On 2 July 1621, Emperor
Ferdinand II elevated the
County of Guastalla to the rank of a duchy.
Ferrante II Gonzaga became the first duke of the city, hoping to succeed in the future to the great
Duchy of Mantua. Ferrante II died of plague in 1630 and was succeeded by his son,
Cesare II. With him, Guastalla expanded its territory with the annexation of the lands of
Dosolo,
Luzzara and
Reggiolo, until then owned by Mantua. In 1632, his son
Ferrante III ascended to the throne. Having no male heir, he bequeathed the Duchy of Guastalla to his daughter's husband
Ferdinand Charles, Duke of Mantua. Meanwhile, Guastalla modernized its defenses, owing to the frequent wars which swept over Italy at this time. Between 1689 and 1690, the city was attacked by the Spaniards, who managed to demolish the defensive walls, thus occupying the city, and destroyed the
Visconti castle and the town tower. In 1692, the Duke of Guastalla was accused of felony, and Emperor
Leopold I gave Guastalla and its territories to
Vincenzo Gonzaga. During his reign, in 1702, there were violent clashes in the territory of Luzzara (see
Battle of Luzzara) between the French troops of
Louis XIV and imperial forces led by
Prince Eugene of Savoy. Shortly afterward, Guastalla was itself attacked. The city, although putting up a heroic defense, was forced to surrender. In 1714,
Antonio Ferdinando Gonzaga inherited the duchy on the death of his father, but did not take an active role in politics. He died in 1729, having been severely burned in an accident. His brother
Giuseppe Gonzaga, the last duke of the city, took power in 1734 and saw the occupation by the Austrians in the so-called
Battle of Guastalla. Later, the city was sold to
Charles Emmanuel III of Savoy until 1738. Giuseppe Gonzaga died without heirs in 1746, and the Duchy of Guastalla was incorporated into Austrian
Lombardy under the government of
Maria Theresa of Austria in 1747. With the
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748), Guastalla was joined to the
Duchy of Parma and Piacenza, ruled by the Spanish
Bourbons. It was annexed to the
Cisalpine Republic in 1802 but became a
Sovereign Principality in 1806 ruled by Napoleon's sister,
Pauline Bonaparte. However the size of the duchy made Pauline feel insulted and Napoleon agreed to have the Kingdom of Italy repurchase the duchy the same year. It was returned in 1815 to the Duchy of Parma, and it remained until 1847 under Parma's rule. With the death in 1847 of
Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla, the duchy then passed to the
Duchy of Modena and later on to the unified
Kingdom of Italy. ==Territory==