PEER LOE Sasere ae aaa en PPPS Serer SPR oe ae Se= at Fi i ner Nap as ——_ OG eee le oad a ERD ete eae es ee a Pee ee Oe ee ee ata att ae CE ee Se eee eee ce a a a eS AO ee a ee ies EI EOE ND OO OIE einen a a ea GSP Oe Pa le ae ae ae Fn SIE PAO Le ISA OE a en a eect 5 Seer See eee ee PP ARIE OT Re ee = dias LIP OT ND oe Sate “eas TS PDEA agian AE OE ‘ aan i Pe at le A a PIO ee are oes ies ——* Ce en eng ea Se ee os NE Se es ee eae Se Oe Oe re ees — = Pe Ne: ae eee eae Se eae ~2, ES SESS 2 PRESS OECes Oe ee ee Oe Ne ee ae Se Sloe Se ee OO eas ae Kateetethest z - a ORAL PEELE CI Sa AL OPE OI SAEED IE ae ee iets University of DG975.M3 B7 ALD i U Ree OS ae ee - 0 i TN ee a a eS ee ae ee PIP et Se I eNO Oe Ne ee Oe ne eel Sages aed ie SS — ee a ~ a ee ned SP IN : ee ee _— Ne ee eRe A REST OO RE Se SOSA Armed eee OS er Soe oe eae ee ees en ~ ea a onzaga--lords of Mantua, il a Ee ee Oe a ee ne ee ee ee eee ee a eeiadamene ares ten a glPena eer See eae ‘ sa ; " aa Seen oat ene Se ee ae se ne ‘ pants un SA ON ig ae Eee = 2 ane aa be asa scala ‘i : eee 5 sia are bana at a ee > en tie SiG ae ~ aoe mam a ai eS yee ee iia kad — Se eee ae ee za ee teat “a a aan S en a OR i ~ ote ee aes ar 4 aes apace pind as See eNO ecihes i : OED rik eae eo io a Bes re oe S Ging e e 3 ¥ ee — ae Ema ie we ApS # > ~ As e Ane ai wigs - . is = a ss i a ae Faia peli crip Arie papa ia > Sade eee — > é = a Sa - is ; . Ee tpt, sch Ge pe AEE S < eee et ps pair a iad a Bi Aisin Satan eee 2 ales e ~ . um aa 3 re gs pa Ee a EET - ae ieee all é. aaa 5 wo —— . a ae cians Signi perio Ps ny ager Stee EO see ‘ a ot < ie sa ERE < - +> a PL = me » : we see Saami > ss ~ Ee 2 te Sete eee ee PPL eT lotus EC EES OE en wag ; pete : ror Sa oe te i neti. aaa iss E en 2 i eee ata tiocgtis - 5 ae “ — Ps eee EAS eee eae iste se fot ee Ss 5 = - > OLD | BLACK] WHITE BOOK BINDING SLIP — FOR — BOOKS, PAMS, THESIS, ETC. WHICH DO NOT | REQUIRE PATTERNS. USE H.E.L.P.” BINDING PATTERN FOR BOOKS, | THESIS, PERIODICALS ETC. WHICH REQUIRE PATTERNS. THE HECKMAN BINDERY, INC. NORTH MANCHESTER, INDIANA 46962 ONLY E “BKRM, PKT. | INST. MAT. GUM FILL. | | | | a NORES BINDERY USE v Cee ua NEW CASE | ete OVERSEW | CLEAT 4 EB ADHESIVE SINGER | NATIONAL REF BK. | BOOK | MUSIC BK. | BK. PAM eet! SPECIAL RUB SENT | ont VOL. | OF a COVER SIZE peeaune: mal ieSe atelier rere area Ie Die a SS * | i i : = ryt SS —S am —_THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUApee S| a i oe a aw a ae sy Se eT eal) UV oraeeree ct eH ate TES Teter e Te a A ed Ve ees GSAT URE PERE Ae ee ea ea ea Pees 5 _— —— —— = a rye) MADONNA O] THE VICTORY ‘ 3 ANDREA MANTEGNA IN THITHE GONZAGA— LORDS OF MANTUA BY SELWYN BRINTON, M.A., F.R.S.A. BARRISTER-AT-LAW WITH FORTY ILLUSTRATIONS NEW YORK BRENTANO’S PUBLISHERS-_ Pant + 9 aie ew mee oes sae” ————— ‘ ul rf ai ) , ? ! i PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAINTo LADY WARD A LOVER OF MANTUA AND HER GREAT PRINCESS, WHOSE UNFAILING SYMPATHY AND INSPIRING ENTHUSIASM HAVE BEEN EVER BESIDE ME IN THESE YEARS OF CREATION Soo ee, ; a — — — ee eee Ser are a= pee owa ae Tad —— or pn Be a wees o — y Ee bl od ei ba! ~ anal ae SPO EE ee ae = = oh rated neice eeMANTEGNA AT MANTUA 85 “ absolute dissonance with the grave and reposeful character of the building they break in upon that solemnity which had been willed by Alberti.” Yet even so the result is harmonious and impressive, and justifies Sir Banister Fletcher’s praise when he says that “‘ the perfection of the proportions makes this church one of the grandest in this style, while the front is reminiscent of a Koman triumphal arch. It is the type,” he adds, ‘“‘ of many modern Renaissance churches, consisting of a single nave with transepts, chapels alternating with entrance vestibules taking the place of the customary aisles.’ Here then we see the round arch used to form the basis of noble and original archi- tecture ; and the fine proportions of this earlier work influenced very probably the architect Bramante when he planned out St. Peter’s Basilica at Rome. An old writer on Mantua, Giovanni Cadioli, mentions that the two saints, Andrew and Longinus the Martyr—whose story we have seen (Chapter I.) to have been so closely connected with that of the old church —* were painted in fresco by Andrea Mantegna over the highest part of the facade.’’ Even in his day (1662) they were ruined and decayed, and have long since disappeared. But within S. Andrea itself, in the first chapel on the left as we enter, with its faded frescoes on the walls, is Andrea Mantegna’s tomb, surmounted by the famous bust in bronze of himself. Tradi- tion long assigned this to the medallist Sperandio, though it is just possible that it was from the Master’s own hands, which had used in life the modelling tools. “‘ At least,” I have written, “it shows the inspiration of his virile genius; it expresses in the broad forehead, the deep-set eyes, the massive jaw, the character of the man and of his art.” 1 The Chapel of the Incoronata in the Basilica of S. Pietro, which was later to be rebuilt by Giulio Romano, is from Leo Battista Alberti’s design, but was very freely restored. We come far nearer to his unspoiled creation in the little church of S. Sebastiano, which, as I write, is being restored as a war memorial. The facade and staircase, lighted in the lower part by five windows, alternately square or semicircular, have elements of great beauty, and recall in certain features the * Vide Selwyn Brinton, op. cit., Prologue. ~ 5 SOS sy a Cd ory Se > a a ieSoa RS Ol CERES! CP al eS ry Se a 86 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA most graceful Capella Pazzi, designed by Filippo Brunelleschi at Florence, or the earlier work of Bramante in Rome, of Laurana in the Palace of Urbino, or of Alberti himself in that wonderful temple which he designed for the Malatesta at Rimini, which Venturi has described as perhaps the most complete expression of the ideas developed by this architect of Humanism in his De Re A:dificatorié. For this little Mantuan church of St. Sebastian has just those qualities of balance, harmony, and of lucidity of conception, which are summed up by the great critic just mentioned in the word “ eurithmia ’’—qualities which belong to this exquisite and elusive moment of the early Renaissance in Italy (Alberti, a contemporary of both Brunelleschi and Bramante, lived from 1404 to 1472), but which disappeared in the assertive classicism of a later age. The wedding festivities of Federigo and Margherita, which I have described, had been suddenly overshadowed by a terrible and unwelcome visitor, the plague, which had already spread through Italy, doing terrible havoc in Ferrara, and appeared in 1463 among the Jews of Mantua who—crowded into their Ghetto, penalized by unjust legislation, and perhaps them- selves not over cleanly—were later to bring it again to the city in a terrible moment of her history. The Marquis, with the “Sposi’’ and the rest of his family, retired to Revere, keeping for himself Borgoforte, Gonzaga, and Marmirolo ; and published an edict, on October 20, in which he gave the citizens ten days to leave the city. Such was their terror that the Mantuans fled headlong into the country, and of 26,407 i- habitants only 2890 remained in the city under Carlo Agnelli, deputed by the Marquis to rule with absolute power. At the beginning of 1464, every trace of contagion had disappeared, the gates of Mantua were reopened, and the citizens returned with the Marquis and his family. Two years later (1466) the death of Alessandro Gonzaga, the favourite pupil of Vittorino, brought all his lands and castles in the Brescian territory by inheritance back to his brother Lodovico. Deficient in bodily vigour and health, and fond of a retired life, he had been 4 friend and protector of men of letters, and himself a fine scholar in Greek and Latin; and after his father’s death hada es avy an es a a —. MANTUA ee ee en nT eet eet orate THE CASTELLO OF ANDREA MANTEGNA IN OP IT = NN z | : x SALA DEGLI SPOSI, yess ye = > ees PHE . oo oe an mete) ii eae aeele te pearer as - eens = RD Re GBT EET ek I MO ecnnmee eratrn N apes ee ee es | | ae ae A - a —_- ~ eee Seti re ae ~ paBsien cess ee a aeer ee arnt re eT ide al eel —_ ee eS - oanMANTEGNA AT MANTUA 91 diploma, which was to confer on him certain fiefs of Viadana, Sabbioneta, Rivarolo, and Bozzolo. He died of a slow fever on the night of June 11, 1478, in the sixty-sixth year of his life, and his body was brought to Mantua without display and buried in her Cathedral of S. Pietro.1 It was the Humanist Platina—one of the scholars of his Court beside Ognibene, Guarino of Verona, Politian, Leoniceno, and the famous Filelfo 2—who pronounced his funeral oration; and here the note of courtly praise rings true. A successful soldier— Captain-General of the armies of Milan and of Florence—a good father of his family, an excellent prince, a friend of his people, the patron of talent in art and letters, he had sur- mounted and triumphed over many difficulties. Under his rule Mantua had advanced in riches and industry, and her population had increased to forty thousand ; above all, under his wise guidance she had come to claim a front place in the culture of her age. As at Florence at this very time, under Lorenzo the Magnificent, so here too, under Lodovico Gonzaga, that exquisite moment of the earlier Renaissance finds its utterance in art, architecture, and letters—through Vittorino, Guarino, Platina, Alberti, Mantegna. A certain severity is still apparent in this art; a Roman grandeur, a clarity of line, a dignity of conception is still the dominant note—in a later generation to be followed by the overflowing pride, the been working for his patron at Goito and Cavriana before he was definitely established in Mantua in 1466. Lodovico’s letter is worthy of himself—and his great artist. ‘“‘ Andrea... we perfectly remember the promises we made when you entered our service; neither have we failed to keep these promises. But you cannot take from us what we have not got, and yourself have seen that, when we had the means, we have never failed to do all in our power for you. . . and that gladly and of good will.” Vide Cartwright, op. cit. * As we are told by a contemporary ; Donesmondi and Gionta say that he was buried in S. Francesco. * The relations of Francesco Filelfo with Casa Gonzaga were constant and friendly, not only with Marquis Lodovico and his Marchesa, but with his brother Carlo, when this latter was fighting for Milan. Filelfo is constantly pressing Lodovico for money, and receiving generous help. He writes in 1452, and in 1453 returns to the assault in Latin and Italian. Having then a daughter to marry, he wants 250 ducats, and promises as many verses in his poem of the “‘ Sforziade.”” In 1464 he is in such need that he will welcome from his Gonzaga patron 100 ducats or an old lined coat (uno vestito foderato di mezzo tempo). He stayed in Mantua on his journey to Rome, Sart — Soc eA ormert SIE caer iene = 5 == Se a een tnt enn nee- Me wale ney a a x ae aa ialiy = = ArT eee te er -" ee ert nr a eee es ee RE SASS Ee) pdretberer ee ve eee ed ees page see earnest = eer SEA | | $y stereos, ae ented aes Sr Sere Es taper = ee eae “= BET ak 92 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA almost sensuous splendour of Giulio the Roman, under his young Duke Federigo. Between these two, uniting and completing both messages of old Mantua, there now rises before us that brilliant figure —the admitted Queen of her age, sharing to the full in its every interest and sympathy, and herself the very incarnation of the Renaissance spirit—of Isabella d’Este da Gonzaga, Princess of Mantua.»M THE ISABELI PAINTING DA GONZAGA THE MUSEUM See eee cash yummOf OY AG nia fs bee ee Ss aE eee Perens rm nd ES rey eee ty eer see ‘ Somme a.CHAPTER sy U1 THE BATTLE OF THE TARO N the preceding pages we have traced again and again the intimate connection with Mantua of the great House of Este, Lords of Ferrara ; in the days of the old Commune of Mantua and of the league against Frederick II and the cruel Ezzelino, in those of the Bonacolsi despotism and of the later Gonzaga dynasty in its secular struggle against the encroaching power of Milan, these d’Este Princes, as allies and sometimes enemies, have been familiar and frequent figures. Like Mantua, Ferrara, lying in the midst of her fertile plains, was a city of commerce and wealth—“ the first really modern city, with her broad streets and well-built quarters, her com- plete and modern system of finance.” 1 Like the Gonzaga, these Este rulers had from the first welcomed the new learning and become enthusiastic patrons of its culture. Boiardo, Ariosto, Guarino, Tasso are famous as their poets; Cosimo Tura, Costa, Dosso Dossi, Francia are their Court painters. Leonello d’Este, that brilliant and cultured prince, had been brought up under the great Humanist Guarino da Verona (vide Chapter VI.) ; and had, as we have seen, himself married a Gonzaga. His magnificent portrait medallion by Pisanello’s hand, with its clever ugly face and close-cut hair, is yet pre- served to us—a replica in colour, painted in 1447 by the Ferrarese Oriolo, being in our National Gallery. When he would set up an equestrian monument to his father’s memory, he turned to Leo Battista Alberti, whose notes on this subject form the basis of his treatise De Equo Ammante, and who * Vide Selwyn Brinton, Renaissance in Italian Art, Part v. ch. i., ‘ The Court of Ferrara.” 93 S s arr = i Sepa aE ewe en enn en eC en anEnney Oieabe ne cme GY og SN EE —— = —— 1 mn — at} eee eet cae Spee ee x aaCee a PS ae aa ee Soe aro ee Tai ee el al ee eee Ae ae [errata tr talent eee a ER ET a ne ee eee a eee ne Pete aR re SC a eit ER: TAS Fee. peg area yer: oo Sree ke ns a ee ston — is scene. ar emer 94 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA wrote under this patron his famous work on architecture. What more natural than that Federigo, now Marquis of Mantua, looking for a bride for his first-born son, Francesco. should have turned to this now Ducal House of Este at Ferrara ? Yet it was an accident which seems to have really decided this happy and fortunate union. Federigo, like his father, Lodovico Gonzaga, and his ancestors for three generations, was a great Condottiere—a soldier by profession, and leader of the troops of Milan. This career had, in fact, by this time be- come a tradition with the members of his House. ‘ He bore the name,’’ says the chronicler, ‘‘ of a man prudent in war, . . and above all things he dreaded idleness. He built the palace of Marmirolo, and was Captain of the armed forces of the Duchy of Milan.” An opportunity now afforded itself for his military talents in the terrible conspiracy (1478) of the Pazzi at Florence, which, directed by Pope Sixtus IV against Lorenzo de’ Medici and his brother Giuliano, was soon to plunge Central Italy into war. While the Papal armies, with those of the King of Naples, invaded Tuscany, Pope Sixtus sought to divert the troops of Milan from coming to the aid of Florence, by bringing down the Swiss mountaineers of Un into the plains of Lombardy ;! and Marquis Federigo was called on by the Duchess Bona of Milan, as General of her troops, to drive out these Swiss, who were threatening Lugano and the Milanese frontier. He achieved this successfully, and was made by the grateful Duchess Captain of the armies of Milan, with 30,000 scudi a year as his fee, and double this sum in time of war. He had left as his Ministers at home one Eusebio Malatesta, of Jewish origin, whom he made Cavaliere, and gave him charge of civil affairs, and Francesco Secco, who had the direction of arms, and was what we might call Minister of War; but the jealousies between these two were to bring trouble later. Then, in the spring of the year following—early May of 1479—Federigo marched south towards Tuscany, with two ) thousand horse and five hundred foot soldiers as Captain of 1 See my Golden A ge of the Medici, note on ch. vii., ‘‘ The Conspiracy of 2, Pazzi’’: ‘‘ Under this Pope, and as the result of his intrigues, for the firs time the foreign invader was brought into Lombardy.”THE BATTLE OF THE TARO 95 ithe troops of Milan, preceded by Duke Ercole d’Este of ferrara, who was Captain of the Venetians. The details of this important campaign belong more properly to Florentine uistory; and the Mantuan chronicler, after describing some suc- esses, adds that, on news coming to the Marquis that his wife, Margherita of Bavaria, was very dangerously sick, he left the command to his lieutenant, Evangelista, son of Carlo Gonzaga, and arrived on October 17 at Mantua, where three days later the Princess passed away, being buried in S. Francesco. This statement is no doubt correct ; but at the same time we know from other sources that there had been a serious quarrel among the leaders of the Florentine armies—more especially between the Duke of Ferrara and the Marquis of Mantua—which had led to the former also retiring with his followers, and to the disaster at Poggio Imperiale, which nearly exposed Florence tothe enemy. ‘‘ The whole campaign,” I have said elsewhere, ‘is an instance of the futile and expensive character of this mercenary warfare in the days of the Condottieri, when the leaders on both sides were mainly occupied with prospects of plunder and their personal feuds.”’ } The year 1480 saw a truce concluded between the Pope and his allies with the Republic of Florence and Duke of Milan ; and in June of that year came an embassy from the Duc de Montpensier, of the Royal House of France, to beg for the hand in marriage of Chiara, daughter of Marquis Federigo. For the “divertimenti”’ then given by the Gonzaga in his honour, the Duke and Duchess of Ferrara had come to Mantua ; and, though difficulties arose as to the terms of the Mont- pensier marriage, and it was for a time deferred, it led then bya happy chance to a far more important union. For the Marquis, while Duke Ercole d’Este was his guest, had opened the subject of a marriage to be effected in due time between Isabella, daughter of the latter, then nine years of age, and Francesco, first-born of the Marquis, who was then barely fifteen (b. 1466) ce ? and without difficulty as to terms was this alliance estab- +See my Golden Age of the Medici, ch. vii. p. 141. In this same year | Federigo had received from the Emperor confirmation of his investiture as ‘Marquis of Mantua—the original document of which was preserved in the Archivio Segreto of that city. It may be noted here that the right to grant or withhold investiture was throughout claimed by the Emperor. Fo . try eed za oe SNe er, ae o —— = : Se ee ee ea ‘ = 5 Se a Se 2 Bie a ee ne re eee eel Sas pS a)96 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA lished.”” It was at this same time that the Marquis had built for himself a “ palace and place of delight ” in his lands of Marmirolo, an ancient heritage of Casa Gonzaga : irrigated by a placid stream and by the play of many fountains, with fairest gardens and shady groves in summer heats, this was for succeeding ages a place of recreation and delight for these Gonzaga Princes and their Court. Meanwhile, the negotiations for the Montpensier marriage were resumed in the year follow- ing, the Marquis giving to his daughter a dowry of twenty-six thousand golden ducats ; and the wedding was celebrated in January (1481) with great rejoicings. Duke Ercole d’Este, who was then present, returned to Ferrara with Francesco, his future son-in-law ; and the Marquis, who had also come as his guest, was splendidly entertained there by tournaments and races (corsi di palt). These festive doings were, however, converted to grief by the periodic trouble of inundation, which in May of that year —after three days torrential rain—flooded the Mantovano, breaking the dams of the Po, Mincio, and Oglio, and “ what completed the consternation ’’ was the unwelcome return of the locusts, which devastated Goito and Cavriana; while, in the November following, the Marchesa Barbara passed away, mourned by her children and all her people. Then followed war, caused again by Pope Sixtus IV, who this time had stirred up the Venetians against Ferrara, purposing the destruction of the House of Este. Duke Ercole, seeing lis great danger, appealed to the Princes of Northern Italy for help ; and a League was formed, including Lodovico Sforza, now Regent of Milan, the King of Naples, the Marquises of Mantua and Monferrato, the Bentivoglio of Bologna, and the Republic of Florence—the famous Federigo of Monteteltro, Duke of Urbino, being selected (1482) as Captain-General of their armies. In May of this same year the Venetians de- scended on the Ferrarese, both by land and water, and thelr forces spread over the Mantuan border. In vain did the Duke of Urbino hurry with his troops to Ostiglia, and Marquis Federigo cut the dams of the Mincio to deprive the Venetians of their supplies. Things were looking very badly for oe League when Pope Sixtus IV, in fear of the increasing powél 0THE BATTLE OF THE TARO 97 Venice, suddenly made his own terms with Naples in December of 1482. This changed at once the whole position of affairs; and, on December 27, Cardinal Francesco Gonzaga came to Ferrara as Apostolic Legate for the affairs of this war—now able to use his great influence in favour of the League. In January of 1483 the Duke of Calabria, son of the King of Naples, had come north with two thousand horsemen, to the joy of the Mantuans ; and, on the last day of February, a Congress of the leagued powers was opened at Cremona. Lodovico Sforza was present with the Cardinal of Mantua, the Duke of Calabria, represent- ing Naples, and Count Girolamo Riario, Captain of the Armies of the Church ; and with these Lorenzo de’ Medici himself, who had come north especially to attend this important gathering. On the way he had passed through Mantua, and had spent an idle hour with the little Gonzaga Princesses, Elisabetta and Maddalena, who were brought to see him after dinner at his expressed desire by their governess, Violante de’ Preti ; and to whom he said, with his charming courtesy, on leaving that their father was rich in fair children. Next day he was entertained, in his father’s absence, by their brother, Francesco Gonzaga, who escorted him to Mass at S. Francesco, and then to the house of Andrea Mantegna, where “ he ad- mired some of Messer Andrea’s paintings, as well as certain heads in high relief and other antiques, in which he seemed to take great delight.” 1 In the Congress at Cremona which followed, it was Lorenzo himself who, after Marquis Federigo had spoken at some length and with great judgment, suggested him to the Duke of Milan as Captain-General of his forces : and Lodovico, agreeing to this, sent to Mantua his standard and baton of command. The division of North Italy, as here arranged, seems to have given Brescia, Bergamo and Crema to the Duke of Milan, Verona with the Veronese, Asola and Lonato to the Gonzaga, and Lucca to Florence. But the war was still on hand, and Marquis Federigo at once sent eight Squadrons at his own charge to the Duke of Calabria in the Brescianino, and directed the twenty galleons lent by Milan to the aid of Ferrara; while he himself took his post on the 1 Vide Julia Cartwright, op. cit. ch, ili, 7 = Se ceey Se ~ “< aa = ned Se aa aS m5 eal at aat na nS SS ne erines a eine z eee ren en ae See a Pan Oya = Se — = Se =“ ome | ee ae a aiapaeera ee (oni SOI ee erat eT ae ae ee na er es Shinar en ae os NE WO Cl TETRA ene Oe OSL Re 7 v aeons eae oe ree) a a Pee en sy a Bats: 98 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA Mincio to watch the Venetian troops, Ferrara was freed by Duke Ercole d’Este from blockade, and Asola captured on October 8, 1483, and handed over to the Mantuans. Cardinal Francesco Gonzaga had just returned from these matters of war to his duties as Legate at Bologna, when he died on October 22, 1483. He had been born to Marquis Lodovico and the Marchesa Barbara in 1444, made Cardinal (as we have seen) by Pius II in 1461, Bishop of Mantua in 1466, Legate Apostolic of Bologna in 1471, and Archbishop of Bologna by Sixtus IV after the Cardinal of Portugal's death, Thus, in succession, the great steps of Church preferment, save only the highest, had been climbed by him; but deservedly from his high character, his attainments, and culture. From the first years of his Cardinalate, it has been said, although then of tender years, he was distinguished by his self-control and weight of counsel ; while his charm of manner, his kind- ness and munificence had won the love of all who knew him, so that his loss was mourned universally in Mantua, Bologna, and Rome.! A commanding figure in his time, when the ambition and nepotism of Sixtus IV kept Italy in continual strife, he is the first of a great series of Cardinals of the Gonzaga House who now enter our story. His likeness has been preserved to us in a famous medal of this prelate by Sperandio. His body was carried in state to Mantua, and buried in the Church of S. Francesco beside his ancestors, as he had willed ; and he was succeeded in the following year (1484) by the Protonotary Apostolic Lodovico Gonzaga, his own brother, in the Bishopric of Mantua. At this point it is worth our noticing that a whole school of medallists had been for some time flourishing at Mantua under the direct patronage of Casa Gonzaga. I have already (Chapter IV.) had occasion to mention that noble medal by Vittore Pisano of Cecilia Gonzaga, with as its reverse the unicorn (symbol of chastity) guarding the maiden, who sits sunk in dreams in a moonlit rocky waste”; and no less 1m- portant is the fine medal portrait, by the same Master, of Gian- francesco Gonzaga, ‘‘ Primus Marchio Mantue,” who appeals in the reverse armed and on horseback, with his mounted squit® 1 Cf. Volta, op. cit.THE BATTLE OF THE TARO 99 in attendance ; nor can I pass by here his noble portrait of Vittorino da Feltre, inscribed ‘‘ Victorinus Feltrensis summus . omnis Humanitatis pater.” But Pisano, who had frequently visited Mantua, had left there successors to carry on his great tradition. Earliest among these is the medallist who signs himself ‘‘ Petrus Domo Fani,”’ from the town of that name on the Adriatic, and whose medal of Lodovico Gonzaga has on its reverse the legend, ‘‘ Noli me tangere,’’ above a seated Cupid—suggesting possibly his fidelity to Marchesa Barbara, and his confidence against any onslaught from the little god of Love. The first native medallist of Mantua is, however, Bartolomeo Melioli (1448-1519), who was in charge of the Mantuan Mint, and made five medals of the Gonzaga Princes —including Marquis Lodovico, his son Lodovico (who, as just mentioned, became Bishop of Mantua), and his grandchildren, Maddalena and Francesco, the latter before 1484, while still a youth—besides that of Christian, King of Denmark, when he passed through Mantua on his way to Rome in 1474. The imitation of antique portrait busts is already evident in the treatment of these medals, as differing from those of Pisanello ; and “this ought not to surprise us when we remember the reverence bordering on worship with which, in the home of Virgil, men honoured the antique, and how eagerly its remains were collected.” 1 A contemporary of Melioli at Mantua was Bartolomeo Talpa, who worked as decorator in the palaces and villas of the Gonzaga, and to whom we owe the fine-signed medals of Marquis Federigo and his son, Francesco, and the unsigned charming portrait medal (head and bust) of the beautiful and unfortunate Julia Astalla.? Yet more important is the medallist called L’Antico (ciyca 1460-1528), but whose real name was Jacopo Ilario Bonacolsi. One of the attractions of this wonderful art of the medallist is that, having secured his portrait, the artist can give his imagination free play on the reverse. What, for instance, could be more delightful than that of the beautiful 1 Cf. Cornelius v. Fabriczy, Italian Medals, ch. ii. The reverse of Vittor- ino’s portrait medal shows the pelican feeding her young with her own blood. *A novel of Bandello relates that, having been outraged by a servant of the Bishop of Mantua, she threw herself into the waters of the Oglio, and was honoured by the Bishop with a monument. ee oes Se) ees ae rte nnn mtn eee as ee ie . NOOSA. a RN a ETL mas eg | 5 . a a lie dee4 Dee ae! Fe rae aa ae tort pi o~ meee a tare Bre in oo a es “he eer ee Reet ar 100 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA Antonia del Balzo, Princess of Altamura—whose husband. Gianfrancesco Gonzaga of Sabbioneta, was also portrayed by L’Antico—where the ship of her life is drawn through the waves by Cupid and Pegasus (signifying Love and Poetry) and guided by Hope. No less attractive and “‘ jewels of their kind ” are the medals, especially in reverse, by his contemporary Giancristoforo Romano, who was in Mantua from 1497 to 1505, making there in 1498 a medal of his patroness, Isabella d’Este, which was so much sought after that, in 1505, he had to make a replica, but with slight variations. Among the Mantuan medallists of this time is Gian Marco Cavalli, who, born in the Mantovano in 1450, was employed by the Gonzaga as goldsmith and sculptor in bronze. His portrait medals show strongly the influence of L’Antico, though the reverses are freely conceived ; and to him has been attributed the famous bronze bust of Mantegna over his tomb (wde Chapter VI.) in S. Andrea at Mantua, which is all the more likely ‘‘ since he was chosen by the celebrated painter to act as executor of his last will. In this case we have to recognize in our medallist the foremost bronze sculptor of Mantua.” * But this bust of the painter has also been attributed to the medallist Sperandio, who was at the front of his art at this time. Born at Mantua, and the son of a goldsmith, he had moved thence to Ferrara ; but appears at Mantua in 1450, and at Milan after 1460, where he made his portrait medal of Duke Francesco Sforza. By his hand, too, are the fine portrait medals of the great Federigo da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, of Niccolé da Correggio—that “ erudito cavaliere ” praised by Marchesa Isabella,2 who was son-in-law of Bartolomeo Colleont —of Count Carlo Grati, friend of the Bentivoglio of Bologna, and of Giovanni Bentivoglio II and his wife, “ the beautiful and intriguing Ginevra Sforza.” But I return now to his noble portrait medal of Cardinal Francesco Gonzaga, with its reverse showing an obelisk and dog (the latter symbolizing this 1 Cf. Cornelius v. Fabriczy, op. cit. 2It was Niccold da Correggio who, at her request, selected the he ‘«‘ Benemerentium ergo ”’ for the medal of Isabella d’ Este just mentioned, wi its reverse of the Archer and the Star. A perfect courtier and a poet; He is for years her friend and admirer, and spoke of her at the Court of Milan ** la prima donna del mondo.”Pe Se eee | THE BATTLE OF THE TARO 101 prelate’s fidelity and watchfulness for the Church) and the legend “ Liberalitatis. ac. Rom. eccl. jubar,’’ and the signature ~ Opus Sperandii.” + I shall return again later in this chapter, though more briefly, to the medals of this time, which, price- less in themselves as works of art, are not less so as a living commentary on the characters who fill its story. At this time occurs one of those terrible domestic tragedies which from time to time leave a dark stain on this golden story of Casa Gonzaga. Ridolfo, brother of Marquis Federigo, being already in their service, had taken the side of the Venetians against Ferrara; but, rather than bear arms against his brother, he had found an opportunity (in October 1483) to retire with his soldiers to Mantua. There, receiving a bad impression of the conduct of his wife, Antonia de’ Malatesta, he went in a rage to Luzzara, and, blinded by passion, gave orders to the executioner to cut off that unhappy woman’s head.? Later it came out that Antonia, being con- stantly at the Court of Mantua, had opposed the designs of Federigo’s favourite Minister, Eusebio Malatesta, who had sworn to bring about her destruction ; and the calumnies he had spread about her were only discovered after Marquis Federigo’s death, when, lacking this latter’s powerful protec- tion and attacked by his rival, Francesco Secco, this Eusebio became hated by all. Meanwhile, the war with Venice dragged on, with frequent disagreements between the Moro and the Duke of Calabria, until at length a treaty of peace was concluded, in August of 1484, between the Pope, with Naples, Milan, Florence and Ferrara on the one side, and Venice on the other, in which Asola, which was still in the hands of the Marquis of Mantua, was restored to Venice. Very indignant, as feeling that his interests had been sacrificed to those of Lodovico Sforza, Marquis Federigo had returned home, when a sudden illness proved fatal to him at the early age of forty-two. By his will he declared Francesco his heir and successor, providing 1 Cf. Volta, who writes: “ This famous sculptor of medals lived in those times in our city, and the medals of famous men of that time bear his name, with Mantovano added.” * Vide Schivenoglia, Mem. MS. Oy aA Wwe a Sn See SRN AN a ee ee TYeed - eee Spee om eae Sa Pail ey Td eel dal a yo oes ae oe eu ORY = OS a MRICS Pg A ee ea aebinmeaieinarncnenmmeneee ep A RE 102 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA honourably for his other sons—Giovanni and Sigismondo—and giving to his daughters—Chiara, Maddalena, and Elisabetta— suitable dowries. He was buried in the monument of the Gonzaga within S. Francesco. It seems as if there had been fear of some move on the part of Ridolfo, brother of the late Marquis, for Alfonso of Calabria hurried at once to Mantua to proclaim Franceseo as the successor; then, on the 24th of July 1484, this young prince, accompanied by his uncle, Bishop Lodovico, and his two brothers, came to the Piazza del Castello to receive from the Massaro of the Commune the sceptre of command, and thence to the Cathedral of S. Pietro to hear Mass. He was then eighteen years of age, and already showed promise of great things—‘‘ well equipped enough in letters, a lover of wise men, and most expert in riding, used to weapons and to the chase, prudent in foreseeing dangers and of great heart in overcoming them... . Passionately fond of horses he spared no expense in acquiring the best, and secured a great number from Naples, Sicily, Spain, Barbary and Arabia, with which he established at the Te, without Porta Pusterla, those breeds which are held so famous.” Before his father’s death he had already studied the art of war under the Duke of Calabria and Trivulzio, but now he placed before his military career the good of his subjects and their peace. Yet the love of adventure was strong in him, and, while his envoy was receiving from the Emperor the confirmation of his investiture,! the Prince himself, desirous of getting to know personally the affairs of Italy, formed the project of traversing that country with eight of his young companions, clad in plain armour, and in the strictest ~ in- cognito.” He appeared at Milan, ‘‘ where Duke Lodovico disposed as he willed of the Duchy without regard to the young Duke Galeazzo.”’ At Venice he took part in some “ giostre, where, in combat “corps 4 corps” he overthrew “ that strongest champion, Leone, bastard of the aforesaid Sforza. He spent a month in Rome, and then went south to Naples, coming to know the enmities of the Orsini and Colonna, the j at ivio 1 The original diploma of this investiture was preserved in the Archiv1 Segreto of Mantua.AS Ea Petr =P eee a —_ Aan a ~ See SS FRANCESCO II GONZAGA FROM THE MARBLE BUST XV CENTURY IN THE REGGIA OF THE GONZAGser a a - ~ ~ SEER ye Se ae o CE NE SNES TS ew — see ero A iy j 5 i y } } ; EeTHE BATTLE OF THE TARO 103 discontent of his barons towards Ferdinand of Naples, the disposition of the Pope and the schemes of the Sforza; and finally, returning to Florence and letting himself be known there, was received with high honours by Lorenzo the Magni- ficent, Chief of the Republic, and thence came home to Mantua. It had been a wonderful journey of adventure, giving him a close insight into the Italy of his day ; almost it seems one of those legends of Mantua—like that of the “ Preziosissimo,” or of Sordello, or the flight of Federigo—in which the gallant young Marquis plays the part of the fairy Prince, for whom in that Red Palace of old Ferrara, with its guarding moat, the Princess of his dreams was even then waiting. “For it was time,” says the Chronicler of this year of 1489, “that our Marquis should carry out the wishes of his late parent, who ten years earlier had destined for his bride Isabella, daughter of Ercole, Duke of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio.” 1 Since then she had grown up into a beautiful and accomplished maiden, with fair hair and clear white skin ; she had studied the classics under the scholar Battista Guarino, and music, embroidery and dancing, in the midst of a Court whose culture was itself an inspiration, and was adored by her parents and teachers. Before this Francesco had visited the Emperor Frederick III at Frankfort, and on his return had wisely kept himself free from the intrigues of Lodovico Sforza who sought his alliance, and had devoted himself to the good of his people, and to helping forward the industries of Mantua. He found husbands at the same time (1486) for his two sisters : for Elisabetta, Guidobaldo di Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino ; for Maddalena, Giovanni Sforza of Cotignola, Lord of Pesaro, giving each a dowry of 27,000 ducats. We must admire less his treatment of his uncle Lodovico, the Bishop of Mantua, who was “ pressing Rome to have the purple (as Cardinal), but that the Marquis worked his hardest to spite him; and things got to sucha pass that the Bishop, Gianfrancesco, and Ridolfo ” (all uncles of his own) “‘ had to remain exiles from Mantua.”” In vain did the Pope, Lorenzo de’ Medici, and the Queen of Denmark intervene to bring them to peace. The Bishop at last, finding his way blocked, left Rome in disgust, 1Cf. Volta, op. cit. —— S in rrr To aay, payer y= pe meron a : Sea Sa : oe Sey ee Ta te son = —es <_ a ie Ete) es es SO eeated all a eer ae ee Oa a> S=] oe ir Pile PT oe pliloglorpeay itt OP arin P| So ey “ Sir E Ye ee alm ety op en? as ru a ee = Se a I SO eae EE ee S : Sa es en He ee ae SES EAE OE Fs ag an eee ~y s ea Ss = ss eager eee om oT ¥ neice icine in Svs enamel eoeseeeaat Srhihenl aaemnrmamaenamer vrmcar amet cree erm oe ree 104 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA and retired to his Castle at Gazzuolo, where—in the true spirit of his age—he gave himself up to collecting antiques, to form ing a great library, and conversing with men of letters.1 But now the destined bride was on her way to Mantua, arriving by water on February 15, 1490, escorted by her father Duke Ercole, her mother Leonora of Aragon, her brother Alfonso d’Este, and many nobles of Ferrara. Marquis Francesco had gone forth to meet them without Porta Pradella with his Ministers, magistrates, and knights, and now the procession took its way through those old Mantuan streets, made glad with tapestries, flowers, and emblems, and with no less than seven pageant plays (vappresentaziont), “ executed with music and poetry”; until at length it reached that frowning old Castello of the Gonzaga, where a fair boy with angel wings was ready to recite an “‘ epithalamium,” and—more welcome still—Elisabetta Gonzaga, the young Duchess of Urbino, was waiting to welcome her new sister. That it was a brilliant wedding goes without saying, honoured by the presence of Ambassadors of the Emperor “ Cesar himself,” of the Highest Pontiff, of the Kings of France and Naples, of the Duke of Milan and of the Republics of Florence, Genoa, and Venice; while Annibale Bentivoglio, who had recently married another daughter of Duke Ercole, came in person,? and it is estimated that no less than 17,000 persons had come into the city. For three successive days followed “ giostre’”’ and tournaments, in which the Bentivoglio won distinction, and for eight days the tables of the Court were spread and the rejoicings con- tinued ; then over this sky of unclouded sunshine suddenly the first cloud, significant of storm, cast its darkening shadow. For “ scarcely had the great personages left than the Ambas- sadors of Venice made it known that they had chosen the occasion of this wedding to treat of most secret and important * Volta suggests that the discord between uncle and nephew had be fermented by Francesco Secco, confidant and Minister of the late Marquis; Cartwright, that Francesco wished the Cardinal’s hat for his own brother Sigismondo, In any case, the whole matter does not show his character— which we shall see more of later in these pages—in a very favourable light. * Lucrezia, natural daughter of Duke Ercole, had been married at Fe on January 26, 1487, to Annibale, son of Giovanni Bentivoglio, Lord 0 Bologna ; Francesco Gonzaga being present at the wedding.ws eS es a aos ronal a om note ee AY as SS eee MANTUA GIORGIO 7. S: the conflict pell-mell (not according to the custom of the wars # of Italy) . . . at whose encounter fell many men-at-arms and } horses, and the lances being broken every one began with the same fury to lay hands upon their maces, estockados, and } other short weapons, the horses no less fighting with their feet 4 and teeth. And truly the valour and resolution of the Marquess, ‘i followed by a valiant company of young gentlemen and picked lancemen, forgot nothing which appertained to a Captain | couragious.”’ } —s In the words of the old writer we seem even now almost to + hear the clash of the weapons, the shouts of triumph or despaif, | the cries of the wounded, the turmoil, dust, and din of the | bloody conflict. The young Marquis had more than one horse | killed under him, but still was fighting on with his Mantuan knights. ‘“‘ The French were beginning manifestly to give way, not without peril of their King, near whom was taken prisoner, though fighting fiercely, the Bastard of Bourbcn; } so that this fortune put hope in the Marquess to have the } person of the King himself, and he made with his followers the } | t > 1T have preferred here to take the fine English version of Guicciardini by | Geffray Fenton, with its noble Elizabethan English, but which I find to | closely follow the Italian original. Cf. The History of Guicciardini, . - « veduced in English by Geffvay Fenton. Imprinted at London, 1599.THE BATTLE OF THE TARO 111 sreatest effort to achieve this.”’ A few paces more and the sreat prize would have been his, the victory achieved, and the story of Italy—even perhaps of Europe and the world—have een a very different one ; it may have been in that moment of his fiercest conflict that, like the old Sienese or the men of Parma in their hour of need, he had sent up his prayer to (Nur Lady of Succour, to Madonna of the Victory. But the French King Charles had seen, too, his own mminent peril, and ‘‘ abandoned of worldly succour, had ‘ecourse to heavenly aids, making vow to St. Denys and st. Martyn, reputed protectors particular of the Realm of France.” His was a feudal army, to whom the person of their King was something sacred ; and his men ran together from ul sides to protect him with their bodies, while a squadron of his horse charged the Italians in the rear. It was at this moment of the battle that Ridolfo Gonzaga, ‘‘ Condottiere of great experience and uncle of the Marquis,’’ who had the . special charge to call for the supports at the moment they were needed, “‘ moving from point to point to encourage his men and check any beginning of disorder,’’ opening for a moment his helmet, was struck in the face by a Frenchman, and falling from his horse was slain or crushed to death in that tumult of battle and furious horses. At the same time the Stradiot cavalry, who should have taken the French in the rear, attracted by the immense booty from all Italy, fell upon che French camp and gave themselves to its plunder. Antonio di Montefeltro, waiting vainly for Ridolfo’s message, had sent no help; and the little band around the Marquis became themselves in great peril—‘ nor was it possible that these few should resist many with the enemy increasing on every side, and many dead and wounded, chiefly in the special company of the Marquess.’’ They were driven back across the river, swollen with fresh rains during the battle itself, the French pressing them hard and killing all whom they took, to find, ‘on the other side, that the Italian front under Count Gaiazzo of Milan had crumpled up, and were flying in wild confusion along the high road towards Piacenza and Parma. By his presence and authority the Marquis restored some order, and averted the disaster which might have followed had the French112 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA then pressed their attack ; but the enemy was saved, the hopi of a decisive victory was for ever lost. Before daybreak, the French King took his departure “without sound of trumpet to cover his discamping,”’ whili the Marquis sent Count Gaiazzo to harass his retreat with the light cavalry and himself followed to prevent the King joining the Duke of Orleans at Novara. In this pursuit the Gonzaga. saw again that a vigorous attack “‘ with a good stiffening ofl)! his own men ” might yet defeat the enemy, and the place where!’ he planned to attack was near Stradella; but the Milanese Captain opposed him, saying, ‘‘ that the best for them was: that the enemy should depart, and it even seemed to him that' they should make a bridge of silver (wn ponte de arzento) to get ® them quickly out of the country, and give them no occasion? to remain and do more harm.” ! King Charles reached Ast*: in safety, and signed a treaty at Vercelli, on October 19,% with the Duke of Milan ; and on October 22 (1495), “‘ repassed } the Alps, after having ravaged all Italy with the violence o}: a hurricane.” This was the memorable battle of the Taro, in which both: sides claimed the victory: the Italians for having captured and spoiled the enemy’s camp and seen him retreat, the French! in having secured that retreat, which was their object, and) having inflicted heavy loss on their opponents. The letter) which the Marquis sent to the Marchesa Isabella immediately? after the battle (Ex castris victricibus. WII Julii 1495) gives: his first and true impression. ‘“‘ The battle of yesterday with - the enemy was very cruel . . . and what we did personally } is well enough known, and if the others had but followed the | victory would have been complete and not one of them ”’ (the) enemy) “ would have remained . . . and the chief cause of * Vide Luzio, Chroniche del Maychese di Mantova: ‘‘ With this disposition | of mind any thought of attack was impossible’ ; and it would seem tat after hk the bloody battle they had experienced, there was no desire to provoke ® another. The French lost only two hundred, and the Italians not less than § three thousand (vide Guicciardini). Sismondi says: ‘‘ Gonzaga left three i thousand five hundred dead on the field.” The body of Ridolfo Gonzaga was } found and buried with high honour in S. Francesco at Mantua. With him } had fallen other Mantuan knights—Galeotto degli Ippoliti, Roberto de Bagno, | Guido Gonzaga, and Giovanni Maria Gonzaga, Count of Calvisano. ATHE BATTLE OF THE TARO 1138 disorder was the disobedience of the Stradiots, who thought of nothing but plunder, and when we had most need of them no one was willing to appear.” } Isabella was evidently very anxious for his safety. Before the conflict she had sent him a relic from the wood of the Cross to wear round his neck in the hour of danger ; and she wrote him later, when besieging Novara: ‘I pray and entreat you to be very careful and not to expose yourself . . . as Iamsure you discharge your office best and most efficiently by giving orders to others rather than by fighting yourself.” But the Marquis now found himself—not undeservedly, as we have seen—the hero of the day. While still before Novara he was created by the Republic of Venice Captain-General of her armies, with a stipend—like his predecessors—of fifty thousand ducats a year in time of peace and sixty thousand in war: and as a special distinction for his recent services another two thousand ducats was added yearly, and to Marchese Isabella herself one thousand ducats, with which she told Brognoli to pay her debts in Venice and buy for her four pieces of the finest watered silk (abt). After the treaty was made the Marquis, going to Vercelli to pay his respects to the French King, had been received with every honour ; and on November r he made his trium- phant entry into Mantua, surrounded by a chosen squadron of warriors, and four days later went forward to Venice with Anibale Bentivoglio, where a great reception was waiting him —the Doge and Senate going forth to meet him in the Bucen- taur, and entertaining him magnificently. If he had any doubt on the subject at first, by this time he had become fully convinced of his victory. He had almost forced upon him the réle of champion of Italian glory ; and found the part to *The booty taken by the Stradiots in the French camp—the plunder of the Regno and rich cities of Italy—must have been enormous. It included the golden seals of the French King, an office or prayer book said to have been that of Charlemagne, the portable altar and relics brought by the King, which were taken from his valet Gabriel, and portraits of the ladies of pleasure who had pleased King Charles in the various cities of Italy. Several of these objects came into the hands of the Marquis, and were returned by him to the King with Gabriel himself and with the portraits—" certi ritvacti di damiselle del Re ’’—for which he received a letter with the King’s most grateful thanks. 8 erry : “a Saas Se et lA Rt I TD- eal NN er ars = os) ad A — ee ah an ea PE FF wn PO EPS wees Se ee i a eT SZ c = mr PES es me areas Pag tet nee eS ee Re Ree eee ae ee aed ee errata . ea roa SS sap reser pester ese = 114 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA suit him admirably. It was in the tradition of his house that, under such conditions, a medal should be struck; and here | was the famous old medallist Sperandio, back in his native | Mantua, and waiting his command. One of the two medals then struck for the Marquis bears the legend, “‘ Ob. Restitutam. Italia libertatem”’ (“‘ For her freedom given back to Italy ’’), and the other is dedicated to the Liberator of all Italy (Universe Italie Liberatori).1 But Francesco’s vow in the hour of conflict was yet to be fulfilled; and this commission was given by him to the genius of Andrea Mantegna. There had been some trouble at Mantua in his absence with a Jewish banker, Daniele Norsa, whose house had been nearly wrecked by the mob and himself condemned to pay a fine ; and this fine of one hundred ducats was now transferred to the painter, and, whether fair or unfair, was at least the excuse for a masterpiece. Our Lady of the Victory, a figure of serene beauty, with the Holy ~ Child upright on her knee, extends her hand to the mailed | figure, kneeling at her feet, of Francesco Gonzaga, with behind ™ her the warrior Saints George and Michael and the patrons of Mantua SS. Andrew and Longinus, while the kneeling St. Elizabeth may be in the form of that holy nun, the Beata Osanna, who was revered and loved by Isabella.? This grand _ creation of Madonna of the Victory in her shrine at Mantua seems to have remained unharmed for ages, even through the | horrors of the sack of Mantua, to be carried off at last by order of Napoleon ; it is now one of the greatest treasures of the | Musée du Louvre, in the hands of the nation whose defeat it was intended to commemorate. But behind all this rejoicing there was always that sombre background of war—of the peril past and future from across the Alps. The Marquis had been sent by Venice to help King 1 Vide Volta, op. cit. One of these medals, to commemorate Fornovo, f found in the Medagliere of the Museo Nazionale of Florence. Sperandio made at this time three of his best medals, representing the leaders of the League against France—the Doge Agostino Barbarigo, Marquis Francesco Gonzaga, and Giovanni Bentivoglio II, who had come to Mantua for the celebrations of the victory. 2On the other hand, Volta says that the figure at the side kneeling im prayer is Madonna Isabella; and that the Marquis hung near the High Altar the arms he had worn in that bloody conflict. The picture was seized by the French in 1797.THE BATTLE OF THE TARO 115 Ferrante of Naples to drive what was left of the French in- vading army out of his dominions. The leader of the French was Gilbert Duc de Montpensier, who, we may remember, had married Chiara Gonzaga, and while the two husbands were opposing each other in the Regno, Chiara remained at Mantua with her sister-in-law, to whom she was much attached ; and this fact has its significance in connection with later develop- ments. Left at Mantua, Isabella resumed her studies of the classics and of music, taking lessons on the lute and com- missioning an instrument from the great lute-maker of the time, Lorenzo Gusnasco of Pavia, fashioned in ebony inlaid with ivory, with her favourite device of the star.1 When dull she had her dwarfs to amuse her; Fritello, who could dance and sing and turn somersaults ; and Matello, “ the fore- most fool of the world” (el primo matto del mondo), who could imitate a tipsy man to perfection, who appeared one day, in friar’s habit, to be announced as the Venerable Padre Bernardino Matello ; and who, when he died, was buried in S. Francesco, the burial-place of the Gonzaga themselves, But a shadow seemed to hang over Italy in these closing years of her brilliant fifteenth century. The war dragged through that summer of 1496 in the south. There was sick- ness in both armies, and when the Duc de Montpensier had on August 15 to surrender Atella he was dangerously ill; while soon after the Marquis himself became very sick, and was obliged to return north, being met by Isabella at Ancona, and brought home by slow stages up the rivers. When better he went to Venice at the end of November to report himself, and received a State welcome, with the great doors of S. Marco thrown open in his honour. But there had been secret voices against his reputation, and the blow came with dramatic suddenness when, in June of 1497, he was summoned to Venice, and reaching his house in San Trovaso, was met by the faithful Zorzo Brognolo, his agent, with the news of his dismissal from the post of Captain-General. There can be no Vide Cartwright, op. cit. Lorenzo spared no pains in this commission, telling her that ‘‘ the form is everything ” (nella forma sta el tutto), a saying in the true spirit of the Renaissance. He helped her also for the next twenty years, by his taste and knowledge, in the collections which she was now beginning to form, Vik peG he 2 Koes ah Set = = - my s - — r ra een ns SR ee a ae et ee Rta ae ee a Soon I SN a ie ene ae ees Sa ee a — Sree ener erieea red Cate ee: ey Ie een “3 ee a ee ee eS, PLE ry aed mw pee aero pe OE a ON - arr . ~ a ee pote ED IORI EER é Sa eae en ann etre es nn on a arr o nerea nal nines atin catia a cea a at eae Sar <= a ae : 116 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA doubt that for some time the terrible Council of Ten had been suspicious of their General’s conduct ; and there is strong reason to think that the Marquis, apart from his generous sympathy with Montpensier in a fatal sickness, had been too responsive to the flattery and offers which from the first the French King and his envoys had showered upon him. If so, it was a dangerous game to play, for the Ten had its secret agents everywhere ; but he put a bold face upon it, and made his way along the Canal Grande to demand a hearing from the Signori. All his efforts to clear himself were useless: he was left unharmed as a “‘zentiluomo of Venice,” inheriting her citizenship from his great ancestors,—but was advised to leave the city without further delay. He returned to his villa of Gonzaga, declaring loudly that his disgrace was due to the intrigues of Lodovico of Milan and Galeazzo San Severino ; it was at this time that he adopted as his device the bundle of golden rods (verghe) and a crucible —which is still to be seen in the ceilings of the Reggia—with the legend ‘‘ Probasti me, Domine”’ (‘‘ Thou hast proved me, O Lord’’), alluding to his troubles and hopes to prove his innocence. But all his efforts at Venice were wasted ; and he seems to have consoled himself with uncertain offers of service from Duke Lodovico (who gave his real patronage to San Severino), and with the company of the charming Teodora, who appeared in splendid attire in a tournament held at Brescia in honour of Caterina, Queen of Cyprus—that island which had once been the realm of Venus herself—where the Marquis was not sorry to cross swords in the lists with his rival Galeazzo.* Those brilliant days of Isabella’s earlier married life were over. In these last years of the century many dear friends, even among her own family, had been taken from her. First Ridolfo Gonzaga; then Gianfrancesco, another uncle of the Marquis, Lord of Bozzolo and Sabbioneta and husband of her close friend the beautiful Antonia del Balzo 2; next the gallant young Ferrante, when he had but just recovered his realm of 1 Cartwright, op. cit. ch. viii., states that this lady bore to the Marquis two daughters. ; 2 Gianfrancesco Gonzaga left his children in the guardianship of their mother Antonia and his brother-in-law Bishop Lodovico ; and these Gonzag@ princes of Sabbioneta and Bozzolo will claim a place in our later story. ceTHE BATTLE OF THE TARO 117 Naples; then her brother-in-law the Duc de Montpensier, and now—cruellest blow of all—her own beloved sister Beatrice d’Este, Duchess of Milan. Even the beautiful young Anna Sforza, with whom she had danced so merrily at her wedding, had died also in November of 1498, leaving her brother Alfonso d’Este a widower ; and the closing years of the century saw the cloud of danger from beyond the Alps darkening over the head of her bereaved brother-in-law Lodovico il Moro, Duke of Milan. Yet her character seemed to find a new strength of purpose within these troubled days. ~ You are blessed,” said one candid critic to Francesco, “in having a fair, wise, and noble wife, a true mother of concord, ever anxious to gratify your wishes, while she prudently feigns not to see or hear those actions of yours which must be hateful to her.” Amid the shifting and uncertain policy of her husband, at a time when old-established dynasties and princedoms were crashing down on every side, as in the yet darker days of war and invasion which were in store for Italy, she remained a pillar of strength to those around her: and with her wonderful political instinct was to find salvation for her birthplace and her beloved Mantua, and to bring this city of her adoption and the Gonzaga dynasty at last in safety through the tempest. ae eRe ss eS ~ ee a ea heals = Ay es ae arias aD : ee Ts Te me ear a an eae cee pata a ie aa Spat parr yy cece ne et ee Ta net eee ee ee pee Fd te Re ee Fone nase met 3 Pal ntl pe ad ESA OR aE ee de CHAPTER Vidi ISABELLA D’ESTE DA GONZAGA cc , HERE was an almost universal conjecture,” writes the historian Guicciardini, ‘‘among the Italians that by the departure of King Charles all the regions of Italy were now delivered of the fears, affliction, and dangers which the power and nation of the French did threaten.”” But this conjecture—he goes on to point out—had not been shared by the more thoughtful and prescient ; nor was it fulfilled in the succession of the Duke of Orleans as Louis XII—“ to whom not only did appertain the inheritance of the realm of Naples, but he maintained that the Duchy of Milan was his freehold by succession of the Lady Valentina, his grandmother, who was matried by John Galeaz Visconti to Louis, Duke of Orleans. Charles VIII had died at Amboise on April 7, 1498, on the very day when at Florence Savonarola was to make his ordeal by fire; and Louis XII, when he succeeded, took, with that of King of France, the titles of Duke of Milan and King of Naples and Jerusalem ; and, having thus published his pre- tensions to the Duchy, lost no time in securing it by arms. The last year of the century saw the ruin of Lodovico Sforza growing nearer and more certain. While his friends were falling from him, and enemies plotting his destruction, Isa- bella remained faithful to her brother-in-law and old friend, while Francesco wavered, and actually accepted, on January 1 1 Cf. Guicciardini, op. cit. Lib. iv. English by Geffray Fenton. Valentina Visconti, sister of Duke Filippo Maria and daughter of Gian Galeazzo, was married to the Duke of Orleans; but the Imperial edict creating the Duchy (vide Sismondi) expressly excluded women from the succession. — On the ae hand, this equally barred the Sforza, who claimed through Bianca, natura daughter of Filippo Maria Visconti. 118ISABELLA D’ESTE DA GONZAGA 119 of that year, the baton and standard of the King of the Romans. Next month (February 1499) came the treaty between Venice and France, in which the destruction of Lodovico and partition of his dominions was determined. Louis once more crossed the Alps, while the Milanese General, San Severino, who was in command at Alessandria, “ vilely abandoned that place”’;1 without meeting the least resist- ance the French advanced from that side, and the Venetians towards Cremona. The Moro, seeing no other escape, fled to Germany with his treasure ; and the great Milanese Dukedom of the Sforza and Visconti within twenty days had met its end. The position of the North Italian States became perilous, and Francesco Gonzaga and Ercole d’Este began to fear for their own safety. The former, as usual, finessed, offered to King Louis his sword, and was actually present with Baldasarre Castiglione at that monarch’s triumphal entry into Milan on October 6, receiving from him then the order of San Michael. With Isabella the instinct of the collector asserted itself ; and while the French invaders of Milan were making havoc of the treasures of its Castello, of its tapestries, antique marbles, and paintings by Leonardo and his scholars, she was writing to Antonio Pallavicino, who had but just betrayed his master, begging him to secure for her the wonderful clavichord which Lorenzo di Pavia had made for her sister Beatrice. But the French proved evil masters in Milan—“ so that by reason of their robberies, violence, and oppression there came to her citizens the desire to return to the tyranny of the Sforza.” The subtle Moro, watching from Germany, knew all this ; and, hiring with his own treasure a great body of Swiss, suddenly descended into Italy ; the people rose in his favour, and on February 5, 1500, he entered his own city in triumph. The French were driven out, after one year’s possession ; but the hireling Swiss for more money betrayed Lodovico, and handed him over a prisoner to his enemies, never again to escape their clutches. Trivulzio recovered Milan and the “Cf. Volta, who from the Mantuan point of view says that Lodovico eee been saved, had he trusted instead to the Marquis. This from what followed, however, seems extremely doubtful, ent ee Geta 2 ary Ss — ie SS Loan ra a8 SS ~ — 3 ae ea cea _~ eT Yee Sea nd in iT nT aT etal binary S Fe Fd rt nano ee a + ae eee 5 ras Oo a la an ee os ELT PRP ES Sa a a 7 Me oes Lar ee eras CO ee oe ema me SFE RTE TE, = = ete eee ar eer Oe te hale er a pe eT SAT ta 120 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA Duchy for the French King, who in April sent the Cardinal de Rouen to rule as his governor. There can be no doubt that the position of the Gonzaga and Mantua itself was one of great danger. Isabella had been a true friend to Lodovico throughout his troubles ; and, if she had used her chance as a collector, she had also received the Milanese exiles—among others two beautiful women, Cecilia Gallerani and Lucrezia Crivelli, who had occupied a place in Lodovico’s affections and been deemed worthy of the brush of Leonardo, When the Moro had returned to his cityin triumph, the first letter of welcome he had received had been from Isabella. In her enthusiasm she declared to Cardinal Ascanio Sforza that she longed to fly to Milan to fight against the French herself ; though the Cardinal had replied, markedly, that her husband’s presence would be more useful. But Francesco would not commit himself too deeply at this juncture, and would only send his brother Giovanni with a troop of horse to join Lodovico before Novara ; and it was Giovanni Gonzaga who now rode alone, at full speed, to Mantua to bring the tidings of this latter’s complete ruin. The Gonzaga was suspect among the French now back in Milan, and Isabella denounced as a ‘‘ Sforzesca’”’; and the Cardinal of Rouen had imposed a heavy fine on Francesco Gonzaga of 40,000 scudi, as well as on the Lords of Carpi, Correggio, and Mirandola, for being implicated in the recent rising and for helping the Moro—alleging also that noble persons hostile to France had taken refuge in Mantua. It needed at this moment all the Marchesa’s diplomacy in the support of her husband to avoid a rupture ; and while Francesco, refusing submission to the fine, had sent his ambassador to King Louis in France, he took occasion to fortify Mantua and its surroundings, en- couraged by the support of her citizens—‘ disposed to defend their city against any attack on any occasion.” But by degrees the danger passed away. The Marquis was released from his fine, to be confirmed in the service of France with a stipend of 1 Equicola, a contemporary historian, states that Francesco went him- self to the King in France—“ not only to inform the King of the truth, but to maintain the liberty of his dominions,”’ in reference to the charge of having given shelter to certain “‘ unhappy gentlemen pursued by the French” ; and that he returned to his country with gifts and honours.ISABELLA D’ESTE DA GONZAGA 121 12,000 scudi ; and on May 17, 1500, another great consolation came to him in the birth of his first-born son, Federigo, whose very name seems to open to us a new vista in Mantuan story. We have now with this new century—from 1500 onwards— to consider an entirely changed political condition within Italy. During the century preceding her destinies had been mainly controlled by what we may call the Great Five of her States—Milan, then become a Dukedom, the Republics of Venice and Florence, the Papal States, the kingdom of Naples. With the second and successful invasion of the French, and the consequent ruin of the Sforza, Milan ceased for ever to exist as an independent power in Italy; she became aban- doned in the years following to pillage, poverty, and foreign domination. Had the French followed up their first ad- vantage by consolidating this conquest of Lombardy, they might have gradually annexed the whole Peninsula, which then lay helpless and divided before them ; but they were certain to have found, sooner or later, opposition from without, and the kingdom of Naples proved always a fatal lure to their ambition. On the other hand, at the moment we have now reached they seemed masters of the situation ; and the Borgia Pope, who had joined the League against them before the battle of Taro, now saw his best advantage on their side. At this point I have to narrate, however briefly, the most extraordinary and appalling record of criminal ambition in all history, which I cannot here pass by, because it affects very closely the Gonzaga and their Mantua ; but there is no doubt that, without the consistent and armed support of King Louis XII, Cesare Borgia could never have attempted—much less carried through—his murderous career of political adventure. He had seen his chance, and—with that quick decision which was a great element in his success—had taken it from the very first. Sent by the Pope, his father, to the French Court to present to the Most Christian King the desired divorce and dispensation for this monarch’s marriage with Anne of Brittany, he had been married by King Louis to Charlotte d’Albret, daughter of the King of Navarre, decorated—like the Gonzaga himself—with the Order of St. Michael, and had entered Milan at the French monarch’s side. Even at this time there is on a AS rn ate EE: erry — ~ Se ’ Sy = —— ss = Re a a a ST Rend coro eavenel” one ee ae poe OE ey qari eaee tae eD ree ery ea neat meer ee —— per SSeS enn ree Sey see ee instep OE eee ee OST aar: ee eT aad oe ae ‘ 5 —— ae i 122 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA doubt that both Francesco Gonzaga and his father-in-law, Duke Ercole, were becoming alarmed at these Borgia preten- sions ; and Isabella, always diplomatic, sought to gain then friendship by inviting Cesare Borgia to become godfather to her newborn son Federigo—an invitation which he accepted with alacrity ; but to understand the nature of his schemes we must here go back a little further into his antecedents. Among the numerous ladies to whom Alexander Borgia paid attention, the “two Sultanas who ruled him during the greater part of his career ’’ were Vanozza Catanei and Giulia Farnese, called La Bella. Of his numerous children by Vanozza he made the elder son Duke of Gandia ; for the second he planned a career in the Church, and made Cesare Borgia Bishop of Valencia and then Cardinal ; while their sister, the beautiful and ill-famed Lucrezia, he had married to Gio- vanni Sforza, Lord of Pesaro. Finding this union not sufficiently important, the Pope Alexander divorced and re-married her to Alfonso, Prince of Bisceglia, a natural son of the King of Naples. But when this king lost his throne the Borgia, finding this alliance become worthless, had Alfonso stabbed on the steps of St. Peter’s, and finally strangled in his sick-bed by Cesare’s chief assassin Michelotto. Meanwhile another ghastly tragedy had taken place within the Borgia family itself. As narrated by Burchard, their contemporary at Rome, the young Duke of Gandia had supped at the house of Vanozza with his brother Cesare, then still Cardinal of Valencia, and had left him later in the night to visit a lady of their acquaint- ance ; he was never seen again alive, but his body was at length dragged out of the Tiber covered with numerous wounds. The Pope was overwhelmed at his loss, which all the evidence seems to show had been planned by Cesare ; but Alexander's despair and remorse were short-lived, and a visit from Vanozza was enough to convince him that the interest of their family now lay with his second son—to whom he seemed henceforth bound as by some mysterious power, whom he released from his ecclesiastical honours and duties, and to whose ambitious schemes he then entirely devoted himself. At the head of the Papal forces, with his French troops and with the powerful faction of the Orsini as his allies, CesareISABELLA D’ESTE DA GONZAGA 123 Borgia, now Duke of Valentino, entered Romagna with the deliberate purpose of despoiling and putting to death without mercy, one by one, the princely families who bore rule in that Umbrian borderland. Pesaro, Rimini, and Forli had shared this fate ; only at Faenza the young Prince Astorre Manfredi, a boy of eighteen of great personal beauty, supported by her citizens, made a gallant resistance.1 Foiled here, and furious at this repulse—“ having, besides the French forces, a very flourishing army of Italian captains and soldiers, since there were there Paolo and Giulio Orsini, Vitelozzo and Gian Paolo Baglioni, and many other chosen men, and having, with his unmeasured schemes, promised that neither sea nor mountains could hold them back ’’—Duke Valentino vowed to return, and take his vengeance. And now “ Alessandro his father, in order that all his actions should correspond to one end, in this same year, 1500, had created to his disgrace twelve Cardinals, not for their merits but those who would offer him the highest price ; and also made great gain in Italy and the lands without from the Jubilee, then celebrated in Rome, with a great concourse of people, especially of foreigners.” ? Duke Valentino, returning, had his revenge upon Faenza, which, cooling in her defence and seeing her cause hopeless, surrendered under safe conduct for her defenders and, above all, for her young prince. The citizens were spared ; but Astorre Manfredi, conducted to Rome in violation of this pledge, was there strangled in prison with his brother.? 1 Vide Guicciardini : “Le milizia da uno popolo . . . che non avera altro capo che un fanciullo.” Machiavelli in his Principe gives (VII. De Princi- Ce Novis) a brilliant analysis of the whole career of Cesare Borgia, whom € puts forward as a pattern (ansi mi pare di preporlo imitabile) to contempor- a despots , and fully approves his systematic murder of the princes he espoiled (de signort spoghati ne ammazzo quanti ne possé aggiungere). No wonues that this book revolted the moral sense of Northern Europe. Vide Guicciardini, ap: crt, Lab: iv; 3 ec [ 2 F Astorve, che eva minore di 18 anni e di forma eccellente, cedendo l’eta e cena alla berfidia e crudelta del vincitore . .. non molto tempo pot se a Roma, saziata prima (secondo si disse) la libidine di qualcuno, fu nee Ree con suo fratello naturale privato di vita.’’ Bembo states that tre had taken refuge in the Rocca of Faenza, and surrendered to Valentino . ae ae n condition that his life should be spared, but was sent to Rome, and soon after killed. The traci i ince i ‘ : agic story of this y -€ 1S one ma in the Borgia record. — Fico tis young ‘prince 15 one OF §he Piaekest even . es — Sa ery Se See inten ee mr Nn aloe ne om a othe See i ti “Tne Sime eas SSL SIO cam. . Hema cal aa a eel- were es Sr Pea. ae P ee Ee = aye " ee DORIS ore roe a =~ dale ase er ere Sn es pare eet ee ey eo Ro ET OE OTe ET) eee , ee, eI idee Sar Pe eS ns Sat <== ee oes ars 124 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA After the taking of Faenza, Valentino, declared by the Pope, with the approval of his Consistory, Duke of Romagna, noy advanced on Bologna, to despoil the Bentivoglio of that city - but was suddenly checked in his advance by receiving orders from King Louis to go no farther, and to leave Giovanni Bentivoglio unharmed. There can be little doubt that the progress of the Borgia, who had now seized Piombino and threatened Tuscany, was being watched very closely and apprehensively at Ferrara and Mantua; and we know, in fact, from her letters (1501), that the gallant resistance of Faenza, ‘‘ whose citizens, loyal and constant in their lord’s defence . . . have redeemed the honour of Italy,” had awakened Isabella’s warmest sympathy. At the same time both she and Francesco prudently sought to remain on good terms with Rome. The question of the Cardinal’s hat for Sigismondo was again resumed ; and there was even a proposal (1502) put forward by Cesare Borgia for the betrothal of his infant daughter by Charlotte d’Albret with Federigo, the two-year-old heir of the Gonzaga. At Ferrara the Borgia influence was even stronger; for, after some natural hesita- tion, Alfonso d’Este, now a widower, had accepted for his wife the Pope’s daughter, Lucrezia, in spite of the Emperor’s dis- approval and the black stories connected with her past ; and at the wedding, celebrated with great pomp and splen- dour at Rome and subsequently at Ferrara, Isabella d’Este was herself present, having come expressly to Ferrara at her father’s request.1 During these troublous years of the early sixteenth century it is, however, evident that, apart from politics, two subjects filled the mind of this Mantuan Princess - one being her first- born son Federigo, whose earliest conversational efforts she reports minutely in her letters to her husband + and the other her wonderful collection, which in these years was beginning to form itself as something unique in Italy and the world. 1 Lucrezia, having seen her second husband strangled before her eyes, may have been quite content to get away from her family circle at Rome. | have traced her portrait (Renaissance in Italian Art, Part viii.) in the Ap- pattamento Borgia at Rome—‘ a blonde, with lovely and very long golden hair, a slim figure, and a charming mobile face.’’ At Ferrara, in better Surroundings, she became a pattern of all the domestic virtues,MARBLI IN DETATI F HNN (nvr )} MEDALLION CHINN TT meron BE ay 02029502 OLY DL PACD PDO ut may cS, ane DOORWAY rH} ru Al PALACI O} yee AS b= THI IN PARADISO O}] G ‘1y Sys Sea et Sn a ISABELLA D’ESTI INZAGA AT MANTUA ao Se mae em nm pee aos : “oe Sees ee De ee ea =e — TT ep ee ae SE ee ee ee oT a — a aaa —Re en - mae SRE EL EN EE TT raping 7 EE re RE In . oa nine ek wl wale ag ete : _ ek prs Se SeoISABELLA D’ESTE DA GONZAGA 125 At this point a few words—especially to my readers who do not know Mantua—may be useful as to the “ locale ”’ of this collection. The Bonacolsi, in their hour of pride, seem to have possessed all the houses on the one side of the Piazza di S. Pietro (now Piazza Sordello) ; and had united these, by embattled bridges and great towers, to form a fortress-palace, secure against any attack. With their fall, this building came into the hands of the Gonzaga ; and within its walls it was that Ugolino Gonzaga had met his tragic end. but later we have seen that great builder, the first Francesco, to have con- structed, for defence as well as residence, overlooking the Lake and dominating the Ponte S. Giorgio, the noble medieval Castello, which still remains, and is being now admirably restored ; and it was here that Isabella d’Este seems to have spent the first years of her married life, and those happy days shared with Elisabetta of Urbino, and had her two “ studioli ”’ in a tower which overlooked the Lake. But she evidently found space lacking for her collection, and as early as 1496 was beginning to move some of her treasures to another apartment on the ground floor of the Corte Vecchia. It was later in her life—when she was a widow and found the stairs, from her growing stoutness, to become trying—that she definitely established her collection in the famous Grotta, which by degrees she came to fill with her gems, antiques, and paintings by the greatest Masters in Ttaly at that time. The magnificent series of cartoons of the “ Triumph of Cesar,” now preserved in Hampton Court Palace, had been completed by Mantegna on his return from Rome, and are noted as being among the decorations of the Theatre of the Castello in February of 1501. But Isabella how commissioned and obtained from the same Master two noble tempera paintings for her beloved Grotta—the ‘“‘ Par- nassus ”’ on Triumph of Love ’”’ and the “‘ Minerva chasing forth the Vices ”—as well as other subjects by Perugino and Lorenzo Costa, all of which are now in the Musée du Louvre.} In the terrible Sack of Mantua in 1630 by the Imperialists, 1 e . These paintings were torn from the walls when the Grotta was looted in the Sack of Mantua, and came s } ; shortly afterwards, b urchase, i hands of Cardinal Richelieu, : eee I pa SES eaten sonic ad — Minin vere a I TI I I a RP TID Sra enewt a a en ae ie ea ea sane ee ve 4 ear eS pice res: Pet Ree ero nal OF ae paaeneaaaey ae Oar Ti . -_ Se heap a deabent Se ail Sn o- eos er ee eae oe CN ee PT LT LT IR LO ee eS a — o | 126 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA to which I shall come later in these pages, this whole collection —world-famed and unique, to whose formation Isabella had devoted the best years of her life—was looted, and its beautifi home, “‘ quel loco ch’el mondo la Grotta appella,”’ defiled and destroyed. But long before this her son Federigo Gonzaga and the later Mantuan Dukes had spread their immense palace over the whole of what is now called the Reggia, includ- ing the “‘ magna domus’”’; and when Carlo de Nevers, Duke of Mantua, returned after the Sack to find his home a scene of desolation, he seems to have adorned that charming little apartment called the Paradiso, on the upper floor of the Reggia, with the remains of the ceilings, the tarsia work, and the exquisite marble doorways and tiled flooring from the ruined Grotta of Isabella d’Este, adding frequently his own name—*‘ Carlo de Nevers”’ (eighth Duke) to the decorations. This delightful little apartment was always shown—as I found myself twenty years ago—as the Paradiso of Isabella d’Este, and in fact did contain some of the relics of her famous Grotta ; though the imagination of visitors may have been, and may still be, misled into peopling these rooms with the memories of her magic presence. But when, in the Great War, after Caporetto, another Austrian advance was possible, if not imminent, these priceless relics of the Grotta were removed to Ronie—their place being taken by the admirable copy shown in the Rome International Exhibition of 1911—and »? are now being carefully replaced in the restoration of THe - Grotta itself which, as I write these lines in Mantua, is beilg carried through. I return now from this digression—essential here to my subject and also to clear up any misapprehension—to the story of Duke Valentino, now become master of Central Italy, and to his negotiations fora Mantuan alliance ; when an event took place which must have opened the eyes of the Gonzaga and all Italy to his true character and intentions. In June of 1502 Isabella had gone to Porto with her little son and her sister-in-law and dearest friend, Elisabetta of Urbino, when news came to them that the Borgia Duke had suddenly and treacherously attacked Urbino itself, occupied the city with his troops, and put a price on the head of Duke Guidobaldo,~~ ~ tS aa sr Se = cael NL oe rae SES = Ss santas er MANTUA GONZAGA AT GIARDINO PENSILI OF Z. = THE HANGING IN THE DUCAL PALACI Eee ee Sons eee 3 Saye ap ge Th i he nn nes— ee Ser oer sete eae | |ISABELLA D’ESTE DA GONZAGA 127 who escaped by a miracle to Mantua—‘ with nothing but my 'ife, my doublet, and my shirt ; such ingratitude and treachery,” he adds in his letter to Cardinal della Rovere, “‘ was never known.” Clad in splendid armour, Cesare, Duke of Romagna, as he was now called, had entered Urbino on January 21, 1502, and had seated himself on the throne of her Dukes, and made short work of any malcontents ; and for the next weeks a long line of mules descended the mountains, laden with paintings, tapestries, gold and silver plate, antiques, richly bound books and priceless manuscripts, the plunder—esti- mated at fully 150,000 ducats—of the famous Palace of the Montefeltri. Even at that moment Isabella, horrified at these tidings, full of tender sympathy for her sister-in-law and friend, and for the unfortunate Guidobaldo, could not resist the chance of adding to her collection. Among these treasures of that Palace of Urbino was a wonderful sleeping Cupid, carved in Rome by Michelangelo himself, and a very beautiful marble antique of Venus; and a timely request to Valentino through her brother, Cardinal Ippolito d’Este, secured these statues, which soon after arrived with their muleteer and a charming message from Valentino at Mantua, and were safely lodged in the Grotta. All Italy was now either in alarm or fury at the Borgia advance, and when King Louis came to Milan in July (1502) he found a group of exasperated victims there to claim his tedress—this very fact showing how dominant was the position of France throughout the peninsula at this period. But that ascendancy was no longer unchallenged. In the year previous (1501) the French had advanced on the Kegno of Naples from the north and the Spaniards from the south, with a secret understanding to divide between them that unhappy kingdom. Lapua was taken by the French, andits inhabitants massacred, and Federigo, King of Naples, finding resistance hopeless against such odds, surrendered to King Louis, and was carried to France; but the moment the conquest was completed jealousy arose between the two armies, and soon led to actual 1 eae in Which the French were defeated by Gonsalvo va, their army destroyed, and Naples lost to them again. It was to recover this elusive inheritance that King a OSS ERS “ae oe enpenennnemnea OE Senet eee mate nee sa eg EE tSa ale oe a gr POO = oa EO a aA al ale PE cal dl Bp oR et ee TED nay oo LSP I SS es SN Ee a aie ae Nite Late ET ONE Te i —— eee sere ang nat a aR a ee peel etenpeanieaiete voeteaeeare eerste ee = 5 es ee — BS ( ~ 128 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA Louis had now recrossed the Alps and entered Milan—wit) Federigo of Aragon, the Marquis of Mantua and the Duke » Ferrara in his train—to find there, among others, Giovani: | Sforza, once husband of Lucrezia Borgia and Lord of Pesaro and the despoiled Duke of Urbino. They had fair words fror: King Louis, and Francesco Gonzaga supported strongly their just claims ; when suddenly Duke Valentino himself appeared —to completely regain his influence over the French monarch, | nor did he take leave of him at Genoa until he had the promise | of his support in Central Italy. | There can be no doubt that at this moment Isabella was terribly anxious for her husband’s safety. Francesco Gonzaga | was no coward, as we have seen at the Taro, and alone among | his contemporaries dared to face the redoubtable Duke Valen- | tino, whom he must have hated. He denounced him as. bastard and a priest’s son, and told the Venetian envoy he would fight the Duke single-handed with sword and dagger, and deliver Italy from his clutches. But there were far deadlier weapons used by the Borgia against their enemies than either sword or dagger. ‘‘ Being jealous for your life, which I count dearer than my own, and knowing your natural goodness leads you to take no precautions, I have made inquiries,” wrote Isabella to her husband on July 23, on the day after she had received the Borgia gift of the statues— | “and hear that you allow all manner of persons to serve you | at table . . . so that I see it would be perfectly easy for any one to poison Your Excellency.” And she adds in her own hand this postscript : ‘‘ Dearest Lord, do not laugh at my fears, and say that women are cowards and afraid, because they malignity is far greater than my fears and your own courage.’ But the quarrel was patched up by the French King, to whose friendship Francesco possibly owed his security, and who took him back to spend Christmas with him in his Chateau at Loches ; while Valentino, secure in French support, with three hundred lances lent to him, returned to his careet of conquest in Central Italy. But now an unexpected event seemed to threaten those very conquests. He had carried them through with the » support of the great Roman family of the Orsini—several of=e SS ce mms ‘ oe nn SS PAU nt een Srapintd) 2 x SUR Sealey . < SRO! | Coe eae ea ee een amen mente an ig STS Wiis + = & SS a sas ah w s J a Weel /A pat nas l Sa ed rrr oN. Prodi renter eo CEILING IN PARADISO O] ISABELLA D’ESTI IN THE DUCAL PALACE OF THE GONZAGA AT MANTUA eee) opr= OR re rss ote aes P Tinie ae ae’ A Dip POPE Pen oo no anh bs Pere eee iit Poe rs Z ere an ie yr ey ot an al east Re pee ene sams os | |ISABELLA D’ESTE DA GONZAGA 129 whom, as we have seen, were leaders in his army. But it seems to have occurred to these noble gentlemen at this time, after having seen one by one the little princedoms of Romagna annexed and their rulers removed to another world, that their own turn might—and, in fact, probably would—come next 3 and in the Diet of La Magione Cardinal Orsini of Rome, Paolo his brother and the head of their House, Vitelozzo Vitelli, Lord of Citta di Castello, Gian Francesco Baglione, Lord of Perugia, the Bentivoglio of Bologna and Oliverotto da Fermo took counsel to rid Romagna of its new tyrant. At the first news of the revolt Urbino, loyal to the House of Montefeltro, rose against the Borgia; the rock fortress of S. Leo was recovered. The flame of resistance, with the old war-cry of * Feltro,” spread throughout the Duchy ; and Guidobaldo, re- turning to his capital, was received by the whole population with a spontaneous outburst of affection. The Borgia found himself in a difficult position, and is described by Machiavelli—who had been just then sent to him as envoy from the Signori of Florence—as full of alarm ; but ~ the cruelty of Cesare Borgia was only equalled by his craft,” and, while waiting for reinforcements from France, he opened negotiations with the insurgent leaders, and succeeded to some extent in recovering their confidence. What follows is one of the most amazing pieces of succe recorded in history. He had induced him and discuss terms of reconciliat their troops had recently taken in the meantime filled with his their armies to be quartered out arranged by Valentino at Sinj meet him Paolo Orsini,” ( Vitelozzo and Liverot Bentivoglio, Suspectin ssful treachery which is the Orsini chiefs to meet ion at Sinigaglia, which and sacked, but which he had own followers, arranging for side. ‘‘ Then came the day gaglia, on which there went to his relation) “‘ the Duke of Gravina, to da Fermo” (the Baglioni and § treachery, had kept away), “and were Teceived with the greatest caresses, and accompanied by him as far as the gates of the city, before which they found drawn up all the troops of Valentino.” 1 such a force, they tried to take th } 1 Vide Guicciardini, op. cit. Lib. v. §1ves also the whole ghastly story. 