Sigismondo Gonzaga (1469,

Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...

– 3 October 1525, Mantua) was an Italian cardinal. He was the third son of

Federico I Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua Federico I Gonzaga (25 June 1441 – 14 July 1484) was marquis of Mantua from 1478 to 1484, as well as a condottiero. Biography Federico was born in Mantua in 1441, son of Ludovico III and Barbara of Brandenburg. He was a good friend of the cou ...

Life

He was the son of

Frederick I of Mantua Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from ...

and commanded his brother Francesco II's troops before beginning his ecclesiastical career. He became apostolic protonotary. He was made a cardinal by

Pope Julius II Pope Julius II (; ; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death, in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope, the Battle Pope or the Fearsome ...

in the consistory of 1 December 1505. He was made apostolic administrator of Mantua from 1511 to 1521, finally resigning the post in favour of his nephew Ercole. He gained much sympathy from the schismatic cardinals but remained faithful to Julius II. He became

apostolic legate An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is a ...

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

in 1511 and 1512 and legate to the March of Ancona and Mantua. He took part in the 1513 conclave which elected

pope Leo X Pope Leo X (; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political and banking Med ...

, that of 1521-22 that elected

pope Hadrian VI Pope Adrian VI (; ; ; ), born Adriaan Florensz Boeyens (2 March 1459 – 14 September 1523), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 January 1522 until his death on 14 September 1523. The only Dutchman to bec ...

and that of 1523 that elected

pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII (; ; born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the most unfortunate o ...

. He ended his career as administrator of

Aversa Aversa () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Caserta in Campania, southern Italy, about 24 km north of Naples. It is the centre of an agricultural district, the ''Agro Aversano'', producing wine and cheese (famous for the typical dome ...

at the start of 1524. He was the great-uncle of cardinals Francesco Gonzaga (1561) and Giovanni Vincenzo Gonzaga (1578). Raffaele Tamalio
GONZAGA, Sigismondo
in ''Dizionario biografico degli italiani'', vol. 57, Roma, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2001. Other cardinals in the family were Francesco Gonzaga (1461), Pirro Gonzaga (1527), Scipione Gonzaga (1587), Ferdinando Gonzaga (1607) and Vincenzo Gonzaga (1615).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzaga, Sigismondo 1469 births 1525 deaths 16th-century Italian cardinals Sigismondo Bishops of Aversa