Reign 1550 - 1587 Name Guglielmo Duke Mother Margaret Palaeologina | Successor Vincenzo I Gonzaga Role Duke of Mantua | |
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Born 24 April 1538
Mantua ( 1538-04-24 ) Issue Vincenzo I, Duke of Mantua
Margherita Gonzaga
Anna Caterina Gonzaga Father Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua Died August 14, 1587, Goito, Italy Spouse Archduchess Eleanor of Austria (m. 1561) Children Vincenzo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, Margherita Gonzaga, Duchess of Ferrara Parents Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, Margaret Paleologa Grandchildren Ferdinando Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua Similar People Vincenzo Gonzaga - Duke of, Federico II Gonzaga - Duke of, Francesco IV Gonzaga, Eleanor de' Medici, Alfonso II d'Este - Duke of F | ||
Predecessor Francesco III Gonzaga | ||
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: Missa sine nomine
Guglielmo Gonzaga (24 April 1538 – 14 August 1587) was Duke of Mantua and Montferrat from 1550 to 1587. He was the second son of Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Margaret Palaeologina of Montferrat. In 1574, Montferrat was elevated to a Duchy and he became its first duke. He was succeeded by his son Vincenzo.
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Patron of music
Guglielmo was particularly interested in sacred vocal music, and is known particularly to music historians for his extensive correspondence with the composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. He built a large new church in Mantua, dedicated to Santa Barbara. He engaged in an unprecedented negotiation with the Papacy to create his own rite for Mantua, and devoted considerable resources to developing a musical repertoire for the church, commissioning works by Giaches de Wert and Palestrina. Part of his correspondence with Palestrina discusses the work commissioned in detail, stipulating Guglielmo's requirements, and therefore giving a sense of his musical preferences. Guglielmo's musical tastes were conservative for the day. He enjoyed imitative contrapuntal music but was concerned to maintain clarity of text, thereby showing the influence of Tridentine reforms. Upon his death, his son Vincent invited followers of the more modern trends to his court.
Marriage and children
On 26 April 1561 William married Eleonora of Austria, sixth daughter of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. They were parents to three children: