View source for Ludovico III Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua

{{Short description|Marquis of Mantua from 1444 to 1478}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2016}}
{{Infobox nobility
| name        = Ludovico III Gonzaga
| title       = ''[[Marquis of Mantua]]''
| image       = Andrea Mantegna 057.jpg
| caption     = The Court of Mantua, detail:<br />Ludovico III Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua
| noble family= [[House of Gonzaga|Gonzaga]]
| father      = [[Gianfrancesco I Gonzaga]]
| mother      = [[Paola Malatesta]]
| spouse      = [[Barbara of Brandenburg (1423–1481)|Barbara of Brandenburg]]
| issue       = [[Federico I Gonzaga|Federico I]]<br>[[Francesco Gonzaga (1444–1483)|Francesco]]<br>[[Gianfrancesco Gonzaga (1446–1496)|Gianfrancesco]]<br>[[Dorotea Gonzaga|Dorotea]]<br>[[Rodolfo Gonzaga|Rodolfo]]<br>[[Barbara Gonzaga (1455–1503)|Barbara]]

| birth_date  = 5 June 1412
| birth_place = [[Mantua]], [[Margravate of Mantua]]
| death_date  = {{death date and age|1478|6|12|1412|6|5|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Goito]], [[Margravate of Mantua]]
}}
'''Ludovico III Gonzaga of Mantua''', known as '''the Turk''' ({{langx|it|il Turco}}),<ref>{{Cite Catholic Encyclopedia|wstitle=Diocese of Mantua|author=U. Benigni}}</ref> also spelled '''Lodovico''' (also '''Ludovico II'''; 5 June 1412 – 12 June 1478) was the [[marquis of Mantua|ruler]] of the Italian city of [[Mantua]] from 1444 to his death in 1478.<ref name=FMG>{{cite book|first=Giuseppe |last=Coniglio |title=I Gonzaga|location=Varese|publisher=Dall'Oglio|year=1967}}</ref>

==Biography==
[[File:Gianfrancesco I Gonzaga.jpg|thumb|left|150px|[[Gianfrancesco I Gonzaga]].]]
Ludovico was the son of [[Gianfrancesco I Gonzaga]] and [[Paola Malatesta]] daughter of [[Malatesta IV Malatesta]] of [[Pesaro]].{{sfn|Antenhofer|2001|p=58}}

Ludovico followed the path of his father, Gianfrancesco, fighting as a [[condottiero]] from as early as 1432, when Gianfrancesco was vice-commander of [[Francesco Bussone]]'s army.<ref name=Trecc>{{cite web|last=Lazzarini|first=Isabella|title=LUDOVICO III Gonzaga, marchese di Mantova|url=http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/ludovico-iii-gonzaga-marchese-di-mantova_(Dizionario-Biografico)/|publisher=Istituto Enciclopedico Italiano|access-date=17 June 2013}}</ref> In 1433, he married [[Barbara of Brandenburg, Marquise of Mantua|Barbara of Brandenburg]],{{sfn|Antenhofer|2001|p=58}} niece of [[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor|emperor Sigismund]].<ref name = "Trecc"/>

Starting from 1436 (perhaps without the approval of his father),<ref name = "Trecc"/> he entered the service of the [[Visconti of Milan|Visconti]] of the [[Duchy of Milan]]. The result was that Gianfrancesco exiled Ludovico from Mantua, together with his wife,<ref name="Trecc"/> naming [[Carlo Gonzaga of Milan|Carlo Gonzaga]] as heir. However, in 1438, Gianfrancesco himself was hired by the Visconti, and reconciled with Ludovico in 1441.<ref name="Trecc"/> Ludovico succeeded to the marquisate of Mantua in 1444,<ref name=Damiani>{{cite web |url=http://www.condottieridiventura.it/condottieri/g/0797%20%20%20%20%20%20LUDOVICO%20GONZAGA%20%20Marchese%20di%20Mantova.htm |title=Note biografiche di Capitani di Guerra e di Condottieri di Ventura operanti in Italia nel 1330 - 1550 |first=Roberto |last=Damiani |date=January 17, 2011 |work=Condottieri di ventura |language=it |trans-title=Biographical Notes of the War Captains and Commanders of Ventura operating in Italy in 1330 - 1550 |access-date=January 31, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518004913/http://www.condottieridiventura.it/condottieri/g/0797%20%20%20%20%20%20LUDOVICO%20GONZAGA%20%20Marchese%20di%20Mantova.htm |archive-date=18 May 2011 |df=dmy-all }} {{Google translation|en|it|http://www.condottieridiventura.it/condottieri/g/0797%20%20%20%20%20%20LUDOVICO%20GONZAGA%20%20Marchese%20di%20Mantova.htm|Translate this Italian web page to English}}</ref> although part of the family fiefs went to his brothers Carlo, Gianlucido and Alessandro.<ref name = "Trecc"/> At the time, the Mantuan state was reduced in size and was in poor condition after years of war and large expenses.<ref name="Trecc"/>

