The Marquisate of Mantua began with
Gianfrancesco I Gonzaga who, with the payment of 12,000 gold florins, in 1433 was appointed first marquis by the
Emperor Sigismund, of whom he had married his niece
Barbara of Brandenburg with his eldest son,
Ludovico III Gonzaga. The territorial expansion of the family began with Gianfrancesco, up to occupying some border lands of today's
Upper Mantua area, taken from the
Brescians, and the territories of
Ostiano and
Isola Dovarese, wrested from the
Cremonese. During the period of the Margraviate, the Gonzaga's coat of arms was enriched with the
cross in red set aside by the four eagles. From 1444 to 1478
Ludovico III ruled, which marked a first peak in the city's artistic life. Notable artists such as
Andrea Mantegna,
Luca Fancelli and
Leon Battista Alberti were called to his court, who left an indelible mark on the history of Mantua. In his brief marquisate, from 1478 to 1484,
Federico I Gonzaga consolidated his line of friendship with the powerful Milanese
Sforza dynasty, also serving as commander of the
Milanese troops. The fourth Marquis,
Francesco II, renewed his alliance with the
House of Este thanks to his marriage to
Isabella d'Este, one of the most important women of the
Renaissance and of the Italian cultural world of her time. With
Federico II Gonzaga, who succeeded his father Francesco as fifth and last Marquis of Mantua in 1519, the city experienced another period of splendour. He is remembered for the construction of
Palazzo Te by
Giulio Romano and the embellishment of the
Palazzo Ducale. The history of the Marquisate of Mantua ended with Federico, which lasted a century. And on 25 March 1530, with the raise of the Margraviate to Duchy by
Charles V, another period began in the history of Mantua, destined to last until 1708. == Margraves of Mantua ==