The Gonzagas
By Coinsanduk | Thursday, 10 June 1999
The Gonzagas came from Mantua, a city with a population of about 100,000 souls in an area of 20,000 hectares. It was part of the Holy Roman Empire. In the 13th century the Bonacolsi family had become the hereditary Capitane del Popolo, although they were nominally democratically elected. Their power was increased by the simple expedient of exiling recalcitrant aristocrats and was such that they gained the title of Imperial Vicar of Mantua from the Emperor Henry VII.
Among the few trusted supporters of the Bonacolsi family were Luigi and Guido Gonzaga of a family of the Corradi from Gonzaga. On 16 August 1328 the brothers, assisted by Scaliger troops, suddenly drove out the Bonacolsi, seized their treasure house and took over as Capitane del Popolo. They continued the same type of coinage, in the name of Mantua, but also of its most famous son, the Roman poet Virgil.
Luigi struck coins from 1328 to 1360. On Guido's coins (1360-69) there was a frontal representation of Virgil, who continued to form a motif for the Gonzaga issues which also was connected with the rise of classical learning especially at Mantua with its variety of references to ancient legends on the coins. John of Salisbury and Gervaise of Tilbury both reported in the 12th century that Virgil's reputed bones were honoured as those of a saint.
Guido's successors were Ludovico I (1370-82) and Francesco I (1382-1407), both of whom were Captains of People. On the silver grosso of Gianfrancesco, Capitane 1407-32 and Marchese 1432-44, there appears a most original panoramic view of Mantua with its battlemented towers facing the lake. Above it is a representation of the Pyx said to contain some of the blood of Christ gathered as He was stabbed on the Cross and brought to Mantua by the Roman Longinus. This now continued as an icon on many of the later Mantuan issues.
The famous medallist Pisanello cast a medal of John VIII in 1438 and then went to Mantua from 1439 to 1448. A cast medal of Gianfrancesco shows that the Gonzagas were among the first to adopt this new artistic form.
Under Ludovico II (1444-78) Pisanello carried out new work for the Gonzagas, breaking the umbilical cord which, as Captain of People, linked the Gonzagas to the social matrix. The change had been wrought and Ludovico was now a prince - a position immortalised by Mantegna's cartoons. A testone of Ludovico gives us one of the first Renaissance portraits on coins, following soon after those of Francesco Sforza at Milan and Borso d'Este at Ferrara.
They were based on those of Roman coins collected by Pope Paul II and Lorenzo the Magnificent at Florence. Such portraits became the symbol of power - the individual had become the centre of life. Ludovico was now called 'dear Cousin' by d'Este, Visconti, the Medici, etc.
Federico I (1478-84), as one of several sons whose father had divided his dominions among them, and ended up with only Mantua itself. He appears on a cast medal by Bartolo Talpa, a student of Mantegna, and the medal may be based on a painting by the latter.
Federico was said to be particularly courteous and affable, highly cultured and a lover of the arts and letters. He was also a good soldier who allied himself to the Sforzas and Estense. A medal attributed to Adriano Fiorentino shows Elisabetta (1471-1526), daughter of Federico I who married Guidobaldo, Duke of Urbino, in 1489. He was dethroned by Cesare Borgia in 1502. Her court is celebrated in The Courtier by Castiglione which showed how the Gonzagas were now accepted as equals by other Italian princes.
A testone of Francesco II shows him on horseback with a baton of command and the legend VENE(TORVM) CAPI(TAN) GE(NERALIS), and a medal by Bartolo Talpa commemorates the battle of Fornova in 1495 where Francesco was Captain General of the Italian allies that defeated Charles VIII. The reverse of another testone shows a crucible containing gold bars above flames and a quotation from Psalm 138: 'O Lord, test me and then recognise me. It was said that this referred to the suspicion that Francesco had let the defeated Charles VIII escape after the battle of Fornova.