From 1445 to 1450, Ludovico served as condottiero for Milan, Florence, Venice, and [[Kingdom of Naples|Naples]], switching his allegiance to grant a higher level of peace for his lands.<ref name = "Trecc"/> In 1448, he took part in the [[battle of Caravaggio]], and was forced to flee. In 1449, he entered the service of [[Republic of Venice|Venice]] in the league formed with [[Republic of Florence|Florence]] against Milan. In 1450, he received permission to lead an army for King [[Alfonso V of Aragon|Alfonso of Naples]] in Lombardy, with the intent of gaining some possessions for himself. However, [[Francesco I Sforza|Francesco Sforza]], the new Duke of Milan, enticed him into an alliance with the promise of turning over to him [[Lonato]], [[Peschiera Borromeo|Peschiera]] and [[Asola, Lombardy|Asola]], formerly Mantuan territories but then part of Venice. Venice responded by sacking [[Castiglione delle Stiviere]] (1452) and hiring Ludovico's brother, [[Carlo Gonzaga of Milan|Carlo]].<ref name=Damiani />

Carlo Gonzaga invaded his brother Ludovico's Mantuan territories on 9 March 1453 with 4,000 soldiers, seizing [[Castelbelforte]] (then known as Castelbonafisso) and [[Bigarello]]. Ludovico gathered an army of 3,000 horse and 500 infantry and along with a detachment of Milanese troops led by the condottiere [[Tiberio Brandolini]] defeated Carlo at [[Castellaro Lagusello]] near [[Monzambano]]. Ludovico then pursued the retreating Carlo across the river [[Adige]] and, on 14 June 1453, routed the troops of Carlo Gonzaga at Villabona near [[Goito]].<ref>Volta, L.C. Compendio cronologico-critico della Storia di Mantova, dalla sua fondazione sino ai nostri tempi Mantova: Francesco Agazzi, 1827, 135.</ref> Venetian troops under [[Niccolò Piccinino]] however thwarted his attempt to regain Asola. The [[Peace of Lodi]] (1454) obliged Ludovico to give back all his conquests, and to renounce definitively his claim to the three cities.<ref name=Damiani /> However, he obtained his brother's land after Carlo's childless death in 1456.[[File:Bartolomeo melioli, ludovico II gonzaga, 1475, recto.JPG|250px|thumb|left|[[Medal]] of Ludovico III Gonzaga (1475).]]

The moment of highest prestige for Mantua was the [[Council of Mantua|Council]], held in the city from 27 May 1459 to 19 January 1460, summoned by [[Pope Pius II]] to launch a crusade against the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] Turks, who had conquered [[Constantinople]] some years earlier.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://digilib.bibliotecateresiana.it/sfoglia_storia.php?op=esplora_ric&sottogruppo=164.F.28&gruppo=&pag=104|title=Biblioteca Teresiana - Viewer|last=salvatores|work=bibliotecateresiana.it|access-date=18 August 2016}}</ref> However, the pope was not satisfied with the host city, writing: "The place was marshy and unhealthy, and the heat burnt up everything; the wine was unpalatable and the food unpleasant." However, the council ended on a note of great personal prestige for Ludovico with the elevation of his son Francesco to the purple.<ref name="Leon Battista Alberti">{{cite book|first=Franco |last=Borsi| author-link=Franco Borsi |title=Leon Battista Alberti|publisher=Harper & Row|location=New York|year=1977}}</ref>

From 1466, Ludovico was more or less constantly at the service of the [[House of Sforza|Sforza]] of Milan. He died in [[Goito]] in 1478, during a plague. He was buried in [[Mantua cathedral]].<ref name="Damiani" />

==Education==
[[File:Lodovico II Gonzaga, second marquess of Mantua, by Antonio Pisanello, designed c. 1447 - Chazen Museum of Art.jpg|thumb|Medal by [[Pisanello]], c. 1447]]
On the orders of his father, Ludovico's education had been entrusted to the humanist [[Vittorino da Feltre]]. Vittorino undertook "the difficult enterprise in the interests of the commonwealth for... the education of a good prince would benefit the people he ruled." The teaching was markedly moral and religious and contained a "vein of laical asceticism almost." This, argues the arts scholar [[Franco Borsi]], explains not only Ludovico's religious faith that led him to found churches and host Pius II's Council, but also his concern for a humanistic culture and the growth in public works throughout the city, from the paving of the streets and building of a clock tower to the reorganization of the city centre.<ref name="Leon Battista Alberti"/> Among the famous humanists invited to the city was the Genoese scholar [[Leon Battista Alberti]], who designed the San Sebastiano church and the San' Andrea church. Also, in 1460, Ludovico appointed [[Andrea Mantegna]] as court artist to the [[House of Gonzaga|Gonzaga]] family.

Ludovico is featured in the ''Treatise on Architecture'', from {{Circa|1465}}, by the Florentine sculptor-architect Antonio di Pietro Averlino ({{Circa|1400|1469}}), better known as [[Filarete]].<ref>''Filarete's Treatise on Architecture; Being the Treatise by Antonio di Piero Averlino, Known as Filarete.'' Translated with an Introduction by John R. Spencer. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965.</ref> The treatise takes the format of a Platonic dialogue, featuring an unnamed architect (evidently Filarete himself) who is building a new city for a princely patron (evidently [[Francesco Sforza]] of Milan). During the dialogue interspersing the treatise they are visited by another lord, in the figure of Ludovico: his role in the dialogue is to persuade Sforza that he has seen the error of his ways in showing favour to "modern architecture", by which is meant [[Gothic architecture]], and, having seen the architecture of antiquity in Rome, now favours such architecture instead, which is also what Filarete is also trying to persuade his patron.{{Cn|date=February 2024}}

==Children==
[[File:Andrea Mantegna - The Court of Mantua - detail.JPG|thumb|right|220px|The Court of Mantua. At the left, Ludovico II Gonzaga. Besides him his wife Barbara von Brandenburg and their siblings Ludovico Gonzaga, Paola Gonzaga and Rodolfo Gonzaga.]]
Ludovico III and Barbara had fourteen children:

* Federico (1438? – died in infancy).
* Maddalena (1439? – died in infancy).
* Elisabetta (1440? – died in infancy).
* [[Federico I Gonzaga|Federico I]] (1441 – 1484), Marquis of Mantua; married [[Margaret of Bavaria, Marchioness of Mantua|Margaret of Bavaria]],{{sfn|Antenhofer|2001|p=58}} daughter of [[Albert III, Duke of Bavaria]] and Anna, Duchess of Brunswick-Grubenhagen{{sfn|James|2020|p=xvi}}
* [[Francesco Gonzaga (1444–1483)|Francesco]] (1444 – 1483),{{sfn|Antenhofer|2001|p=58}} created Cardinal by Pope [[Pius II]].
* Paola Bianca (1445–1447), died in infancy.{{sfn|Antenhofer|2001|p=58}}
* [[Gianfrancesco Gonzaga (1446–1496)|Gianfrancesco]] (1446 – 1496), Count of Sabbioneta and Lord of Bozzolo; married Antonia del Balzo.{{sfn|Antenhofer|2001|p=58}} Had issue
* Susanna (1447–1481), a nun at Santa Paola di Mantua.{{sfn|Antenhofer|2001|p=58}}
* [[Dorotea Gonzaga|Dorotea]] (1449–1467), married to [[Galeazzo Maria Sforza]], [[Duke of Milan]].{{sfn|Antenhofer|2001|p=58}}
* Cecilia (1451–1472), a nun at Santa Chiara di Mantua.{{sfn|Antenhofer|2001|p=58}}
* [[Rodolfo Gonzaga|Rodolfo]] (1452–1495), Lord of Castiglione delle Stiviere, Solferino, Suzzara and Poviglio;{{sfn|Antenhofer|2001|p=58}} married firstly {{ill|Antonia Malatesta (1451–1483)|lt=Antonia Malatesta|it|Antonia Malatesta}} daughter of [[Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta]] and then Caterina Pico. His great-grandson was [[Aloysius Gonzaga]].
* [[Barbara Gonzaga (1455–1503)|Barbara]] (1455–1503), married in 1474 [[Eberhard I, Duke of Württemberg]]{{sfn|Antenhofer|2001|p=58}}
* Ludovico (1460–1511), Bishop of Mantua.{{sfn|Antenhofer|2001|p=58}}
* Paola (1463–1497), married [[Leonhard of Gorizia|Leonhard, Count of Gorizia]].{{sfn|Antenhofer|2001|p=58}}
<gallery widths=180>
File:Federico I Gonzaga.jpg|Portrait of Federico I Gonzaga at the Uffizi, Florence Italy
File:Andrea Mantegna 111.jpg|''[[Portrait of Francesco Gonzaga]]'' by [[Andrea Mantegna]], c. 1461
File:Gianfrancesco Gonzaga-Rodigo.jpg|Portrait of Gianfrancesco Gonzaga
File:Andrea Mantegna 055 detail.jpg|Barbara Gonzaga
File:Andrea Mantegna 061.jpg|Paola Gonzaga, fresco by [[Andrea Mantegna]], [[Ducal Palace, Mantua]]
</gallery>
In addition, Ludovico III had two illegitimate daughters: Caterina (wife of Gianfrancesco Secco, Conte di Calcio) and Gabriella (wife of Corrado Fogliani, Marchese di Vighizzolo).

It was said that the daughters of Barbara and Ludovico III had hunched backs, that is why Susanna was spurned by [[Galeazzo Maria Sforza]] and the marriage with Dorotea was delayed until the Milanese court found that her physical problems aren't so notorious like her oldest sister. [[Leonhard of Gorizia]] also postponed his marriage to Paola due to this and when they eventually married they had one stillborn child as it is thought that this deformity in her made it harder to have children.<ref>[[Marie Ferranti]], ''The Princess of Mantua''. Hesperus Press, 2005.</ref>{{dubious|date=August 2017}}

==See also==
{{Commons category|Ludovico III Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua}}
*[[Wars in Lombardy]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book |title=A Renaissance Marriage: The Political and Personal Alliance of Isabella d'Este & Francesco Gonzaga, 1490-1519 |first=Carolyn |last=James |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2020 }}
*{{cite book|first=Adelaide |last=Murgia|title=I Gonzaga|location=Milan|publisher=Mondadori|year=1972}}
*{{cite book |chapter=From Local Signori to European High Nobility: The Gonzaga Family Networks in the Fifteenth Century |first=Christina |last=Antenhofer |title=Transregional and Transnational Families in Europe and Beyond: Experiences |editor-first1=Christopher H. |editor-last1=Johnson |editor-first2=David Warren |editor-last2=Sabean |editor-first3=Simon |editor-last3=Teuscher |editor-first4=Francesca |editor-last4=Trivellato |publisher=Berghahn books |year=2001 }}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[House of Gonzaga]]|5 June|1412|12 June|1478}}
{{succession box
| before=[[Gianfrancesco I Gonzaga|Gianfrancesco I]]
| title=[[Duke of Mantua|Marquis of Mantua]]
| years=1444–1478
| after=[[Federico I Gonzaga|Federico I]]
}}
{{s-end}}
{{House of Gonzaga}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzaga, Ludovico 02, Marquis of Mantua}}
[[Category:1412 births]]
[[Category:1478 deaths]]
[[Category:House of Gonzaga|Ludovico 02]]
[[Category:15th-century condottieri]]
[[Category:Marquesses of Mantua|Ludovico 2]]