover, a dance master, he dragged her out of bed, led her naked into the courtyard, sodomized her in the snow, made her ask for forgiveness, and killed her with a dagger blow to the head. He met his death on the battlefield of Fornovo in 1495: in the heat of the melee, he raised his helmet’s visor to catch his breath or give orders; he was mortally struck in the face by a French estoc. His death damaged the Italian League’s camp enormously due to the loss of the true thinking head of the army commanded by Captain General Francesco II Gonzaga. He married Caterina della Mirandola in second nuptials.
Luigi Gonzaga
Son of Rodolfo, left an orphan after the Battle of Fornovo, he grew up learning the art of war. He soon became an expert in poliorcetics (the art of sieges) in the service of the Papacy, Venice, and the Empire. He is the founder of the Castiglione delle Stiviere line, whose most illustrious exponent, at the end of the century, would be Saint Aloysius Gonzaga (San Luigi Gonzaga). He was accused on more than one occasion of famous crimes, such as those of the Duke of Urbino Francesco Maria della Rovere and the Duke of Parma Pierluigi Farnese. He also knew how to cultivate a love for letters; on several occasions, he had the opportunity to host men of letters like Matteo Bandello and Pietro Aretino.
THE NOVELLARA BRANCH
This is an ancient collateral branch, which maintained strong autonomy and a marked military vocation and often operated as a strategic “reserve” for the cousins of Mantua.
Giampiero Gonzaga
Count of Novellara, he consolidated the small state through a policy of local alliances and military contracts. He was the father of a generation of soldiers who distinguished themselves in the ferocious wars of the second half of the sixteenth century. Father of Alessandro and Annibale.
Alessandro Gonzaga
Brother of Annibale, he served the Imperials. He is remembered for an episode of chivalry that occurred during the Sack of Rome. While the Landsknechts were devastating the city, he managed to save the Marchioness of Mantua Isabella d’Este, his relative, by having her take refuge in the Palazzo Colonna and protecting her from the soldiers’ fury. A demonstration by the House of Gonzaga of how blood ties prevail over the logic of alignment.
Annibale Gonzaga
Brother of Alessandro. Unlike his kinsman, he served in favor of the French against the Imperials. Struck by an arquebus bullet or an artillery shot, he found death in Piedmont in 1537 in a night assault on the city of Busca.
THE VESCOVATO BRANCH
This is the only branch of the Gonzaga family still in existence. Its founder was Giovanni, brother of Francesco II.
Giovanni Gonzaga
A man of arms and the court, Giovanni always facilitated the initiatives of his brother Francesco II and his nephew Federico II. A capable general and astute diplomat, he served under the pay of the Papacy, the Empire, and the Duke of Milan Massimiliano Sforza. His numerous military contracts allowed him to accumulate wealth and fiefs that would allow the Vescovato branch to prosper.
Sigismondo Gonzaga
Son of Giovanni, Sigismondo was a soldier active in Lombardy, known for his harassment and recruitment actions. He died young, but in time to demonstrate the valor of his dynastic line.
Alessandro Gonzaga
Brother of Sigismondo, he shared with him the profession of arms and an early end. He died in 1527 from an artillery shot.
OTHER CONDOTTIERI OF THE HOUSE
Bartolomeo Gonzaga
An archaic figure, active between the 14th and 15th centuries, Bartolomeo represents the era of the “pure” captains of fortune. Expert in the construction of fortifications (bastie) and river warfare, he operated in a time when the Gonzaga were still building their seigneurial legitimacy.
Giulio Gonzaga
A captain active at the beginning of the sixteenth century, he linked his sword to the House of Este. His raids in the Polesine against the Venetians are documented as examples of that endemic border war that characterized relations between the Po Valley states.