9 Becoming suspicious at eir departure, but were Nardi (Historie Florentine, Lib. iv.) Sa - Se ett etn nent iat eet ae La we ee int neni eer ee eT 3 ~_ BOSE Sg eS = -nl ao oe ys ae ay a mo ee PTT Sake RT att a a peer OT a ict Pa Re ees ure woe o ——— Fn ner i ana tn me at 9 inal 5a Fs Sa etn tener ay seer ear pat so a a a a arieouienaeacenaen 130 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA pressed by the Borgia to enter the city, on the excuse ol completing their discussion, and were led to a room, where he took his leave on the plea of changing his dress ; but returned with his chief assassin, Don Michelotto, and his armed followers, and had Vitelozzo and Liverotto strangled before his eyes The other Orsini chiefs were killed at his leisure in the next few days ; and the Pope, on hearing of his successful treachery, invited Cardinal Orsini to visit him in the Vatican, where the Cardinal himself and his relations were seized, his palace pillaged, and after a few weeks’ imprisonment he died of poison ; while Cesare cut to pieces with his Gascons the troops of the insurgents, thus deprived of their leaders, and marched against the Baglioni and Pandolfo Petrucci—leaving Paolo Orsini and the Duke of Gravina to the noose of Michelotto— to carry fire and sword into the lands of Siena. By treachery and armed force the Borgia were now masters of Central Italy, and at Rome had crushed the powertul faction of the Orsini. Their ambitious schemes seemed to have achieved the most complete success ; when, as if by a bolt from heaven from the hand of God Himself, they were suddenly struck down into utter nothingness. “ But see now,” writes the great Florentine historian, “that at the height of their greatest hopes how vain and fallacious are the thoughts of men! For the Pope from a vineyard near the Vatican, where he had gone to take supper, and refresh himself from the heat, was suddenly carried for dead into the Pontifical Palace, and immediately after him was carried in his son, as one dead ; and the day following, which was the 12th day of August (1503), ‘‘ the Pope was carried, according to ancient use, into the Church of St. Peter, black, swollen, and most hornible (enfiato e bruttissimo), with the most evident signs of poison, and Valentino, in the full vigour of his age, and having used at once most powerful antidotes to poison, saved his life, remaining oppressed by long and grave sickness.” Then he gives the story which was soon over all Re of how the Pope had planned to poison Adrian, Cardin Corneto, using this means to despoil rich persons, Cardina ; and courtiers of their property ; and that Valentino had sen in advance certain poisoned flasks of wine, and given themISABELLA D’ESTE DA GONZAGA 131 to a servant, who was ignorant of this, but had strict orders to give them to no one. But that the Pope, arriving before the supper, and overcome with thirst from the great heat, had asked for a drink, and was given this by the servant as wine of choice quality— come vino piu prezioso’’—and while he was drinking, Valentino arrived and partook of the same wine. ~ All Rome with incredible gladness ran together to that dead body of Alexander in San Pietro, some among then unable to satisfy their eyes with seeing this extinction of a serpent (dt vedere spento un serpente), who, with his unbounded am- bition and pestiferous perfidy, and with every example of horrible cruelty and monstrous lust and unheard-of avarice, selling without distinction things sacred and profane, had poisoned all the world.” 1 Duke Valentino only recovered to find the city in a ferment, his well-laid plans frustrated, his nerve and decision for ever gone, to be taken later a prisoner to Spain ; and the Marquis of Mantua, marching south with La Trémouille at the head of the French armies, halted his troops without the walls of Rome, and sent thence to his wife, under date of September 22, 1503, a remarkable letter which has been preserved. “ In his last sickness the Pope talked in such a way that those who did not know what was in his mind thought him wandering, though he spoke with great feeling ; and his words were, ‘I will come ; it is but right ; wait yet a little while.’ Those who were in his secret explained that after the death of Innocent, while the Conclave was sitting, he bargained with the devil for the Papacy at the price of his soul. . . . And when he was dead the body commenced to boil (22 corpo commincio a bollive), his mouth to foam like a pot upon the fire, and so continued while he was above ground. He swelled so much that there was no more shape of a human body, nor difference in his length or breadth. He was carried to his stave with little honour, his body being dragged from the : Vide Guicciardini, op. cit. The Venetian Sanudo confirms the statement that poison was taken by mistake ; but Burchard only mentions malignant fever, and other sources apoplexy. As Symonds has remarked, on the one side we have Burchard’s testimony, on the other, the consent of all con- temporary historians, with the single exception of Machiavelli; who, how- “Ver, Was, as we have seen, an admirer and intimate of Valentino. Sa Sa ~ eee — Serer nt mmm eee eae eae raion benien ie Ly - SS Re SE oSA ee ea PES oP Ne ase ee aA ceca a ae Ce EO IEE ea ety a ee : a ca eee a ~ “Siete Se SS Pe sacs tet Se re ms ~ dete T SS aie y ew 8 wen ser i a ol ni 132 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA bed by a ‘ facchino’ with a cord fastened to his feet, because no one would touch him.’’ After a stormy Conclave and the brief Papacy of Pius III, that inveterate enemy of the Borgia Cardinal della Rovere, as Julius II, came to rule the Church in their place ; and their crimes and ambition were blotted out of the story of Italy. We may sometimes be tempted to think when we see men, stained with innocent blood, remaining in power to enjoy the fruits of their crimes, that God’s ears have grown deaf—His justice too long delayed. But that judgment is not ours to make: and I have seen in my own knowledge of life—as we shall see yet again in these very pages—that His mills may be slow, but grind exceeding small. Ten years ago, when crossing the arid plains of Castile in the burning heat of July, I paused awhile before that grim fortress of Medina del Campo ; and my thoughts went back to this Valentino, imprisoned there for years like some dangerous beast, haunted by the memories of vain ambition and horrible useless crimes—only to perish later in some obscure and nameless conflict. The campaign upon which Francesco Gonzaga now entered in the Kingdom of Naples did not add greatly to his military fame. He had to face in the Spanish leader, Gonsalvo, one of the greatest Captains of the age ; and his own French troops were undisciplined, and jealous of any Italian command. He succeeded, indeed, in relieving Gaeta, and forcing the Spanish troops to retire behind the Garigliano ; cross that river cost him many of his Mantuan knights, and, disgusted with the insubordination of the French troops, he sent to King Louis to resign his command. A few weeks after his departure, on December 28, 1503, the French were com- pletely defeated by Gonsalvo, losing many of their leaders. Gaeta was surrendered ; and the claim to Naples definitely abandoned by King Louis. The year 1505 saw peace signed between the Emperor Maximilian, Spain, and France—a peace which, unhappily for Italy, was not long to remain. The new Pope, Julius IL, was abetta, Duchess friendly to the Gonzaga, and by the help of Elisabet : of Urbino—now returned with her husband to their bie —a marriage was arranged between Leonora Gonzaga, eldes but an attempt to «ISABELLA D’ESTE DA GONZAGA 133 daughter of the Marquis, and Francesco della Rovere, heir to Guidobaldo ; while the Cardinal’s hat, so long desired for Sigismondo Gonzaga, brother of the Marquis, was at last conferred upon him. At the same time the warlike and ambitious Pontiff employed Francesco Gonzaga, as Captain- General of his armies, to drive the Bentivoglio from Bologna, and annex that ancient city to the Papal dominions. The same year (1506) saw the death at Mantua of the great painter, Mantegna. In his last years pecuniary difficulties had closed around the old man, and embittered his last days. ‘‘ There was no way of meeting those difficulties save by breaking up his beloved collection, the treasures of his lifetime ; and the forced sale of its greatest ornament, the bust of Faustina, which he parted with only a month before his death to Isabella d’Este (who does not shine in this transaction), is said to have broken the old man’s heart.” His place at Mantua was taken by Lorenzo Costa, a painter of interest but not of the same significance? The little States of Romagna had been recently left by the Borgia invaders bereft in many cases of their rulers, dis- organized, and offering an easy prey to any new invaders. Venice, in her mistaken and dangerous policy of mainland aggression, had already seized Ravenna from its ancient family of the Polenta: and now, after the fall of Valentino, annexed Faenza and Rimini, though offering to pay to Rome her wonted tribute from these States. But Pope Julius had ho idea of parting with any of his possessions. He demanded from Venice restitution of all that she had taken, and, failing to obtain this, joined (December 10, 1508) with King Louis and the Emperor Maximilian in the famous (or infamous) League of Cambray, for the destruction of the Most Serene Republic and the dividing of all her possessions on “terra ferma,”’ bringing into this compact—by promises of accession to their territories—both the Gonzaga at Mantua and the Este at Ferrara. The Republic of Venice was then the one free city of Italy whose soil had not been trodden by the invaders, nor fuk cus ae “ Humanism in Art,” ch. i. (Renaissance in Italian Art, Part Be Pineiea ar cence on the subject of the Faustina is given by Cart- nents rco, and is very pathetic. On his last picture Andrea had ed the words, ‘ Nil nisi divinum stabile est—cetera fumus.” a Caco _ = . 2 o = = — = en en etc atte ten Sr om = a eer eet ABODE En gh ES 3 a a ee nN ne Sa a ea aene rar er aeaniianenes a ee Petar wr Tad oe er OR OE ener pres ty eereneernie pa — — Suasdloniaieansidhadlaanmeimniaaeprrntenmantececreredtecet stator 134 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA her resources impaired ; while her immense riches made her a tempting prey. There can be no doubt that Marquis Francesco, who had an old grudge against the Senate of Venice for his abrupt and final dismissal from her service, was deeply implicated in this whole scheme of attack and spoliation ; and he was in command of the troops which now drove back the Venetian General Alviano from Casalmaggiore, and joined the King of France and the armies of the League on the river Adda. Attacked by her enemies on every side, Venice made a splendid and desperate resistance ; but after the disastrous battle of Ghiara d’Adda she lost her cities of Cremona, Ber- gamo, Brescia, Verona, Vicenza, Padua, and many other lands and castles. ‘‘ Yet,” says our chronicler, “ did not the Senate of Venice lose heart, being also helped by the divisions which arose among the Allies, especially between the King of France and the Emperor, and these gave her time to reorganize her armies and recover Padua.” We come now to a misadventure which affected the war itself, and the share in it of the Gonzaga. For being summoned to the help of Verona by the Bishop of Trento, Governor there for the Emperor, and finding the German troops had not arrived, Francesco Gonzaga rode on for the night with only fifty French lances and a hundred men- at-arms to Isola della Scala; and was there captured in the night by the Venetians, who took him completely by surprise. Carried from Legnano to Padua, his capture was there a subject of public rejoicing, and Sanudo says that when he entered Venice all Piazza S. Marco was full of people crying, “ Hang the traitor! Turco preso!”’ He was kept a close prisoner within a tower (torrizella), but was given service and medical attention. ‘‘ The Marchesa Isabella,’’ we are told, “who loved him tenderly, was deeply affected, but did not give way to excessive grief and female desperation; and aided by counsel of Sigismondo, brother of the Marquis, and Cardina Ippolito d’Este, who had come expressly to Mantua at this oe she proclaimed her son Federigo as Marquis, and herself assume the Regency.” ! Her direction of the State in this crisis was : . ae 1 See Volta, op. cit., as well as the admirable monograph on this pene ajecue . 4 10); La Reggenza di Isabella d’Este, durante la Prigionia del Marito (1509-1510) by Alessandro Luzio.ISABELLA D’ESTE DA GONZAGA 135 indeed admirable, and to some one who at Venice had scorn- fully offered ‘‘ Welcome to the Lord Marquis of Mantua,”’ Francesco had finely (and justly) replied: ‘‘ He whom you speak to is Francesco di Gonzaga, and the Marquis of Mantua is at present in Mantua.” But his letters to his wife—in whom he had such just confidence, and to whose care he speci- ally commends his falcons, his dogs, and his painter, Lorenzo Costa, then at work in the palace at S. Sebastiano—show how deeply he had felt this blow ; and are described by Dr. Luzio— perhaps somewhat too severely—as “ really howlings of a sick dog on a chain.” Isabella spared no effort to procure the release she so longed for, seeking the intervention of the King of France, the Emperor, and the Pope, and, obviously with the view of secur- ing the latter’s support, pushing forward the marriage of her daughter Leonora with Francesco della Rovere, which took place in Mantua in December of 1509. But the release was con- stantly deferred ; and the political difficulties needed all her experience and diplomacy to cope with at this time. The jealousy between the French King and the Emperor, which was to result in their duel to the death for domination, with Italy as their battleground, was beginning to show itself. While the Marquis changed his course with every wind, Isabella, with far deeper prescience, seems to have, from the first to last, clung to that Imperial connexion which was actually a part of the tradition of Casa Gonzaga, and in so doing—if a sporting phrase may for once here be permitted— eventually “spotted the winner.’’ Meanwhile her husband was getting more and more angry, and disposed to blame her for the delay in his release ; while both the Emperor and King Louis were suggesting to Isabella that it might be well for the security of Mantua to be occupied for the time being by their troops, and that her son Federigo should be brought up in one of their Courts.2 To both requests Isabella opposed a deferential but not less determined resistance ; and the language used by Fran- pean Terence to his wife, when the letter was brought giving her reasons for that refusal, does not raise our 1 Cf. A. Luzio, op. cit. , Ene sca a 7 rer ers —— na te wv ennent ~ - aD ae ele rete ene ae S eeeietiy Ceeteieiinie hii MMR eee ih al tt Bate as % . —_ - aacana ae ae ee Pe eas ete “ oe ees eerie ee oe oe ate ee Sa SS Saas Tr at atl oe- ln oe nl — 3 gene OAT PA He ey Gr ees ery es rd oR re a ne eet eee eee ed pt pep Ee eS Neer inasan pemiecnipeaersiatmiastar inn ASO LER IS ee ¥ oe oe A Se ae ee ae ne ae re Pie 136 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA opinion of his character. Federigo—whom we left in his first efforts to walk, and referring to his warlike parent as “Ti Pal had now grown into a beautiful lad, whose long curls and oval face Raffaelo was soon to paint, and was the very apple of his mother’s eye. Her refusal to part with him was based on good political reasons, as well as maternal affection. But at last she had to give him up to no other than the Pope himself, when the imperious old Pontiff insisted on this as the con- dition of her husband’s freedom : in fact, by his letter to the Emperor, ‘‘ propter captivitatem, atque detentionem dilecti filit nobilis viri Francisci MM..,” and by a yet more peremptory letter to Venice, the desired release was at length accomplished. For Julius II, having brought back the foreign armies into Italy, had begun—though, like the Moro, too late—to regret his hasty action: ‘‘ somewhere in the depth of his soul,” says Gregorovius, “a voice kept telling him that, with the de- struction of Venice, Italy would become the prey of the stranger, of the Barbarian, and the Holy See itself lose its independence.” With the impetuous energy of his temperament he suddenly changed his policy (1510) and formed a league, called the Holy League, against France, with the aid of the Swiss and with Venice, Spain, and England as his allies, and himself led his troops to the attack with the warlike cry of “ Fuori i Barbar!” The Spaniards advanced in force from Naples to his support ; the war became general through Italy ; and the bloody battle of Ravenna, which left twenty thousand dead on the field, cost the French their leader Gaston de Foix, and eventually led to their expulsion from Italy. In these disastrous wars which cost Italy her independence —for, if she escaped from the French, it was only to find worse masters in the Spaniards and Germans—in this collision of world-powers Mantua took no direct part, happy if she could Save her territory from being overrun by the contending forces. The vacillating policy of Marquis Francesco had placed him in ‘It had been suggested that Federigo should take his father’s place at Venice as hostage—a proposal which Isabella refused (Mantua, 13th wel 1510) in a letter full of good sense and dignity. When this letter was me to Francesco at Venice, still in bed and having slept badly, he aa “Io mil pensova, poiché evi non vene nulla, quella putana di mia mover @ sia causa,” weeping and complaining. Vide Luzio, op. cit.ISABELLA D’ESTE DA GONZAGA 137 a position of being at one and the same time Gonfaloniere of the Church and Captain of the Emperor, the King of France, and the Republic of Venice ; and, as he could not serve one without quarrelling with the others, he—perhaps wisely—remained neutral, and devoted himself to trying to guard his frontiers and preserving the security of his subjects. Then came the death of Pope Julius II (1513), and the consequent return home of Federigo Gonzaga, to the great happiness of his parents ; while the election of the Medici Pope, Leo X, was favourable to the Gonzaga. On the first day of the year 1515 Francis I suc- ceeded Louis XII as King of France, and once more the French armies descended into Lombardy. The Marquis remained neutral, but could not hinder the troops of Venice from over- running the Serraglio, and lost Peschiera and Asola without power to resist ; while Urbino was again invaded by the Papal armies, and the Duchess Elisabetta, with Leonora and her husband, now Duke of Urbino, took refuge in Mantua. His health had been failing, and in March of 1519 the Marquis, seized by a fever, passed away in his palace at S. Sebastiano, with his wife Isabella, his children, including the young Duchess of Urbino, and his brother, Cardinal Sigismondo, beside him. He was only fifty-three years of age, but had led a hard and strenuous life. A brave man and a good soldier, sharing all the hardships of his men, he can scarcely be considered a great general or tactician, and in his political conduct he owed much to the keener insight and untiring devotion of his wife. Clad in white, on April 3, 1519, Federigo Gonzaga, then nine- teen years of age, went to the Cathedral and was recognized by the people as their Lord and Marquis ; there followed solemn functions for his father’s memory in S. Francesco, and next year came to him his investiture from the Emperor Charles V, with rights over Peschiera and Sermione. The Emperor Charles V, who, already King of Spain, had Just inherited (1519) the States of Austria, the two Sicilies, the Low Countries, and Burgundy, became at once the most powerful monarch in Europe ; and the duel for power in Italy between France and the Empire now entered on its final and most terrible form. Isabella d’Este, as we have seen, had favoured the cause of the Emperor, the traditional suzerain = len ja SS = ayy : => mB mt on a a = Cat res ~ - Spy oa = Tanne 5 Sk Ia ay eens, are nn a Pawo aia ~ oe ea Fore = ae Fer nears ees cpa oi pare ee peer ee renee sae Se SS Re a a ee aaned ~~ es a ware ae eee ee 138 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA of Mantua ; and when the French General Lautrec (1522) fell suddenly on Pavia and besieged it, it was her son Federigo, with only 2000 infantry and 300 horse, who saved the city for the Empire, forestalling every enemy attack and fighting beside his men with great courage, until at length the Casarean reinforcements arrived and Lautrec had to retire to Monza. Determined to win back the city of Pavia, King Francis attacked it again with a most powerful army in the winter of 1524, but made yet again—though past disasters might here have warned him—the fatal error of dividing his forces, in order to try and recover the kingdom of Naples. With his armies thus weakened, but obstinately continuing the siege through the winter, he was attacked on February 25, 1525, by Pescara, commanding the Imperialists ; and after a murderous battle was totally defeated and himself taken prisoner. The duel between France and the Empire, with Italy as their battleground, had thus ended. Charles V was left the master, but the whole country was overrun by ferocious hordes of marauding troops ; while the Constable Charles de Bourbon, with the Emperor’s approval and encouragement, had gathered at Pavia an army of 25,000 of these banditti, with the avowed object of plunder, and with Florence and Rome marked down for this purpose. ‘‘ In this time,” says the chronicler, “ our country did not escape the consequences of war, pillaged from time to time in different parts of its territory, its crops de- vastated, compelled to give free passage to the ‘ soldatesca of either side, and offer them supplies when required ” ; while Marquis Federigo found himself in the difficulty of reconciling his position as Captain of the Papal armies and feudatory of the now all-powerful Emperor Charles V. a In the year 1525 Isabella d’Este had decided on a visit to Rome. Various reasons had influenced her in making this prolonged and important visit—not the least perhaps, though less openly acknowledged, being her position at this ume at home. Her adored son, Federigo, had fallen a victim to the charms of the beautiful Isabella Boschetti, who, triumphant in her youth and charm of sex, ruled now over the Co Court, usurping the place which Isabella herself so long ha held. Giovio describes her young rival and namesake as ~-ISABELLA D’ESTE DA GONZAGA 139 riding forth through the city, accompanied by an obsequious crowd of courtiers, while the Marchesana Isabella was deserted, save for one or two noble old gentlemen who would never abandon her; and even her old secretary Mario Equicola—to whose History of Mantua I have often referred—seems to have been among those who turned to worship the rising sun. If she then sought to escape this galling slight—to make her absence felt, her presence again needed—there was also an open and more direct reason for Isabella’s lengthy stay in Rome. There had been hopes, on the death of Leo X, of the election of Cardinal Sigismondo to the Papacy; and certainly a Gonzaga Pope would have made a better figure at Rome than the uncultured northern Adrian VI. But, failing then, Sigismondo had given all his influence to elect the Medici Pope, Clement VII; and Isabella, who had already in view the Cardinalate of her beloved son Ercole, tells the Cardinal of Mantua quite frankly that she would have preferred him as Pope, because ‘‘ we should then be sure of the honours which now are less certain.” The lamented death of Cardinal Sigismondo, in October of 1525, practically assured the election of Ercole, which was promised by the Pope in person to Isabella when she made him her visit of condolence—“ seeing that your own merits deserve it, which shall be done all the more willingly in that we know that Ercole is full of letters and virtuous.” This binding promise was actually fulfilled in the year following (1526), though it was kept for the time being, at the Pope’s special request, aS a secret. At that time the weak and changeful policy of this Pope— who made fresh plans every hour, even suggested in these aegrt somnia”’ to Federigo Gonzaga the Duchy of Milan and the Crown of Naples, and had joined a league with the King of France, Venice, and Francesco Sforza gave constant offence and alarm to the Emperor, who held Bourbon’s army in the north over him as a threat of punishment. Isabella herself, in her letters from Rome to her son Federigo, is always strongly against his committing himself to any armed action against the Hole his suzerain. When Leo X had conferred on Federigo vaptaincy of his armies, he had expressly inserted, as a condition of his service, that he would be ready to march RA — <= aes Senn a ihe SOI om x ae — Sle es n se Co ee neSa ae ae at Seen let Se PT re oo PO SS ol eer eae Fe ea eae eer = Se a Rene et ON ES Soa) = Pa pe ns pared petals verti linia riosesiocasnetalioeeasicemeteannaaaeeaeememeemeeereeeee ~ os 144 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA By Ferrante’s intervention it was arranged that the Marchesa and her followers should leave Rome without ransom, though the other refugees had to pay down 60,000 ducats ; and, with a safe-conduct from the Prince of Orange, she was able to leave the city for Ostia, and, after great suffer- ings from storms, and narrowly escaping being taken by pirates, came at last by way of Pesaro to Ferrara, and thence to Mantua. At that happy moment of her return all past misunderstandings were forgotten and forgiven. Her first visit had been to S. Andrea, to offer service and thanks to the Precious Blood of Christ. ‘‘ No such day of gladness in this city,’’ says her servant, Tridapale, ‘‘ have I yet seen in my life, and certainly Madama this time has been fully assured of the love borne to her by her own two sons and all this most faithful people ; so that I and others, her servants, could not hold back our tears. And all that one heard was the sound of bells and voices of those around crying out ‘ Isabella.’ ” d’Incise ; and the wretched man, knowing what awaited him, had implored her not to give him up. His master, enraged, wrote to Isabella: “ It seems to me you should think more of me than of ‘ villani.’’’ To the Marquis Incise she replied: ‘‘ It did not seem good to us to send that poor man to the peril of death, for if he is ‘ villano’ he is none the less a man (e perho homo) ; and we, having him in our power, ought to have compassion on him as a man.’ When we consider the frightful treatment of serfs in those times—less than animals, mutilated, killed at their lord’s caprice—these three words “e perho homo’’ are an immortal tribute to their writer’s high view of life—her magnanimity.CHAPTER Ix GIULIO ROMANO AT MANTUA PLEASANT land, set high between the Alps and those fertile plains of Lombardy, rich in grain, with vineyards upon its hillsides—the famed “‘colline Monferrini ’— which are often crowned by some ancient castle or little town- ship famed in art and story, the homes of a fighting race. Such was the Marquisate of Monferrato, which now came to be united for good and for ill with Mantua, through the marriage of Federigo Gonzaga with Margherita, daughter and sole heiress of its Marquis; and herself descended from that ancient royal House of the Palaeologi, now driven from Byzantium by the Ottoman Turk. For now, after the Sack of Rome, had come the great settle- ment of Italy, when Pope and Emperor had met at Bologna to divide between them what was left of the mangled remains of that unhappy country. The French had finally been driven back across the Alps ; the Papacy had been taught its lesson, had been chastised with whips of red-hot steel, but was now to be restored; and Italy—bleeding with many wounds, but still beautiful, desirable—lay prostrate at the all-powerful monarch’s feet. Charles V was to have come to Bologna ‘rom Parma by way of Mantua, and Marquis Federigo had been preparing his reception: but he finally chose the more ‘lirect Toute of Reggio and Modena. Isabella d’Este had arrived on November I, 1529, at Bologna, for the coronation ceremonies, and taken up her residence in the Palazzo Manzoli, “lose to the Church of S. Giacomo, and not far from the ‘eaning towers of the Galisenda and Asinelli—accompanied y a brilliant train of beautiful women. She was to be joined soon after by her son Federigo, and “ her quarters,” we are 10 ere nineteen en ne ITS ——— Sake ary . { THE PAINTING BY GIORGIO ANSELMI IN THE HALL OF THE RIVERS, REGGIA OF THE GONZAGA=< oo inte Ae! ee SO OS eT oe ates egnemere = rs et — aD Re es Se es ang OT FE 4 per EY = Fe a a aii oe ; PP I i ESAT PEELED ta = | Rar at a a~GIULIO ROMANO AT MANTUA 149 Domine ’’—and Isabella’s favourite device of the labyrinth, with its motto “ Forse che st, forse che no”? and the mystic number “ XXVII” (Venti sette) with a chord of music, or, again, the motto “ Nec spe nec metu’”’ and her own name “‘ Isab. Esten.Mar.Mant ’’ (Isabella d’Este, Marchesa di Mantova), precious relics (vide note) of her wonderful Grotta. From the last of this suite of rooms an internal staircase descends to the curious Apartment of the Dwarfs with its tiny living-rooms and chapel—everything, including the doorways and steps themselves, being on the scale of these little creatures, whom we have seen to have been the special pets of Isabella and her Court. There are six or seven rooms here, besides their private chapel, built for them by their Gonzaga masters at Mantua ; and it gives one a curious, almost uncanny sensation to walk down those little dolls’-house steps. Here, in every detail we can trace refinement, the restraint of pure taste ; but what we come to next is the later splendour of the Mantuan Court —a magnificence which oppresses rather than charms. “In the vast ball room (Galleria degli Specchi) painted by Giulio and scholars—like Andreasi and the younger Costa—inheriting his tradition, this difference already comes home to us. By the Master’s own hand is the beautiful full-length figure of ‘ Inno- cence washing her hands ’—a creation worthy of Raphael himself. In the ceiling Aurora rises in her car drawn by four brown steeds ; in the centre is the ‘ Council of the Gods,’ and on the other side Apollo driving his four white horses balances the group of ‘ Aurora.’ ”’ ! By a long staircase we now approach the oldest part of the Palace, the Corte Vecchia, which was practically abandoned after the Sack of Mantua. First the vast ruined Sala di Manto ; then the Sala dei Capitani, where a painting of Mantegna’s time shows Luigi Gonzaga taking, as Captain, his oath of office, while busts of the four great Captains are in the angles of the walls. Then the Sala dei Guerrieri, with the stuccos by Prima-~ ticcio and portrait busts of Lodovico Gonzaga and Barbara of Brandenburg ; and next the Sala dei Tnionfi, which once contained the famous “ Triumph of Julius Cesar,” painted by Mantegna for his Gonzaga patrons, which was acquired by 1 Vide Selwyn Brinton, Mantua, ch. vii. SSE ce —— pea ee ee ee ae = wen El a eee eee ee = er niet = = PR = = — aks aes| \ | Ney oo ae r aa ere ——_ eS ——. sy one ees — — re in ee —s ss beta eine ee on a Ea pepe ect- ~e es seeping) ae > Se er SOE a ofa reat alt te enenentanteaeatenimmasnereteprarertt re 150 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA Charles I of England from the reigning Duke of Mantua in 1628, and is still in Hampton Court Palace. Here the walls were stripped and even the ceiling ruined ; but in the midst of this loss and desolation a magnificent treasure remains to give us an idea of what were once the splendours of the Mantuan Ducal Palace. This good fortune seems to be entirely owilig to the fact that at the time of the sack of Mantua, or Very shortly after, the entrance from the series of chambers we have just visited to the Sala di Troja was walled off from the soldiers on both sides, and the pictures thus preserved from wanton injury during that disastrous Austrian occupation. “These paintings are indeed a series of masterpieces by Giulio Romano and his school. . . . Most of all in the scene of ‘Andromache’s Dream,’ prophetic of coming woes, and that of ‘ Helen’s Departure,’ which is a very living and dramatic rendering ; for the subject of these frescoes in the Sala di Troja is entirely drawn from that old story of the Trojan war. We see here not only ‘ Andromache’s Dream’ and the ‘ Rape of Helen,’ but the ‘ Judgment of Paris "—what artist of Giulios period could resist such a legitimate opportunity of depicting the nude ?—the ‘ Trojan Horse,’ ‘ Ajax killed by the bolt of Pallas,’ ‘ Thetis giving his arms to Achilles,’ and ‘ Laocoon with the serpents entwined about him.’ ”’ ? | But when we leave this happily preserved Sala di Toja we find again evidence of the destroyer’s hand in the Sala de Marmi, where the marbles which once covered its walls wert carried off in the Sack, though the surviving “ stucchi ~ and the cupids in the roundels are often of beauty. The old wnter Cadioli cannot here refrain from lamentation. ‘‘ How 1 ge to my heart when I consider that of various other chambers, all adorned with paintings by Giulio, none remains on which the eye can rest without deploring their irreparable Tui Only can ye still observe the most beautiful ceilings, divided charmingly with the finest carvings, and the gilded ’ stucchl. Yet the arabesques remain, which Giulio had painted on 1 Vide Selwyn Brinton, Mantua, ch. vii. 2 See Descrizione della Pittuve, Sculture ed Architetiura ne tova. Da Giovanni Cadioli. MDCCLXIII. This rare and most use volume I had the fortune to find some twenty years ago in Mantua. la Citta di Mar ful littleeerie om ~~ Sy ee ee dem eatee ett — r MANTUA PALACI AT THI FEDERIGO HORSES DUKI OF THI O} HALI | | } HORSI THE eee CHI GIULIO ROMANO IN SE rHE RIN . DESIGN OF FROM ca pean hap em gee SS el EET NNO a Lens Son an ned eee tah Tn ester > aT Ts Tmt= i epee OO ne a en | | : Slot = =GIULIO ROMANO AT MANTUA 151 the roof of the Loggia looking out over the Lago Inferiore and that Ponte S. Giorgio which still divides the two parts of the lower Lake ; and which was originally (as this writer tells us) built of brick in 1404, and covered in like the Ponte dei Mulini, and was to be later, in the fall of Mantua, the main point of attack through which the Imperialists entered. From the Loggia we can see the stables, the ‘‘ Cavallerizza ’’ which Giulio designed in noble proportions ; and from the terrace near it could be watched at the same time both the regattas on the lake and the tournaments which were held later for the Ducal amusement in the central square below. Even more definitely and directly connected with the period of Federigo’s rule is that famous palace of pleasure which is known as the Palazzo del Te. ‘‘ Here, between the Pusterla and Cerese gates, the Marquis Francesco Gonzaga, Isabella’s soldier husband, had kept his stud of racing horses, which were famous throughout Europe ; and here, at the close of 1524, hisson Federigo Gonzaga commissioned the artist and architect Giulio Pippi, then but lately summoned by him to Mantua, to build him the palace of lavish splendour that his heart desired. The work was promptly put in hand, and advanced apace ; for we find already in the early months of 1526 the painters, the ‘‘ stuccatori’’ (stucco-workers), and gilders are busy on the internal decorations, which the Marquis is pressing them to finish—so that the greater part of the Palace must then have been already standing. The principal building here, with the large court in the centre, forms a square, and the order of architecture throughout is Doric, but exhibit- ing all the variety of which that style is capable. Even if a little monotonous, the whole impression is none the less very noble and harmonious in its proportions.” ! Those who only know Giulio as a masterful but somewhat florid painter must visit Mantua to appreciate his great powers as an architect ; and among the finest—as it is among the first —of his creations there is this beautiful Palace of the Te, in whose internal decoration he had to aid him a group of brilliant artists, such as Rinaldo Mantovano, Benedetto Pagni da Pescia, Gianfrancesco Penni (like himself from Rome, and one P77 IS : Ges Vide Selwyn Brinton, Mantua, ch. viii, ca caer, Sy is SSS erry a ea ee cela en ae er ato ee ; =e SE Ne ae ar oe ie as Ss- en Soe a ee ey a a as sanz yereeea ae er eT LTE SS nae ro Se eer eT ET oe Pie ro Pa pee 22 OE Ee -- ee ey a A nce pS wo eer a Ba Ne epbeesteeees SR SES ey a ot —— i Bt J Bt i ‘; 152 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA of Raphael’s scholars), Fermo da Caravaggio, and, in the “ stucchi”” adornment especially, the incomparable Prima- ticcio. Let us now enter the Palace and study the paintings in detail. As we enter the first room of the present (it would be the eighth of the old) entrance we see before us a beautiful ceiling fresco by Giulio himself, or painted under his close direction. It shows us Phoebus descending, and Luna arising with her chariot and horses, both subjects seen foreshortened —a favourite device of Giulio and his followers, which we shall notice frequently in the succeeding rooms. Perhaps they had taken the idea from Mantegna’s brilliantly audacious fresco of Women and Loves, looking down from a circular balcony, in the Sala degli Sposi ; but where Andrea, with all his boldness of technique, yet invested his rendering with a dignity and purity of the highest art, these later artists of the Te seem to sometimes use the same motif as a disguise for licence— not indeed in this room nor in the Sala dei Cavelli next, where the six beautiful portraits (painted, it is said, from Giulio’s design) of Duke Federigo’s favourite horses, by Rinaldo Manto- vano and Benedetto Pagni, mark a very high level in animal painting. Barbs are these—as those of us who have ridden in Algiers can easily recognize—but with the pure Arab strain in their blood; and without doubt descendants of Marquis Francesco’s famous breed, the same who won the Corso dei Barberi in Rome, while the people shouted ‘“ Mantova! Turco! Turco!’’—and even Pope Julius smiled approval. Look at that white steed with his coquettish ribbon of blue, his finely bred, intelligent head and well-shaped shoulder. But it is in the Sala de Psyche that we have preserved 10 us a masterpiece of the genius of Giulio and his contemporamés. Strada in his valuable account of the Palace calls this a “ large, square-shaped room where is the legend of Psyche; all the roof is covered with figures painted in perspective in oil (im scurcio a olio) ; the designs of these Giulio Romano made with his own hands.” 