Vincenzo II Gonzaga
Italian Duke and Catholic cardinal; (1594-1627)
Vincenzo II Gonzaga (8 February 1594 – 25 December 1627) was the Duke of Mantua and Duke of Montferrat from 1626 until his death.
Vincenzo was the son of Duke Vincent I and Eleonora de' Medici and inherited the duchy upon the death of his elder brother Ferdinand, receiving the imperial investiture on 8 February 1627.
He received a cardinalate in 1615 upon Ferdinando's succession, but did not travel to Rome to receive the red hat; the following year he married his relative Isabella Gonzaga, daughter of Alfonso Gonzaga, Count of Novellara, and the pope deprived him of his cardinalate.
He and Isabella did not have any children, and as the only surviving son, he was encouraged to take a new wife; however, the pope would not grant him a divorce. Isabella was then accused of witchcraft, but was found innocent; three men were later executed for trying to murder her.
Vincenzo also had problems with money and sold several of his paintings and valuables, particularly to the English King Charles I.
Conscious of his poor health, the childless Vincenzo set up an inheritance for his lands through the marriage of his niece Maria (daughter of the former Duke Francis IV) with Charles of Nevers' son Charles of Gonzaga-Nevers. The elder Charles was a cousin of his father. Vincenzo died on the marriage day of Maria and Charles.
Family
Vincenzo II Gonzaga had no legitimate offspring from his wife, but he recognized four natural sons.
With Paola Scarpelli:
Federico Gonzaga (1619–1630), Abbot of Lucledio.
“Vincenzo II Gonzaga” enters the record as italian Duke and Catholic cardinal; (1594-1627). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Vincenzo, Gonzaga and Italian can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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