Ferrante II Gonzaga (1563 – 6 August 1630) was count and, from 1621,

duke of Guastalla This is a list of rulers of Guastalla, a town in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, on the right bank of the Po River. The County of Guastalla was established in 1406 for the Torelli family. In 1456, the county was partitioned, with county of Montechiarugolo ...

. He was the son of Cesare I Gonzaga, count of Guastalla and duke of Amalfi, and Donna Camilla Borromeo. He succeeded his father in 1575. On 2 July 1621, the County of Guastalla was elevated to a duchy and Ferrante was subsequently deemed a duke. In 1624 Emperor Ferdinand II appointed Ferrante as general commissar in Italy to reinforce imperial authority. Ferrante played a part in the

War of the Mantuan Succession The War of the Mantuan Succession, from 1628 to 1631, was caused by the death in December 1627 of Vincenzo II, last male heir from the House of Gonzaga, long-time rulers of Mantua and Montferrat. Their strategic importance led to a proxy war b ...

when, as a distant Gonzaga cousin, he claimed the

Duchy of Mantua The Duchy of Mantua (; ) was a duchy in Lombardy, northern Italy. Its first duke was Federico II Gonzaga, member of the House of Gonzaga that ruled Mantua since 1328. In 1531, the duchy also acquired the March of Montferrat, thanks to the marr ...

after the extinction of the senior male branch of the

House of Gonzaga The House of Gonzaga (, ) is an Italian princely family that ruled Mantua in Lombardy, northern Italy from 1328 to 1708 (first as a captaincy-general, then Margraviate of Mantua, margraviate, and finally Duchy of Mantua, duchy). They also ruled M ...

in December 1627. He was nominally supported by Emperor Ferdinand II, who really sought to re-attach the Duchy of Mantua to the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. His attempt failed as the French candidate Charles of Nevers became the new duke. Ferrante died of the plague on 6 August 1630.

Marriage & issue

Ferrante II married Vittoria Doria (1569–1618), daughter of

Giovanni Andrea Doria Giovanni Andrea Doria (1539 – 1606), also known as Gianandrea Doria, was an Italian admiral from Genoa, the Marquis of Tursi and Prince of Melfi. Biography Doria was born to a noble family of the Republic of Genoa. He was the son of Giann ...

, and had: * Cesare II Gonzaga (1592–1632), next Duke of Guastalla, married Donna Isabella

Orsini Orsini is a surname of Italian origin, originally derived from Latin ''ursinus'' ("bearlike") and originating as an epithet or sobriquet describing the name-bearer's purported strength. Notable people with the surname include the following: * Aaro ...

* Vincenzo Gonzaga (1602–1697),

Viceroy of Sicily A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

(1677–1678) * Andrea Gonzaga, Count of San Paolo (died 1686), father of

Vincenzo Gonzaga, Duke of Guastalla Vincenzo Gonzaga (1634 – 28 April 1714) was the reigning Duchy of Guastalla, Duke of Guastalla and by birth member of the House of Gonzaga. Early life Vincenzo was born as the second son of Andrea Gonzaga, Count of San Paolo (d. 1686) and hi ...

(1692–1714) * Zenobia de Gonzaga y Doria (1588–1618), married in 1607 don Giovanni Tagliavia d'Aragona, Duke of Terranova.

References

Sources

* * * * {{Italy-noble-stub 1563 births 1630 deaths Ferrante 2 Ferrante 2 Ferrante 2 16th-century Italian nobility 17th-century Italian nobility Dukes of Amalfi (Spanish title) People of the War of the Mantuan Succession Pretenders