1 Strada goes on to tell us that he was 1 Strada, an archeologist of high repute, was summoned to Vienna, ™ 1550, as “‘ Cesareo Antiquario,” to give a complete account of Italy, in which Mantua would figure, with her Castello, her churches—S. Barbara, S. Andrea, S. Sebastian, and S. Pietro—and the Gonzaga Palaces of Marmirolo and theSaat ey ath as Soe a enn MANTUA ie ea eT Ailes * CUPID AND PSYCHI Cn natintics THE ase =< < < oS f < 2. S. Z ie ~ 7 Or Zz ras a Ne Z > st en oe ae eS ad eee eget Bt mmr iPe renee alee pee Ts P means , : c a a ~- i Seti aia - ET OI a Ie - len ae eagleGIULIO ROMANO AT MANTUA 153 assisted in this room by Penni, and Vasari states that Bene- detto Pagni worked here ; while we know from other sources that—besides Giulio, Penni, and Pagni—Rinaldo Mantovano and Lorenzo Costa were painting in this room. Here then we find a work produced under Giulio’s design and inspiration, with the best available talent of the Mantuan school to help him ; and the result, with all its defects, with all the difficulties under which it was produced, is something magnificent. What those difficulties were we may judge from a surviving letter of Marquis Federigo to Giulio, in which he says, “ Since we hear that no painter is at work in our rooms in the Palazzo del Te we begin to think they will not be finished either by August, as you had promised, nor yet by September nor October,’”’ and threatens to find other painters. Poor Giulio’s reply (dated Mantua, August 31, 1528) shows the troubles of a hard-pressed Court architect: “ The greatest affliction I can receive is when your Excellency is annoyed, the greatest glory I can know when I can feel myself in your favour; and if it be your Grace’s pleasure you may lock me up in that big room until it is finished, but even so I can do nothing against the will of God. Seeing that we have been unable to push forward the work through the fact that I myself and all my assistants, down to the very boy who mixed the colours, have been all sick ; and to keep up their credit I have myself paid the expenses of doctors, medicine, and drugs so that they might yet be willing to keep at work—and myself but two days away, not like those who for a fever keep their room for a month.” Now let us turn to the paintings themselves, in which the legend of Psyche claims a first place. Giulio knew already the pictorial capacities of this charming legend, from his master Raphael’s treatment of it in the Farnesina frescoes ; and here it has inspired him with two of the most beautiful] paintings of the whole series—that of Psyche who, lamp in hand, bends over the sleeping form of Love, and the beautiful scene of the Te. In this work he applied to Duke Guglielmo for him the original design of the Palace from Giulio’s tion is therefore of great value and help to our res (1904) by the Municipality of Mantua. assistance, and had from own hand. His descrip- earch, and was published x Ea ennui = oe eee, AO ee =" aE. — ~ a Sees - — oO CLL EY i ET EEE = eats a aera aa pS PETS Wa ee| | | - oo eee Seeaee ss ennai iene edn em eo “a ee eT eS: i a Re ae eee ep a oom ee ee 154 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA “Marriage of Cupid and Psyche.” The figures in most eases are entirely nude, while in the first-named picture the light falls fully from the lamp in the girl’s left hand, and her figure is Seen in abrupt perspective from below. Here the artist seeks to show his technical cleverness; but in the “ Marriage of Psyche ”’ he rises to a high point of lyrical beauty. The lovers, united after so many trials and sufferings, lie together upon a couch, nude, save that Psyche wears a band or zone about her waist ; her face and form is of radiant loveliness, and they both turn faces filled with joy to the winged Child Love who is placing two crowns upon their brows, while a merry rout of Satyrs completes the picture. Then, leaving his memories of the Farnesina, Giulio tums to other scenes of Grecian legend. Here young Dionysus, 4 figure of wonderful beauty, has come to us from farthest India, with tigers and lions at his feet and behind him old Silenus with his goat-legged Fauns, while the head of a great Bactrian camel overlooks the riotous throng. Here again is Apollo circled by the Muses, Mars surprising Venus with Adonis or sharing the bath with the same goddess, Jupiter and Olympia, Pasiphae with the Dedalean cow—a whole selection from the Metamorphoses. But if poor Psyche was upbraided by Venus in the Farnesina, here she is being dragged about by the hair of her head; if the loves of Leda with Jove were @1© cognized subject for Renaissance art, even this never equalled the scene depicted here, where Jupiter, half-man, half-dragon, approaches the unresisting Olympia ; nor can the constant choice of nude figures seen in abrupt perspective from below (as where Psyche stoops over sleeping Love, or in the Cupids who fly up above the scene of her punishment) have been entirely unintentional. The fault may not have lain entirely with the artists, for they probably had a pretty clear idea what were their Prince’s wishes in the matter. “ They@am zaghi,”” says D’Arco, “after their elevation to the Ducal dignity, abandoned themselves to splendour and luxury ; and, corrupted by the flattery of courtiers and the ease of Court lif, indulged freely in vices of which the record lives ™ their history.” We shall find some part of that record in the later pag® -THE MARRIAGE OF CUPID AND PSYCHI [THE BATH OF vy] NUS AND MARS ROM THE PAINTINGS BY GIULIO ROMANO IN THI SALA DI PSYCHE AT THE AND THE TRIUMPH OF PALACE OF THE oa = “VS ee, 5 es — —— | | | BACCHUS : | id a " 4 5 ag PS nena ee TT Son ene a eee a EE a Kin Re eel elimi aes en TE, MANTUAA et a Sr Pn eae I a Se ae ee pa om eR ile eet Na ce eae ang : SeGIULIO ROMANO AT MANTUA 155 of this work, and see there how directly it led up to the ruin ind extinction of their great House. The frescoes of this Sala (de Psyche are indeed clear evidence of the splendid luxury ind of the licence of their later Court. The unbridled freedom yf the rendering is only atoned for by the opulent, unfettered, ind often high imaginative beauty of the result—most of all in those paintings in which Giulio’s own hand can be traced. This is probably the case in the gigantic ‘‘ Polyphemus,” and I um inclined to believe also in the ‘‘ Marriage of Psyche ’”’ and the eautiful “ Triumph of Bacchus ”’; the ‘‘ Pasiphae ” has been ittributed to Pagni da Pescia,and the ‘‘ Mars Surprising Venus,”’ ‘he “ Snake Jupiter and Olympia ” and the lunettes of Psyche’s story, to Rinaldo Mantovano. To complete our idea of this amous Sala di Psyche, let us note here that its lower walls were sovered with tapestry hangings and its doors with bronze— ul carried off amid the horrors of the Sack—but the inscription of Marquis Federigo remains to tell how all this was made for his rest after labour and quiet delight. ‘‘ Federicus Gonzaga Var ... Ocio post labores ad vepar. Vurt. quiete construa mandavit.”” I have given special attention to this Sala di Psyche, as it is lar the most beautiful and significant, and shall treat more briefly the succeeding rooms, which are, however, full of artistic interest. To the next room Giulio’s painting of the “ Fall of Phaethon”’ has given its name ; and here Primaticcio has oeen at work on the “ stucchi ”’ and decoration, while the three antique busts of Roman ladies are of singular beauty.! Then che great Loggia—‘ of marvellous beauty,” writes old Strada, “ where are paintings and works in stucco from the history ot King David . . . and for the paintings of the ceiling Giulio made the designs ”’; the documents indeed show to us that Benedetto da Pescia and Rinaldo Mantovano were here at work upon Giulio’s designs. There follows the Sala degli stucchi, with a magnificent processional relief of Roman soldiers, such as Mantegna had imagined in his “ Triumph of ‘Vesar,’’ and to which later the—to me less convincing—title These busts are m beneath the Centaurs the Amazons), entioned by Strada, and are portraits of Aricidia ), Julia (beneath the Tritons), and Julia Paola (beneath ls = SSE ond IY a TR * SEE AEE a OS on wari Ss RDA AIO RAAT oa ce alae nasa eS A Tee os DEBE OT ee a ae ee dries ot oa i ae eeiiatoel Ped . re eaaoe we 156 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA ann ae ea ree a aT Leap epee rs SS SS Ape A EA eo of the ‘‘ Triumphal Entry of Emperor Sigismund ”’ into Mantua (1433) was given.! These reliefs are the work of the incom- parable Primaticcio and his Mantuan assistants; andthe eagle, twin-headed and crowned, which appears on the shield of the horseman riding next after the Imperator, was probably a compliment to the artist’s patron or his Imperial visitor, In March of 1530, Marquis Federigo was to receive in Mantua the Emperor Charles V ; and it is certain that these rooms we have just traversed—namely, those of the Cavalli, of Psyche, of the Winds, of Phaethon, as well as this noble Loggia and the Sala of Cesar following—were hurried forward so as to be ready for the splendid reception on that occasion, when Federigo obtained the coveted title of Duke. For the promised yisit of the Emperor himself was now approaching, and the whole city was on tiptoe of expectation. In the year preceding (1529) Cardinal Pirro Gonzaga ? had died at Sabbioneta ; and in the same year the Gonzaga had lost a faithful friend and devoted servant in Count Baldasarre Castiglione, whose father had died fighting with Marquis Francesco in the battle of the Taro, and his mother been a Gonzaga. Brought up im the fine tradition of Vittorino and Guarino, of scholarship com- bined with physical culture, Baldasarre grew up to be a courtier, soldier, a finished gentleman, and great diplomatist. As such he was appreciated by Julius II at Rome, and thence went t0 enter the service of Guidobaldo, Duke of Urbino, of whose Court he has left us a memorable record in his Conegiann® eee rae ne ey nar Ne eae prea aap see eer eae ) 1 Vasari calls these reliefs “a procession of Roman soldiers, imitammg | that of the Column of Trajan,”’ and gives them to Primaticcio and his helpers) it was not till a century later that the name of Sigismund appeared for this subject. ’ f 2 It had been Luigi Gonzaga, called Rodomonte—son of Lodovico, Lord 0 Gazzuolo, and a soldier of fortune like Ferrante Gonzaga—who had assisted the escape of Clement VII, disguised as a merchant, from the Castel 5. Angelo to Orvieto, and had accompanied him on that dangerous journey. In gratitude the Pope made his brother Pirro a Cardinal, so that Casa Gonzaga had two Cardinals at this time. 37 have before me an old edition of Jl Cortegiano, published by Giunta at Florence, in October 1528, the year preceding the writer's d which I had the fortune to secure at Mantua. In this work we find a Pa of the perfect courtier, and of the brilliant Court of Urbino under the \ ah feltri. It was Castiglione who had brought from Rome to Mantua Giulio Romano and Benedetto Pagni. Filippo death, rarer on enc aes talon ase tvs sisdaeresealgaisortomeiemanebeme tee ete ee ee a == Se Te OS ny ern etintat teen ant OS co See THE TRIUMPH OF BACCHUS DETAIL AINTING BY GIULIO ROMANO IN THE FROM THE p SALA DI PSYCHE AT THE PALACE OF THE TE, MANTUAwre - va a ete —<—e* oer Seneca apne) a Ta ee ee ee ey See oe at pea deo myn oo — mn eS SS Ser i Pincers , Sec Re secant PP i AP Ea rsa eer ne eS = —— ra: os } : eee oe = =GIULIO ROMANO AT MANTUA 157 ite was sent by Guidobaldo to England, in 1506, to receive as is proxy from Henry VII the investiture of the Garter ; but :fter his Duke’s death, Baldasarre returned (1516) to the service of the Marquis of Mantua, and married a girl of noble ‘lantuan family, Ippolita de’ Torelli. Sent as envoy by the “Marquis to Rome, he enjoyed the friendship of Raphael, and ‘ater went to Spain in the service of Clement VII; but all his nfluence at that Court failed to avert the disaster of the Sack f Rome ; and it is possible that this preyed on his mind, for he lied at Toledo (1529) only two years later. His body was brought back to Mantua, and given honourable burial in the Church of S. Maria delle Grazie. It was Giulio Romano umself who was entrusted there with his marble monument : -nd that finished Latinist, Cardinal Bembo, his personal friend, vho added the inscription. On March 24, 1530, the Emperor Charles arrived with his scort of cavalry at Castello de’ Gonzaga, and at dawn of the 1ext day, the Feast of the Annunciation, he continued his ourney to Mantua. The Marquis Federigo had ridden out to neet his illustrious guest at the Porta Pradella, where the 4+mperor received the clergy come to meet him in procession, efused the city keys there offered to him, and put on the ‘mperial ornaments. He was now clad in gold and silver srocade, wearing the cap and sword of Empire ; and thus, seneath a rich baldacchino of white satin, escorted by fifty ‘ouths of knightly rank clad in white, “ preceded by his vaptains and troops and the aforesaid clergy, amid the sounds ! musical instruments, the thunder of artillery, and the cclamations of an immense crowd, he entered by the said ate between the two Cardinals, Cibd and de’ Medici: and ollowed by the Cardinal Ercole, the Marquis, the Duke of ‘errara, Luigi called Rodomonte, and other princes and lords t the illustrious House of Gonzaga, and innumerable knights ome to honour their Marquis,”’ he passed beneath triumphal itches and flower-covered streets to the Cathedral of S. Pietro. dere the Emperor dismounted, entering that Temple to render anks to God; then retired into the Castello, which was wecomingly arranged to serve asa Royal Palace, while the other iinces and distinguished persons were distributed for lodging STUCCO RELIEFS BY PRIMATICCIO IN THI PALACI FROM THEoa ne 2A , EES TS ~ ee Ee . eT PET Sea 2 = ee aaa ee ce ea So gee 8 Sgme ces, Se oe)GIULIO ROMANO AT MANTUA 159 “4 great room,” writes Strada, ‘in the midst of whose ceiling is painted in perspective the Palace of Jove, and beneath appear that god and Juno, who have summoned to their council all the gods, showing to them the great pride of the Giants broken. A marvellous sight and terrible to behold! All this was painted by the hand of Rinaldo . . . and the original drawings by Giulio are in my own hands.” The drawings here alluded to seem to have disappeared, but the painting remains to fully justify old Strada’s statement. “A marvellous sight, and terrible”’ they are indeed! Above, in heaven, the gods of Olympus still hold victorious sway; but beneath, on earth, hurled headlong, crushed beneath the tottering columns, lies a tangled mass of prostrate forms—the earth-children who had tried to scale high Olympus, and are struck down, still raving in impotent fury, by the bolt of the Jmnipotent. The subject has been painted by another of Raphael’s pupils, Pierino del Vaga, in the Palazzo Doria at Genoa, and might seem to us as an allegory—almost within these walls a pictured warning—of the hopes, high as heaven itself, the splendid achievement, the hidden sins of lust and blood, the terrible and irremediable fall of this wonderful Italy of the Renaissance. As I watched these fallen Titans, alone in the silent room where the shades of twilight were entering, their terrible faces seemed to become instinct again with life, their lips to move as if convulsed with blasphemy ; and the shadowy forms of that Court of luxury and pride and hidden crime to become blended with them in my fancy, amid these scenes of their past life. The obsession of their presence Yecame intolerable ; and it was a relief to go forth into the garden that surrounds the Palace. ~ There lacked at this time,” says our chronicler, “ to com- plete the contentment of Mantua the marriage of her Duke, a which his mother, Marchesa Isabella, took special thought.” Uuring the Emperor’s visit, the Infanta Julia of Aragon had been suggested as his bride, and the betrothal seems, in fact, to have ‘aken place ; but a far better match in every way, both in age for Julia was well over thirt y) and political advantage, now offered itself in the Princess of Monferrato, to whose eldest sister Federigo had once been affianced. The latter had now Ser sco ati = ny eS SN eee etn ee ea 20 erase RAE ONLI ER Sa = Fa —- =~ = CARTS lng ENS ak aslated - va - Reh a ree r ~ Fp senor" ae Ser —r ear ST a deemed ame tdaanpaaen ss ee ee aes pe pclopeicgtytcheet abampereanamnnripcecm nme oeerettererte rete Pere ( eases a stn Cea res naw’ es ial elrgat ie 160 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA died, and the death at this time of her brother, the young Marquis of Monferrato, from a fall when out hunting, lef’ Margherita Paleologa as sole heiress of the rich principality o Monferrato. She was now twenty years of age, and, on the death of her sister, Duke Federigo lost no time in pressing his suit, which evidently had his mother’s entire approval. He had his contract with the Infanta Julia annulled by the Pope in March of 1531, secured—after some trouble—the Emperor’s consent, and persuaded the Marchesa di Monferrato to let the wedding take place in October of 1531. At the end of Sep- tember he left Mantua with a brilliant suite, travelling first to Pavia, and on his way to Monferrato was joined by his cousin, the Duke of Milan, Francesco Maria Sforza, and—as repre- senting the Emperor—the terrible Spanish Governor of Milan, Antonio de Leyva. In the Castello of Casale in Monferrato, < suite of apartments had been prepared for him hung with gold brocade, velvet, and satin; and the wedding took place on the evening of his arrival in the Marchesa’s bedroom, Mean- while, Isabella was once more administering the State in her son’s absence, and Giulio Romano and his assistants were busy making ready the apartment in the Castello, to the right of S. Giorgio drawbridge, known as the Palazzina, which was intended for the new Duchess. Isabella was deeply interested in these arrangements, for we hear “that yesterday Madama Illustrissima came to the Castello, and wished to see evely- thing,” and she remained for more than an hour enjoying the view.! Giulio had suggested that a flight of steps should be made from the lake, with a portico and triumphal arch, such as used in the Emperor’s visit, for the bride’s reception ; but ~ the weather settled this part of the programme—the Po, Mincio, and Oglio again broke their banks, and the entry of the Duke and his young Duchess, received by Isabella, Cardinal Ercole, and the nobles of Mantua, did not take place until mid-November.’ 1 Vide Cartwright, op. cit. ch. xl. - + by 2““TIn the coming of the Emperor Charles to Mantua, says Vasari, a orders of the Duke, Giulio made many most beautiful ornaments of an. settings (prospettivi) for plays, and many other things ; in which ae, Giulio had no equal, nor in the designing of fantastic dresses for es: er, festivals, and tournaments.”’ Vide Vasari, Le Vite de’ pit Eccellent Pitiort,GIULIO ROMANO AT MANTUA 161 In the year following (1532) the Emperor paid another visit to Italy, escorted by Don Ferrante Gonzaga, with two thousand horse, and many of his Captains.1_ He entered Mantua by the Bridge of S. Giorgio on November 7, and was conducted in great state to his apartment in the Castello; later he went to the Convent of S. Agnese (where he had previously spent Holy Week), and made his prayers before the Most Precious Blood within the Basilica of S. Andrea. To this time may be due the famous portrait of Isabella d’Este by Titian—who had become the Emperor’s favourite painter—which is now in the Imperial Gallery of Vienna; and it was during this visit that the poet Ariosto was invited to Mantua to meet the Emperor, to whom he presented his ‘‘ Orlando,” and by Imperial diploma was crowned as poet-laureate. Were it permitted for a moment to the writer to regard this story of Casa Gonzaga from the side of its humorous possibilities, it might be of interest to imagine the effect pro- duced upon the leading members of this illustrious family at receiving, by what may have corresponded to their morning mail, a missive with a very heavy seal, to inform them that their late Imperial guest had enjoyed himself so much that he proposed very shortly to pay them another visit ; and it is possible that, when this visit materialized, they were not altogether sorry to find him retire for his devotions to his favourite convent, or even to see the last of such an over- powering and expensive visitor. We have noticed that Charles V had consented with some difficulty to the Mon- ferrato marriage, which had cancelled his plans for the Infanta Julia, and which also threatened to sandwich his Duchy of Milan between the lands of Mantua and Monferrato: and now, before leaving Italy, he hit upon a scheme which, had it succeeded, would have completely countered the interest in the latter territory of Duke Federigo and Casa Gonzaga. This was nothing less than a marriage, actually arranged by the Emperor at this time, between Donna Julia of Aragon, 1 ) : Don Ferrante Gonzaga, who had been Isabella S saviour at Rome, had commanded the Imperialist troops in the siege of Florence, and by his in- fluence and authority saved that city from the horrors of a sack. He imarried, soon after, a rich heiress, Isabella of Capua, and bought the principality of Guastalla from the Torelli family, II a ei TT ~alee aes eer co ae a > a an ae eer Ae a ae st pie nn —— as a * = ee I eens - NOES ELAS fe eT a mn EL LEE LETS SET tee ( 162 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA Duke Federigo’s rejected bride, and his father-in-law, the old Marquis of Monferrato. This marriage was celebrated at Ferrara, and on April 21, 1533, the bride made her eitry into Casale. But the poor old bridegroom was in such failing health that he could not leave his room, and died eighit days later. Donna Julia—whose matrimonial experiments had not been crowned with success—seems to have returned once more to her family.1_ It would seem as if the influence of Isabella Boschetti? over Duke Federigo had not entirely ceased, even after his marriage, and came to affect the position of the young Duchess and cause trouble with her family ; but in March of 1533, Duchess Margherita gave birth to a son and heir, who was called Francesco after his grandfather, and held at the font by Marchesa Isabella. Meanwhile, the embellishment of Mantua under Giulio’s direction continued—of which Vasari tells us that “in that whole city he designed at different times so many chapels, houses, gardens, facades, and so delighted himself in its beautily- ing and adornment, that, while before it was covered with mud. (sotto-posta al fango), and at certain times full of dirty water and almost uninhabitable, it is to-day by his industry and efforts clean, wholesome, and altogether charming and pleasing.” ? Scarcely had his magnificent work at the Te been completed than were put in hand the paintings in the Sala di Troja which I have mentioned, the Borgo di Porto was encircled with walls, and “that ancient Church of 3. Benedetto of Mantua, near the Po, a very large and rich foundation of the Black monks ”—which I have mentioned in an earlier chapter under its name of S. Benedetto in Polirone— “was rebuilt and decorated. In like manner,” adds Vasat, ‘“‘at Marmirolo, five miles distant from Mantua, was constructed, 1 This story is given by Cartwright, op. cit. ch. xli. 2 Vasari tells us that Giulio made by his own han painting of Our Lady with Jesus and the little St. John, “ which picture was given by the Duke to Signora Isabella Buschetta (Boschetti), of whom Giulio then painted the likeness, and a very beautiful one, in a little picture of the Nativity of Christ which is to-day in the hands of Lord Vespasiano Comaeae This last painting is lost, but the former one is in the Dresden Gallery, A another altarpiece df the Holy Family with St. John and St. Longinus, pain : by Giulio for the Boschetti’s chapel in S. Andrea, is now in the Musée du Louvre. 3 Vide Vasari, op. cit., ‘‘ Giulio Romano,”’ d for Duke Federigo 4GIULIO ROMANO AT MANTUA 163 by the order and design of Giulio, a most commodious building, adorned with paintings no less fine than those of the Castello and Palazzo del Te ”—all of which have since perished amid the horrors of the Sack of Mantua in 1630. On the night of February 13, 1539, the great Princess Isabella d’Este da Gonzaga died in the Corte Vecchia at Mantua. With her passed away a great figure from Casa Gonzaga. “‘The piety, prudence, and love towards her subjects of this lady,’ writes the chronicler, ‘‘ caused the most profound grief at her loss to the Mantuans, who regarded her as their benefactress and support, and as a marvel of their own age ; and soon the citizens felt the lack of such a heroine, seeing that the Duke, who measured all by his own good heart, easily let himself be surrounded by Ministers who oppressed the country with abuses and injustice.””!_ By her own wish the Marchesa was buried in the Church of S. Francesco— sometimes called S. Paola, from the neighbouring convent— where Duke Federigo ordered for her a noble tomb in the sepulchral chapel of the Gonzaga princes. But before this was completed he had himself fallen ill, and, withdrawing by his doctor’s advice to his delightful palace of Marmirolo, died there on June 28, 1540; leaving by his will his first-born son Francesco to succeed him in the Dukedom, under the guardian- ship of his mother, the Duchess Margherita, and his uncle, Cardinal Ercole Gonzaga; and to his other children— Guglielmo, Lodovico, and Isabella—he left each 8000 ducats yearly. Duke Federigo was buried by his own last wishes at his mother’s side in S. Francesco ; but when, in 1797, after a terrible siege the French took Mantua, the church, with hundreds of monuments of the Gonzaga princes, was pillaged and its tombs broken to fragments. Of the last resting-place of the §teat Isabella d’Este and her son Federigo not a trace ‘Now remains. Like his ancestors, Duke Federigo had been a brave soldier : and, later in life, a great builder and patron of the arts. Two things only are blamed in him by the Mantuan chronicler— one being his notorious relations with Isabella Boschetti, by ‘whom he had two sons ; the other that, in attending himself * Vide Volta, op. cit. SSS wet Eiken eer eee, aS ae aaa en en ne =n = = a . Sse eee TR ee ee cee neem ai a ESE are eeeYea eee Sw Se a NO pn earentraren TO a et ie eee IFIP DOA ae te ee ee eae a reer eet besciasientdesnasnie ieiadasfathecdamleeiiadelini Dhasiacdenenenaated CO ter eae ieee ewe Us ( 164 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA personally to the direction of his great buildings, he had left to his two favourites the administration of justice, which they abused. On July 5, 1540, with the usual solemn forms, his son Francesco, then seven years of age, was proclaimed Duke in the Piazza S. Pietro; but the Regency remained in the safe hands of that great statesman and great churchman, Cardinal Ercole Gonzaga, with Don Ferrante Gonzaga and the widowed Duchess Margherita as guardians with him of the young Prince. Giulio Romano had felt bitterly the loss of his beloved patron, Duke Federigo, and, Vasari tells us, would have left Mantua “ had not the Cardinal, brother of the Duke, to whom remained the government of the State, detained him in the city, more especially to have the counsel and aid of Giulio in restoring and almost remaking the Duomo of that city.” His work there remains to us, and—though we do not know what we may have lost in that historic older Gothic cathedral of S. Pietro, nor can find here the majesty and severity of Alberti’s S. Andrea—Giulio has bequeathed us in the Duomo a beautiful Renaissance interior. It was at this time that Giorgio Vasari, on his way to Venice, came to visit him in Mantua ; and, now that Antonio Sangallo had recently died in Rome, the deputies of the Fabbrica of S. Pietro, looking for an architect, turned their thoughts to Giulio, and made their offer to him through certain of his friends—but in vain. © For, though he would willingly have gone, two things held him back—the Cardinal, who would by no means let him depart ; and his wife, with her friends and relations, who discouraged him in every way.” He had been made by the Cardinal at this time Prefect of the waters and buildings of Mantua, with a yearly stipend from the Gonzaga of 1000 ducats; and had set to work draining the marshes, enlarging the streets and making conduits, so that the whole appearance of Mantua was changed. Yet the temptation had been a great place at Rome over St. Peter's, which had his own beloved Master, Raphael, and later by the immortal Michelangelo ; and while he was perhaps hesitating, doubttul, yet full of regrets at the golden offer lost, “between these one—to take the been once held byGIULIO ROMANO AT MANTUA 165 displeasures and his ill health he died within a few days at Mantua,’ upon the 1st of November 1546. A great Master of his time—that time the full of the Renaissance—both in painting and architecture. ‘“‘ Bold, secure, capricious, varied, abundant and universal; not to say that he was most sweet in social life, jovial, affable, gracious and full of excellent manners ; which qualities were the reason that he was loved by Raphael in such manner that had he been his own son that Master could not have loved him more.” ! With him we leave the great age of the Renaissance—with its enthusiasm for knowledge, its passion for the antique beauty, its fulness of almost sensuous splendour : we come now to another age, very different in spirit and outlook, which awaits us in these remaining pages of Mantuan story. 1 Vide Vasari, op. cit., “‘ Giulio Romano.”’ Ss ay ~ i ete eee ee aD suena dadiadlneremncmnetiatinchleernatoariamiatatia ihttereceihan a SoOr a eed anes a eer gare ae —_ ech soe eek ee eee Sattar 2 = ere aa > bee a ead i pe pean ee ape TT aes s So praesent nis ene ne ere mee CHAPTER X THE GONZAGA DUKES OF MANTUA AND MONFERRATO E have now reached a point in our story when the whole aspect of Italian national life had become changed profoundly—and for the worse. By the settlement of Bologna, Italy had become virtually subject to Spain and the Papacy, two reactionary powers which—it has been said—quenched for three centuries the light of her genius. ‘‘ The history of this period (1530-1600) in Italy is a prolonged and inexpressibly heartrending tragedy. It is the tragic history of the eldest and most beautiful, the noblest and most venerable, the freest and most gifted of Europe's daughters, delivered over to the devilry that issued from the most incompetent and arrogantly stupid of the European sisterhood, and to the cruelty, inspired by panic, of an impious theocracy.” } We are approaching in Italy an epoch of Viceroyal rule, with an insolent foreign soldiery quartered on the people, and the pressure of merciless taxation draining the economic sources of their life. We are coming to the period of the Inquisition and of Jesuitry ; of petty princedoms and empty forms of etiquette and court intrigue ; of thought and litera- ture stifled among the puerilities of the Academies, of whole regions given over to banditti and malaria, and a seacoast ravaged by pirates. Even the dress now worn—the black or dark colours introduced by Spain in place of the brilliant costumes of the In using these words of Spain abandoned to the fiend of f selfish terror—the writer 1 Vide Symonds, Catholic Reaction, ch. 1. and the Papacy at this critical point—the former religious fanaticism, the latter under the influence o does not fail to do justice to the better elements of both. 166DUKES OF MANTUA AND MONFERRATO = 167 Renaissance—seems typical of a nation in mourning for its subjection to foreign tyrants and ecclesiastical hypocrisy. “Black robes ’’ (wrote Campanella) “ befit our age; once they were white ; Next many hued ; now dark as Afric’s Moor... For very shame we shun all colours bright, Who mourn our end, the tyrants we endure. . Our dismal heroes, our souls sunk in night.” The people may have suffered less directly from wars of foreign invasion, for in the Paix des Dames (confirmed later in 1559) France had relinquished her claims upon Italy ; but they were left at the mercy of Spanish Viceroys, and taxed up to the very necessities of life, corn, salt, flour and bread being used as monopolies. On the death of Francesco Maria, the last of the Sforza, Milan had been annexed to the Crown of Spain; the Republics of Florence and Siena had been ex- tinguished ; Venice yet survived, but the rest of Italy was controlled by Spain or the Papacy. Yet Mantua, under the wise guidance of Cardinal Ercole, had remained untouched ; had even increased in power with the accession of Monferrato to her Dukedom: and enjoyed, under the direct Imperial favour, the time-honoured rule of her Gonzaga princes. The young Duke Francesco had been proclaimed with solemn form in the Piazza S. Pietro ; but the Regency remained in the hands of his mother, the Duchess Margherita, of Cardinal Ercole and his uncle Don Ferrante ; and the city and State were quiet and at peace. Then suddenly occurred one of those tragic instances in its story, which almost seem as if over this House of Gonzaga—so successful, so well established even in this new Italy of Spanish domination, where many other great States had perished for ever—there hung some secret destiny, some terrible and un- escapable doom. There had been great rejoicings in the city for the visit of rie Philip, son of the Emperor Charles V, who on his way ane. Germany had passed through Milan and then , — Ne eee Ep RE “Spe Sasa pa eee AP Te 2 Paes aS 178 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA the palace which he built for himself—his Palace of the Garden (Palazzo del Giardino)—I found a thing of wonderful beaut; almost a rival upon a smaller scale of Giulio’s Mantuan Palace of the Te. The long line of Sale and Camerini are adorned with frescoes—yet lovely even in their decay—picturing the story of Orpheus, of Atneas, of Phethon, of Philyra, the daughter of Oceanus beloved of Saturn, by Bernadino Campi, Fornarello and other painters, whose ‘‘ Gabinetto delle Grazie ” remains as a decorative masterpiece ; while on the other side extends the noble “ Galleria degli Antichi,’’ yet intact and built to hold Vespasiano’s collection of antique sculptures, which remained there until 1772, when they were despoiled by the Austrians, then masters of Mantua. Later in life, Duke Vespasiano had married a third time, choosing his kinswoman, Margherita Gonzaga, sister to Don Ferrante III, Lord of Guastalla; but there was no issue of this marriage. Meanwhile, his only daughter Isabella had married Luigi Caraffa, Prince of Stigliano, into whose hands Sabbioneta passed when Vespasiano died in 1591, at the age of fifty-nine. But the little city of the Gonzaga still remams, with its wonderful treasures of the past, its churches, palaces, theatre—forgotten, neglected, asleep, as if abandoned to slow decay. Is it too much to hope that some day Mantua and Italy will awake to the value of her past treasures, and take better care and provision for their maintenance ? Meantime, Don Cesare Gonzaga, ruling at Guastalla, was no less busied in embellishing and strengthening by fortifications his own little capital, whither he had returned from Mantua to reside in 1567. It was the age of literary Academies, and in Mantua this Prince had founded (1562) the “ Accademia degli Invaghiti,” honoured especially by Pope Pius Iv. Like Vespasiano, he too collected works of art, and had founded in Guastalla a Museum of Antiquities ; when he died (1575) he left his little State—under the guardianship of his wife Camilla 1 Gian Francesco Marini, in his Sabbioneta, Piccola Atene (1914), with just resentment has called this a “criminal decree.’’ The list of the reas taken still exists, and many of them found their way into the Museo We of Mantua. ‘The Gallery of Sabbioneta,” adds the writer, “ 1s ne. in its nudity . .. is it an impossible dream to desire that thee sculptures) ‘‘ should be returned into the place which was erected for :a Raped neers 7 LT : == AM Le ee aes RN te GL ah ole ok ald eae eentnr ree SSeS 8S ale Pe SEN irr role ne A ie D re ape ne : i Sores _ —— \ : : ' | 4 i d <2 SU a ee sa aaa cede SS ET CEILING IN PALACE OF SABBIONETA WITH ARMS OF DUKE VESPASIANODUKES OF MANTUA AND MONFERRATO 179 Borromeo, whom he had married in 1560—to his young son Ferrante III. To the Gonzaga Lords of Castiglione delle Stiviere—descended from Rodolfo, son of Marquis Lodovico and uncle of Francesco, who had fallen fighting bravely in the battle of the Taro—I shall return in a later chapter, when they will claim their place in our story. A fiercely passionate breed were these men, who seemed to vary between ferocious tyranny and saintly purity—the contrast is most marked in S. Luigi Gonzaga and his brothers—and were finally cast forth for ever by a maddened people. During the period we have lately traversed, Duke Guglielmo, Tepresenting the direct line of Casa Gonzaga in Mantua, had become one of the leading princes of Italy. From the Emperor (1573) he had received the added title of Duke of Monferrato : and with the Dukes of Savoy and Ferrara he went (1574) to meet Henry, King of France, at Venice, and brought back that monarch to visit him at Mantua, as his guest in the Castello and at Marmirolo. His courage and charity are recorded in the visitation of the plague in 1567, when this Duke refused to join his family at Revere : and remained in the city beside his people, opening his treasury for their needs, and turning churches and convents into hospitals to fight the dreaded disease, which carried off more than ten thousand victims in the city within one year. In June of the year following (1577), it began to abate: and a solemn procession was made (to be repeated yearly) to S, Sebastiano, to give thanks to God for this deliverance and mercy. The young Prince Don Vincenzo, the Duke’s eldest son, was now to marry Margherita, daughter of Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma, who then governed for the King of Spain in Flanders. The bride entered from Parma with her escort by Porta Pusterla on April 30, 1581, being received by Duke Guglielmo in the Palace of the Te; and the wedding was celebrated with great rejoicings and “ an incredible concourse 1 This Camilla Borromeo was sister of the fa : mous S. Carlo Borromeo and niece of Pope Pius IV. A sister of Don Cesare and daughter of Ferrante was of twenty-eight. Famed for Cardinal Ercole himself had arried Fabrizio Colonna, Duke of Mondragone; there were three medals of this lady. ~ ts ~~ a x — ~ ro en ne ee eee eee etetocten tmaat Ae le san Loe mS a eee eee ee a = al al og ee ai and Sewren = Saal cee wv pa Pema Seat ee — pen rere ae ee teterere ne ee Te ae eee ae Sees ears, edad inter Sorte earereene ae ane ee r eaees arte indienne crane ok se ee 8 recent = —— ( mAh nee eer ne ee Tc eaaliet rE eats par ei Hopton ig Ee FN ae 180 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA of people,” the Dukes of Ferrara and Parma and Cardinal Alessandro Farnese being among the guests. Next year came the marriage of Duke Guglielmo’s daughter, Anna Caterina, with Archduke Ferdinand of Austria; but meanwhile trouble had arisen between Prince Vincenzo and his bride, and “ finding her impotent to give him children he returned her to her own home.” The quarrel became a public scandal—almost a cause célébre. The great family of the Farnese were exasper- ated: doctors and theologians consulted ; even the saintly Cardinal Borromeo charged by the Pope to give his judgment, Finally the marriage was dissolved (October 12, 1583) ; and Margherita Farnese returned to Parma to end her days—by the Cardinal’s counsel—within a convent. It was, however, Duke Guglielmo’s pressing desire that his son Vincenzo should be married, ‘‘ not only to have male heirs, but still more to take him from a dissolute life, to which he was too much inclined’”’; and the new bride now arranged for him was Eleonora, daughter of Francesco de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. There had been reports going about Italy (spread perhaps or repeated by the embittered Farnese) that Vincenzo’s too free life had unfitted him for the married state: but the consent of the Medici Granduca was obtained, and the wedding took place at Florence on April 29, 1584, with great splendour, the bride bringing with her a dowry of 300,000 scudi d’oro. Young, good-looking, free with his money and not too choice in his companions, the Prince was certainly an anxiety to his father, whose character—careful, methodical, somewhat pietistic—was the very antithesis to all this. But it is fair to Prince Vincenzo to mention here his generous treatment of Torquato Tasso, whom he had known when the poet was in Mantua with Scipione Gonzaga 1n 1575. arbara a Basilica under the direct 1 Duke Guglielmo (1564) had made S. B the " ae from S. Andrea, for this his own jurisdiction of Rome, and had obtained (1572) * ‘ica church, a drop of the Most Precious Blood ; while in Albertis great Basi a he placed his own statue kneeling in devotion. He was less friendly aR : uncle, the Cardinal Ercole, to the now all-powerful Society of Jesus, we E this time had brought four Japanese converts to Italy. Coming from - Pe (1584), they were welcomed by Prince Vincenzo at Marmirolo, lodged " :, Castello, ‘‘ being treated like sovereigns,’ and duly taken, oD July 14 S. Andrea.DUKES OF MANTUA AND MONFERRATO 181 Hearing that he was imprisoned at Ferrara, the Prince used every influence with Duke Alfonso to obtain this gifted and unhappy writer’s liberty; and finally ‘had the satisfaction of bringing him back to Mantua, where the poet stayed a year in the castle of the Gonzaga, always visited by Vincenzo, who loved him sincerely.”” 1 Another story in which he figures at this time is less creditable to Prince Vincenzo’s memory, but is of such interest —especially to British readers—that I cannot pass it by. In the spring following Prince Vincenzo’s first unhappy marriage (February, 1582), a young Scotchman, named James Crichton— whose name has come down to history (and even modern English drama) as ‘‘the Admirable Crichton ”’—had come to Mantua to enter the service of Duke Guglielmo. His talents and varying attainments were the astonishment of his con- temporaries. At Paris we are told that his dialectics and sword-play had gained him equal admiration. At Venice he had the inspiration of the great printer Aldus Manutius, and his disputations on mathematics, theology, and philosophy had filled the vast Church of SS. Giovanni e Paolo with enthusiastic listeners ; while at Padua, that ancient home of learning, he fairly wins our sympathies by “an impassioned oration in praise of ignorance ”’ ! From Venice he had now found his way to Mantua, and may have had some charge there in connexion with the educa- tion of the young Prince. ‘‘ His versatile talents here found new opportunities. In the Court theatre, which was burnt down some ten years later, he played fifteen different characters IN succession, holding his audience, it is said, absorbed through five hours of brilliant comedy. Nor had he forgotten his Parisian skill of fence. A notorious duellist, who had van- quished the best swordsmen of Italy, found his match in Crichton—and his life’s end. But his victor did not escape from €nvy and malice: it was even said that the Prince’s mistress had been seen to cast an encouraging glance at the brilliant young scholar.’”’2 What seems certain, indeed, from James Crichton’s letters to Zibramonte, Duke Guglielmo’s secretary and his own friend at Court, is that at this time, in 1 : Cf. Volta, op. cit. * Vide Selwyn Brinton, Mantua, op. cit. ch. xi, IT a ma ne ce — ce ee seitahcathca Media sad ne (oe enn a Pee Sgt area i oz are eee naar rendnd omy Fa En Sete ae ere TS Ai pe EW, eile CO ee ener read arene ne AEE LETT a ea a Re rer seer ees Faarere rtp lonennio sans varices ari eneivenhondacuhnmanataliisd>ascieeeairenmciene eee — eS = a ao i 182 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA spite of his success, he felt far from assured or happy. Money difficulties—for his position at Court must have entailed many expenses—may have been an anxiety, and the reason of his visit (in April 1582) to Venice, to see his friend and patron Jacopo Aloyse Cornaro. After six weeks spent there, he re- turned to Mantua; and here again his letters show mental distress from some treatment received at Court.? The summer now had come, and on July 3, after a day of that intense heat which Mantua can offer, late at night, in the coolness and quiet, Crichton had left the Reggia, followed by his servant, to stroll through the shadowy porticoes and silent squares. Last night, in the old city, I followed his very footsteps in that tragic adventure. From my seat beneath the blossoming lime trees I had seen the full moon rise behind the Reggia, leaving that vast sombre mass with its Ghibelline battlements still in shadow ; then I descended past the great clock-tower, with Madonna poised on the crescent moon, whose great dial the young Scot may have then looked on for the last time ere he passed that noble fagade—“‘ Romanamente superba ”—of S. Andrea, and came under the arcades into the little Piazza del Purgo. Here the street—then Via S. Silvestro, now Via del Magis- trato—narrows, going direct into the city ; and, as Crichton has just entered it, two masked figures approach him. One gives him a rude push, and thrusts him from the side next the wall, passing on at once ; but Crichton, indignant at the affront and no safe man to insult, draws his sword and challenges his provoker’s companion. Hearing the clash of arms, the first mask turns back . . . there are a few moments of deadly strife . the second of his assailants falls mortally wounded, and Crichton, wounded himself, cries to the man who had given him his death-blow: ‘ Forgive me, Your Highness , I only recognize you now.’’’” 1 See The Last Days of the Admirable Crichton, by Lily Eglantine Marshall. Reprinted for Scots Love, Glasgow, 1895. ‘ a The story came down that Crichton recognized the Prince, bande his sword with the words just quoted ; and that Vincenzo received it, an a ran him through the body. This charge of cowardly murder canno a established, and must therefore be withdrawn ; for, as we shall see, the ae witness left was the Prince himself. But it may be permitted to ask whetheDUKES OF MANTUA AND MONFERRATO 188 Such is the Prince’s account, who was the only witness to survive ; for Crichton’s servant escaped, and was never seen again; his first assailant, Lanzoni, died immediately, and he himself very shortly after. His body was left with the apothe- cary where he died, and after eight days was thrust into a tarred coffin and buried, without any solemn office, in the little Church of S. Simone. But the matter could not be hushed so easily ; for the young Scot was well known and a general favourite. There was a scandal in the city and throughout Italy ; and the Prince, to defend himself, sent a letter, dated Mantua, July 27, 1582, to the Bishop of Osimo, giving sub- stantially the account stated above. “The push was a mistake, and intended as a joke. The Scot, not knowing me at first, aimed a blow, which I parried; he sought to ward off my thrust with his poniard, but did not succeed and it wounded him in the breast. Having recognized me, he began to beg for his life. . . . It was a case of pure misadventure, and if I had been dealing with any one but a ‘ barbarian’ so much harm would not have followed. (Signed) THE PRINCE OF MANTUA.” The letter is of a piece with the character of the writer, and leaves us unconvinced. Poor Crichton when he died was but twenty-two years of age ; his brilliant career was thus untimely ended ; his name and attainments soon forgotten, or disparaged even by those who once had been proud to be his friends. In the past years of his long and successful reign Duke Guglielmo had been making of the Gonzaga castle of Goito ‘a delightful dwelling-place ’”’ (delizioso soggiorno), construct- ing there a wonderful palace—a cool place of retreat with its many fountains, flowing streams, and shady groves. Here it it is likely that one of the best swordsmen of his time would have permitted a mere boy to come clean through his guard at the first lunge (this was sword and dagger work), and still more have ever stooped to beg for his life? With thirty years’ experience as a fencer, and some knowledge of law, I venture to interpret—though purely as a surmise—this dark story as follows: Vin- cenzo issues late at night from some revel, primed for mischief, with a com- panion whom his father disapproved, and, knowing him or not, plays his stupid prank on Crichton. The latter, on recognizing his assailant, at once lowers his guard, with the words of apology as quoted ; and the Prince—perhaps half- drunk or mad with anger—runs him through the body. The inquiry, which should have been made, is hushed up; the servant, the only witness, got out of the way. es ers oe eee eee SI “3rd = aw en eer AE a ee wt RR 5 YE SS - 5 ee me es ae ee ee ae cent enna ee!el nN ee Ne 5 — aE ee ad a sneer SS ne oe ~* an SS Se recep ape are ow See eee nee el a SS er ee ae os 184 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA was that—retiring from the summer heats at the end of June (1586), and leaving to his Ministers, Donato and Petrozzanj the care of State affairs—he was surprised by a slow fever, and died, “ after practising all the acts of religion,” on August 14 of that year. His body was brought back to Mantua, and buried in solemn state before the high altar of S. Barbara in Corte, the Palace Church of his foundation, amid the tears of his subjects. He had lived forty-nine years and reigned thirty-seven—“ too few for the advantage of his citizens and country’; and his reign marks, as I have suggested, the highest level of Gonzaga prosperity. Amid the full praises of the chronicler—‘ he was of a spirit loyal and open, above all belief an observer of justice,” though subject to sudden fits of anger—we seem to trace a character meticulous, formally religious, careful of his health and money. Jealous of the rights of his subjects, he had given himself to the study of law, both civil and criminal, with such success that his judg- ments were prized by neighbouring princes, his name set by Venice in her Golden Book. He kept his health, though naturally far from robust, by a careful régime. He filled his Court with learned men, himself ‘‘a man of letters and con- noisseur of the arts”’—forming a great library and loying specially music and architecture. In his later years he robbed himself even of sleep to devote a few hours every day to the offices of religion ; and, though he could spend freely on such a building as S. Barbara—which cost him 150,000 scudi d’oro, and his Palace of Goito, with its gardens, the double of this— and no less freely on great public occasions, such as visits of princes and their entertainment, and he kept a flourishing Court,—but with little display—his was always full. Now Duke Vincenzo—of whose character we have seen something—was to rule in his stead, and on September 22, 1587, assumed the reins of government. From this time forward it is that the Gonzaga power begins to decline ; but for the moment all seemed well, and the coronation of the new Duke was of unexampled splendour. At Mass in the 1The characters of both father and son come before us in Rubens’ fine family group—of Duke Guglielmo himself, his son Vincenzo, with his hand- some empty face, and their respective wives—now in the Reggia.