Federico II was Marchese 1519-30, Duca 1530-36, and Duca di Mantova and Marchese de Monferrato 1536-40, having obtained the title of Duke from Charles V. He introduced the first gold doppio ducato and (as Duke) the scudo d'argento. By his marriage to Margarete Paleologo he became Marchese of Monferrato with its mint. A doppio ducato unites in its type the classical and modern worlds with a representation of Mount Olympus (identified in Greek lettering) and the Christian Tides' above it.
Under him urban society flourished and artisans' skills in wool and silk weaving contributed to increasing riches and ostentation among the aristocracy. However, fiscal oppression of the rural communities provoked rebellion and harsh repression right up to the end of the Gonzaga dynasty two centuries later.
Francesco III, Duca di Mantua and Marchese del Monferrato 154050, succeeded at the age of eight and so a regency under Margarete PaleoIoga governed. Despite his young age, the lavish expenditure of the court continued. One of his testone shows Homer handing the lyre of poetry to Virgil with the legend Thou hast it now - emphasising the continued claim to Virgil's pre-eminence.
The unexpected death of his brother brought Guglielmo to the throne as Duca di Mantova and Marchese del Monferrato (1550 -75), then Duca di Mantova and del Monferrato, 1575-89. Guglielmo was an anoma lous figur e a mong the princes of his time - he curta iled unnecessary expenditure, reduced the army and relied, instead, on diplomacy. Music alone received large support. His reign was the last in which Mantua really counted for much in Italian politics.
Under Vincenzo I, 1587-1612, the State started to decline, e.g. the Court now had to feed 267 instead of 800 as previously. Costly military operations were undertaken at the request of the Emperor against the Turks, and the fortress of Casale was rebuilt - bringing with it debt and the need to sell off land.
Francesco IV was only Duca di Mantova and del Monferrato for the short period of February to December 1612. Unusually, on his doppia, he is shown sharing the obverse with his wife, Margaret of Savoy; alternatively, it has been suggested that this is a coin of Francesco III and Margarete Paleologo. On a ducatone St Francis is shown embracing the Cross in a typically Baroque representation.
An unexpected death once again called a younger brother to the throne, this time Fernando (1612-26) from an ecclesiastical vocation. A unique dodici doppie shows Fernando in his biretta and robes since at the time of its issue he had not yet received the Papal dispensation to leave his Cardinalate. Vincenzo II, who succeeded for only a short reign from 1626 to 1627, was known for his ostentatious luxury and love of hunting.
The multi-oared galley seen trying to weather a stormy sea on his ducatone largo was said to be symbolic of the bad times in Mantua.
Carlo I was ruler of Nevers and Rethel, 1707-27, and became Duca di Mantova and del Monferrato, 1627 -37. He was the nephew of Ludovico, the third son of Margarete Paleologo who, in 1549, had been invited into France to serve the Dauphin. A ducatone issued by him was struck at the mint of Charleville which was then under the supervision of Didier Briot, the father of the famous Nicholas who was to bring his revolutionary striking machinery to Britain. Carlo caused a war of succession during the course of which he besieged Casale in 1628 and 1630, and Mantua in 1629.
The latter was sacked by the Imperial troops who also brought the plague with them. This meant terrible hardship for the local population whose decreased numbers allowed dams to decay and canals to become blocked - making life even harder.
The three sons of Carlo I predeceased him and his young nephew succeeded him as Carlo II with his mother, Maria Gonzaga, acting as Regent, 1637-47. As Duca di Mantova and del Monferrato, 1647-65, after he came of age, Carlo presided over an increasingly impoverished court but, nevertheless, he still issued prestigious gold pieces, some of the reverse, such as that on a cinque doppia with its sun reverse, alluded to many earlier Gonzaga issues, notably those of Ferdinando.
The 17th century saw the continuing decline of the court of Mantua. Ferdinando Carlo ruled under the Regency of Isabella Clara of Austria, 1663-9, becoming Duca from 1669 to 1707. Increasingly impoverished, the court came ever more under Hapsburg influence, culminating when the Austrians took direct control of Mantua and forced Ferdinando to flee to Venice. So ended a glorious Gonzaga dynasty noted essentially for its opulence and splendid coins.
