Margherita Gonzaga, Duchess of Ferrara

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Margherita Gonzaga
Duchess consort of Ferrara, Modena, and Reggio
File:Giovanni Bahuet Margherita Gonzaga.jpg
Spouse(s) Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara
Noble family House of Gonzaga (by birth)
House of Este (by marriage)
Father William I, Duke of Mantua
Mother Eleonora of Austria
Born 27 May 1564
Mantua
Died Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist.

Margherita Gonzaga d'Este, Duchess of Ferrara (27 May 1564 – 6 January 1618) was an Italian noblewoman, the daughter of William I, Duke of Mantua (Guglielmo Gonzaga) and Eleonora of Austria, and the sister of Vincent I, Duke of Mantua and Anna Caterina Gonzaga. She was the wife of Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara and Modena, whom she married in February 1579. This was the duke's third marriage, and it was hoped that she would produce a male heir.[1] She did not, which partially led to the city of Ferrara's acquisition by the Papal States.

Margherita was born and raised in her father's court in Mantua. Alfonso's concerto delle donne was formed in part to please her, and all of the members were on the court rolls as her ladies in waiting, and the concerts were frequently held in her apartments.[2] When she married she used her influence at Mantua to convince her father to allow Livia d'Arco, a Mantuan, to join the Ferrarese court as one of her ladies in waiting, so that she could participate in the concerto delle donne.[3]

A great number of madrigals and anthologies of madrigals were dedicated to her, either singly or to both herself and her husband. These include a number of madrigals by the maestro di capella of the Duke's brother, Cardinal Luigi d'Este, Luca Marenzio, including "Lucida perla", to a text by Giovanni Battista Guarini for her wedding; "O verdi selvi" with text by Torquato Tasso, as well as a number of madrigals with texts by Tasso dedicated to "her" dwarf or nana, Isabella, such as "Là dove sono i pargoletti Amori".[4]

Balletto delle donne

Margherita was the sponsor of the groundbreaking balletto delle donne, an entertainment including dance, madrigal, and instrumental music, performed at Carnival as well as for important visitors to the court.[5] These entertainments were created with the choreography first, then the music, then the text.[6] All of the members of the balletto were women, and some were also in the concerto delle donne, including Laura Peverara (who cross dressed in at least one instance),[7] Anna Guarini, and Livia d'Arco, at least in 1582 and 1583,[8] as well as Vittoria Bentivoglio, a member of the first incarnation of the concerto.[7]

Instead of the balletto being a spontaneous dance among the courtiers, as it had been up until 1579, it became an elaborate and well-rehearsed entertainment.[9] These entertainments frequently included the women cross-dressing, which was often commented on by contemporary chroniclers. Alfonso assisted in these entertainments by helping to keep the floor cleared and other small favors, however he was not as personally involved in them as Margherita, who danced in them herself, nor was he as involved with them as he was with the concerto delle donne.[10] One ballet was composed and performed in honor of the marriage, on 22 February 1581, of Laura Peverara, who was very highly esteemed.

Programs for the balletti were made, however these may have been handwritten rather than printed, and none survive. Alfonso kept the entertainments at his court highly secret, and one contemporary correspondent wrote that the entertainments were so "private" that a program could not be obtained, not even to be sent to Cardinal Luigi d'Este. Luzzasco Luzzaschi and Ippolito Fiorini wrote music for the balletto, and Giovanni Battista Guarini wrote texts, however these do not survive. This entertainment probably continued until the end of the Este court in 1597, when Alfonso died and the city was taken over by the papacy.[11]

Ancestry

Family of Margherita Gonzaga, Duchess of Ferrara
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Federico I Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Margaret of Bavaria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Isabella d'Este
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Eleanor of Naples
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Boniface III, Marquess of Montferrat
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
William IX, Marquess of Montferrat
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Marija Branković
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Margaret Paleologa
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
René, Duke of Alençon
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Anne d'Alençon
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Margaret of Lorraine
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Margherita Gonzaga
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Philip I of Castile
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Mary of Burgundy
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ferdinand II of Aragon
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Joanna of Castile
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Isabella I of Castile
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Archduchess Eleanor of Austria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Casimir IV Jagiellon
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Anna of Bohemia and Hungary
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Gaston de Foix, Count of Candale
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Anna of Foix-Candale
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Infanta Catherine of Navarre
 
 
 
 
 
 

References

  • Newcomb, Anthony (1980). The Madrigal at Ferrara, 1579-1597. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-09125-0.
  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Notes

  1. Nutter, 149
  2. Newcomb 20, 106
  3. Newcomb 11, 183
  4. Nutter 149
  5. Newcomb, 35, 40
  6. Newcomb, 44
  7. 7.0 7.1 Newcomb, 37
  8. Newcomb, 35
  9. Newcomb, 36
  10. Newcomb, 38
  11. Newcomb, 42
Margherita Gonzaga
Born: 27 May 1564 Died: 6 January 1618
Royal titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Barbara of Austria
Duchess consort of Ferrara, Modena, and Reggio
24 February 1579 – 27 October 1597
Succeeded by
Virginia de' Medici