= es —s Lo Se es aoe Rae een nee ee Enns - SS ea 5S THEIR WIVES GONZAGA alicia wa " = Te a epCIU ne mere a Py SEEN Se REGGIA OIF THE : = RUBENS IN BY > > < < N a N Z Z > Z - PAINTING THE ET NT nn eee DUKI RARE GUGLIELMO FROM- a sapere Maa | ne ae vont PETS ee Tar AS ET ei “ WO Ia Ys FE — as SERA ah RENE TREE a _ | { iF } 1 ; f t } ‘ U EDUKES OF MANTUA AND MONFERRATO 185 Cathedral on the day of his accession, the Princes of Casa Gonzaga were beside him—among them Don Ferrante Gonzaga, Duke of Guastalla, and the Ambassador of Scipione Gonzaga, the nephew of the great Cardinal Ercole and patron of men of letters—with Prince Doria and the Ministers of every nation. The luxury and richness of the dresses then worn, we are told, was incredible, especially that of Duke Vincenzo, whose cap (berretta) and crown, with a great carbuncle set therein, were alone worth 150,000 scudi; and his dress and long mantle of white satin, covered with gold and gems, the double of this. Seated upon a lofty throne in the entrance of the Cathedral, he received the homage of his people, and, touching the Gospels, rose to promise to attend to their happi- ness and give impartial justice ; and next, suddenly made the announcement of the perpetual abolition of half the duty on wine—an act of grace hailed with general acclamation to the sound of music and firing of artillery. Then he rode through the city, preceded by his “‘ archibugieri a cavallo,” with, close behind him, the Gonzaga and Doria Princes, and followed by sixty gentlemen of the Ducal Guard in coats of black velvet trimmed with lace of gold, with gold chains about their necks, and wearing plumed hats embroidered with pearls and silver. Before the Duke rode his treasurer, at every step throwing to the people money of gold and silver, spending in this way some 10,000 ducats ; and the baldacchino, of cloth of silver, was held over Duke Vincenzo by twelve of the chief officers of the Arts, while behind came Ministers, courtiers, and squadrons of knights richly dressed and armed with lances. A splendid pageant it was, surely—* the like of which Mantua perhaps had never seen : and truth to tell, he should have been the very paragon (prodigo) of princes had he not been carried too far by the desire of appearing magnificent and liberal, and above all by the passion for a licentious life, which made him spend linmense sums on keeping constantly about him musicians and women of the theatre.’’ 1 It 1s, in fact, open to question whether the abolition, in perpetuity, of valuable taxes—such as the “ dazio ” on wine— and even throwing away money with both hands, was the best * Vide Volta, op. cit., 1587. errs -% SR : ae at —_ aes Ca ORE = ~ XeSER pO RT Ie OO A por porn PA os = TO a a ities EO on eel liel esa ae eee Dene nace ere ae eee ee eer Spee ee eae ease So a a weer es rye Er ar non ler re es ae eee ee ee = — —_, oeore * a 186 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA financial policy ; most of all when Mantuan trade was losin; ground against foreign competition. The old Guild syste; had been fully developed in the city of the Gonzaga, and iy) A.D. 1300 already the Arts of Notai, Lanaioli, Calzolai, Macella | Speziali, Tessitori di Lana were legally constituted—thesi: forming together the “‘ Universita Maggiore.’’ Though then: was no distinction, as in Florence, between Greater and Lessei: Arts, the Bankers, Orefici (goldsmiths), the Falegnami an¢i) Pescatori had their special statutes; but the “ Arte della Seta ’’ does not appear as a corporation until the sixteenth century. The different Arts had judiciary powers, but disputes); above ten soldi went before the Consuls of the University }) contributions were paid to the “ Paratici”’ of the Arts, and work was obligatory on days not feast days, and within the: prescribed hours. Together all the Arts celebrated with greai pomp the feast of S. Silvester on the last day of the year, whet! ; the names of new officers were selected ; they were also Benefit Societies, in the sense that sick members were visited by the “ Paratici,”” funeral expenses paid, and help given to the needy in money, food and even cloth. This organization survivee until 1786, when finally, in 1787, “‘ the Universita Maggiore was suppressed. The special pride of Mantua, in her earlier days, and the | source of much of her wealth was the trade in cloth, the | ‘“ Arte della Lana.’”’ In the fourteenth century it was already | powerful, and in the century following was exporting not to Italy alone, but as far east as Asia Minor, as far north as the Black Sea. Almost every family then spun and wove at home ; and the wool was the special care of the women of the house. In the middle of the sixteenth century it is reckoned that there were no less than 128 looms at work in the city for . cloth-weaving alone, giving employment to at least 3000 | persons.! The fall of this great and powerful art was sudden and dramatic; in a very few years more than 100 looms } were idle ; the 128 reduced at the close of the century, under | Duke Vincenzo’s rule, to about 20 alone! What were the | causes of this sudden and disastrous collapse ? 1Cf. A. Portidi, Le corporazioni ayvtieri di Mantova (1884, Mantua), for } these and other details.DUKES OF MANTUA AND MONFERRATO 187 First and foremost, the development of cloth-weaving in ‘rance and England, and of cloth factories, established in ‘rt with the help of Italian workmen, which very soon began turn out cloth of finer quality than the article of home woduction. In their distress the Mantuan cloth-weavers lanaioh) began to ask help of their Duke against the im- ortation of foreign cloth ; but the first to set a bad example i buying this cloth was the Duke himself, and his extravagant ile, with the taxation which it brought, only helped to com- ilete the ruin. The Mantuan weavers could only sell their oth to the poorer class ; and hence produced less cloth, and iat of an inferior quality. In the old days the seat of the Art was between the Palazzo ‘unicipale, the Viccolo della Paglia and the old Via del lagistrato ; and up to 1866 their arms—the same as those of ne “ Arte della Lana ’’ at Florence, a lamb holding with his foot white flag with a red cross—were to be seen on their ‘‘ Sala i Riunione”’ in the courtyard of the ‘‘stallo della Paglia.”’ dere was the ‘‘ residenza,” the centre of their guild life ; here he shops for the cloth brought in from the countryside, while ithout was the place of ‘“‘ purga,”’ for cleaning of the fleeces vhich came in direct from the animals, hencecalledthe“ Purgo ” —which name survives to this day in the Piazza del Purgo. I he art was efficiently organized,and used every known method or its cloth to come out perfect and clean (perfetta e pulita), “S we can trace from the documents ; it was regulated by pecial statutes under both the Bonacolsi and Gonzaghi—those f the Gonzaga being most precise as to the manner of weaving nd the quality of cloth—and there was woven here also cloth of ‘old (Pannos aureos), like that made in Florence as late as the ixteenth century. The art of silk-weaving—‘ Arte della Seta ’”—came later, € I have mentioned, in the middle of the sixteenth century ; Sut soon made notable progress, especially under Federigo II, aS Duke of Mantua, so that it became as important as that of i Lana this Prince giving special privileges and exemp- tons to weavers of silk, and encouraging them to come into the ay from without. Under the wise Regency of Cardinal “rcole, during the minority of Francesco II, the silk-weavers eats SSS <> sack Se no a SENT atest aetna atte estes oa ae ee ten Se SEES LS ie) PS eees | Se “z et tate a a a es 3 Soe — eel meta Oe erry a Pat Reno nr eno Po > eee aes btm: ee pees erie wart ee eee: ee 2 re yo ee ee SA we a "me one Te te esperar ee senate ee etre eared phlei are aurea ari = ew as ae Is Se ee Sars 188 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA (settaiolt) became numerous and powerful enough to make their own statutes, which received the Regent’s approval (December 19, 1543). This silk-weaving was, of course, by hand; but Duke Vincenzo proposed (1610) to use water- power—as was already done so effectively in the case of the, Mantuan mills—and formed a sort of Company, with a Jew called Moisé Bonaventura, and the Rector of the ‘“‘ Arte della Lana” and another as directors. This scheme was actually carried out ; but before long got into difficulties, and shared the downward path of Mantuan industry at the period now before us. ‘ Meanwhile, on the outside all seemed well. The new Duke made a brave show, and, visiting Florence (1589) for the wedding of the Grand Duke Ferdinando de’ Medici with Cristina of Lorraine, spent on this occasion more than 100,000 ducats. The important fortress of Casale in Monferrato, which had been set in order by Duke Guglielmo, was further, strengthened (1590) by his son, “‘ to hold in check the preten-_ sions of the Duke of Savoy to the Duchy of Monferrato.”” In this year came bad rains to ruin the crops, and a fire in the Reggia burnt out the Teatro di Corte and the great armoury, with the trophies of his Gonzaga ancestors ; and though Duke Vincenzo sought to replace these with a new collection, the loss must have been irreparable. Three leading figures now passed away from Casa Gonzaga. In that same year Vespasiano Gonzaga had died, the warrior ; and the ruler whose strange story I have related; and two years later Cardinal Scipione Gonzaga, one of the great and cultured churchmen of that House, famous as a theologian, yet the friend of Tasso—who sent to him his Gerusalemme , Liberata—and of Guarini, who entrusted the Pastor Fido to ‘ his correction.1 Then came the death (1594) of Archduchess : Eleonora, widow of the late Duke Guglielmo, and news of the invasion of Austria by the Ottoman Turk. It is to the credit of Duke Vincenzo that he went himself (July 31, 1594), with fourteen hundred horse, to help the Emperor ; and yet again in 1597, when his kinsman Carlo Gonzaga, Duke of Nevers, was * Born in 1542, Scipione Gonzaga gained the Cardinalate in 1587; he was founder of the Accademia degli Eterei. i |PURLEY Tee ES ERE Ea DUKES OF MANTUA AND MONFERRATO 189 badly wounded in leading his French troops t against the Turks, who threatened Buda-Pest. In 1599 Don Ferrante Gonzaga had been made by the Emperor Governor of Upper Hungary ; and yet again in July 1601, the war still continuing, Duke Vincenzo went to help, with Carlo Rossi as his Captain, and took his part, we are told, in the fighting, exposing himself in the front rank. The trouble, periodical at Mantua, with the Jews reappeared in 1602, when a certain Franciscan monk, Padre Bartolommeo Cambi, preached against them in the Duomo, the Duke being present, and advised their being kept in their own Ghetto. The Jews, exasperated at this, were said to have made jest of it in their synagogue ; the Bishop referred the matter to the Duke, who hanged seven of them, sending their families and descendants into perpetual exile ; but “‘ even after this,” we are told, ‘‘ the trouble continued.’”’ At this time (1603) Duke Vincenzo, being in poor health, had constructed for his pleasure a palace on Lago di Garda, using as his architect the famous Antonio Maria Viani of Cremona both here, at Marmirolo and in the Appartamento di Corte—making this last yet more splendid, and adding the passage to S. Barbara and the theatre. Viani, too, was the architect of the new theatre, which was used for the representation of Guarini’s dramatic work on the occasion of the marriage of Prince Francesco, eldest son of the Duke, with the Infanta Margherita of Savoy, daughter of Duke Carlo Emanuele. When the Prince and his bride returned from Turin to Mantua (May 29, 1608) they had a great re- ception, and a mock naval conflict was given upon the lakes. The death of his wife, Duchess Eleonora de’ Medici, from apoplexy in 1611 was evidently a blow to the Duke. She was buried in the crypt of S. Andrea; and the Duke, himself suffering from catarrh, died also (February 8, 1612) and was buried beside her. A popular ruler, a prince of great spirit, and loved by his subjects ; but blamed by the more thoughtful for his extravagant expenditure (he is said to have spent more than 20,000,000 scudi), his passion for the theatre and for actors and singing-women, and for his too free life (Jascvvr 1 Carlo de Nevers was son of Lodovico, the brother of Duke Guglielmo Gonzaga; Don Ferrante belonged to the Gonzaga line of Guastalla. Sas ery oes SS ~ RON Sieth Senet nee ne eh arenere ee eee a err ee ESE ESET naar oe rt epee de eer ae eat ee res " 190 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA disstpaziont), which affected his health, and took him away in the flower of his age. Prince Francesco, his first-born, had been already associated with him in the government ; and, on June to of this year, after his father’s funeral in S, Andrea, took over the government, with the title of fifth Duke of Mantua, and third of Monferrato. Among his first public acts was the restoration of the great clock in the Piazza, of which the Mantuans were immensely proud ; so that Gionta even records it as a calamity, a warning of coming ill, when one year the , works went wrong and it stopped. | And now already a sense of disaster seems to brood over | the brilliant and successful dynasty. We may remember | that the House of Este at Ferrara was already extinct in the male line, and had been annexed to the States of the Church | by Clement VIII in 1598 ; so that Mantua was now alone left out of the brilliant galaxy of independent Italian States in | Northern Italy. This fact is of capital importance in the | sequence of Mantuan history, for, with her two rich Duchies of Mantua and Monferrato, and with the world-famed | treasures of her palaces, she was already eyed hungrily both by Spain and Austria. With the death of Duke Vincenzo, following close upon that of the Duchess Eleonora, the elements of danger begin already to appear. Prince Francesco had indeed—as we have seen—duly succeeded to his father, in June of 1612, in the Dukedoms of Mantua and Monferrato ; but» meanwhile small-pox broke out, and in December of this yeat of his accession, his little son, the Principino Lodovico, was taken ill, and died that month—‘‘in spite ofallremedies.” Only the month before the young Duke had lost a close relative, Don Silvio Gonzaga, natural son of his father Duke Vincenzo, to whom he was much attached and had given the - title of Marchese di Cavriana; and now, overwhelmed at the ; loss of his infant son, and most probably himself contracting the same fell disease, in that very same year, on the gand of December, Duke Francesco, ‘“‘ while he was giving great hopes of becoming an excellent prince,” died, after only ten months | of rule, at the early age of twenty-seven. A fatality, a sort of Nemesis (and there were dark . enough to answer for) seems to creep closer daily to the 0 —IO a eae DUKES OF MANTUA AND MONFERRATO 191 dynasty—to the city herself ; we seem at this moment of her story to be entering upon the last act of a terrible drama. For upon the horizon of the future appears, as if before our very eyes, a grinning spectre, who is very soon to fill the Chan- celleries of Europe with piles of diplomatic missives, of dusty documents ; to plunge her great nations into the horrors of a general war; to reach Mantua herself, with the sword, the plague and famine following close behind; to scatter her treasures of art, to despoil her riches, to make the famous old city a place of utter desolation—and to plunge her great House of Gonzaga into final and irretrievable ruin. The name of this mocking phantom, who will henceforth haunt the pages of our story, is known to history as the Mantuan Succession. aie =a . e SCY ES PG Sabet ae an aot ota = SS - SOT TS EE Ena | i :a | ~evenk> er = i net mmm” ea per: aera ead ee ee Lain apt a eee —, ae ere . ee ae Pe Ree a rere ER Ee eS ee EE SLY Ny pe on ar eee Sears Me in a as oo c , 2 eee CHA Bot Bak so THE MANTUAN SUCCESSION T this point my story assumes such extraordinary dramatic interest that, to follow its threads, we have at first to consider the characters who now enter upon the scene; and next, the wider world-forces which were work- ing behind, and of which—unable to really control them—they often become the merest puppets. In the conclusion of the last chapter we saw the sudden and unlooked-for extinction of the direct line in the almost simultaneous death of Duke Francesco and his infant son. But there remained his two brothers Fernando and Vincenzo, and his daughter Maria, born 1609, who was two years older than little Prince Lodovico who had just died. This baby girl became immediately, through the tragic end of her father and little brother, a figure of first importance in the history not only of Mantua, but of Europe—became, in fact, as has been said,! “‘ the centre of all the schemes, the object of all the intrigues, the apple, at the same time, of beauty and of discord”; and this for the reason that Monferrato, which had come to the Gonzaga through marriage with the heiress of the Palaeologi, as a feud in the female line (feudo femminile) would be considered to pass incontestably to the infant daughter of the late Duke. None held this opinion more strongly than Duke Carlo Emanuele of Savoy, whose princes, for more than three generations, had cast envious eyes on this most tempting and neighbouring Duchy of Monferrato. We have just seen with what splendour and rejoicing had been celebrated the wedding of his daughter, the Infanta Margherita, with Prince Francesco 1See Mantua and Monferrato, 1624-1627, by Romolo Quazza ; Publi- cazione della R. Accademia Virgiliana, Mantova, 1922. 192BAT Dini i earache i By mar IEA THE MANTUAN SUCCESSION 193 Gonzaga. Now she remained a widow, and her own presence, and still more that of her daughter, were coveted by neighbouring princes; by her father Duke Carlo Emanuele ; by the Governor of Milan, who, in the name of Spain, claimed to have the little Princess Maria in his charge—by none, however, more than Cardinal Ferdinando Gonzaga, who, on the news of his brother’s death, had posted back from Rome to Mantua, where he had arrived incognito on March 3 of 1613. He at once assumed control of the Government, and visited the widowed Duchess, “ treating her with every dis- tinction ” ; but kept her at Mantua on the plea that she might be enceinte from her late marriage, and refused to accept any commands as to the disposition of her little daughter Maria, save from the Emperor himself. Finally, however, it became impossible to keep the Duchess Margherita any longer on the plea above mentioned ; and she was sent back, alone, to her father at Turin. Furious at this treatment, the Duke of Savoy fell upon Monferrato, seized the cities of Trino, Alba and Moncalvo, but was driven back from Nice by the Governor of Milan ; while Carlo Gonzaga, Duc de Nevers, came to help with the French troops, meeting at Casale Prince Vincenzo with his Mantuans; and Cardinal Ferdinando himself sent protests to “ all the Courts of Europe.” For behind this tangled issue of the Mantuan and Mon- ferrato Succession there were working the same forces whose conflict has already filled our story; which had blotted out the Renaissance of art and thought in seas of blood; had strangled Italian liberty, and threatened—in the old days of Isabella—the existence of Mantua herself. The French Monarchy, driven back for a time across the Alps, was now seeking to recover its old position, and once more to dominate Italy ; while Spain, grown feebler, still held tenaciously to the Duchy of Milan, and looked with jealousy upon any in- truder ; and the Austrian Emperor, yet named as the Cesarean Majesty, claimed to the full his old suzerainty over the Mantuan Duchy. It needed but a spark, such as this angry onset of Savoy, to set all these elements of conflict into a blaze. Meanwhile Ferdinando, having obtained from the Emperor (October, 1613) his investiture as Duke of Mantua and Mon- 13 a ere ee ee ————_—_ Sa re ee ee are Ae FARR ee ot Sec eee yas a A a MT RE AMT OIA ATER TTS eet APD Ovi rarer ee : ew ee oes — ieee ( 196 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA S. Angelo; only demanding that the witnesses against her should be compelled to do the same, and make their deposi tions in her presence. The Pope could not refuse this just demand; and, in spite of Duke Ferdinando’s opposition, issued his formal intimation to appear at Rome to the com- plainant and his witnesses. Upon the examination of the judges the fact could not be concealed that the evidence had been worked up; placed before the accused, the witnesses , could not support their own affirmations; and eventually Isabella—who had been helped throughout her imprisonment, both with counsel and money, by such prospective claimants to the Mantuan or Monferrato succession as the Duke of Savoy, and probably also the Gonzaga Duc de Nevers—came out of the Castello almost in triumph, with her marriage pro- . claimed as valid. This, however belongs to a later date ; and for the present the ‘‘ processo’” was dragging on in the Courts of Rome—an unending source of expense and intrigue, covering the once great name of Gonzaga with all the mud of Europe. All this was bad enough: but with this flagrant example of folly , before his very eyes, Duke Ferdinando now even surpassed his brother in completing, by his own criminal selfishness and cruelty, the ruin of their family. Among the maids of honour (damigelle) of Duchess Margherita of Savoy was Camilla, daughter of Count Ardizzino Faa of Monferrato, who had been a Minister of the Gonzaga in Piedmont. The girl was yet young—only fifteen years of age—of exceptional beauty, and of good character ; and when the Duchess Margherita returned to Turin she had rt, residing within the Corte remained at the Mantuan Cou under the care of her father Count Ardizzino, who loved her devotedly. We seem to see her on that fatal morning, early in the year 1615, singing in the gladness of her heart within the old Reggia to the music of he innocent child fell under the notice of Duke Ferdinando. His passion was awakened—was ardent and insistent. Count Ottavio Valenti, who had sought her as his wife, got a speedy hint that he had better look elsewhere. The girl herself was frightened—full of blushes, of shame. ‘ Then, taking courage, r lute (citra), when this * “ saaTHE MANTUAN SUCCESSION she did not neglect to set before her Ducal lover the difference of their positions, and the many regrets to which his passion for her might succeed ; and, finding him disposed to violence, showed clearly that she would sooner die than help her own disgrace.’’ The Duke, finding that his efforts to get her— even under promise of subsequent marriage—were unavailing, determined at last to marry her, with the consent of her father, Count Ardizzino. “It was about the middle of October (1616) that the Duke called her to his presence, and—after a thousand imprecations against himself if he broke faith, and in the presence of Monsignore Gregorio Carbonelli, Abbot of S. Barbara and Bishop of Diocesarea, and some other friends—in the inner chapel of the Court, he concluded the marriage, enjoining, however, close secrecy until there came better occasion of publishing it.””1 But in a Court like that of Mantua the matter could not be kept secret ; and the very attention and distinctions shown to Camilla soon awakened suspicion. The aunt of the Duke, Margherita Gonzaga, once Duchess of Ferrara, had now retired to the Convent of S. Ursula ; but kept within the convent walls her immense pride in her family, and close survey of its affairs.2 The matter of Camilla coming to her ears, she at once interfered, treated the poor girl as a “ vile thing ”’ (la tratto di vile), and went so far even as to induce neighbouring sovereigns, such as Maria de’ Medici, Queen of France, to use pressure upon Duke Ferdinando, with the threat of abandoning their favour. Perhaps the Duke’s first fierce passion had already abated ; perhaps, too, he was in fear of these Courts, with whom we shall find him in constant corre- spondence. He certainly began to waver—to show himself cold to Camilla, to allow remarks to be spread abroad as to the invalidity of the marriage ; then, moved by her reproaches and despair, he won her back to confidence, and, finding him- self ill, in the presence of several persons declared her to be his true wife. The Duke was indeed, as we see from his correspondence 1 Vide Volta, op. cit. (A.D. 1616). 2 Margherita Gonzaga (b. 1564; d. 1618), daughter of Duke Guglielmo, was now widow of Alfonzo d’Este, late Duke of Ferrara. ES Cee ia atc men nn ee s een cil = x ee eeoy en oe ss 198 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA eae ae o- ~ ae oy, = ee Si it ee OW eT, eer aed of this time, in the midst of political difficulties. A great family marriage, that of his sister Eleonora to the Empero: of Austria, came to strengthen his hands; but war had actually broken out between the Spaniards in Milan and the Duke of Savoy, with France behind him ; Monferrato was over- run by their hostile troops, and the Duke, while trying to remain neutral, was distrusted and attacked by both the con- tending parties. To escape from his difficulties, he even thinks of exchanging Monferrato for Sardinia, for Cremona with the Cremonese territory, for the Abruzzi—for anywhere, in fact, to get it off his hands.1 He writes imploring letters to the Most Christian King of France, and almost in the same tone and time, to the Most Catholic Monarch of Spain, expressing to both these opposing sovereigns his undying devotion, and desire for their appreciation of his merits to themselves—and his professions were obviously taken by both Monarchs at their face value.? Harassed at the same time by the claims of France, Spain, Milan and Savoy, steering among all these reefs his tortuous and difficult course, Duke Ferdinando justly complains, in a confidential letter to Guiscardi, his Chancellor of Monferrato (May 6, 1625), that “‘ the neutral position of a small Prince between two Royal armies, who has not the means of defending himself, results in having them both for enemies ; and that this is our own case is only too clear, for the French treat us, in fact, already as such; and we may expect the same from the Spaniards as soon as they are well armed.” Hostilities had commenced in the Valtellina in November of 1624, and ms SS on eee psa Ae ee =, ~ APT Ose eee eee Sa A A na rr oe an ee a 3 See the confidential letter of his agent at Madrid, Francesco Nerli, on the subject of the exchange (bavatto) of Monferrato, under date of January 13, 1624. 2 That to King Louis XIII begins: “Sire .. . I live under the ae tection of Your Majesty, and, as I have always professed to be your mos devoted servant, so I should hope, from the magnanimity of Your Majesty . towards me, those demonstrations of your most benign will of which I a nothing in my conduct to be undeserving” (Mantua, February 3, vee That to the King of Spain: ‘‘. . . Thus I humbly supplicate Your oe to accept my highest devotion, and to continue your most happy ee a | in all my affairs. Under such a shield it is my hope to enjoy the fruits o : 2 devoted affection, and reverently bowing myself before Your Majesty, etc. (Mantua, May 30, 1625).THE MANTUAN SUCCESSION 199 Ferdinando, foreseeing the storm, hurried to Casale to prepare its defence. An open declaration of war between France and Spain was not, however, at the moment probable ; but mean- while Monferrato was overrun by the French, Nice and other strong places sacked with great cruelty, and the Spaniards, on their side, soon adopted the same methods ; while the wretched inhabitants were ill-used even by the troops of the Gonzaga, who should have been their defenders. Even before all this, it had probably presented itself to the subtle intelligence of Ferdinando—or been suggested by his friends and relations—that a brilliant political marriage might strengthen his position. The claims of the unhappy Camilla, in the light of these new plans, were forgotten ; her father, her sole protector, Count Ardizzino, had lately died—" not without suspicion of poison”; and the poor girl, finding herself abandoned, went to live at Casale, where, in 1616, she gave birth to a male child, to whom she gave the name of Giacinto. After much deliberation and hesitation, Duke Ferdinando had selected Caterina de’ Medici, sister of Cosimo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, as his future bride ; and by this dastardly act—for such it was, if the account I have just given from a very careful chronicler is correct—had sealed his own doom and that of his country, as well as of his child and the woman he had betrayed. But this matter of Camilla Faa was too notorious to be overlooked. The Grand Duke, before he would allow his sister’s marriage, demanded the possession of the written autograph in which Ferdinando had declared his union with Camilla as binding ; and now, to obtain this document, “this innocent girl was exposed to further persecution.” ‘‘ But no promises, menaces, nor deceit would make her give up that document ’’—which was her sole remaining claim to justice for herself and her child ; and the Duke, to gain his end, was reduced to writing another like it, which he passed off successfully on his Medici brother- in-law. After the new marriage Camilla was brought back, under strong guard, to Mantua, and shut up in the Monastery of Carmelino: then it was found—and leaked out—that she had always preserved in her possession this writing of ae aay Vv ee: Sane = os ~ Semmes cee Oe ach aaa Sr SRA! ? : 7” —— a Sots ee ids eeee paar OE | ~ = ome : See cepa pe ORES le pean a in od OE TES Te fee OW ( 200 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA Ferdinando, with other letters, in which he declared himself as her husband. The Grand Duke was deeply offended; and before his reproaches Ferdinando recognized at last the danger he was in, unless he could find a prompt remedy. Camilla was again enjoined to give up the papers ; and, when she still firmly refused, they were torn from her by main force, under the threat of killing her son. After that she was ordered to marry another man, or to enter some religious order. “ The unhappy woman (t#felice) refused the first suggestion, because her conscience would not allow it ; nor would she become a nun, because she must then abandon her son.” But to save him she had to make the sacrifice ; and at last entered the Monastery of Corpus Domini in Ferrara, where she lived for forty years, resigned to her sufferings and always full of pity and compassion for Ferdinando. This latter had soon need of that pity : for never had man been caught more closely in his own snare, himself making his own hell upon earth, than that cruel and selfish, but most unhappy, ruler. The boy Giacinto remained at Court, well guarded from the jealousy of the Duchess, and grew up intoa » lad of good parts, handsome, intelligent, of whom a father might be proud ; but cut off from the succession by his father's own act—for to acknowledge him now would have been to invalidate the later marriage, and inflict a deadly insult upon the powerful Duke of Tuscany—always exposed to the hostility of the Duchess and her adherents, as well as of those Princes who were greedily watching for the vacant Mantuan Succession ; even his young life not too safe, for poison was by no means unknown in these Italian Courts of the seventeenth century. Meanwhile Duke Ferdinando, his father, was paying dearly enough for his betrayal. He found himself, we are told, not only exposed to the jealousy and constant reproaches of his Duchess, whose union had proved childless, and the suspicions of the Grand Duke her brother, who watched his every move- ment ; but tortured, without any doubt, by continual remorse for an action which was to make within his own lietime this Mantuan Succession a ghastly problem to all Europe, which finally affected his mind and health, and almost cette shortened his days. Romolo Quazza, whose study is maimyBe ey Rome oe Sa ae aot SO —— — ea A Cae | eee p | a ee er te tn chat ern ete a ee cet et eT a PS z Sy. as ae Oke, + DA LS INNOCENCE WASHING HER HANDS FROM THE PAINTING BY GIULIO ROMANO IN HALL OF THE MIRRORS, REGGIA OF THE GONZAGATHE MANTUAN SUCCESSION 201 documental (and here we have seen that documents had been intentionally destroyed), has to add very gravely of this Duke : “ nor can we doubt that his love for Camilla Faa was far other than a mere passing caprice ; and that the abandonment of that unhappy woman, which cast such a shadow over the life of Ferdinando, was the real source of the profound grief and biting remorse which henceforth were his constant companions, and, as we are told by contemporary chroniclers, undermined his life and hastened its end.”’ 3 Such was the man’s inner life ; for, of course, on the out- side there was the grand State life, the wedding at Florence (February 1616) with the Medici Princess—“‘ the difficulties being overcome ’’—held with great rejoicings, and the triumph- ant return (March 8) into Mantua. Then all the cares of State and interests of diplomacy ; among others, a very pressing question being that of Scipione Gonzaga, Prince of Bozzolo, who, resenting bitterly his sister’s treatment by Prince Vin- cenzo, “had fallen into the hatred of Ferdinando ; so that Scipione, having placed some mills on the Oglio; whose waters belonged to Mantua, the Duke sent troops to attack him, and Scipione had to escape to Milan.’’ The matter was arranged at last ; but the Prince of Bozzolo only waited his moment of revenge. In 1618 had died Margherita Gonzaga, daughter of the Duke Guglielmo, and widow of Alfonso, Duke of Ferrara, the bitter and successful enemy, as we have seen, of poor Camilla. “ A woman of spirit and alert intelligence,”’ says the chronicler, “she did not lack profound policy, nor the knowledge of the inclination of sovereigns, knowing how to draw therefrom to her own advantage—and would have given her life to preserve the dignity of Casa Gonzaga, and excelled in the works of religion.” These words paint her character to the life, but fail to give the impress of human charity: to the pride of her House and its assumed interests she had sacrificed, without hesitation and mercy, another woman’s life and happiness. Her funeral was held in state in S. Barbara; but she was buried within S. Ursula, the convent which she had founded. In the same year came the good news that the turbulent Duke of Savoy 1 Vide Romolo Quazza, Mantova e Monferrato (1624-1627), ch. iil. een nee ) ely —, ~~ srr OSs Se ee See a eae eT t = s — SS ee aE ee eS aah eet aia ae ee —-~— pee 6 Rian Centoo ee 4 4 1 Aw Rete PO ae or Pa Len asia ee le es eT a = papper ens oe aera eae caer pare a eee EE Ee i pete rr me eet re tay ees Se Pl et ae a 202 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA had restored to Duke Ferdinando his lands in Monferrato. At this time the Mantuan forces consisted of twelve thousand five hundred infantry and fifteen hundred cavalry ; and a sham fight was held (1619) without Porta Pusterla, when a cannon exploded with fatal results. The year 1621 saw two events of first importance—one being that the Gonzaga branch of Guastalla, whose story we have traced, was raised by the Emperor to the rank of Duke- dom, in reward for the services of Don Ferrante Il. ‘There may have been more behind this move ; for (as we shall see later in this chapter) the Emperor, finding the Mantuan Succession likely to fail in the direct line, being naturally op- posed to the entry of Carlo Gonzaga, Duc de Nevers—who was really a French noble, and might easily make Mantua a valuable outpost in Italy for the growing power of France— began to turn his attention to this still vigorous Gonzaga branch of Guastalla ; and later threw his influence entirely in that direction. But for the moment this was overshadowed by a yet greater honour which came to Casa Gonzaga, in the marriage of the Emperor Ferdinand himself with Eleonora Gonzaga, sister to Duke Ferdinando and Prince Vincenzo. We can imagine what high festival was held in the Mantuan Court on this occasion. Leaving Mantua, the future Empress was escorted (1622) to the Veronese frontier by the Duchess, Prince Vincenzo and “‘a band of knights and ladies, who set her on her way through Bressanone to Vienna.” But neither this brilliant marriage, which brought him close to the Emperor himself, nor the splendid Court festivals, nor diplomatic success, could bring peace to Duke Ferdinando. Black care—an unwelcome guest—and sad thoughts sat ever close behind his throne within the Reggia. Fear of the plague had brought him back there (April 1625) from Chioggia, the Prince of Guastalla as his companion ; and strict measure» were taken to prevent the entryinto Mantua of infected persons and merchandise. ‘‘ Notwithstanding,” says the chronicler; “the incessant cares of State of our Duke, remorse never lett his conscience : indeed, his sadness increased, remembering the unhappiness he had caused to the ill-fated Ca ae the near extinction of the Ducal line through lack of heirs. with milla and |THE MANTUAN SUCCESSION 208 From all these troubled thoughts he became so morose, so wretched (fastzdioso ed afflitto), that no pastime helped him, and he began to decline seriously in health : what more than all else oppressed him was the unjust exclusion of his son Giacinto, born him by Donna Faa, who in his boyhood, besides charm of manner, had developed marvellously in spirit and mind, “‘ Always occupied with these thoughts and many confused plans, at last, from a sense of duty, he resolved to use every force to support this, his only offspring: driven to this by the fear that his brother Don Vincenzo—without children by Donna Isabella, now fifty years of age—might bring in some illegitimate son ; again by the danger of the ruin of Mantua if the Dukedom came under the Gonzaga of Nevers, too closely bound to France, and by the pretensions of Savoy to Mon- ferrato. It seemed easy to him, through his sister the Empress, to obtain the Emperor’s consent to choose as successor Don Giacinto, supposed then to be illegitimate—for this concession had been made to his ancestors.”’ } But he found his plans blocked on every side—by his brother Vincenzo, whom he could not bring over; by the House of Nevers, and by France; by the other Gonzaga of Castiglione, Bozzolo and Guastalla ; by Savoy, who would yield none of its pretensions; by the suspicions of the Duchess, naturally jealous and distrustful, and the resentment of the Grand Duke, if there were a shadow of validity given to the earlier marriage. Already he was in terror for the life of Don Giacinto, who was ill-seen by the Duchess, and closely watched by the agents at his Court of Carlo de Nevers. ‘‘ He therefore wrote to the two Monarchs” (of Austria and France) “im- ploring their help ; but added to France that, if Don Giacinto were excluded, it would be well that the Prince of Rethel, son of the Duc de Nevers, should come to Mantua, accustom him- self to Italy, and consider marriage with the Princess Maria as the only means (unico espediente) of preserving Monferrato.” Duke Ferdinando did not need to repeat this invitation : 1 Vide Volta, op. cit. It may be recalled that Francesco Gonzaga, when created by the Emperor Wenceslaus first Marquis of Mantua (vzde Chapter IV.), obtained the right of declaring as heirs his illegitimate sons, if legitimate issue failed. This right, confirmed (1404) by Pope Boniface, had never been used. a4 NaS bere d a em aera an Fe a es er eR ne Le Te Cnc = Or PET TOE IALO ne eae ars eee( - oo oe al eres ne ores > al - 204. THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA SnD pease rn - re iat ern it was the very chance that King Louis XIII of France and his protégé were waiting for. “‘It is easy to imagine,” says Quazza, ‘‘what a response the Duc de Nevers made to the invitation sent from Mantua; it responded to his most ; intimate wishes, to his long-cherished aspirations.’’* The | Duc de Rethel left Charleville without delay, and arrived in Mantua in late December (1625), where he was received by Ferdinando and Vincenzo, and given a suite of apartments in the Reggia, such as befitted a presumptive heir to the State. The claim of Don Giacinto to the succession was blocked ; and the fatal step taken which was to end in the ruin and sack of Mantua. But there was no sign of the storm as yet, for in the year following (1626) Leopold, Archduke of Austria and brother to the Emperor, proposed marriage with the sister of the Duchess ; and yet again there were three days of pageant and festival. Later in the same year, Duke Ferdinando, who had for some time been in bad health, fell seriously ill; and having by his will (October 1) left no little real estate (stabil1) in favour of Don Giacinto, and declared his brother Vincenzo as his universal heir, he died on the night of October 29, and was buried with great splendour in the subterranean Church of S. Barbara. That he had great natural gifts, that he possessed industry, culture, political insight, is evident from his un- ceasing correspondence, which often reveals the strangest contrasts of character—‘‘ bigoted asceticism, busied in un- earthing relics of Saints, a morbid passion for comedians, musicians, dwarfs, buffoons ; unmeasured personal extrava- gance in dress and the smallest details in the adornment of his apartment.’”’? He always seems to me to have pre- served something of the priest, but on abandoning his Car- dinalate for the Ducal throne had at once surrounded him- self with artists and comedians. The “cantante” Adnana | Basile saw the ‘“‘ golden age ” of Vincenzo I, who had spent so lavishly on the theatre, about to return. The first to take the road to Mantua was that fine painter, Domenico Fet, whose merits are now again becoming recognized. Saracen was 1 Vide Romolo Quazza, op. cit. ch. iil. 5 2 Vide A. Luzio, La Gallevia dei Gonzaga, ch. il. pe ond ae bite eo er pees wee ee, po ia Se een ren eee sd Eee ian eres Sa No li Se ne ee i te eee rer: = Selenide cee ee ae ome SP RR Ree IE tape OS a oy oF ance : = Se Peete Sey Ro pemecremen tinier Tata I A ree PEN ee ed gee ot nae anes Pape eT) Ae as re me nr nie on Gon ere = Se A SS ere 206 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA may happen to any one of us—these problems in which duty, interest, the attraction of sex, claims of family, and present or future advantage seem hopelessly involved, there is only one clear course—and I speak with the experience of life, in the thought that these words may reach some day some one who is in the same deadly peril—and that is the straight course, the path of what we know as duty. That path, that course, I would define more precisely as remembering—and it is no easy task amid the intense, the overpowering appeals of passion and interest—what effect our action may have upon the life and happiness of others; what claims they have on us which must be answered ; what the results on their future, no less than on ourselves, of our decision. There remained Prince Vincenzo, last of the direct Ducal line of Casa Gonzaga, his brother’s legitimate and universal heir, who now took over the government as seventh Duke of Mantua and fifth of Monferrato. To gain his subjects affection he abolished several taxes—which seems but doubtful finance when money was badly needed ; and applied to the Emperor for his investiture, which was sent from Vienna on February 8, 1627. The French Court had gone into mourning for his brother, the late Duke ; the Duc de Nevers, with an eye to the future, sent a special envoy to convey both his con- dolences and congratulations on accession. The Duchess Caterina, after her husband’s death, had shut herself up in the Convent of S. Ursula, in mourning for her loss, and six months later returned to Florence: ‘“‘ loved for her goodness to the poor, she had never ceased her hatred for the unhappy Camilla and her jealousy of her husband.” * But meanwhile the Mantuan Succession, which for the past ten years had haunted all the Chancelleries of Europe, within the fated city itself had become an obsession, a ghastly night- mare. The whole picture of its Court at this time is so strange, so fantastic; that it seems almost incredible. Only the life of Duke Vincenzo II—a life still young, but undermined perhaps 1Cf. Volta, op. cit. But we are told by Romola Quazza that Duchess Caterina de’ Medici wrote to Vincenzo from Florence (under date of July 6, 1627) ‘‘ recommending to him Don Giacinto, in execution of the wishes of her late husband.” It seems as if her conscience had awakened ; but it was too late by then to save the victims of her jealousy.as o Sry conse TS ae Hi } f } SRS. a oe nem spe ne : = Soo, ' [VAaaasaaal 7 net ar SSS CAVALLERIZZA WITH TOWER OF S. BARBARA BEHIND >: a at oe oe I OD et cee a ale DETAIL OF THE CAVALLERIZZA BY GIULIO ROMANO IN THE REGGIA OF THE GONZAGape a ee eT ain rE a PN — Ta ee Seder ty ji H 1 | ;Ca hero ey OT 5 f THE MANTUAN SUCCESSION 207 ‘through heredity, as well as by earlier excesses—stood be- ‘ween the old order and chaos; and around there surged a tormented sea of intrigue, the enveys of France, Spain, Austria ind Savoy, of the Gonzaga Duc de Nevers and of the Gonzaga Duke of Guastalla, both claimants to the inheritance, all watching that frail life—and this to his own knowledge—of the new Duke with greedy eyes and covetous desire. All this time we must remember that Princess Maria Gonzaga, the little daughter of Duke Francesco, the direct heiress of Monferrato, had been growing up within the convent walls of S. Ursula, near Mantua, into beautiful and charming girlhood. It was from S. Ursula, as we have seen, that Margherita Gonzaga, Duchess of Ferrara, had directed her first and fatal attack upon the unhappy Camilla; it was to 5. Ursula that Caterina de’ Medici had retired in the first months of her widowhood ; and though Margherita, widow of Duke Francesco, had been sent back to Turin, she naturally remained in constant correspondence with her daughter Maria. All these women were inter-related, both among themselves and with the great sovereigns of Europe—with Eleonora, Empress of Austria, with Maria de’ Medici, Queen of France, whose influence the Duchess of Ferrara had even used against Camilla. They were all interested in the Succession as a family matter; all corresponding, all intriguing, pulling the strings in favour of their own special candidates; and the key of the whole situation lay in this innocent and beautiful child, who held in her own person the rich inheritance of Monferrato. Duke Vincenzo, as we have seen, had lost his action for ‘divorce. All the money spent, all the mud stirred up, the scandalous methods employed had failed him; and Princess {sabella had come forth—‘‘ almost in triumph ’”—from Castel S. Angelo. What those methods had been might seem to our time almost incredible. Vincenzo had appealed to the Pope on the ground that he had been the victim of a sorceress ; how else, he explained, could he, a Cardinal of Holy Church, have forgotten the duties of his office and plunged into such a union? There is even strong suspicion that he was behind a plot to poison Isabella in her lodgings at Rome ; and Duke = Sata os a Renn rn nec ne me ae = 2-2 a Sta orm = Lae SS Sin C ea enEi i a al Tay eS a Ae he ew =. a an me co Se ae ont RS siecetepeeye ts 208 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA | Ferdinando, though holding him back from this crime, had pressed the Pope that the assumed sorceress should be put ta the torture . . . as the only means of discovering her Salam. wickedness.1 Nor can we assume that it was entirely the justice of her cause which had saved Isabella, She had power- ful friends behind her, who had an interest in blocking the | Mantuan Succession. The Duke of Savoy gave her money and timely counsel ; as, probably from the same motives— though less directly—did Carlo Gonzaga, Duc de Nevers. But now Duke Vincenzo saw a way out of his difficulties , and those of the succession—this being himself to marry the’ charming young Princess Maria. He was still relatively Ai young man, and the girl probably would—and did, in fact, ’ later—obediently accept any suitor who was approved by her father-confessor, her relations, and those who had her in charge. One obstacle only blocked the scheme—that being this accursed marriage, the result of his own folly ; and he recommenced anew his efforts to obtain freedom, using pressure » on Pope Urban VIII, on the Court of Spain, on Maria’s own mother, Margherita of Savoy, to gain his end. But his friends at Rome were lukewarm; Isabella herself deeply pledged to the Houses of Savoy and Nevers; and there were too many whose secret wishes were against his marriage. The failure | of these plans may have seriously affected his health ; for} “either from earlier inordinate pleasures, or that he could, not get free from Isabella to unite himself with his niece Mana, who even pressed him (anzi importunava) to make her his ,, Duchess,” and the lack of a legitimate heir . . . he fell into such low spirits that it made men doubt of his near end “Then commenced the greatest confusion (maggidr) scompiglio) which can be imagined.’”’ The terrible question of ’s remarkable 1 What that torture was may be seen from Corrado Ricci ome by its study upon Beatrice Cenci, which has just been sent me from R author. Witnesses, like Antonelli, who had no share whatever in the i were stripped, put on the rack, and their arms deliberately a ao ae re oO _ the pitiless judge, Moscato, muttered prayers—a ‘“‘ Miserere,”’ a to judge the time, which in one case lasted “ bey tre 2Cf. Volta, op. cit.; but this statement as to Maria seems ope? to tion. She was obedient to her guardians, but her own had one at all—seems to have been the unfortunate and charming s partes untus hove.” ques: fancy—so far as she Don Giacinto.eee re Ree ee Uh mae PONTE TRI ERIC I Gea THE MANTUAN SUCCESSION 209 the Succession becomes at this point a kind of devil’s dance, in which all within the Court of Mantua were involved. The intrigues increased every instant; and in the first days of September, while Vincenzo was at his villa of Maderno, there were rumours of a plot in favour of Giacinto.1_ It seems certain that the Courts of Madrid and Vienna, jealous of France and her protégé, the Duc de Nevers, favoured the claims of Giacinto; and there was even talk of his legitimation and marriage with the Princess Maria. Finding the way blocked here—largely through the action, as we have seen, of his own father Ferdinando—they gave their support to the claims of the Gonzaga Duke of Guastalla. The Empress Eleonora wrote to her brother, Duke Vincenzo, in favour of the latter, whose plan seems to have been to become appointed Imperial Com- missioner in the event of the Duke’s death, which would have placed the armed forces of Mantua at his disposal, and made his way easy to the Dukedom. In the meantime he had a large sum of money ready for any emergency, and held a secret letter-patent from Spain debarring the House of Nevers from the succession. But he hada wily and untiring antagon- ist in the Duc de Nevers. ‘Carlo de Nevers,”’ says Quazza, ~ was indeed never asleep.” All through the rule of Duke Ferdinando his professions of affection to the House of Gonzaga, even to Don Giacinto and Don Federigo (natural son of Vincenzo II), had been unceasing. He had the powerful Monarchy of France behind him ; had the good luck—through Duke Ferdinando’s own weakness—to see his son the Prince of Rethel established within the Mantuan Court as heir pre- sumptive ; and now he played a trump card in discovering to Duke Vincenzo the whole of the schemes of his kinsman of Guastalla to secure the succession. Meanwhile, the Empress Eleonora was pressing the Duke to let Princess Maria be placed for safety under her care. There was a plot in hand to carry her off from the Convent of S. Ursula, and put her with the Duchess of Sabbioneta, aunt to Don Cesare of Guastalla. The Duke of Savoy sought to marry her to his own relative, the Cardinal di San Maurizio ; France was behind the Nevers party, Spain and Austria backing that of * Vide Romolo Quazza, Mantova e Monferrato. 14 ss 3 wwe ma? — lesen ab . 7 ie ar a oe PN Ne vey =, be ne ee a an ere eae ee ae ae a eae — ;oltre — en ie a ae Ee eal Saal Ste ots ae a et ted Te ee Se RTT es SE eae eee iat eetiene rte oes = en rr nee ee ee = i i uy i ) i b i — pa Oar rr ees ( 1 210 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA Guastalla ; and all these Courts had sent envoys or ambassa- dors extraordinary to Mantua to push their interests, to oppose those of their foes, while the lawyers and jurisconsults were themselves divided into two opposite factions. Amid this devil’s brew, this witch’s caldron of lies, intrigues, and strife, one figure has emerged to my study as supremely : significant. Through all the correspondence the name of Alessandro Striggi reappears: he is the necromancer, the arch-wizard, before whom the lesser spirits grow pale and | falter. When Duke Vincenzo—pressed by creditors and | courtiers for money, his famous family jewels already pledged | and unable to be redeemed—thinks of disposing of the world: famed Gonzaga art collection, it is to Striggi that the whole business is confided. If Duke Ferdinando had thought of this expedient with some qualms of conscience, had refusec even to think of parting with the Mantegna Cartoons, his brother had no such scruples ; and the dealer Daniel Nys was there at hand, ready to make an offer in cash down for his patron, the Stuart King of England. One thing alone seems to have troubled Vincenzo, that the sale, which was a discredit to his name, should not be known through Italy ; and this without doubt was one chief reason why Englan than the Courts of Florence or Parma—was preferred. When Crestino—one of the few really honest servants who dared to speak plainly, to warn him of the disgrace to Casa Gonzaga— went to see him in his exquisite Garda, the Duke was almost out of his mind at the thought that the hated Farnese might be behind, scheming to get the works of art out of the hands of Nys for t But that clever dealer was soon able to assure him from Murano that the paintings ha the port—that the only question was that o contract, which would put into his hands the scu cameos, the ‘‘ Triumphs ”’ of Mantegna—would, in fact, com the vile bargain. Then this Duke, the last of a great race— ‘in his nullity of thought, his premature decrepitude ”’—Sinss back into the luxury of his fairy palace on Lake Garda, col structed at immense expense (it is said a hundred thousand golden scudi) by the great architect Viani for his father Duke d already left f the second Iptures, the plete d—rather | Villa of Maderno on Lago di | heir own collection. | quiet his fears—toCAM e aly s THE MANTUAN SUCCESSION 211 Vincenzo—to caress the jewels redeemed in part from Verona— to inhale the exquisite perfumes sent to him by Nys as a present from Venice—to speak to Crestino of a female dwarf of whom he is infatuated, whom he must have at any cost, even if his servants have to carry her off for him by force.1 It had been Striggi who had transacted with Nys all the business of the sale, till he was hindered by gout in its last stages : it was Striggi who, when something of the matter leaked out, had come forward to say that the Reggia was still rich in canvases and marbles—though the best of the collection was already in the hands of the dealer Nys and his colleague Lanier ; it was Count Striggi who for months had actually governed, who was called at Mantua not the “‘ Vice-Duca ” but “ Arci-Duca,” and who had the threads of all the intrigues within his practised hands. He was accused of being in close correspondence with Don Cesare of Guastalla, and that the two were plotting with the Duke’s doctor against his life: written proofs of his treason were shown to the infuriated Duke, and Striggi was to be sent for next day and thrown out of the palace windows. The astute Minister did not attend Court that morning, giving out that he was ill; and before long he had cleared himself, and recovered all his old influence. Then he suddenly changed round, and threw all that in- fluence on the side of the Nevers faction. His letter to Carlo de Nevers (August 27, 1627) is significant of this new move: “ The kindly reply with which Your Excellency honours my letters gives me a new obligation to render my thanks, as I do hereby with the present, in which I also assure you of my unshaken devotion in every time and on every occasion.” The Duc de Nevers replies with equally fervid thanks. ‘‘ Never *Cf. Luzio, La Gallevia dei Gonzaga, ch. ii. ‘‘ Letters of his courtiers depict him as entirely occupied with parrots and those dwarfs who were always a passion of the Gonzaghi, or craving strange medicines, which might achieve the miracle of bringing back vigour to his poor body in dissolution.’’ See also the letter from his ambassador at Madrid: “ The Count Grand Chancellor, my uncle” (this was Striggi), ‘‘ ordered me in Your Highness’ name to send as soon as possible four pounds of the finest Oriental pearls to be procured, to use as medicine for your person, and a selection of all the medi- cines last come from the Indies ’”’ (Madrid, July 25, 1626). . eee tS Sean pial ae om ar SS aks Te eet are mingles nn NE ES _ a st Seca Ere Dey re eeees e we’, ae Pe Pao, A a nN a a Saree Fare ala Pa oa, eer niet OT Ta Pe ———— ee TE SS re ee Een — Se PI OL SBE I ALTE = .— = ‘ i, ( i i cy Bie Lh eee re a a Te reer is 212 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA had he doubted of the kindly feeling of the Minister, even | though voices had come to him of the contrary; the Prince : of Rethel and himself would always have recourse to his counsel.” That counsel and help were indeed timely, for things were coming rapidly to a crisis. The interminable divorce question dragged on at Rome, between hopes and fears ; but mean- while, inthe last days of November, Duke Vincenzo fell seriously ill. The arrival of the French Ambassador was, however, awaited at Mantua; and in the meantime there was a move— apparently detected and expected by Striggi—to introduce arms and armed men within the Mantuan palace of Don Ferrante of Guastalla. As a counter-stroke, by the same powerful Minister’s influence, Marquis Federigo 1 was removed from his position as General of the Mantuan forces, and this important command transferred, by a letter patent (December 17) from the Duke himself, to the Prince of Rethel ; at the same time a most secret letter was sent through Striggi to | Pope Urban VIII, begging for a dispensation for the latter's | marriage with his cousin, the Princess Maria. On December 21 the Marquis de Saint Chaumont, Envoy of France, had arrived at Borgoforte, and was met there by the Prince de Rethel and lodged in the Castello ; but Duke Vincenzo was in no con- dition to give audience or transact business. In vain did the Ambassadors of Spain, Savoy, and Don Cesare Gonzaga him- self try to get near him; it is said that Saint-Chaumont at last reached his bedside, but even this has been questioned. But now, on the eve of Christmas, had come the wished-for dispensation from Rome (under date of December 21), pe mitting the marriage of Maria with the Prince de Rethel ; and Striggi, the Grand Chancellor, who was evidently behind the whole business, decided on prompt action. That morning he had caused the oath of allegiance to be taken, in the event 0 Vincenzo’s death, to Duke Carlo, and through him to the Duc de Rethel. He next advised the dying Gonzaga of the ane of the Papal brief with the dispensation, obtained his conse? and of the Mantuan army, was | it was he, in fact, who earlier | 1 Marquis Federigo Gonzaga, in comm dently distrusted by the Nevers party ; accused Striggi of treason. |THE MANTUAN SUCCESSION 213 to the marriage, and opened up the matter to the Prince de Rethel, who up to that moment had been kept in ignorance of the proposed wedding ; then betook himself to the Convent of S. Ursula, and informed the Princess Maria of her uncle’s wishes, giving her his assurance that—in spite of rumours to the contrary—the Duke was still alive. Inthe days preceding, by means of her Confessor, the girl’s mind had been prepared for this step; and now, assured of her uncle’s wishes, of the Papal dispensation, of the fact that allegiance had been sworn to the Prince of Rethel, and that such a union would be wel- comed by her subjects, she gave way, and permitted the marriage to take place. It has been stated that a false letter from her mother was placed before the young Princess to bring about her more willing consent; this cannot be considered as certain, though her mother was certainly opposed to any such hurried marriage.? Late at night, at two o’clock (le due di notte) on that fatal Christmas Eve of 1627, the Prince de Rethel, Striggi and three others arrived in a closed carriage at the Bishop’s Palace, and, showing him the brief, had brought him with them in the same coach to S. Ursula. Across the convent bars Princess Maria confirmed her consent given to the marriage. There were present, besides those mentioned, certain ladies and gentlemen of the Court—Contessa Flavia Guerrieri, the Duchess of Sabbioneta, Marquis Andriasi, Count Strozzi. By the light of torches they entered the Church of S. Ursula, the young Princess upon the arm of the Duc de Rethel.2 Without delay the ceremony was completed by the Bishop. The Princess Maria and her husband drove with their suite to the Reggia, where in all haste an apartment was prepared for their use, which they entered—after a hurried supper, at 1 Capilupi gives in full the false letter from Turin, under date of December 18 ; on the other hand, Quazza points to the authentic letter of December 23, in which the Infanta Margherita refused her consent, and opposed any hurried marriage for her daughter. This, however, does not prove that a forged letter was not used at this crisis. 2 The Ambassadors of the different great nations, who were then in Mantua, were kept entirely in the dark as to this manceuvre; it is even questioned whether Saint-Chaumont himself was in the secret. Striggi admits this in a letter of December 26, with the excuse—‘‘ every delay was harmful... but a thing once done is finished (cosa fatta capo ha).”’ eae oo meal “ve ee aes SL a See ee aeod ol en td pager OY or — + ee oe Nene ro nl Se eee et te ai — Ty nee eee a el i aw oat at ante tn a A a ee ~~ Se — oo nr. eT Py ted 214 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA which the Duchess of Sabbioneta was present—at half-past four in the morning. The Bishop had, it is said, advised Duke Vincenzo of the marriage, and received his approval ; but he was then already a dying man, and four hours later he breathed his last. He was “still in the fresh age of thirty years,” but his constitution—possibly from past excesses—was completely undermined. The last of his great race, he perished thus untimely, cut off in the flower of his life by a terrible disease," leaving behind him a heritage of debt, confusion, and terror; “and in such manner did the direct line of Gonzaga, which for three centuries had ruled with magnificence, become extinct.” 1'Volta mentions dropsy and “‘ cancrena”’ as the direct cause of Duke Vincenzo’s end, and makes the marriage to have taken place by the dying man’s bedside in the presence of Saint-Chaumont; but the account here given, based on letters and documents, seems to be more correct, and is sup- ported by Capilupi and Andreasi.ly Poort Cee a oar a } ;r =x Swern e a aa Se DH ae ew pire’ py as ee SS. See ee a es , Tee eal SOE OTT Stel ig) eae) aa Sg SAF WG es enn” } } 1 | / : if 3 Fi ¢ aieenetaCHAPTER XII THE SACK OF MANTUA N the morrow morning we are told that “ throughout ( )ii city were known both the death of the Duke and the wedding of his successor, and there was sorrow and joy at the same time ”’ ; but, if the Mantuans themselves had received the news with mixed feelings, the reception of that news by the Great Powers—who from without were closely, even greedily, watching this failing inheritance—was in almost every case one of unqualified disapproval. It may have been hoped, indeed, by some of the parties directly concerned that the matter was now settled—“a finished thing ”’ (cosa fatta), as Striggi himself had written that day to his friend Parma in Venice. On the contrary, it was this hurried and forced marriage which brought to a focus all the jealousies and rivalries of the Mantuan Succession ; and, so far from securing peacefully that Succession, led directly to war, and to the terrible sack of the city. To call this marriage hurried and forced is, in fact, to describe it mildly, if it were—as asserted by contemporary writers—secured by means of a forged letter. “Since it was doubtful whether the Princess, a lady of good sense (Signora prudente),’’ says the Cronaca, ‘‘ would agree to the marriage without the permission of her mother, the follow- ing letter was drawn up and forged (fintamenta fatta), as if it had come from Turin by express courier.’”’? In any case it 1The letter, to which I have already alluded, is then given at length, beginning: ‘‘ Figlia amatissima,’’ and ending with these words: “ Under- standing that your marriage with the Duke of Rethel can restore quiet to the people of Mantua and Monferrato . . . it seems to me that I should be very thankless to all those who have been my subjects, and very cruel to Italy, if I did not yield my consent to this marriage, and even command and pray you, as your mother, to carry it out.’”’ (Signed) ‘‘ Your loving mother, Margarita . In Turin, December 18, 1627.” 2I5snee SRE sical ee aiaeemindaere ——— A Re ~ —_ = Oe ~~] ere 216 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA seems a most questionable procedure to drag an innocent young girl from her convent bed, in the depth of night, to hurry her into a very dangerous and prearranged political alliance ; the chronicler just quoted stating “‘ that the marriage had been consummated while Duke Vincenzo was even then breathing out his spirit.” Blamed by her mother, the Infanta Margherita, who considered such a clandestine union “ inde- corous and unworthy of a great Princess,’ it was received with reprobation by the great Courts of Turin, Madrid, and Vienna, From Milan came the sudden news that the Spaniards were moving on the Mantovano with horse and foot ; in the meantime, when they heard in the morning of the last night's proceedings, the Ambassadors of Savoy and Milan expressed openly their indignation, and left their Court apartments to take lodgings in a public “ locanda.” Amid all these troubles, most of what was still left of the great Mantuan collection seems to have followed the earlier consignment. If even Vincenzo II had some qualms of con- science in parting with the ‘‘ Triumphs” of Mantegna, his successor, a newcomer to Mantua, had no such scruples ; and stood badly in need of ready cash to support his already tottering throne. That clever dealer, Nys, grasped the situa- tion at once, and played his cards with consummate skill: Where before he had been pressing, now, secure of his booty, he assumes the cold and indifferent buyer, criticizes the famous cameos, promises, out of his own pocket, copies of the ‘‘ Triumphs ” and a present to the young Princess Maria, He thus secured the whole collection—the Cartoons of Mantegna, the cameos, the marbles, including the sculptured % Loves of Praxiteles and Michelangelo—for 10,500 pounds sterling, and wrote in jubilation (February 29, 1627) to give the news to his patron in London. 1 Vide A. F. Luzio, La Galleria dei Gonzaga, ch. iii. This“ Sleeping sa had been carved by Michelangelo when a young artist at Rome, and oe : Cardinal Riario as an antique ; it passed into the hands of the Duke of ie i and we may remember (vide Chapter VIII.) that, when his palace was wee by Cesar Borgia, Isabella d’Este had secured it for her own collection. ae ago I saw and admired at Mantua, in the Museo Greco-Romano, ome ate tioned in my German work on that city, “a very lovely marble on es Sleeping, his quiver at his side, with serpents entwined about his body ;THE SACK OF MANTUA 217 But—as often happens in life—the sharp man of business had overreached himself. To make sure of his wonderful bargain, and to get the goods safely away, Nys had undertaken to find the money himself. But his patron, Charles I of England, was himself upon no bed of roses ; his favourite, the Duke of Buckingham, had been murdered, the quarrel with his own Parliament was beginning, and the demand for £10,500, with transport expenses, came at a most unfortunate moment. The frantic appeals of Nys to England met with no response ; his drafts came back to him from Venice dis- honoured ; in 1631, overwhelmed with debt, he is begging for a moratorium; and, amid lamentations and _ incessant appeals, he at last disappears, with the rest of “the great Mantuan collection,” from our eyes into almost certain bankruptcy. Our one consolation in this evil-smelling business is that the works of art then dispersed must have almost inevitably been looted, or perished outright, very soon after in the horrors of the Sack of Mantua: but when Charles Stuart met his end the Puritan victors had little sympathy for the creations of Italian genius—for Papistical paintings of the Virgin and her Child, or undraped subjects of Mythology. The collection, which might have been the nucleus of the finest in the world, was dispersed ; and the paintings have, in many cases, found a home in the galleries of the Louvre, the Prado, the Hermitage, the Imperial Museum at Vienna. Only the immortal Cartoons by Mantegna, the ‘‘ Triumph of Cesar,’ remain to us, a priceless heritage—saved, it is said, through Cromwell’s influ- ence. The rich Triumph still sweeps past in all its monumental splendour, with the smoking incense-burners, the beautiful draped youths leading sacrificial beasts, the war elephants in stately line, the captives, the trophies and the spoil—a relic of those great old days of Mantua. called attention to this work, pointing out that there was no evidence of the ‘‘ Love’’ having perished or come to England. I find that Symonds went to Mantua to trace out this sculpture, and suggested it as the original. See my Renaissance in Italian Art, Part ix. Analysis: ‘‘ Michelangelo.” 11 visited the Palace of Hampton Court lately, and saw the Cartoons in their new home in the Orangery, under good conditions of lighting and even temperature. Though the “‘ great Mantuan collection ’’ has thus disappeared SS a Sn a * 5 aba aT ert ete neta rine eens ee ss os _ a Prot oy rs — woe 8 SO SS aaa) a hated Sane ou eee itera ined ee ae eee ae a—perenn” aes onal ae aeoe se m4 a tet LAS bh Lore oe AL oa oI B Ly ry . , F + a Ta She a8 f et ny ra ite by a fi Fy t tA AY) * j i etter te re ee eS nw” ——— Sa FE ET AMT OA CAEN IOT NUS RRMOLT EDN a ann tp on ae See an tan a= . by a 218 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA Meanwhile in vain did those who had raised the storm seek to allay it with smooth speeches and letters. Carlo de Nevers, though preparing to leave for Mantua, sent special messengers to Paris, Milan, and Turin. The Princess Maria herself wrote | to the Duke of Savoy, the Prince of Piedmont, and her own | mother the Infanta Margherita; and her bridegroom, the Prince de Rethel, to the Emperor and Empress, the King of | Spain, the Pope, and Cardinal Barberini. The Duc de Nevers, travelling incognito, and taking the road of Germany, so as to avoid Savoy, reached Mantua on January 17, 1628; and with his new daughter-in-law, his son, Carlo de Rethel, and his , second son, the Duc de Mayenne, attended solemn Mass with the Te Deum in the Cathedral. He now took over the govern- ment, and must be held responsible for all that followed, But his first acts were popular. Taxes were lightened or abolished ; the old Court officials confirmed in their places ; Striggi—the reward of his services in securing the succession—made a Marquis, with an annual pension of 5000 scudi. That astute politician had thus played his own game successfully ; but his place in Mantuan story is now filled by sterner matter, which his own diplomacy had evoked—by the tramp of armed legions and the sound of cannon. For all this stream of courtly correspondence, this unction of diplomacy proved quite unavailing to still the troubled waters. Don Francesco Gonzaga, son of the Duke of Guastalla, with four hundred horse and eight hundred infantry, was preparing 4 raid upon Viadana and Canneto, In Cremona and elsewhere cavalry were awaiting orders; and now Don Gonzales de Cordova, the Spanish Governor of Milan, joining hands with his former opponent, the Duke of Savoy, swept in concert over Monferrato, carrying all before them, seizing Alba, Tino, Nizza (Nice), Moncalvo, and holding Casale closely besieged. Furious at this blow, and himself a practised soldier, Duke what treasures may be into space, who knows—as Dr. Luzio has suggested— s : lections, the caste yet preserved unrecognized in the older private col ; signorili’’ of England ? Only recently the Titianesque head of Isabella d a emerged (Goldsmidt Collection), and that of her son Federigo, a lovely Dae y the hand of Francia ; while the portrait of the same Princess with a little 08 in her lap, by her Court painter, Lorenza Costa—identified by Dr. Lia still in Hampton Court, where is that of Lodovico Gonzaga, Duc de Nevers. A similar portrait of Isabella, by G. Campi, was at Dorchester House, .THE SACK OF MANTUA 219 Carlo was getting ready a force of twelve thousand infantry and two thousand horse when Count Nassau arrived in the city, as special envoy, bearing a letter from the Emperor. For behind all these troubles—and gravest of them all— was the question of Investiture, of the recognition by his Cesarean Majesty of the Nevers Gonzaga in their Dukedom. We have seen already that Federigo, first Duke of Mantua, as well as his ancestor, the first Marquis, had received their title and dignity direct from the Emperor—in the latter case from Sigismund, in the former from Charles V. Though it may be clear to the student of history that the real power had come to these Gonzaga originally from the people (now, in 1629, a neglected cipher throughout Italy), and the Imperial confirmation sought merely to give lustre to a position already and securely acquired, yet that confirmation was no less clearly regarded by the Emperors—especially by Charles V and his successors—as of first importance, as making Mantua a secure support for their hold on Italy. The settlement and marriage, rushed through while Duke Vincenzo was yet dying, really overrode the Emperor’s wishes—which we have seen to have favoured the Guastalla branch—in this vital matter, and applied for his later consent merely as a matter of form. He now checkmated this move by declaring that, the direct line of succession having been broken, the two Duchies must be surrendered into his hands as their feudal superior, to be returned to Duke Carlo as and when he deemed fit. On the other hand, Duke Carlo claimed that he had inherited the Duchies as the legitimate successor of Duke Vincenzo; but, without doubt, counting secretly on the promises and support of France. Things were at this stage when Nassau arrived with the Emperor’s letter of April 7, in which he expressed his dis- approval of the invasion of Monferrato by Spain and Savoy, and invited Duke Carlo to meet these last at a conference, to be held under his own presidency. Still manceuvring for position, Duke Carlo accepted this invitation, on condition he should retain jurisdiction over, and enjoy the revenues of, Mantua, and that Monferrato should be evacuated by the invaders, ‘‘ But Nassau, who knew secretly that Carlo was Sa eee I ent Oe ara ieee atte montane meee ee xt = mae pe —s ~~ ray =~ sever a — Gaia ie TT PE ee —— we SS —- ee eve neg oe220 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA : | expecting foreign aid, refused any concessions; and, when the efforts for a friendly settlement by Pope Urban Vill proved useless, intimated to the Duke the Imperial admonition (monitovio) of August 16, giving him a time limit of one month | to accept his terms, under penalty of banishment, Carlo, though he knew his danger, would not resolve on this step, | but sent his son, the Prince de Rethel, with Marquis Pitto | Gonzaga to Vienna, to try and move the Emperor from his decision. But, though the Prince was well received, the | Emperor insisted upon becoming absolute master of the feud, | and ordered all the parties concerned to appear before him at the beginning of the next year—Spain and Savoy till then to hold for him the strong places they had taken in Mon- ferrato.””1 Exasperated at this last provision, and finding no help then available from France, Duke Carlo sold his own possessions in that country to raise a force of ten thousand infantry and one thousand horse, which descended into Maly under the Marquis d’Uxelles ; but in the passes of the Alps they were met by the Duke of Savoy, and forced to retire with great loss. Duke Carlo at this repulse fell into a yet greater Tage, and decided to resist at all costs, against the advice of his own son —who had now returned from Vienna—and of his councillors, who saw into what an abyss he was leading his country. Yet the Emperor’s letter (June 23, 1628) from Prague, though addressed to ‘‘ my illustrious relative and most dear Prince,’ can have left little doubt as to the latter’s intentions. “ That it has come into your mind at this time to elude with various subterfuges the just sequestrations made by us of both one and the other States of Mantua and Monferrato, and to refuse and finally dispute our claim—all this we hear with great displeasure, and hold as showing but little regard for our supreme authority and Imperial jurisdiction. . - . Howeve!, for all that, we have granted to the pressing instances of the Highest Pontiff a delay of fifteen days, to commence from the 29th of June, to see if in the meantime the will of pee client may turn to obey our orders, as his duty thereim lies, and so to avoid a war which, in the failure of his obedience, 1 Cf, Volta, op. cit., 1628,ace ea 5 . 5 esha ay} F i thaeaas Ren ae i pes A - Se SN ee, ay rate a NE my eel cine nthe tte mete ene TEE eatin A Nae THE DREAM OF ANDROMACHI BEHIND HER IS THE FURY, PRESAGING WAR) FROM THE DESIGNS OF GIULIO ROMANO IN THE REGGIA OF THE GONZAGAmeee yr as es Sara pare See ngerer PLP ST PPh Se TS PR ce eh i : 1 i h } H ft) hy hh it wae we aaa ae ro silted nate me — 7 * (THE SACK OF MANTUA 221 will be inevitable.”” A brave and experienced soldier, but un obstinate man, Duke Carlo was now thoroughly angry. in his bitterness against Spain, he sequestered and sold the sroperty of Milanese subjects within the Mantovano. The ‘Neapolitan jurisconsult, Antonio Marta, who had dared to blame his conduct, was imprisoned by him in the Castello, and there died in the next year. He made the Forte di S. (Carlo without Porta Pradella and various entrenchments yround Mantua, brought grain into the city, and set a great provision of artillery in strong positions. To the pressing demands of Nassau, who employed every effort to secure his submission, he replied that he would accept the Emperor’s terms only when the Duke of Savoy was compelled to retire from Monferrato; and Nassau thereupon sent to him the last ‘‘ diffida’’ of the Emperor (under date of February 5, 1629), admitting no further delay or restrictions. Then came, at last, the long-expected help from France. With a great army King Louis XIII (in March of 1629) de- scended from the Alps, broke the army corps of Savoy, and prepared to attack the Spaniards without Casale, which city was still gallantly holding out for Mantua. Carlo Emanuele, Duke of Savoy, thought it prudent to accept the French Monarch’s terms, and to retire into his own State. Don Gonzales di Cordova came into the same treaty, and, retiring from Monferrato, gave the Mantuans access again thither for their trade across the Milanese. Within a few days the French Monarch had carried through the whole matter with brilliant success ; and, “‘ halting his army a little above Susa, treated with the Emperor and King of Spain for the settle- ment of Italy.” Thus ends with this happier note the Ftoretto delle Chroniche di Mantova of Stefano Gionta, who has carried us from the first legendary beginnings of Mantuan story —when Manto, daughter of Tiresias, made her home among the marshes—to the very year before the city’s great fall. It had seemed to the careful old writer, as he turned over the last page of his chronicle, that these great monarchs of Europe were devising peace and rest to Italy and to his own city ; but the worst was very shortly and suddenly to come. For the moment, indeed, France had appeared like the aaa ere NS nanan ee ea SY Tred —— — ee < mae YB ee eS‘ Re b fi a 2 rae nO 7 es oe SS eR ents re HP pare ree me denen maere Rd a ES es SS a ee nae — we s 222 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA rescuing knight in the legend of Princess Sabra. But King Louis had now returned across the Alps, contenting himsel! with recommending to the Courts of Madrid and Vienna the recognition of the rights of Duke Carlo; and his brilliant} military promenade had really left his Mantuan protégé in a! worse position than before. The Court of Madrid refused to | ratify the Treaty of Susa, and recalled Don Gonzales, sending a new Governor, Marquis Spinola, to continue the war in Mon- ferrato. The Emperor, if he was annoyed already with Duke | Carlo, was now yet further exasperated at his having brought | down the French into Italy, defied his own offer of settlement, - even compromised the Imperial dignity; and gave orders— | while Spinola besieged Casale—to his Generals, Collalto and Aldringhen, to invest Mantua itself with twenty-two thousand men. Already, in that September of 1629, the German troops had been massing in the Valtellina, to pour down thence into Italy ; and it is estimated that their numbers cannot have been less than thirty-five thousand foot soldiers and horse. Many of these men were the ruffianly “‘ soldatesca ”’ who had been trained amid the horrors of the German religious wats; and there seems little doubt, from later events, that it was in great part the hope of plunder and rapine which had attracted them to the Imperial standards. “Boldly,” we are told, ‘‘did Duke Carlo face the threatening storm, and prepare for the most obstinate defence. A practised soldier, he had the arts of war at his command, Without the city walls, houses, convents, churches were mercl- lessly destroyed, so that the enemy might have no shelter from his artillery fire; among the latter that most ancient circular Church of Beato Simone, situated beyond Porta Pradella towards Lago Superiore—which we may recall to have been poor Crichton’s last resting-place. He had restored at the same time the Castles of Governolo, Goito, Gazzuolo, Canneto and Castelgoffredo, filling them with munitions, supplies and fighting men ; had sold some of his Lordships France, so as to raise money to increase his army, and already a strong body of Venetian troops had arrived in his ve four thousand infantry with four hundred cavalry, sent : the Signory of Venice, who ‘‘ did not deem it to her interesee air a ee eee THE SACK OF MANTUA 223 that Mantua should fall into the hands of the Germans ”— when suddenly on all sides broke out the thunders of war. Spinola with his Spaniards had attacked Casale, but had been repulsed more than once by the gallant Monferrini with their French allies: unconquered in the previous siege, we shall find that this brave little city held out, undaunted and intact, through the whole of the coming war. As a last effort for peace, Spain now sent a brilliant diplo- matist, Jules Mazarin—afterwards Cardinal and Minister of France—to try and induce Duke Carlo to accept the full authority of the Emperor. This, after the success at Casale, was his chance—had he but had the wisdom to seize it ; instead, he rejected every peace proposal, and sent couriers to France, Rome, and Venice to get enough troops to hold back the imperialists, who, in this late September of 1629, were already sweeping down upon the Mantovano. Duke Carlo now sent to Scipione Gonzaga, Prince of Bozzolo, begging him to set troops at Ostiano to hold the passage of the river Oglio—“ but Scipione, remembering those injuries done to him by Duke Ferdinando” (vide Chapter XI.), “refused his help, and handed over the castle to Aldringhen, whose troops spread ruin over the Mantovano.” The crops had failed in that terrible autumn ; the Po had again broken its banks, flooding the country and hindering the march of troops. Canneto fell first, “from weakness of the Venetians’’; Viadana was betrayed to the enemy; the Castle of Gazzuolo—where Cardinal Vincenzo had once spent idle days of pleasure—fell next (October 26). Two days later the Cesarean troops had spread to Marcadia, Campitello, and to the old shrine of S. Maria delle Grazie, and from Borgoforte on to Cerese—‘‘ and behold now in Mantua all was terror and confusion.’’ We see the hurried flight of poor nuns, the nuns of S. Chiara di Migliarino, the Canonesses of the Annunziata—like frightened birds, as in that wonderful scene in ‘‘ The Miracle ’’—to seek refuge in the convents of the city, through whose gates the country folk, abandoning their ruined lands, were pressing in for shelter and safety : for Duke Carlo had now recalled all his troops, sending only Guerrieri to defend Governolo—a vain effort, since he had quickly to retire, while the town was sacked and “‘its in- re a ST Spare ta renee ee en a etl terns mn, “a meine acters sent ad ET IE eB al _ - = Ce ee = reine kien4 i N A bel a open ad eo lan perenne ye Ss ire eT te ee Sea ies eae ee ees on eS Per an Sarena eee ary a are ee ee ~ ee ETE oe See aoe ae one Ee a ce a ee nn om ea ae — een a OE232 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA and the sacred virgins had to beg food in the streets from thei enemies themselves until the Cardinals and prelates of the city came to their aid.” 1 Let us now hear what Mambrino,? himself a witness and victim, tells us of these horrors. ‘‘ I remember me that on the very same day that the Germans came to Mantua they commenced to sack and pillage ; and so for three days that torment continued, namely, on Thursday the 18th of July, Friday the 19th and Saturday the zoth. And we were com- pelled to abandon our houses and to run for safety to the churches, both women and men ; and poor fathers could be seen dragging after them their children, who were crying, and their voices went up to heaven, and the poor mothers, with their hair dishevelled and well-nigh desperate with evil treatment and handling, fled themselves too as best they could, so that even I myself must needs weep, as I sit writing of that so horrible torment of my country. . . . Then on Sunday, the 21st of July, by the Emperor’s authority, Giovanni Francesco Gonzaga was made supreme Governor of Mantua, with the consent of the Cesarean colonels who formed his committee . . . and these gentlemen made a proclamation that, on pain of death and of being instantly hanged by the neck until they died, no soldier should do further injury or pillage to any one in the city of Mantua. “On July the 22nd, the Mantuans having heard the pro- clamation, came forth from the churches, still terrified out of their senses by the great horrors they had known, and went back to their houses ; and then the weeping and laments of these Mantuans were even greater than before, for they found nothing left to help them of all their substance. It was a strange sight (uno stupore) to see what inestimable treasures, furniture and riches had been taken from the houses, and to see about the streets the piles of stuffs all going to ruin, while fire had been set to the printing press of Lodovico Osanna, the palace of Marchese Cattaneo and other houses, and that fire lasted three days to the destruction of all the neighbourhood. I will tell you that by reason of the pillage and the forced contribution levied the Germans carried away treasures to their homes. There was the Dogana” (i.e. Douane) “ and 1 See Volta, op. cit. 2 See Cronaca, cit.aA ee OR eee CONRDRLG TOADS SU aE Ms foie OS Wea Whar Pad te | a ee wr) [Salona Pa rs Ss SE OTE ERT THE SACK OF MANTUA 233 the Fonteghi, full of silk goods and fine woven stuffs from England, Flanders, and Germany, and cloth of Milan. There was the Ghetto of the Jews, where none could count the great riches found therein; and the five banks, with pledges and treasure valued at more than 800,000 scudi ... and the Monte di Pieta full of things of value. “ Kindly readers ”’ (Benigni Lettori), thus continues poor Mambrino, “forgive me that I cannot but remember one of so many torments suffered in this war. For that I have it most clearly in my memory that immediately after the Germans had entered the city by the Porta S. Giorgio, seeing that my own house lay there adjacent, they forced open the doors, and by main force (a viva forza) bound me with cords, so that I lay helpless for four hours, and in that state they kept beating me (me percotevano) so that I should show them where the money was kept ; and I made signs to them that their own comrades had broken open the chests, so that at last they took compassion and spared to me my life—to me, Giovanni Mambrino, and to Giovanni Battista and Cesare my sons, and may the Lord be ever praised.” Meanwhile Aldringhen, greedy of his prey, had seized for himself all the riches and treasures of the Ducal palace, “‘so that his booty was estimated at 8,000,000 scudi, swallowed up by that brutal man.” In this way disappeared the famous “ Grotta of precious stones”? made by Marchesa Isabella ; * the priceless collection of arms of the Gonzaga Princes of Mantua—with among them the jewelled sword, valued at 30,000 ducats, given to Duke Vincenzo I by Henry IV, King of France; “the superb collection of paintings by Titian, Giulio Romano, Raphael, Tintoretto, and other famous masters, while the Appartamento di Troia was damaged and in great part destroyed.” 