Federico II Gonzaga. Federico II of Gonzaga was the ruler of the Italian city of Mantua from 1519 until his death.
He was also Marquis of Montferrat from 1536. He was a son of his predecessor Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua and Isabella d'Este.
Due to the turbulent politics of the time, from the age of ten, he spent three years as a hostage in Rome under Pope Julius II. Federico Gonzaga was crowned Marquis Mantua on 3 April 1519, initially under the regency of his mother and his uncles Sigismondo and Giovanni Gonzaga. He received the imperial investiture from emperor Charles V on 7 April 1521.
Despite his poor military experience, Pope Leo X named him Gonfalonier and Captain General of the Church, though a clause allowed Federico to avoid fighting against the Empire, to which Mantua had always traditionally been an ally. Federico therefore did not intervene when the Imperial troops passed through his lands in 1527, indirectly causing the subsequent Sack of Rome.
Federico signed a marriage contract with the heir to the Marquisate of Monteferrat, Maria Palaeologina, with the aim of acquiring that land; its marquess Boniface IV of Montferrat was in poor health. But when Boniface seemed to recover, he set up an alleged plot on the part of Maria against Federico's mistress, Isabella Boschetti: this was sufficient to have the Pope cancel the nuptial contract. Federico then signed another marriag
He was also Marquis of Montferrat from 1536. He was a son of his predecessor Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua and Isabella d'Este.
Due to the turbulent politics of the time, from the age of ten, he spent three years as a hostage in Rome under Pope Julius II. Federico Gonzaga was crowned Marquis Mantua on 3 April 1519, initially under the regency of his mother and his uncles Sigismondo and Giovanni Gonzaga. He received the imperial investiture from emperor Charles V on 7 April 1521.
Despite his poor military experience, Pope Leo X named him Gonfalonier and Captain General of the Church, though a clause allowed Federico to avoid fighting against the Empire, to which Mantua had always traditionally been an ally. Federico therefore did not intervene when the Imperial troops passed through his lands in 1527, indirectly causing the subsequent Sack of Rome.
Federico signed a marriage contract with the heir to the Marquisate of Monteferrat, Maria Palaeologina, with the aim of acquiring that land; its marquess Boniface IV of Montferrat was in poor health. But when Boniface seemed to recover, he set up an alleged plot on the part of Maria against Federico's mistress, Isabella Boschetti: this was sufficient to have the Pope cancel the nuptial contract. Federico then signed another marriag
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