2 Then the carved stones, the medals and 1« is me rm oe einen an rs Tn ioe es Ea a a NE Marchesa Isabella had fashioned in the Palazzo di Corte a Grotta, for whose adornment she collected the most famous antiques and statues and medals, and was lavish of precious stones and jewels, in such manner that even the Emperor Charles V was astounded when he saw them.” All this price- less collection was then looted and dispersed ; an attempt is now being made (vide Chapter VIII.) to reconstruct the Grotta itself. * We may recall to the reader that many of the paintings thus mourned over by Amadei and Volta, as having perished in the Sack, had actually beforea it ; BS PE nar en pe ES en i eee ee eae Sa ENE ae SSeS pre Sw a a ee = ar ee ae eR emer ee peat a seer ree = — <* onl Ary f Ls ; | 234 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA sculptures collected at such expense through many ages ; the , two codices of Lucretius and Xenophon, which went to enrich the Library of the Duke of Brunswick, and all that choice library of books and manuscripts; the incomparable onyx | vase, figured from one piece, which went to the same Brunswick Library ; the famous “ tavola Isaica,” and many other objects unique in Europe were destroyed or carried away.} Not content with all this, as if his hunger went on increas- ing, Aldringhen now surrounded the Ghetto with his troops, and told the Jews under pain of death to leave Mantua and ( the Mantovano within three days, not permitting them to take more than three ducatonit per head. Then he ordered a general pillage of the Ghetto, and the booty taken amounted to 800,000 golden scudi in- jewels and money, as well as many precious pledges left by the citizens during the siege to have the wherewithal to live. The loss of the Mantuans, in this terrible sack, was reckoned at over twenty millions of gold; “and not even yet content, Aldringhen, on the pretext that his cavalry had not shared in the booty, imposed yet a further fine, which was reduced through the prayers of Marchese Gianfrancesco Gonzaga and other noble persons.’ We may note here that all the documents agree in throwing upon Aldringhen the blame of this merciless pillage and extortion. The other Generals—such as Galasso, who was also in Mantua —had little to do with it, and Collalto himself was away, ‘‘ busied on more honourable matters ” ; nor can the Emperor be entirely blamed. He had let loose the dogs of war to bring Duke Carlo to his senses ; but when he heard of the result was moved to pity and horror. Meanwhile the unhappy citizens of Mantua had held secret counsel, and sent to Vienna Gianbattista Manenti, who pre- sented to the Emperor such a pitiful picture of the utter this left Mantua on their way to England. The twelve portraits of Care Titian were copies, made in Venice by orders of Nys—although oo a Aldringhen believed he had looted the originals. The Sala di Troia ee to be boarded off for repairs at the time of the Sack, and thus escape worst damage. 3 : | Napeen tried in vain to get this vase for the Louvre. It pera the fire at the Castle of Brunswick in 1830. The “ Tavola — seems to reappeared later in the Royal Gallery in Turin.THE SACK OF MANTUA 2385 destruction of the city that the monarch was deeply impressed, and sent his absolute orders to Aldringhen to cease any further exactions. That evil man, thinking that Gianfrancesco Gonzaga—whom he had put in power to cover his own robberies —had helped in this appeal, accusing him of peculation and extortion, threw him into prison; where, exposed to great suffering, he died in a few days—“ not without suspicion of poison.” But a Concordat had now been arranged by which Duke Carlo had to cede, to Don Cesare di Guastalla, Luzzara, Dossolo, and Reggiolo ; to assign to Victor Emanuel, Duke of Savoy, the cities of Trino, Alba, and other places in Monferrato for a yearly payment of 15,000 scudi; and himself must humbly beg from the Emperor for his investiture, which would then be granted him within eight weeks. Aldringhen, when this was published, seeing no chance of further exactions, with- drew his troops to Castiglione di Stiviere and Solferino, where, we are told, he continued his robberies. The wretched Jews, who had been expelled the city, got the Emperor’s permission to return, being placed under close discipline. With the turn of the year the plague began to diminish, and on the and day of September 1631—more than a year later—came an Envoy with Imperial letters patent, giving orders that within the space of two days all that army should be removed from Mantua and her territory, if they regarded the favour of His Cesarean Majesty, the Emperor Ferdinand—an army reduced now by war and plague to 12,000 men, a pitiful remnant of twenty-one regiments of two years earlier. “ Immediately,” says Mambrino, “ the chiefs in command of the army, to the beating of twelve drums, made proclama- tion that all the Imperial army should march forth ; and now the Lord Duke Carlo was come to Goito, waiting that the Germans should have departed from Mantua. On the 4th day of September, as God willed it, there marched forth the Tegiments of Ferrari the Italian, of Clinich, of Colloredo, of the Duke of Saxony, of Ottavio Piccolomoni from Tuscany, with fifty wagons (cavtagt) full of plunder taken in the Sack. On the 8th there followed Colonels Husman, de Brandenburg, Bernevalt, and Isolani, with eighty wagons loaded up; andSaitama ee Ao en pected. es Sealeetaarenanenes tienes ae ee aan ean Ry prereerpesiety sees tae el one naan aeenieeaiaeteaeeerseterriere ster Pere go) ae = Pi | 236 § THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA on the 12th, Colonels Rivara, the Italian, Sultz, Painer, and Picchio, with seventy wagons full. Last of all, upon the 2oth, there marched forth Baron Giovanni Aldringhen with the ‘soldatesca’’ of Matteo Galasso, who remained himself a | hostage in Goito; and with these there went eighty-seven | wagons, and in their company marched Colonels Monticcioli and Cignali, with many other wagons loaded with booty; and with them there was that evil traitor, Lieutenant Polino— | but when he came without the city gate by his own musketeers he was treated to two hundred musket shots, and that was the traitor’s end, even such an end as he deserved.” 4 Such then, as I have said, was the great fall and cruel spoliation of Mantua, the glorious city of the Gonzaga, of ““ Mantova la gloriosa’’’—as she could never again be named ; such the dire consequence of her later rulers’ folly, who, in a critical moment of their own and their country’s history, thought first, if not entirely, of their lusts, their pleasures, their selfish interests ; and such the merited doom, outside the city’s gate which he had betrayed, of the traitor who had delivered her beauty and pride into the spoiler’s hands. 1 Vide Mambrino, Cronaca, cit. See also my description of the Sack in Mantua: Bertthmten Stadten, ch. xii.AOR ORY Et Ba pa Gor Ra on at GB | EPILOGUE THE FALL OF CASA GONZAGA ITH the fall of Mantua, her terrible Sack, and the final evacuation of the city by the Imperialists, our story— that wonderful story of the Gonzaga, which in its barest outlines reads almost like a romance—has reached its climax, if not its conclusion. For the famous old city of the Gonzaga never really recovered from the blow she had then received. She lived on—but broken, mutilated, a nerveless shadow of her former grandeur, her old-time brilliance: and the dramatic interest of her story might well lead me to close my pages here. If I have decided, after careful reflection, to cary forward that account to the very last page of Gonzaga history, to the final and complete annexation of Mantua by the Austrian Empire, it is because I feel it impossible to really grasp the earlier elements in the tragedy of her fall without that final sequence ; because the characters yet remain on the scene, to work out—in a later generation of these Gonzaga Dukes—and prove to us indisputably the causes which were to make the ruin of their House, the enslavement of their city, a thing foredoomed, inevitable. While the events described in the conclusion of my last chapter were taking place, our worthy friend, Giovanni Mambrino, had deemed it advisable to retire for four days of solitary meditation—his resting-place during that period of penance being somewhere above the ceiling (sopra la soffitta) of the sacristy of the Cathedral of S. Pietro. He seems to have had reason to suspect that the retiring Imperialists intended to take him with them as a hostage ; and his recent €xperiences evidently led him to prefer their room to their company. When he emerged from his hiding-place, ‘‘ on the 237 ~ een nee etree a een ae So RE a cae A aN SO eT pai —<~ oar 3 a aes a Cae eran ch Rn nn a meee ae el Se eT eet Sa238 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA ; 20th day of September 1631, all the Germans had departed, and the city was freed of them. That same day, at two o'clock, Marchese Alfonso’ Gonzaga entered Mantua, and the keys of the city were presented to him, and he was accompanied | by two thousand infantry and two companies of the Most | Serene Republic of Venice. Then on the 21st of September, | the feast of S. Matthew, the Most Serene Lord Duke Carlo left Goito and entered Mantua, being met by all his people, who stood there weeping with very joy at seeing him, and at recovering their Most Serene Prince and Maria Gonzaga— whom the Lord preserve henceforth in peace for the good and | quiet of all Christendom, as well of Italy as abroad. Praised ever be God and the Blessed Virgin Maria im secula seculorum. Amen.” But, though Mambrino thus ends his Cvomaca, very | naturally, with a note of pious exultation at the sight of his recovered Serenities, the impression given us in the future records of the stricken city is that once and for all, in that terrible siege and sack, her glory was departed. Even now a fresh blow had fallen upon Duke Carlo himself and Princess Maria in the death of his eldest son and her husband, Prince Carlo, formerly Duc de Rethel. This young Prince, whose marriage had been the precursor of the misfortunes of Mantua —though he had probably no willing share in them, for he seems throughout to have been overruled by his father's wishes and wider experience—had been profoundly impressed by the horrors through which he himself and his city had just passed ; so much so that his health became seriously affected, and he died in the month of August preceding the return of his family to Mantua. Overwhelmed with grief at this fresh loss, Duke Carlo was only restored to public life by the en- treaties and exhortations of his daughter-in-law, the Princess Maria, who showed at this moment more firmness than himself. Help came from neighbouring Italian princes—the Grand Duke of Tuscany sending furniture to fill two noble rooms of the ruined Palace of the Corte, the Duke of Parma silver for the table, the Duke of Modena the very practical present of one hundred pairs of oxen, with as many farm servants, to till the ruined fields ; and it must have been at this time thatCET LEI ESOS Reg Sica Spel, ih Syn fiat ACT THE FALL OF CASA GONZAGA 239 Duke Carlo transferred the relics of the famous Grotta of Isabella to the (so-called) Appartamento del Paradiso in the Reggia—where he himself went to reside, and his name yet appears over the architrave of the doors. An effort was made by servants and friends of Casa Gonzaga to recover some part of their lost treasures. We hear of maps and pictures re- covered in the trail of the returning army at Cremona and Como ; again, in a letter from Brescia (September 4, 1634), of furniture and tapestries which had been stolen from the convoy of Aldringhen as far north as Trento—a most cheering instance of the robber being paid back in his own coin; and even later (1640), a Gonzaga portrait by Pourbus appears in a sale at Rome,’ which had evidently been looted ten years before. Meanwhile it was at least endeavoured to revive something of the artistic splendour and tradition of the past. Duke Carlo, though he tried his best to bring Guido Reni to his Court, had failed to move the Master from Bologna; but from his grandson, Carlo II, Guercino and Sustermans had numerous commissions ; statues and paintings were acquired in Venice and Milan, and the inventory of 1665 indicates— especially in the Favorita Palace—the presence of a Gonzaga collection.? When Duke Carlo died of a syncope—‘ not,” says the chronicler, ‘‘ without suspicion of poison ’”’”—in 1637, and was buried in the church of the Camaldolites at Bosco della Fon- tana,® he left as heir to the Dukedoms of Mantua and Mon- ferrato and his Lordships of Nevers, Rethel and Maine in France his only grandson, the little Prince Carlo, born amid the horrors of the siege and now eight years of age, under the guardianship of his mother, the Princess Maria, recommending her to the protection of the Most Christian King of France. 1 Francis Pourbus the Younger had spent nine years in Mantua (1600- 1609), “‘ sharing with Rubens the title of Painter to the Duke.” Cf. Wauters, Flemish School of Painting. Thus the wonderful back-wave of Italian influ- ence on the great Flemings comes largely through the Mantuan Court— Sustermans at Florence only excepted. * Vide A. Luzio, op. cit. ch. iii. * The Camaldolite hermits, in gratitude for the benefits he had conferred upon them, set up his monument with a portrait in marble; it was trans- ferred in 1793 to the Basilica of S. Barbara, and is still in that private church of the Gonzaga. es a Pa) See Pen anne eee a ears shee mo weal een etic’ a a kn ee en a Pa en ne cS — Te Spain 1 Site Se — a :fr, i - ae er + —— Ae ne = - ea NES 2 eee Pal Aas ENE eee nee nes ees ee eee eren eres nner ernie Sore ee er epee pena ies ee meter a sia Te Foes — ~ —— SS apladm errmmrre a a = ed EG OE eo Se 240 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA The change of rule seems to have been very much for the better. Even after all he had been through Duke Carlo was still inclined to intrigue with France ; but the Princess Maria, a woman of character and prudence, who dearly loved this Mantua, the city of her birth, would have none ofit. Receiving the oath of fidelity from the citizens, in the name of her son, Duke Carlo II, she at once gave her attention to the trade of Mantua in wine and grain, and to assisting that Avte della Lana which, as we have seen, had suffered sorely in the past ; and, “as she attributed the destruction of her country to the excessive deference of the late Duke towards France for private interests of his own, she found herself compelled to decline its further protection, and to prefer that of the Cesarean Court and the Republic of Venice.” In vain did Louis XIII use every effort to recover his dominant position in Mantua, even sending thither a special envoy from Venice. Princess Maria held firmly to the position she had taken ; and the French avenged themselves by seizing the Citadel of Casale, whose Governor was beheaded by them for correspond- ence with Spain, and the Spaniards repulsed with loss when they tried to recover that much disputed city. Under this wise and capable Regency of Princess Mania Mantua began to recover something of her former prosperity. Arts and commerce flourished, religion was cared for and observed, and “‘ her economy and judgment had re-established the good fame (decoro) of Casa Gonzaga among neighbouring Princes.” 1 On October 30, 1647, the Princess Regent, m the presence of the Ambassadors of France and Venice, gave over the government to her son Carlo, who became ninth Duke of Mantua and seventh Duke of Monferrato. Our thoughts g0 back to Isabella d’Este in this wise Regency of another Mantuan Princess; and, like Isabella with her rival and namesake, La Boschetti, so too Maria had bitter moments from the passion of her young son for one of her ladies of honour, Margherita della Rovere, who had gained the boys affection and was possibly scheming to become his Duchess. It was the age of literary Academies, and the young Duke s the title of Este. 1Cf. Volta, 1647. The approving writer gives this Princes , “Heroine ”’ (Evoina), which he has before only bestowed on IsabellaTHE FALL OF CASA GONZAGA 241 took under his direct patronage the famous Mantuan Academy of the Invitti (‘“ Unconquered ”), who now changed their name to Timidi—“ a title which seems as exaggerated in its modesty as the former in its pretensions ’—with, as their emblem, a nest of young eagles preparing to fly, and the motto “ A pennis securitas,” alluding perhaps to the eagles on the shield of their young Gonzaga patron. Now, however, came more serious matter to the State in his marriage to Isabella Clara, Arch- duchess of Austria. Duke Carlo II had ridden out to Mar- mirolo with a train of Gonzaga nobles to meet his bride ; and on November 7 (1649) she made her entry into Mantua, “ under a rich baldacchino upheld by six mounted pages, and attended by the Dukes of Parma, Modena, and Mirandola with a splendid escort, beneath triumphal arches erected before S. Gervasio, 5. Andrea, and S. Pietro ”—a reception quite in the sumptuous old Gonzaga tradition. But all this splendid entertainment cost money, which Mantua, with her broken resources, could even yet ill afford; and, combined with what are described as the “caprices”’ of the young Duke, had so emptied the treasury that a special tax of 180,000 scudi, to be paid within three years, had to be levied on the city. We miss already, with this new ruler, the wise economy of Princess Maria. But a great marriage, for Mantua and her own House, had been planned out by that Princess and Eleonora Gonzaga, now Dowager Empress of Austria; and on December 17 (1650) came letters-patent from the Emperor asking in marriage the younger Eleonora, only sister of the present Duke. The marriage, which took place in 1651, came to bind this new line of the Nevers Gonzaga—through the good offices of these two Princesses, themselves of the elder line—more closely to the House of Austria. As a sequence of this policy and alliance when war broke out again in Italy, while the Duke of Modena took command of the French, young Duke Carlo stood firm to the Austrian Empire, put into the field three thousand infantry and two thousand cavalry, and was rewarded with the title of Generalissimo of the Imperial troops, with an annual stipend of 80,000 scudi. But he found it difficult to hold his own, when trouble with Monferrato recommenced, and the Duke of Savoy once more 16 SS eer, Sn Sars ; . xs cen arctan “s (AAS AAS, SG a all ad a ee es SeeFr i ol “a nee r- < = esi 9 ian nr PEP SO par epee pin ein mm. er ee aT eee a SE EP IEE IT Sore a a See ee eee ee aoa manme = ee epee preeee eae 1 Sa aero 7 Hh I BY Fr a. Fe RT ‘ Tes FS ES —— 242 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA swept down on Trino, drove out the Spaniards who were there, and refused to give up the city to the Gonzaga. The old quarrel between France and the Empire for the dominan position in Italy and Europe was recommencing in the acutest form, and threatening a general conflagration. For France was now becoming the most powerful monarchy in Europe ; England was for the moment out of the picture, torn to pieces by her political and religious dissensions ; Germany, led by Austria, was yet threatened by the last great invading wave otf the Ottoman Turk ; and the Spanish Monarchy was becoming more and more effete. It was inevitable that Mantua should be yet again drawn into this struggle of the giants. We have seen that this menace had been present even in the old days of Isabella and Marquis Francesco; that another peril to the dynasty had been the claims of rival branches of Casa Gon- zaga; and that yet a third lay in the apparently inherited tendency of their race to vicious excesses and consequent reckless expenditure. We shall now find all these elements of mischief combining in one person, the last of his race, to bring about its complete and final ruin. Princess Maria, embittered at the bad fortune of her son, which he himself attributed to the Duke of Savoy, and still more to the intrigues of France, had gone to Gratz to embrace her daughter, the Empress Eleonora; and there succeeded (1659) in getting the Investiture of Luzzara and Reggiolo transferred from the Duke of Guastalla to her own son. This new move overset the terms of settlement made, as we have seen, after the fall and sack of Mantua. It was obviously a consequence of the recent marriage, which gave the Gonzaga of Mantua more direct influence at Vienna, and may have seemed at the time another very clever piece of feminine diplomacy ; but we shall find it was to lead to infinite trouble before very long. The Princess had returned, after this successful visit to Vienna, to take her villeggiatura at the Palace of Favorita, when she was taken suddenly ill, and died on August 14 (1659) at the age of fifty-one. She had lived through a terrible period of her country’s history, and had been able to guide that country, which she so dearly loved, into happier conditions. Her Regency had indeed been a monu-THE FALL OF CASA GONZAGA 243 ment to her good sense and political capacity. She was mourned deeply by the citizens of Mantua—“ who loved her as a mother and accompanied her body to S. Maria delle Grazie, where she was buried with the honours due to her rank.” Now that her influence was withdrawn, the ship of State begins to totter, the House of Gonzaga to be driven forward, as if irresistibly, to its utter undoing. To follow at all completely the tragedy of its fall and ex- tinction we have here to recall those side branches of Casa Gonzaga with which, at this point, its story becomes inex- tricably entangled. Most influential and important among these were the Gonzaga of Guastalla and those of Castiglione del Stiviere ; and the trouble began at this time with the Duke of Guastalla, who was naturally exasperated, and used the strongest protests, on finding the Investitures of Luzzara and Reggiolo taken from him. The Duke of Modena, Alfonso IV, intervened, trying to make peace, counselling moderation ; but it can scarcely have helped matters when the Duke of Mantua gave (1663) the Palace of Guastalla to his favourite Academy of Timidi to hold their literary gatherings. Only two years later Duke Carlo was attacked by a violent fever, which defied medical aid, and he died on August 14, 1665, being buried beside his mother in the great pilgrim church of S. Maria delle Grazie. “ Of the death of Carlo,” says the chronicler, ‘‘ when he had barely reached the age of thirty-six, there were different opinions ; since some attributed it to immoderate lusts, others to maladies contracted in Venice and elsewhere, and there was also a suspicion of poison. In any case there were grave scandals derived from his illicit corre- spondence, which even found their way into print: though his subjects regarded him with affection for his sweetness of character and generosity.” He left as heir his only son, Ferdinando Carlo, then only thirteen years of age, under the guardianship of his widow the Archduchess Isabella Clara ; but unhappily left him also “ heir to the same ill-gotten 1 The ancient pilgrim church of S. Mari it last year, was awaiting the feast of S. both for itself and its monuments (that of Princess Maria is over the high altar) of the Gonzaga and Castiglione families. Once rich in offerings, in gold and silver plate, the church was plundered in the Mantuan wars. a delle Grazie—which, when I visited Luigi Gonzaga—well merits a visit, ny = Wee se i! seal eae ae cnn at aii Ae el 250 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA his younger days, or to Venice alone: but would show old Mantua, too, some taste of that wild life, would fill her streets, yet scarred by war, with masked merriment, and wake those vast ruined halls of the Reggia to the sound of midnight revelry. ‘“ The Carnival of 1688’’—which he seems to have spent for once at home—“ was one of the wildest and noisiest ever seen. For the Duke, not content with theatres, balls, music, and masquerades, in which he rivalled the Duke of Modena in spending madly, would fain keep open table for the whole month for noble forestieri ; and, making a selection of twenty-four ladies and as many cavaliers, set on foot a splendid procession on horseback (cavalcata) through the city, the which was adorned with statues, triumphal arches, and other devices, finishing with dancing and suppers which lasted whole nights together in the State rooms of the Palace.” What—we cannot avoid asking here—was the position of his young Duchess in these wild orgies of pleasure? Brought hither from the quiet little town of Guastalla, from a Court whose tradition had been one of sober rule and culture, to this Mantua with its grandeur and its ruins, its too recent memories of past horrors, its lust of present folly, there can be little doubt—and later events come to confirm this—that she regarded this kind of life with aversion, probably with secret horror. Her father had now died, confirming by his will what had been given on marriage to herself, and leaving the rest of his estate to his other daughter, Maria Vittoria. Duke Ferdinando Carlo, as her husband, had lost no time im securing his hold on Guastalla and the allegiance of its in- habitants : but there now began another and yet more bitter family quarrel, for there were no children of his own marriage, and Guastalla was a fief which actually passed in the male line of descent. Don Vincenzo Gonzaga had returned from Sicily, where he had been Viceroy, to live in his own half of the Palace of Guastalla, which he had a right to enjoy; and there came to meet Maria Vittoria, second daughter of the late Duke, won her to become his wife (June 30, 1679), and in so doing further strengthened, with the approval of the neighbouring Princes of Modena and Parma, his existing claim to thePerea he 6 hae Eee Le eg © eae THE FALL OF CASA GONZAGA 251 Guastalla Dukedom. In place of a settlement which had seemed—and might have been—friendly and final, the old dispute had thus reopened ; and Duke Ferdinando Carlo found himself in front of a rival of his own House whom it was difficult either to destroy or depose. Meanwhile all that mad life of careless expenditure was beginning to call for payment—to become a problem harassing, insoluble. His own subjects were weighed down with increas- ing taxation ; he had contracted debts which he had not the money to meet, and always there was the temptation—the Minister of all-powerful France at his elbow, ready to offer smooth words of counsel, asking nothing but his friendship ; or perhaps, merely as a guarantee for the loan, some city that he could well spare for a while . . . why not Casale? My grandfather—whose memory I revere, of whom I might say, like Ruskin of his father, that he was “an entirely honest mer- chant,’ one who, loving his Bible, could yet enjoy his Byron, soaring up then on the wings of ‘‘ Lara ’”’ and “‘ Childe Harold ”’ —was wont to bid his children remember always that “ the borrower is servant of the lender.” If I venture here to include this much of my family history, it is because these words—which I have never forgotten—find such a terrible illustration in this story of this last of the Gonzaga. For he had listened, in a fatal moment, to that tempter at his side ; the money—much needed, a mere private accommodation which need not be known to any third party—had passed into his hands . . . and from that very moment he was lost. I do not propose to more than briefly indicate here the pitiful story which follows—the secret scheming, betrayal of friends, official lies, hesitations and vain regrets, public scandal and loss of credit and friends. In 1680, through Count Vialardi, Governor of Casale, Count Ercole Mattioli, Minister of Mantua at Venice, and Marquis Guerrieri, who was sent specially to Paris, the matter was put in hand. France was Teady to promise unlimited support in men and money ; but the Courts of Vienna and Spain had already got wind of these proceedings, and their protests and threats of armed inter- vention made Duke Ferdinando Carlo to become hesitating and alarmed. He put the blame weakly on his Ministers, eet = A al > ne Se ee St Satur =,Lie OOO Tale eee = per or. Lange Oa == aT 0s nme ee ST ee a alien eS Ta ; na wae wr woe en aetna prea gastese eset p> Soran # it =< L a. ee eee TS ee eo le ——— 252 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA even imprisoning Guerrieri for a few days to give a show of truth to his excuses : but the French, enraged at this conduct, captured Count Mattioli at Pinerolo and threw him into a dungeon, where he shortly afterwards perished.! But the Gonzaga Duke had probably received his money, or, in any case, gone too far to draw back; and the year following he gave his assent to an agreement (concordat), by virtue of which the French, presenting themselves (September 29, 1681) at the Citadel of Casale, had it handed over to them by Count Vialardi.2 The Duke again tried to put the blame upon others—the cowardice of the Governor, the bad faith and aggression of the French—and sent his excuses to Vienna ; but no one believed him, and even the Senate of Venice—a crowning insult from his city of delight—prohibited him from any further intercourse with her nobles. It was said that the money he had pocketed from France was only 100,000 scudi—a cheap price for his dishonour ; and now the French commander in the Citadel, under pretext of inviting the Magistrates of Casale to dinner, had them all arrested, chased out the guard of the Duke, and made himself complete master of the city. Vainly then did the Duke fall into a fury at this act of aggression, and send out bitter complaints and protests : he was held to have his deserts, and was despised and laughed at in all the Courts of Europe. From this time forward there can be little doubt that he remained under the control of France, though the fact was— 1I saw once, in the hands of Dr. Brinton, of Philadelphia, U.S.AS a treasured copy of The Diurnal, published at the very time of Charles I's execution, in which that King, denying the charges on which he was Cons demned, yet alluded to one wrong-doing which might then be finding its just judgment—meaning, said the reporter, my Lord of Strafford. One wonders whether, in like manner, amid his orgies of pleasure, the ghost of poor Mattioli ever rose to haunt his Ducal master. h 2The Castello of Casale—which had been a Roman colony under t e name of Sedula, but was renamed Casale Sancti Evasii after its destruction by Alaric—was constructed (1469) by William VIII, Marquis of Monte on the ruins of an older fortress: but was a century later (1561) ae by Duke Guglielmo Gonzaga, who made it a “ small fortress.” S: Lug? ae zaga was in Casale (1579-80) as a child; and (in 1590-95) Duke ee built its Citadel, which was demolished (see later) on the surrender oO He French garrison to the Allied Armies after the siege of 1695, though Castello was only dismantled of its outer forts, and still survives.THE FALL OF CASA GONZAGA 253 for obvious reasons—kept secret. In 1684 the Academy of the Timidi was so crowded that some Mantuans joined together to form a new Academy, with the still most modest name of the Imperfetti, its device an unfinished theatre with the legend “‘ Scents decora alta futuris’’ ; and the Duke, who had, we are told, a “‘ passion for poetry,’ gave it his august patronage. Two years later he was in Venice, taking part in the joys of Carnival, distinguished by his rich retinue and shameless excesses ; then went to Rome to meet the famous Queen Cristina of Sweden, joined his wife at Bologna, then on to Genoa “ accompanied by the envoy of the King of France ”’ ; and returned to Mantua on hearing of the death (December 5, 1686) of his aunt, the Empress Eleonora Gonzaga, at the age of fifty-eight. In 1687 he was in Vienna, received with honour by the Emperor ; his purpose, suggests the chronicler, not so much to take part in the war against the Turk, which was still continuing, as to receive honours and perhaps to remove the suspicion of adherence to France. He went on, however, to Buda, was a spectator of the defeat of the Ottoman Turk ; and returned in 1688 (after that Carnival which I have de- scribed at Mantua) with a suite of five hundred and fifty persons, and fifty tents richly furnished for himself, his gentle- men and pages—probably a troublesome contingent for those who were in charge of the actual fighting which was then taking place round Belgrade. It is difficult to judge how far these journeys were due to a genuine Crusading impulse, to the man’s restless vanity, or were a cover for his real and secret understanding with France. An incident which occurred in the year following (1689) seems to throw a strong light on this last motive for his conduct, as still being “‘ servant of the lender.”’ In these last years Don Ferdinando Gonzaga, Prince of Castiglione del Stiviere, “‘ not content with following the foot- steps of his ancestors in oppressing his subjects, seemed to study every method of driving them to despair.”” He in- creased taxation on objects most necessary to life, including cloth and every kind of beast ; had even falsified in his mint the money of other States—notably of the Papal States— and forced this counterfeit coinage to be put into circulation Sd —— Ca a Tr 5 ai " ee ea - te - id percha & = eae EEa’ ze ae he ey ey Nae bet E TTF oe ee a eS er ate enkere Caeser ie een oan cen ba veer ermal s i, ete ae ee ap ee WY Rr I eer So apieeres a a ao a ct ety Ot PE eee ge PES Oe en a Pe tore aon gg = 254 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA by his own subjects, treating all who opposed him as rebels. Beneath the surface at Castiglione a storm of vengeance was brewing ; while Guastalla had passed under the control of the Mantuan Duke. When the marriage settlement with Anna Isabella, which gave him Guastalla, had been drawn up, it was there expressly agreed that no further fortifications should be added to the city ; and this “ not only from jealousy on the part of the Dukes of Modena and Parma, but from the fact that with Guastalla as a fortress our Duke might hinder navigation on the Po.’”’ In spite of this, little by little, Duke Ferdinando Carlo had gone on strengthening the city with bastions, so that it had become a real place d’armes; and to do this had brought disguised engineers and French officers to direct the work. The Emperor, becoming informed of all this, and warned by the example of Casale, took strong action at once. Advised by him, Count Fuensalida, the Spanish Governor of Milan, descended (1689) without warning on Guastalla, and intimated to Ferdinando Carlo the orders of the Courts of Vienna and Spain that his fortifications be destroyed without delay. The Mantuan Duke tried to gain time with protests, but this was not allowed him ; and finding Guastalla surrounded by troops, he had to give in, and see the fortifications destroyed, which had cost him 40,000 scudi provided by France. Fuensalida even threw down (1690) the Rocca, the ancient Citadel which had existed for centuries, despite the Duke’s—in this case—just remonstrances ; and it was then that the latter engaged the French engineer Du Plessis to plan out the defences of Mantua, making trenches outside Porta Pusterla, and for Porta S. Giorgio a wooden drawbridge, which could be destroyed in case of attack. . Meanwhile the Czsarean Envoy, Marchese degli Obizz1, had come to Mantua to treat of the dispute still proceeding between Don Vincenzo Gonzaga and his cousin the Duke of Mantua; when suddenly, in January of 1691, this latter’s béte noire, Fuensalida, appeared with his troops in the Manto- vano, without explaining his intentions. Ferdinando Carlo took fright, and—with Casale and other matters on his conscience —seems to have completely lost his head at this unlooked-for apparition. He made a bolt for Venice, leaving the governTHE FALL OF CASA GONZAGA 255 ment to his Duchess and Obizzi, and the city in a state of terror. It was then that the Duchess showed herself a true Princess of Casa Gonzaga. She rode forth on horseback through the city, bringing back confidence to the citizens, who rallied round her. A capitulation was arranged, by which the Spanish troops should retire when they had destroyed the fortifications erected in the year previous upon the Po and Oglio, especially at Gazzuolo; and the Duke felt it safe to come back from his harbour of refuge. But with this very year things had come to a head at Castiglione del Stiviere. The inhabitants, driven to despair by the tyranny and extortions of their Gonzaga ruler, rose in revolt, set free the prisoners, and on December 23rd sur- rounded the Palace, with the intention of getting both Don Ferdinando and his brother Francesco into their hands + Dit the latter escaped, and rode for his life towards Brescia, while the Prince with his family took refuge in the Rocca. Their palaces were sacked, and their infuriated subjects were pre- paring, at the end of January 1692, to assault the Rocca and capture the tyrant when the Imperial Commissary, Count Borromeo, arrived on the scene and occupied Castiglione with his Spanish troops. Prince Ferdinando was allowed to leave under safe conduct, and carried to Spain, where he remained, maintained by the Court during the hearing of his claim to be reimstated—a suit which dragged on without ever reaching a conclusion. Such, says the chronicler, was the miserable end of the Gonzaga Lords of Castiglione; an end brought about by the tyranny of Prince Ferdinando and the immoralities (galanterie) of his wife, of the House of Mirandola. Meanwhile the Courts of Spain and Vienna, unable to tolerate any further the continual bad faith of Duke Ferdinando Carlo, gave (by their diploma of May 4, 1692) to his cousin, Don Vincenzo, Guastalla itself, with the much disputed lands of Luzzara and Reggiolo ; on news of this the Mantuan Duke fell into one of his wonted Passions, published long printed protests, and sent a special envoy to Vienna. But he got no hearing ; and Don Vincenzo Gonzaga obtained his investiture on August I9, 1693, and set to work to fortify Guastalla under the protection of Spain. Then came, in the year following, the thunderbolt of- pang eet? >| Me] ee ee aan —— — ne enon are ree ln ay hem = re er a ec oeres aes ho ese eases ered net aco eee i i i — = a A nr a ae PE ae Ae 256 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA European war; long threatening, as in our own time, thie storm broke suddenly, and drew all nations around into its magnetic current. Austria, Spain and Savoy now stood to- gether, to break the world-power of Louis XIV of France and to drive him from Italy, where he was becoming firmly estab- lished. The Duke of Mantua, from his past record, was suspect to the Allies, whose first move was to send (November II, 1694) their envoy, Count Castelbarco, to remain in Mantua and watch his conduct ; at the same time distributing their troops in the Mantovano, and requesting the dismissal of the envoy of the Most Christian King. In the summer following, Casale, always a storm-centre, was besieged by the Allies, and its French commandant surrendered on August 11, 1696, making the condition that the Citadel and Castello should be dismantled and the city handed back to Duke Ferdinando Carlo; but next year Savoy withdrew from the alliance, and France, having her eyes upon the Spanish succession, was quite willing to accept (October 7, 1697) a convention by which both sides should withdraw from Italy. There followed a brief and happy interlude of peace, which the Mantuan Duke, with his subjects’ willing aid, seems to have devoted to com- pleting the great Basilica of S. Andrea, to which the roof of the choir and transepts was yet wanting. This great work had been set in hand “ with fervour of spirit ”’ in the spring of 1697; and the relics of the Most Precious Blood there enshrined on this occasion were exposed to the people. It was that eternal question of Guastalla which now again started fresh mischief. Ever since the decision against him in 1692, Duke Ferdinando Carlo had been protesting and com- plaining ; and Don Vincenzo Gonzaga now put in a counter claim, on his side, against his Ducal cousin for the revenues from 1678 to 1692, when that State had come back into his possession, The matter came before the Aulic Council of the Empire, and this Supreme Court decided (1699) against the Duke, confirming Don Vincenzo in his possession and admitting the claim for back revenues. Vain were the Ducal protests, and the poor Duchess was so worried by this whole matter that her health became affected ; while the Duke himself, raging inwardly, looked around for some opportunity of revenge— { | | |as See te oar —. yay A lees ainda REET ee eet eee ete ee eee JUVARA MANTUA AND 4 Al VIANI BY ANDRI COMPLETED i a A OFS = xy i BASILI( scenes LEO BATTISTA INTERIOR OI BY DESIGNEDTHE FALL OF CASA GONZAGA 257 and found it only too ready to his hand. He had already sent his envoy to Paris to arrange the affairs of Charleville, almost the last Lordship in France remaining to the Gonzaga, when the death of Charles II, in the first year of the new century (1700), and the succession of the Duc d’Anjou, as Philip V, to the throne of Spain, set into a blaze the smouldering embers of European war. The King of France—fully prepared for this event, which made the Duc d’Anjou ruler of Spain, Flanders, Naples and Sicily—had powerful armies ready to support him. He had gained over to his side, by promises and caresses, the Duke of Savoy ; and, though Venice declined his advances, and decided to remain neutral, the House of Bourbon now threatened to become master of Europe. Even in this critical moment Duke Ferdinando Carlo would not forego any of his wonted pleasures, and had gone to Venice to the Carnival of 1701 ; but in that city had more than one meeting with a Cardinal, who was there as envoy of France. He may have even wished to remain neutral in the approaching struggle, but was too far committed to keep himself free ; on the other hand, when he returned to Mantua at the end of February (1701), he found strong opposition from his own Ministers to the idea of receiving a French garrison. Irresolute and hesitating, he turned for help to Rome. But it was too late : for the “‘ Galli-Spani ” (the French and Spanish troops) were already in the Mantovano, and the decision was taken out of his hands. On April 11 the gates of Mantua were opened, and eight thousand of them poured in to occupy the Citadel and strong places of Mantua, while others had occupied Castiglione del Stiviere and Goito. The Im- perial Envoy, Castelbarco, returned to Vienna, where the Emperor—furious at what he considered as the Duke’s com- plicity—released the Mantuans from their allegiance to the House of Gonzaga. The Imperial armies, under Prince Eugéne, descended on the Mantovano, levying heavy contributions, and seizing Castiglione and Castelgoffredo ; while at Mantua all was want and confusion. Just what Isabella d’Este, by her wise diplomacy, managed to avoid had now come about by the folly and weakness of her last descendant. The great Powers of Europe, the Empire and France, were engaged in a 17 =e S [iia ae ty Nae women ae 7 ae nm 9m mre F Sil See\ paneer 2 a ero : - adr ok al SN —— apes oe Se ae oe a ed —_ Gin LT aN eg oleh rE Pet ere = a ee A Ta a eee a fa oe oF wag ess mee oS es RR py ee ee an Se Set het ac ease eget aca tener ech ek a ace epee . a = I os a 258 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA life-and-death struggle, with the Mantovano as their cock-pit— the battleground of the contending armies. It would be impossible for me here to follow in detail the issues of this great war, which swayed back and forwards with varying fortunes. In January of 1702 the Imperialists had Mantua closely besieged, and in mid-winter Prince Eugéne made a surprise attack on Cremona, and captured the Duc de Villeroy, Marshal of France. But fresh troops came out from France under the Duc de Vendéme, so that the “‘ Galli-Spani ” numbered fifty thousand, with the King of Spain himself in their army. In a great battle at Luzzara, which lasted all the day of August 15, 1702, outnumbering the Imperialists by more than two to one, they drove back Prince Eugene, entered Luzzara, Guastalla—which they gave back to the Duke of Mantua—then Borgoforte and Governolo. Prince Eugéne returned to Vienna to beg for reinforcements, leaving his leutenants in command. A new Imperial army was descending on Italy, when news came that the Duke of Savoy had abandoned the Franco-Spanish alliance, and had come over to the Emperor’s side. We have seen how the Guastalla quarrel—in which her brother-in-law and her only sister were involved—had affected the health of Duchess Anna Isabella. From January of 1703 she had been failing ; she made some recovery in September, but on November 14th she died, “‘in the fresh age of forty- eight years,”’ and was buried beside her mother, the Duchess of Guastalla. She may surely take her place among the great princesses of Casa Gonzaga—beside the Princess Maria and the Archduchess Isabella, if not Isabella d’Este herself. For, if her piety, her charity and religion, and the patient resignation with which she supported the dissolute life of her husband, are justly praised by the chronicler, we have seen too how she had come forth, in a crisis of Mantuan story, to give back courage and security to her subjects. When she died the Duke was at Casale, and did not even return to Mantua after her death; but sent instead a dispatch, opened in the presence of the Mantuan Magistrates, appointing a Council of Regency. In this Council it was noticed that none of the Gonzaga family were included, though several illustrious members were thenTHE FALL OF CASA GONZAGA 259 alive; and this ‘‘ because the Duke was given over to the party of France, against the judgment of his Court and members of his own family.”’ It may be questioned from his conduct whether Duke Ferdinando Carlo had felt very deeply the loss of his wife ; his thoughts, we are told, were of love and ambition; and now, finding himself free, he formed the plan of a great political marnage within the Royal House of France, and decided on a visit to Paris. He carried this out in the semi-royal style of his earlier visit;to the seat of war in Hungary—in the manner so dear to his own heart, and, we may guess, to the pockets of his unlucky subjects. On March 8, 1704, he started from Casale with a cavalcade of Ministers, knights, horses and furniture, and after a few days at Charleville, reached Paris on the 9th of May. Lodged by Louis XIV in the Palais du Luxembourg, he was received by the “‘ Roi Soleil ” in special audience at Versailles three days later ; and, after discussing very fully the affairs of Italy, spent some months between Paris and Versailles, looking round at the same time for a lady suitable to share his Ducal throne. His choice fell finally upon Suzanne Henriette de Lorraine ; and, presented by the King with a rich sword and the title of his Generalissimo in Italy, he returned to Casale on October 28, 1704, very pleased and even vainglorious over the success of his journey. Fortune seemed indeed at this moment to smile upon Duke Ferdinando Carlo. He had recovered Casale and the much- disputed Guastalla; had lodged with the French King his further claims to Sabbioneta, Bozzolo, and Viadana; and was now about to marry again into one of the greatest houses of aristocratic France. But Fortune is known to be a fickle goddess—some have even said a fickle jade. Suzanne de Lorraine had come by sea to Genoa, being nearly captured on the way by two English ships which had given chase ; for now that “ termagant of the seas” had come into the great war, and its whole aspect began before long to change. It has never been the policy of eae free from the continent of Europe and yet bound i many ways, to let any one, Power become its complete master. The weak rule of the Stuarts, which divided the 5 i ey Cre oe ivan ae Bs en tnt ee enn a nee a ee a tne eo yen ee . — — a a ee Asie =—- —s es } iF Hi 5 as 260 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA nation—and made Charles II even the pensioner of France— had given place to that of William III, who had consistently opposed the ambitious designs of France ; and soon after his death Queen Anne (1702) notified her Allies abroad of her intention to pursue the foreign policy of the late King. The combined English and Dutch fleets captured the Spanish treasure galleons at Vigo ; and at Blenheim (August 13, 1704) our English troops, under Marlborough, fought beside those of Prince Eugéne against the French, and gained a brilliant victory. In November of that year the Duke of Mantua’s marriage at Tortona had been followed by his triumphal entry into Casale with his bride, and celebrations in Mantua and Monferrato ; and in the January following (1705) he returned, after an absence of two years, to Mantua, and abolished the Regency, making three Councils of State, Justice, and Finance. It was not till the next year that his new Duchess made her State entry (1706) into Mantua, the special envoy of Louis XIV being present at the celebrations; and Duke Ferdinando Carlo commissioned the famous theatre architect, Bibbiena, to construct for him a sumptuous theatre near the Castello." This commission was not destined for many years to see completion; for now the political barometer was rapidly changing, and we might even say—pursuing our metaphor— in the case of the Mantuan Duke was going down with a run. To follow this further, we must return to the seat of wat. Prince Eugéne was now (1706) on his way to Italy with a fresh army ; but before he could arrive the Duc de Vendome had defeated his lieutenant, General Reventlau. Perhaps the title of ‘‘ Generalissimo,’”’ received at Paris, may have given Duke Ferdinando Carlo an exaggerated opinion of his place 10 the direction of the war: in any case, he had a serious quarrel with the Duc de Vendéme, complained to Paris, and got him recalled from Italy. Vendédme was an experienced com mander ; and the Prince d’Orléans—now sent out in his place by Louis XIV—a prince of the blood royal, standing very near the throne. Our own military experience has shown that 1 Ferdinando and Francesco Bibbiena were at this time the most famed theatre architects in Italy, and even beyond the Alps. Vide Corrado Ricci, I Bibbiena, Avchitetti Teatrali, 1625-1780, Milan, 1915.POSER PNGB iF ana ia Ber Fa 7 GC GPE THE FALL OF CASA GONZAGA 261 it is not always easy to combine the two above qualifications in one and the same person. Venddme’s presence was badly needed by France on her eastern front ; but, before he could arrive, the allied armies, under our Duke of Marlborough, in the great battle of Ramillies (May 23, 1706) had driven the French from the field, inflicting heavy losses. In the campaign which followed, when Orléans came to face Prince Eugéne, he received under the walls of Turin a crushing defeat from the Austrian leader ; and was himself badly wounded, while his army, seized with panic, fled to the Alps. Then, turning round, Prince Eugéne took Casale after fifteen days’ siege, with its garrison. All the Lombard cities now submitted to the victor. In the Mantovano the “ Galli-Spani”’ had to abandon Guastalla and Borgoforte, and what was left of them retired on Mantua, which trembled at the prospect of another siege : but peace was already approaching. For Italy was lost to France ; and Louis XIV, who had spent immense sums on the war on that side, had no intention of continuing it for the sake of his Mantuan protégé. Early in 1707 an agreement was arranged, and concluded on March 13 of that year at Milan, in which Duke Ferdinando Carlo found himself entirely sacrificed. In vain did he send a special envoy to his patron Louis XIV to implore his protection. That monarch thought first of his own interests and those of his country. Prince Eugéne and the Imperial Court on the subject of the Mantuan Duke were immovable: the man, they said, was a traitor, a felon (fellone), deprived of every tight. Monferrato went to the Duke of Savoy ; the Duchies of Milan and Mantua to the Empire ; and France abandoned every claim on Italy, _ Duke Ferdinando Carlo, who had, as usual, sought safety in Venice, was beside himself with rage when he heard these terms ; and, though the French envoy tried to calm him, by the promise of an annual pension of 40,000 francs from his King, it was of no avail. He fell into one of his passions (furie), cursed France and Spain, with those who had led him to follow them, and then became seized with the profoundest melancholy. His French wife came next into his thoughts, and he wrote begging her to join him at Venice ; but hers s ee ee Ss, PS a SAG eS ES m= :, ne = a ae rte eee YR a eT = I et et ee Se aoe ce a ieee pee > oe PR ak Et Nae ee eae Ne See ne Ne arate ss 8S wre ages mre nn rar eee ee — SR re ee ee ee ot 262 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA was a fine-weather alliance, and she preferred to return to Lorraine, where she died a few years later. Nor did he get much sympathy from his own Mantuan subjects, who saw now only too clearly the abyss into which his conduct had been leading them ; and, with memories of the former siege in their minds, lost no time in sending a deputation to Prince Eugene, begging his protection for their goods and persons, and his advice as to the furniture of the Ducal palace, which Ferdin- ando Carlo claimed as his own.1_ On April 2, 1707, the Austrians entered Mantua, and took over the city. Solemn Mass was held, a Council of the Provinces formed, and the Landgraf of Darmstadt returned to Vienna to make his report; while Don Vincenzo Gonzaga was at last able to come back in full security to his Duchy of Guastalla. There can be little doubt that, had he so wished, Don Vincenzo at this moment might have received from the Emperor the now vacant Dukedom of Mantua; for it had been already decreed by the Caesarean Court to treat Duke Ferdinando Carlo as a felon, while his followers were warned at once to return to their own country. One cannot help feeling that, had that Dukedom been given after the siege and sack of Mantua to the House of Guastalla, always loyal to the Empire—instead of that of Nevers, who had already proved false—much of the subsequent trouble might have been spared ; but what not improbably prevented this was that in this case Monferrato, through the marriage with Princess Maria, must have remained with the Nevers family. Now Don Vincenzo had returned home at last to Guastalla, after years of exile and struggle—a man weary and sad, for he had lost his wife, Maria Vittoria, in this very time. He perhaps had no mind to begin then a life of new and great responsibilities ; but there was, without any doubt, a yet stronger reason. Austria had now gained a secure hold on Northern Italy, with the two Duchies of Milan and Mantua firmly in her grasp; while Mantua itself was the key of her military position. The 1 Duke Ferdinando Carlo had brought with him to Venice the pick bE what was left in his gallery—282 works “‘ of good hand and good painters, 680 others “‘ not so good,’’ and “‘ all the furniture of the Corte of His Serene Highness of Mantua, sent by his orders to Venice in the year 1707.” Vide Luzio, La Galleria dei Gonzaga, ch. iii., ‘‘ Archivio Gonzaga.”’THE FALL OF CASA GONZAGA 263 Duke of Mantua must have been henceforth a mere puppet in her hands; a great historic name, the name of Gonzaga, but nothing more— nomen et preterea mhil.” We may regret that this great name should have disappeared from the world’s history; but for Don Vincenzo Gonzaga, a man—the very antithesis of his cousin—severe, upright, simple in his tastes, and intolerant of such political bondage, we can only feel respect and sympathy. Upon that cousin the sentence of ‘“‘ Bando Imperiale,” depriving him of the Dukedom and all his rights, had been now decreed by the Emperor, but was not published in Mantua until July 23, 1708; and before this the unhappy Duke had already ceased to live. He had betaken himself to Padua to escape from the profound depression which had seized him, and in June fell ill with a chest attack ; and there, at the age of fifty-six years, died, on July 5, ‘‘ detesting his errors of the past, and recommending to the Senate of Venice his natural children, Giovanni, Carlo, and Isabella.”’ The lawsuit, carried before that Senate with regard to the valuable furniture from his palace, was decided in favour of the Duke of Lorraine, grand- son of the Empress Eleonora Gonzaga, who was charged with paying the debts of the deceased and with making provision for his natural children ; 1 and all his landed property went to his cousin and lifelong opponent, the Duke of Guastalla. Thus had ended the second line of the Gonzaga, Lords of Mantua. Even before this, on February 29, 1708, the Austrian Emperor, represented by Baron Taunath and Konigsegg, as his civil and military Governors, had received, in the great Sala di Troia of the Reggia, their oath of allegiance from the deputies of the Commune of Mantua. Then came the firing of guns, the “‘ Te Deum ” in the Cathedral ; the arms of the House of Gonzaga were torn down from all public places ; and Mantua became a provincial city under Austrian rule, and as such remained—with the interlude of Napoleonic wars—until the awakening of the new spirit of Italian Unity. In that new Italy Mantua claims her place—a gleaming Jewel in the crown of cities of ancient fame—from her great : f sat Dr. Luzio (op. cit. ch. iii.) alludes to a round dozen (sergua) of these, including three nuns. ae Na ase = ~ Se TT etn ra ete nt et ee ae Sh TES TT Sera eee al a nr ais Maw ee— S teal - a = a a - ee r= cal “rose a ~ eed oo ——— Ge Se eee ee DOT I Eee a nS eainte OW >a ILENE Se Sone rn e NeS ee] eh ettanened Sipuaieemmenmndast ee om 264 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA military position and political importance, her commerce and agriculture, the treasures of past art in her churches and palaces, which are now being put in order. When she takes her place—as she will without question—among the great art centres of Italy; when her Reggia becomes a Museum of European fame, which the visitor from the north or from across the Atlantic will mark down as indispensable to his itinerary ; when her arcaded streets become crowded with motor-cars, and the inevitable Palace Hotel shall have invaded the old Borgo di S. Giorgio—the change may bring a pang of regret to some of us. We may think then how, in past days, we had dined off sturgeon from the Po and vino Mantovano at pre-war prices ; had picked up “‘incunabula” from her book- stalls at figures which would make Bond Street shudder ; had loitered away summer afternoons in the gardens of the Te; across her lakes have seen Mantua with her towers and cupolas, a magic city, fade into the sunset, or watched the moon rise behind the shadowy Reggia from beneath the blossoming lime trees. Yet the world must move forward; and our regrets give way to the larger vision of this new Italy, claiming by patriotism, labour, discipline and sacrifice the great place which surely waits her among the Powers of the Future. That upward path may bring its moments of difficulty, dissension, discouragement : but there is no other road which can lead to a nation’s greatness,FRANCESC (5th Du 0.1586; d. 1612 [ Lopovico, b. 1611; d. 1 | GUIDO (2nd Captain), ad. 1369 | l FILIPPINO, d. 1356 LODOVICO (37d Captain) d. 1382 | | UGOLINO, d. 1362 FRANCESCO (4th Captain), b. 1366; d. 1407 | GIANFRANCESCO (1st Marquis), 6. 1395; 4. 1444; m. Paola Malatesta | | | LODOVICO (2nd Marquis), b. 1414; d. 1478; m. Barbara of Brandenburg } FRANC ESCO, Cardinal, 1444; a. 1483 | | FEDERIGO (37a Marquis), 1442; d. 1484; b. n. Margaret of Bavaria | { | | FRANCESCO (4th Marquis), b. 1466; a. 1519; b. m. Isabella d’Este ' SIGISMONDQ, Cardinal, 1469; ad. 1525 FEDERIGO ERCOLE, (1st Duke), Cardinal, b. 15003; d. 1540; b. 1505; 4. 1563 . Margherita Paleologa of Monferrato | FRANCESCO (2nd Duke), b. 15333 @ 1550 | 1 ISABELLA, b. 1537; d. 1579; m. Marquis of Pescara : : VINCENZO (4th Duke), b. 1562; d. 1612 MARGHERITA, O02 E504 5 4./ 1018 + m. Alfonso II, Duke of Ferrara | | | VINCENZO II (7th Duke), 6. 1594; d. 1627 ma FERDINANDO (6th Duke), b. £587 5 ds-1626 sane b. 1609; ad. 1660; m. Carlo, Prince of Nevers and Rethel GENEALOC | 1 FELTRINO, 4. 1375 ; _founder of Counts of Bagnolo and Novellara FRANCESCO, d. 1369 Ni ISABELLA, m. Carlo Malatesta ~ m. Archduke Ferdinando of Austria a ee MARGHERITA, 01591 $d. 16323 m. Duke of Lorraine . Giacopo da Carrara *Y OF THE GONZAGA WHO RULED AT MA FILirPo (about 1200) Guipong (d. about 1271) Corrabo (4. 1320) _ LUIGI (1st Captain from x 328) b. 1268; a. 1360 : =. | CORRADO ALBERTO FEDERIGO | | MARGHERITA, d. 1399; TOMASINA, : BEATRICE, m. Azzone da Correggio m. Niccold d’Este 1580; d. 1637 m. Enrico d’Orleans | = o ORA, CARLO, FERDINANDO, Maria Luicia, 1655; Prince of Nevers and b. 16123 a. 1632 d. 1666 do II, Rethel; »f Austria b. 1600; 4. Y63r< m. Maria Gonzaga, daughter of Francesco, 5th Duke of Mantua | CARLO II ELEONORA, b. 1628; d. 1686; m. Ferdinando III, Emperor of Austria (oth Duke), b. 1629; da. 1665 | | FERDINANDO CARLO (10th and last Duke of Mantua), 6. 1650; d. 1708 TUA ‘TOMASINA, m. Guglielmo di Castelbarco = ALDA, SUSANNA, m. Francesco da Carrara m. Marchese d’Este C So o a -ARLO, GIANLUCIDC : M ii ee ALESSANDRO, Crom, MARGHaaaa . 1456 d. 1448 d. 1466 d. 1451 _ 1440, m. Leonello, Matquis of Ferrara : | | 2 AIANFRANCESCO, )DOLFO, Lopovico, SUSANNA, TE 1 CECILIA, _ 9. 14455 a. 14965 ; d. 1495; Protonotary Apostolic, 6b. 14473 d. 1481 t. [469 b. 1451 founder of the Lords of fc f the Lords of b. 1458; ad. 1511 Bozzolo and Sabbioneta Li and Castiglione : tiviere ae nee | | | GIOVANNI, CHIARA, MADDALENA, ELISABETTA, 6. 14743 d. I d. 1503; d. 1499 ; m. Guidobaldo, Duke of Urbino ! founder of the Cz m. Duc de Montpensier m. Giovanni Sforza, Marchesi * Lord of Pesaro ie ioe ARS 1 Fl tidy Shae Apr Ea SE LR eM RT NTE : | FERRANTE, ELEONORA, IPPOLITA, Paora, b. 15073 d. 15573. . 1494; @. 1570; d. 1570 d. 1569 founder of the Princes of m. Francesco Maria, Duke Guastalla of Urbino | Se ne Se et ae et tear Cone Ey aay = } GUGLIELMO Lopovico, FEDERIGO, ELEONORA (37d Duke), Duke of Nevers and Rethel Cardinal, b. 1538; d. 1587 | b. 1541; d. 1565 2 a he | eee oO : ANNA CATERINA, CARLO OF NEVERS CATERINA, ENRICHETTA, b. 1566; d. 1621; (8th Duke), b. 1568 ; m. Duc de Maine m. Duke of Wurtemburg LIsINA, m. Niccold Fieschi a |. BARBARA, b. 14553 da. 1503; BENEDETTA | ae ' PAOLA, m. Conte di Goriziaee ee ne nS 7 i i a ; i Hh ie i i i h | peAdalberto, 8 /Eneas, 2 Agnelli, Carlo, 86 Alba, 218, 235 Alberighi, 46 Albert, Charlotte, 121, 124 Alberti, Leo Battista, 7, 61, 83, 84-6, 88, 91, 93 Aldringhen, General, 222, 223, 225, 228, 229, 231, 233-6, 239 Aldus, Manutius, 181 Alencgon, Duchess d’, 168, 246 Alessandria, 17, 119 Alessandrino, Statute Law, 86 Alexander IV, 25, 29 Alexander VI, 74 Aliprandi, 3, 29, 34, 44 Alviano, 134 Ancona, 115 Andreasi, 149 Andreasi (historian), 214 Andrew, St., 85, 114 Anjou, Charles d’, 37 Ansandri, 40, 41 Anselmi, Giorgio, 148 Antico, L’, 100, 175 Apulia, 17 Aquileia, 5 Aragon, Anna of, 177 Aragon, Julia, 159, 161 Aragon, Leonora of, Duchess of GENERAL INDEX Ferrara, 104, 107 Ardighello, 140 Ariosto, 93, 161 Arlotti, 39, 40, 41, 42 Arrivabene, 46 Asola, 47, 64, 68, 72, 97, 98, IOI, 105, 137 Astalla, Julia, 99 ae 108 storga, Marqui Atella 115 see Attila, 5, 6 Augustus, Emperor, 11 Austria, Archduchess Eleonora of, _ 170, 198 Austria, Emperor Ferdinand of, 218- 22, 234-5, 2 Avogadori, 16 a Balzo, Antonia del, 100, 116, 175 Barbarigo, Doge of Venice, 114 Barbarossa, Emperor Frederick, 14 Barberini, Cardinal, 218 Barbiano, Alberigo da, 59 Bartolomeo of Novara, 58 Bavaria, Margaret of, 77, 95 Beccaria, Paola, 47 3eccaria, Antonio, 70 Belluno, 30 3embo, Cardinal, 123, 157 Bentivoglio, 96, 100, 133 Bentivoglio, Annibale, 104, 113 3entivoglio, Giovanni, 114, 124 Berenger, Raymond, 35, 36 Bergamo, 5 Bernini, Gian Lorenzo, 13 Berodi, R., 13 Bertani, Giovanbattista, 171 Bertoni, 36, 37 Bessarion, Cardinal, 74 Biancardo, Ugoletto, 58, 59 Bibbiena, Ferdinando, 206 3ibbiena, Francesco, 206 Blacatz, 36 Boccamaggiori, 46 Boiardo, 93 Bologna, 16, 20, 30, 51, 73, 145, 147, 239 Bona di Savoia, 87, 88, 89, 94 Bonacolsi, I, 14, 15, 33, 39, 49 41, 42, 125, 148, 187 Bonacolsi, Bottigella, 42, 43 Bonacolsi, Francesco, 44 Bonacolsi, Passarino, 43, 44 Bonacolsi, Pinamonte, 41 Boniface IX, Pope, 61 Bonifazio, Countess Beatrice, 8 Bonifazio, Count, 8, 19 Bonifazio, Marquis of Monferrato, 146, 147 Borgia, Pope Alexander VI, 108, 122, I 30-2 Borgia, Cesare, I2I-132, 216 Borgia, Lucrezia, 122, 124 Borgoforte, 15, 51, 54, 58, 59, 60, 86, 87, 213, 223, 225, 258, 261 Borromeo, Camilla, 178, 246 265 Borromeo, S, Carlo, 179, 180 = ' M t } lf ce he TC ee a at ene ee en Ee. el oor penncnmons PoP J Pee IE PIE CO ae pitt a Sar ae os nian c eee nn - eer a ae . a ete eae ene eee ae) ee ee ee eT eR eee eh jh daisies tbr finemelatesieianie nieaarenntia antteientiacaainneran eS —— eo ( 266 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA Borromeo, Count, 255 Boschetti, Isabella, 137, 138, 162, 163, 240 Bourbon, Bastard of, 110 Bourbon, Constable de, 137, 138, 140, I4I, 142, 146 Bovalino, 89 Bozzolo, 68, 91, 116, 174, 175, 259 Bramante, 85, 86 Brandenburg, Barbara of, 65-82, 88, QI, 96, 149 Brandenburg, Marquis of, 231 Brescia, 5, 16, 20, 27, 48, 49, 64, 66, 97, 116, 239, 255 Brienne, Yolanda de, 21 Brognolo, Zorzo, 105, 113, II5 Brosses, Président de, 249 Brunelleschi, Filippo, 86 Brunswick, Duke of, 234 Brusasorci, Domenico, 171 Businello, 231 Butzbach, George, 82 Butzbach, Paul, 82 Cadioli, Giovanni, 85, 150 Cesar, Octavius, 3 Calabria, Duke of, 97, 101, 102 Cambi, Bartolomeo, 189, 227 Campanella, 167 Campitello, 58, 223 Canale, Lodovico, 224 Canneto, 47, 174, 218, 222, 223 Canossa, Count, 8 Canossa, Countess Matilda, 8, 10, 11, LZ) 145 10) 32 Canossa, Count Tebaldo di, 12 Capilupi, Scipione, 46, 213, 226, 229 Capua, 17, 127 Capua, Isabella of, 161 Caraffa, Luigi, 178 Caravaggio, Fermo da, 151, 158 Carrara, 48, 56 Carrara, Francesco Novello di, 56, 5 Carrara, Jacopo da, 60 Cartwright, Julia, 84, 87, 91, 105, 107, 115, 141 Casale, 160, 162, 188, 218, 221, 240, 252, 256, 258, 259, 261 Casalmaggiore, 48, 134 Casaloldi, 13, 16, 21, 39, 42 Castel, S. Angelo, Rome, 142-3 Castelgoffredo, 48, 174, 222, 257 Castellaro, 106, 256, 257 Castelnovo, 64 Castiglione, Baldassare, 74 Castiglione, Baldassare, 119, 156, 157 Castiglione, Mantovano, 16, 54 Castiglione del Stiviere, 175, 235, 243, 244, 245, 253, 254, 255, 257 Catanei, Vanozza, 122 Caterina of Austria, Duchess of Mantua, 168-9 Cattaneo, Marchese, 232 Cavalcab6, 48 Cavalcanti, 37 Cavalli Gian Marco, 100, Cavriana, 84, 96 Cefalu, Bishop of, 175 Cellini, Benvenuto, 142 Cerese, 223, 225, 226 Charlemagne, 6, 113 Charles I of England, 150, 216-7 Charles II of Spain, 257 Charles VII, King of France, 108-12, 113, 118 Charles V, Emperor, 54, 137, 138, 141, 145-56, 157, 161 Charles IV, Emperor, 61 Charleville, 257 Chaumont, Marquis de Saint, 212 Christian, King of Denmark, 88 Citeonius, 2 Clement IV, Pope, 37 Clement VII, Pope, 139-141, 146 Collalto, General, 222, 223, 225, 226, 234 Colleoni, Bartolomeo, I00 Colloredo, Count, 229, 235 Comines, De, 108 Como, 239 Cordova, Gonsalvo de, 127 Cordova, Don Gonzales de, 218, 221, 222 Corio, 44, 60 Cornaro, Jacopo Aloyse, 182 Correggio, Antonio Allegri, 82 Correggio, Ghiberto, Lord of, 43 Correggio, Niccolé da, 100 Cortenuova, 21 Cosimo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, I09, 200 Costa Lorenzo, 125, 133, 135, 218 Costa, the younger, 149 Crema, 65, 71, 97 Cremaschi, 40 Cremona, 3, 5, 6, 24, 31, 41, 43, 49, 50, 63, 90, 97, I19, 134, 218, 239, 258 i Crichton, James, called The Admir- able, 181-3, 222 Crivelli, Lucrezia, 120 Cromwell, Oliver, 217 Curtatone, Ugolino, 50 Curtatone, 225 Dante, 3, 18, 19, 27, 34, 36, 37, 82 Demosthenes, 69 Denmark, Queen of, 89 Dennistoun, J., 142, 245Doara Buoso di, 31, 32 Donato, 184 Donesmondi, 46, 91 Doria, Prince, 185 Dossi, Dosso, 93 Dossolo, 235 Dovarese, 68, 174 Durante, Colonel, 224, 225, 226, 230, 231 England, 136, 242, 259 Equicola Mario, 2, 5, 6, 11, 12, 19, 21, 27, 33, 34, 41, 43, 44, 49 49, 53, 60, 87, 120 Este, Alberto d’, 58. Este, Albizzo d’, 34 Este, Alda d’, 55 Este, Alfonso d’, 106, 107, I17, 140 Este, Alfonso II, d’, 170, 180-1 Este, Azzo d’, 26, 30, 31, 32, 38, 43 Este, Beatrice d’, Duchess of Milan, 105, 106, 107, I17 Este, Ercole d’, Duke of Ferrara, 95, 96, 98, 103, 108, II9 Este, Ippolito d’, Cardinal, 127, 134 Este, Isabella d’, 4, 25, 92, 100, 103-— 163, 169, 216, 218, 233, 240, 242, 257 a Este, Lionello di Niccolo d’, 66, 93 Este, Lucia d’, 66, 72 Este, Lucrezia d’, 107 Este, Niccolo d’, 47 Este, Obizzo d’, 48 Eugéne, Prince, 257, 258, 260, 261, 262 Ezzelino. See Romano Faa, Ardizzino, 196, 197, 199 Faa, Camilla, 196-200 Faenza, 59, 68, 134, 146, 180 Fancelli, Luca, 84, 90 Farnese, Cardinal Alessandro, 180 Farnese, Giulia, 122 Farnese, Margherita, 179-80 Favorita, Palace of, 205, 239, 242 Federigo, King of Naples, 60 Feltre, Vittorino da, 67, 68-71, 77, 82, 86, 91 Fenton, Geffray, 110, 118 Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria, 180 Ferdinando III, Emperor, 247 Fermo, Liverotto da, I29, 130 Ferrante, King of Naples, 115, 116 Ferrara, 5, 20, 23, 20; 32, al, 48, 52, 59, 93, 97, 98, 103, 106, 144, Fletcher, Sir Banister, 85 Florence, 59, 68, 138, 146, 180 GENERAL INDEX BAe EAR? be feer iced ARRAS 2S Force, Maréchal de la, 225 Fornovo, 109, 114 Francia, 93, 218 Francis, S., 20, 23 Francis I, King of France, 137, 138 Frederick II, Emperor, 14, 17, 20, 26, 38, 39 Frederick III, Emperor, 103 Frundsberg, 140, 141 Fuensalida, Count, 254 Gaffari, 39 Gaiazzo, Count, II, 112 Galasso, Matteo, 225, 228-9, 231, 234, 236 Galeotti, Pietro Paolo, 174 Gallerani, Cecilia, 120 Gandia, Duke of, 122 Garibaldi, Guiseppe, 28 Gaston de Foix, 136 Gaza, Teodoro, 70 Gazzuolo, 16, 21, 103, 222-3, 255 Gheradadda, 65 Gionta, Stefano, I, 3, 6, 7, 27, 29, 32 34, 41, 44, 77 d Giovio, 56, 138 Goito, 18, 21, 34, 38, 81, 84, 90, 183-4, 222, 224, 235-0, 238, 257 Gonzaga, 21, 26, 86 GONZAGA— Alda (daughter of Francesco, fourth Captain), 58 Alessandro, 68, 86 Alfonso, Marquis, 238 AZZO, 55 Anna Caterina, m. Ferdinand of Austria, 180 Anna Isabella, Duchess of Man- tua, 247-8, 250, 253-8 Antonio, 33 Bartolomeo, 59 Beatrice, 47 Carlo, second son of Gian- francesco, 66, 68-72, 9I, 106 Carlo de Nevers, eighth Duke of Mantua, 188, 193, 202, 21I-—39 Carlo, Don, Prince of Solferino, ao Cecilia, 68, 70-2, 98 Cesare, Don, of Guastalla, 170, 173-4, 178, 212, 235, 245, 247 Chiara, Duchess of Montpensier, 108, 115 Corradi da, 13, 42 Corrado, son of Luigi Gonzaga, 47 Dorothea, 81, 87, 169 Florence, Republic of, 6, 48, 51, 60 Foggia, 17 or Eleonora, Empress of Austria, 202~3, 209, 231, 241 + 5 Sn + Sa —— en pl lolowe yon neers Neif H es eat ee Te YE der — FAS re Se sree yee ett anceg eoreees Sn na wre non a3 tn RC ee er ae ae pr coraierneh hal Saat aa emer Re errr aa TS an ae tee pee Base a 268 Ply o later ae aera ET ora GONZAGA (continued) — Eleonora, the younger, sister of Duke Carlo II, Empress of Austria, 241-2, 253, 263 Elisabetta, Duchess of Urbino, is LOZTARe 207, £35,, 132% 137 Ercole, Cardinal, 73, 1309, 141, 148, 157, 163-74, 185, 187 Evangelista, 95, 106 Federigo, Cardinal, brother of Duke Gugliemo, 173 Federigo, first Duke, 2, 121, 134-6, 137-63, 170, 218-9 Federigo, Marquis, General of Mantuan army (1627), 212 Federigo, third Marquis, 67, 74-8, 86, 90-102 Feltrino, 48, 50, 54 Ferdinando Carlo, tenth and last Duke of Mantua, 148, 243, 247-63 Ferdinando, Cardinal, and sixth Duke, 193-204 Ferdinando, Don, Prince of Castiglione, 253, 255 Ferrante, Gonzaga, founder of Princes of Guastalla, 143-4, 167-8, 172-3 Ferrante II, 185, 202 Ferrante III, of Guastalla, 179, 189, 212, 214, 246—7 Ferrante IV, Duke of Guastalla, 242, 247 Ferrante V, Duke of Guastalla, 247, 250 Filippino, 44, 48, 50-1 Filippo, 16 Francesco, fourth Captain, 55- 62, 80, 125 Francesco, Cardinal, 74, 81, 83, 87-8, 97-8, 174 Francesco, fourth Marquis, 4, 81, 102-37, 148, 242 Francesco, second Duke, 162, 164-8, 187 Francesco, fifth Duke, 189-90, 192 Francesco, Don, of Guastalla, 218 Francesco, brother of Don Ferdi- nando of Castiglione, 255 Francesco, servant of Isabella d’Este, 143 Galeazzo, 59 Giacinto, son of Duke Ferdi- nando and Camilla, 199-200, 203-4 Gianfrancesco, first Marquis, 3, 58, 61-8, 203 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA GonzaGA (Continued)— Gianfrancesco, founder of Lords of Sabbioneta, 81, 87, 98, 100, 103, I16, 174-5 Gianlucido, 68, 70 Giovanni, I02, I20 Giovanni Francesco, Marquis, 232, 234-5 Giovanni Maria, Count of Cal- visano, I1I2 Gualtiero de, 13 Guglielmo, third Duke, 168-84, 240, 252 Guido, 44, 49, 50-4 Ippolita, 179 Isabella Clara, Archduchess, 243-4 : Isabella Gonzaga di Novellara, 194-5, 196, 208 Leonora Violante, 107, 132, 135, 137 Lodovico, Bishop of Mantua, 81, 98, 102-3, 174-5 Lodovico, Duc de Nevers, third son of Duke Federigo, 168, 173, 246 popedovico, Principino, 190, 192 i odovico, second Marquis, 67- = OI, 99, 174 Lodovico, third Captain, 52-55 Luigi, S., 179, 243, 245, 252 Luigi, first Captain, 44, 45-51, 65, 149 Luigi, of Sabbioneta, 176 Luigi, son of Duke Vespasiano, 177 Maddalena, 97, 103 Margherita, Duchess of Ferrara, 197, 201, 207 Margherita of Bavaria m, Fed- erigo, third Marquis, 77, 86 Maria, Princess, m. Duc de Rethel, 192-3, 207-16, 231, 238-43 Maria Vittoria, 247, 250, 262 Petronio, 55 Pirro, Marquis, 220 Ridolfo, toI—3, II I-12, 116, 174, 244 Scipione, 175, 180, 185, 188, 201, 223 Sigismondo, Cardinal, 81, 102, 124, 133, 134, 137, 139 Silvio, Marchese di Cavriana, 190 Susanna, 72, 87, 169 Ugolino, 47, 49, 51, 54, 66 Vespasiano, Don, of Guastalla, 2 ST aEEA, Duke of Sabbioneta, 175-88SE Woe es GonzaGA (continued) — Vincenzo, fourth Duke, 169, 172, 179-90 Vincenzo II, seventh Duke, 193, 204-14, 216, 219 Vincenzo, Don, of Guastalla, 250, 254, 256, 262-3 Gonzales, Don, 322 Governolo, 51, 54, 59, 60, 222-3, 230, 25 Grati, Count, 100 Gratz, 242 Grazie, Church of S. Maria delle, 61, 72, 106, 223, 225, 243 Grossolani, 39, 42 Guarini, poet, 188, 246 Guarino, of Verona, 91, 93, 156 Guastalla, 26, 54, 72-3, 201, 220, 243, 245-6, 254-6, 258-9, 261 Gubbio, 107 Guercino, 239 Guerrieri, 223, 225, 251-2 Guicciardini, Francesco, 109, I12 118, 131, 141-2 Guiscard, Robert, 16 Guznasco, Lorenzo, 115, 119 Hampton Court Palace, 150, 217-18 Henry III, Emperor, 11 Henry IV, Emperor, 14 Hensius, 23 Homer, 69 Honorius III, 17 Hungary, 5 Innocent IV, 24 Invitti, Academy of the, 241 Ippoliti, Galeotto degli, 112 Isabella Clara, Archduchess, Duchess of Mantua, 241,243,244. See Gonzaga Isola, 63, 68 Italy, Kingdom of, 60 Jansilla, Niccola di, 18 Jesi, 16 Jesus, Society of, 180 John XXII, Pope, 43 Julius II, Pope, 132, 133, 136, 137 Julius III, Pope; 168). : Juvara (architect), 84 Konigsegg, 263 Lana, Arte della, 89 Landi, 48 Lante, Villa, 147 Lanzoni, 183 Laurana, 86 GENERAL INDEX 269 Leo X, Pope, 5, 6, 7, 137, 139, 140 Leonardo da Vinci, I19 Leyra, Antonio de, 146 Lirone, 12 Lodi, 07, 72 Lollis, de, 34 Lonato, 68, 72, 97 Longinus, 7, 85, 114 Lorenzo the Magnificent. See Medici, Lorenzo de’ Lorraine, Duke of, 263 Lorraine, Suzanne Henriette de, 259, 261, 262 Lothar, Emperor, 14 Louis, Emperor, 47 Louis XII, King of France, 121, 127 Louis XIII, of France, 195, 204, 221, 222, 240 Louis XIV, of France, 256, 257, 259, 260 Louis, Duke of Orleans, 108, 112, 118, 11g, 137 Lucan, 2 Lucera, 17 Lucretius, 234 Luzio; Dr, Ay; 13; 107, 152; Li, Bshs I35, 40) (48, 205, ZEX, alo, 218, 227, 244, 262, 263 Luzzara, 26, 58, IOI, 235, 243, 244, 245, 246, 247, 248, 255, 258 Machiavelli, 123, 129 Malagista, 83 Malaspina, 48 Malatesta, Carlo, 3, 59, 62, 68 Malatesta, Eusebio, 94, Iot Malatesta, Margherita di Rimini, Duchess of Mantua, 58, 60, 61 Malatesta, Paola, 63, 70, 169 Mambrino, Colonel, 224, 229, 232 233, 235, 237, 238 Manenti, Gianbattista, 234 Manfredi, Prince Astorre, 123 Mantegna, Andrea, 4, 60, 78, 79-92, 97, 100, II4, 125 Mantovano, 59, 68, 258, 261 Mantovano, Rinaldo, 140, I5I, 155 MAntTuA— Archivio, 171 Arts, the, 185-8 Arte della Seta, 186-8 Arte della Lana, 89, 186-8, 240 S. Andrea, Basilica of, 7, 8, 12, 16, 61, 84, 85, 88, I00, 144, I6I, 164, 180 Antiquities, Museum of, 4, 63, 216 S. Barbara in Corte, 171, 180, 184, 189, 239 = a aye Ph ae sie TT er acne rn meno ne en coe Sars SSS a a i A ETT eee a enenaientei H ’ oa ne oy a Rn ph Soaerere oal ye mea af See Sa Dare tat PAE AO BS PMCS TET Ed IS r —S Tee ras Pan memento: mee i . pans SO Reka Meaanns cuenta ol ceta den aease Sete Seta chae ec Be Pg a ae ee entered Sat Pecan menerp Soa ee x & Bis p Wares ea OS ee 70 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA MANTUA (continued) — S. Benedetto, 162 Broletto, Piazza, 3 Carmine, Church of, 67 Casa del Mercato, 88 Castello de’ Gonzaga, 58, 60, 69, 78-80, 107, 125, 160, 168, 180, I8I, 212 Cavallerizza, 151 Cerese, Porta, 26, 29, I5I, 229, 230, 231 Commune of, 15, 27, 32, 38, 40, 62, 93 Corte, Palazzo di, 74, 78, 238 Erbe, Piazza dell’, 67, 88 S. Francesco, Church of, 61, 91, 95, 97, 102, 163 frontiers of, 33 S. Gervasio, 241 Ghetto, 86, 227, 233, 234 S. Giorgio, Ponte, 15, 58, 60, 69, 125, 151, 224, 225, 229, 254 Grotta of Isabella d’Este, 148, 149, 233, 239 Jews of, 226, 227, 234, 235 Lakes of, 5, 15, 59, 151, 224, 229, 248 24 Legend of, 1-9 Magistrato, Via del, 182, 187 Mantuan Collection, 210, 211, 216, 217, 233, 234 Mercanti, Palazzo dei, 61 Molini, Ponte de’, 14, 15 S. Niccolo, Church of, 50 Ospedale Maggiore, 88 Paglia, Viccolo della, 88 Palazzo del Podesta, 3, 15 S. Paola, convent of, 71 Paradiso, Appartamento del, 148, 239 S. Pietro, Basilica, 60, 74, 85, 91, 102, I71, 237, 241, 263 S. Pietro, Piazza, 33, 45, 46, 50, 65, 125 Podesta, 31, 39 Position of, 4 Pradella, Porta, 74, 104, 221, 229, 230, 231 Purgo, Piazza del, 182, 187 Pusterla, Porta, 151, 254 Quarters of, 23 Ragione, Palazzo del, 44 Reggia de’ Gonzaga, 4, 15, 63, 147-51, 169, 182, 184, 263, 264 Rocca, 67, 225 S. Sebastiano, 85, 86, 90 Silvestro, Via del, 182 Simone Beato, Church of, 183, 222 Sordello, Piazza di, 33 MANTUA (continued) — Studio Publico, 67 Te, Palazzo del, 102, 147, 15! Theatre, Court, 181 Torre della Gabbia, 73 Tower of the Clock, 88 Treaties with, 56 Troja, Sala di, 147, 150 Virgiliana, Piazza, 4, 15 Marcadia, 223 Marini, Gian Francesco, 178 Marlborough, Duke of, 260, 261 Marmirolo, 44, 86, 94, 96, 106, 168, 186, 226, 241 Martin V, Pope, 64 Mattioli, Count Ercole, 251, 252 Maximilian, King of the Romans, 108 Medici, 73 Medici, Caterina de’, Duchess of Mantua, I99, 206 Medici, Eleonora de’, 180, 189 Medici, Giovanni de’, 73, 140, 141 Medici, Lorenzo de’, 73, 83, 89, 9I, 97, 103, 105, 107 Melioli, Bartolomeo, 99 Micheli, Pietro Adamo de, 83, 88 Milan, 5, 6, 16, 49, 51, 53, 60, 66, 67, 71, 239 Mincio, 3, 5, 54, 59, 96, 225 Mirandola, Duke of, 241 Mirandola, Niccolo della, 45 Modena, 5, 8, 23, 43, 145 Modena, Duke of, 238, 241, 243, 247, 250 Moncalvo, 218 Monferrato, 96, 145, 147, 170, 190, 192, 193, 194, 218-21, 225, 235, 241, 261, 262 Montanara, 50, 225 Monte Cassino, 13 Montechiaro, 48, 51 Montefeltro, Antonio di, 110, III Montefeltro, Oddantonio di, 71 : Montefeltro, Federigo di, 70, 99, oO Montefeltro, Guidobaldo di, 103, 126, I29, 156 Montone, Braccio da, 63 Montpensier, Gilbert, Duc de, 95, 115) I16, 117 Monza, 31 Morgantino, 143 Naples, 17, 75, 257 Naples, University of, 18 Napoleon, 114,234 | Napoletano, Niccolo, 63 Narni, Gattamelata da, 67 Nassau, Count of, 146 (1529) Nassau, Count, 219, 221 (1629)Nevers, Carlo of, eighth Duke of Mantua, 148, 204, 206, 209, 211, 212, 218-39, 240 Nevers, Duc de. See Rethel Nizza, 218 Nocera, 17 Norsa, Daniele, 114, 227 Novara, 109, I1I2, 113 Nys, 205, 210, 211, 216, 217, 234 Obizzi degli, Marchese, 254, 255 Ocnus, 2 Oddo d’Incise, 143, 144 Oglio, river of, 6, 15, 21, 33, 47, 68, 96, 223, 255 Ognibene, 70, 91 Orange, Prince of, 144 Orfeo, 83 Orsini, 128 Orsini, Cardinal, 129, 130 Orsini, Paolo, 129, 130 Orsini, Prince, 224, 230 Orvieto, 141 Osanna, Beata, 114 Osanna, Lodovico, 232 Osimo, Bishop of, 183 Ostia, 144 Ostiano, 63, 174, 233 Ostiglia, 16, 26 Pacchioni, 81 Padua, 5, 16, 17, 20, 27, 29, 31, 59, 60, 139, 181, 263 Paganini, 4 Pagni, Benedetto, 14 Palaeologi, Margherita de’, Duchess of Mantua, 145, 159, 160, 162-3, 167 Pallavicino, Antonio, 119 Pallavicino, Marquis, 27, 31 Pallavicino, the, 48 Pannonia, 6 Parma, 5, 20, 23-4, 48, 50, 54, 108, III, 145 Parma, Duke of, 180, 238, 241 Paterini, 17 Paul, S., 6 Pavia, 5, 74, 138, 146 Pazzi, Conspiracy, 87, 94 Penni, Gianfrancesco, 151-3 Perotto, Niccolo, 70 ; Peruzzi, Baldassare, 147 Pesaro, 141, 144 Pescara, 138 Ee nera, 64, 68, 72, 137 escia, Benedett ii Boas G oO Pagni da, 151, 155 Peter, Basilica of S, (Rome), 85 Petrarca, Francesco, 50, 82 Petronazzi, 184 GENERAL INDEX Philip, Prince of Spain, 167 Philippi, 3 Piacentino, Fulgoso, 61 Piacenza, 27, III Piadena, 48 Piccinino, Jacopo, 72 Piccinino, Niccolo, 66-7 Piccolomini, Pope Pius II, 73 Pico, Giovanni, della Mirandola, 83 Piedmont, Prince of, 218 Pietole, 3, 4 Pisa, 48 Pisanello, Vittore Pisano called, 56, 7°, 93, 98-9 Pittentino, Alberto, 15 Platina, 34, 91 Plessis, Du, 254 Po, river, I2, 15, 23, 54, 59, 68, 96, _ 223, 244, 255 Poggio, 60, 68 Polino, Giovanni, Lieutenant of Swiss Guard, 229, 236 Polirone, S. Benedetto, 12, 13, 42, 162 Pollio, Asinius, 3 Poltroni, 39, 41 Pontanus, Humanist, 14, 143 Pontremoli, 109 Pourbus, Francis, the Younger, 239 Prague, 66 Praxiteles, 216 Prendilacqua, 70 Preti, Donato de’, 62 Preti, Violante de’, 97 Primaticcio, 147 Procopius, 6 Quazza, Romolo, 200, 204, 206, 213 Rafaello, Sanzio, 82, 136, 147, 164-5, 172 Ravenna, 6, 59, 133, 136 Reggio, 5, 15, 20, 23, 48, 51, 54, 145 Reggiolo, 47, 68, 235, 242-8, 255 Regno, of Naples, 109, 113, 138 Remedetto, 64 Reni, Guido, 205, 239 Renier (Luzio and Kenier). See Luzio, Dr. A. Renzo da Ceri, 142 Rethel, Carlo, Duke of (m. Princess Maria), 204, 213-5, 218-26, 231, 238 Reventlau, General, 260 Revere, 74, 84 Riario, Cardinal, 216 Riario, Count Girolamo, 97 Ricci, Corrado, 208, 260 Rimini, 59, 86, 133 Riva, 39, 67 Rivarolo, 63, 68, 91, 175 = XSi me ee a eel nnn a a ea et ~ wt = on Se ee een ieee aS OS a a ae a ra a = eee < a a et oe —a meg we ra Se ore - tp Te So eee et a nse see wt ae er a a ee ee prensa entene e e oA i oS a a OAL SF nN = a = —} Ss . = i an 272 THE GONZAGA—LORDS OF MANTUA Rodez, Guida di, 19, 35, 36 Rodomonte, Luigi Gonzaga, 175-6 Rolandinus, 32 Romano, Alberico da, 30-2, 35 Romano, Cunizza da, 34-5, 37 Romano, Ezzelino, 16, 21, 26-45, 56, 60 Romano, Giancristoforo, too Romano, Giulio Pippi called, 61, 85, 91, 147-65, 170 Rome, 5, 130, 131, 138, 140-4, 212, 239, 257 Rouen, Cardinal de, 120 Rovere, Cardinal della (later Julius LD) 132 Rovere, Cardinal della (later Sixtus Rovere, Francesco della, 133, 135 Rovere, Margherita della, 240 Rubens, Peter Paul, 169, 184, 205 Sabbioneta, 68, 91, 116, 174, 175, 176, _ 177, 178, 259 Sabbioneta, Duchess of, 213-4 Saint Chaumont, Marquis de, 212-3 Salerno, 17 Salimbene, Fra, 13, 20, 23, 25 Sal6, 107 Sangallo, Antonio, 164 Sanseverino, Galeazzo, 116, 119 Sanudo, 9 Saracens, 17 Savanarola, Fra Girolamo, 108, 118 Savoia, Alberto di, 44 Savoy, 219, 220, 221, 256 Savoy, Duke of, 189, 192—4, 198, 202, 209, 218, 221, 241-2, 257-8, 261 Savoy, Margherita of, Duchess of Mantua, 189, 192, 196, 208, 213, 215, 218 Saxony, Duke of, 230, 235 Scala, Can Grande della, 51 Scala, Cansignorio della, 53 Scala, Mastino della, 47, 48, 49 Scala, Verde della, 47 Scaligeri (Della Scala), 42-4. 48 Scamozzi, 177 Scandiano, Vincenzo da, 57 Schivenoglia, lol, 244 Scotti, 48 Sebastiano, Palace of, 135, 137 Sebregondi, 205 Secco, Francesco, 89, 94, 1oI, 104, 106 Segabello, Gherardino, 25 Sermide, 47 Sermione, 137 Serraglio, 15, 50-I, 54, 58-9, 87, 137, 140 4 Serrevalle, 16 Sforza, Anna, 106, 117 Sforza, Bianca, 71 Sforza, Francesco, 66, 70-2, 89, 100 Sforza, Francesco Maria, last of Sforza, 167 Sforza, Galeazzo Maria, 72, 87-8 Sforza, Giangaleazzo, 90, 107 Sforza, Ginevra, I0o0 Sforza, Giovanni, Lord of Pesaro, 103 Sforza, Lodovico, called il Moro, 60, 97, 101, 104-8, 116-20, 136 Sicily, 17 Siena, 23 Sigismund, King of Romans and Emperor, 63-6, 70, 219 Sinigaglia, 129 Sismondi, 23, 27, 30, 56, 61, 112 Sixtus IV, Pope, 87-8, 94, 96, 98 Sordello, 18-20, 28-39 Spain, 167, 219-21, 240, 255-6, 257 Sperandio, Medallist, 85, 98, 100, 114 Spinola, Marquis, 222-3 Stellata, 54, 74 Strada, 152, 155, 159 Striggi, Alessandro, 210-5, 218, 224-5, 228 Superga, 84 Susa, 221 Sustermans, 239 Suzzara, 47, 58, 68 Symonds, J. Addington, 31, 39, 53 56, 109, 146, 167, 217 Syracuse, 17 Talpa, Bartolommeo, 99 Taro, Battle of, 93-117 Taro, river, 24, Iog, 128 Tasso, Torquato, 93, 180-1, 188, 246 Taunath, Baron, 263 Te, Palace of. See Mantua Tebaldo. See Canossa Tennyson, Alfred, Lord, 38 Teodora, I16 Theodora, Empress, 6 Timidi, Academy of, 241, 243 Tiresias, I, 221 Titian, 234 Torelli, Ippolita de’, 156 ‘ Torelli, Professor. See ‘“‘ Foreword Torre, Giovanni della, 55 Tortona, 71, 72 Trémouille de la, 109 Trento, 65, 134, 239 Treviso; 16, 17, 27 Tridapale, servant of Isabella d Este, 144 Trino, 218, 235, 241 Trivulzio, 102, 119 Trussa, 225, 226 Tullius M. (Cicero), 2a SL ADAH TLS Tura, Cosimo, 93 Turin, 17 Ugolino, Baccio, 83 Universita Maggiore, 186 Urban V, 53 Urban VIII, 13, 212, 220 Urbino, 127, 129, 141 Urbino, Duke of. See Montefeltro Urbino, Francesco Maria, Duke of, 137, 140 Urbino, Palace of, 86, 107, 127 Ursula, Convent of S., 209, 213 Uxelles, Marquis d’, 220 Valenti, Ottavio, 196 Valentinian, Emperor, 6 Valentino. See Cesare Borgia Valleggio, 25 Valtellina, 222 Van Dyck, 205 Vasari, 160, 162, 164. Vendéme, Duc de, 258, 260—1 Venice, 30, 59, 60, 61, 72-3, 133, 136-7, 181-2, 184, 215, 234, _ 238, 239, 240, 249, 256 Venice, Senate of, 12, 116, 134 Venier, Doge, 61 Venturi, Adolfo, 84, 86 Vercelli, 112-13 Vergerio, Paolo, 63 Verme, Giacomo del, 58-9 Verona, 5, £0; 20-1, 127, 3%, 33, 41, E 48, 60, 67, 97, 134 Viadana, 63-4, 68, 91, 158, 218, 223, e 259 Vialardi, Count, 251-2 Viani, Anton Maria, 8, 84, 189, 210 Vicenza, 5, 16-7, 20-1, 27, 134 Vicenza, John of, 21 Vienna, 220, 234, 255 GENERAL INDEX 273 Vigne, Piero delle Vigne, 18, 23 Villabona, 72 Villafranca, 54 Villani, Giovanni, 20 Villeroy, Duc de, 258 Virgil. 2° 3, 4, 28, 69; 7O Virgiliana, Villa, 4 Visconti (of Milan), 43, 47, 49, 53» 62 Visconti, Agnese, 55-8 Visconti, Bernabo, 51, 53-6 Visconti, Bianca Maria, 72 Visconti, Carlo, 57 Visconti, Caterina, 51, 53 Visconti, Filippo Maria, 64, 71, 118 Visconti, Galeazzo (father of Gian Galeazzo), 56 Visconti, Gian Galeazzo, 55-62, 64, 71, 118 Visconti, Luchino, 47-50 Visconti, Matteo, 51, 56 Visconti, Stefano, 56 Visconti, Valentina, 108, 118 Visdomini, 40 Vitelli, Vitelozzo, 129, 130 Vittoria, 22, 24 Vologno, 64 Volta, 53, 63, 65, 77, 98, 114, II9, 134, 170, I8I, 185, 214, 240 Volterra, Rafaello di, 33 Volterrano, 44 Waeren, Cecilia, 17-18 Wenceslaus, Emperor, 61 Xenophon, 234 Zenacalli, 39-42 Zibramonte, 18 Zojosa, Casa, 3, 69 Zucchi (historian), 77 =~ Cond = 8 ee ee aie Fn ne : peeremicieil 5ore A ————— re F er re — We ee a Se eee v Santen c a PRINTED BY er ied MORRISON AND GIBB LTD. 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