Elisabetta Gonzaga was a noblewoman of the Italian Renaissance

Italian Renaissance

The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe...

, renowned for her cultured and virtuous life. A member of the noble

Nobility of Italy

The Nobility of Italy consisted of individuals and their families of Italy recognized by sovereigns, such as the Holy Roman Emperor, the Holy See, Kings of Italy or certain other Italian kings and sovereigns as members of a class of persons officially enjoying hereditary privileges which...

 House of Gonzaga

House of Gonzaga

The Gonzaga family ruled Mantua in Northern Italy from 1328 to 1708.-History:In 1433, Gianfrancesco I assumed the title of Marquis of Mantua, and in 1530 Federico II received the title of Duke of Mantua. In 1531, the family acquired the Duchy of Monferrato through marriage...

, she was a sister of Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua

Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua

Francesco II Gonzaga was the ruler of the Italian city of Mantua from 1484 until his death.-Biography:Gonzaga was born in Mantua, the son of Marquess Federico I Gonzaga. He had a career as a condottiero acting as Venice's commander from 1489 to 1498...

 and by marriage the Duchess of Urbino. Because her husband, Duke Guidobaldo da Montefeltro

Guidobaldo da Montefeltro

thumb|240px|Portrait of Guidobaldo da Montefeltro by [[Raphael]].Guidobaldo da Montefeltro , also known as Guidobaldo I, was an Italian condottiero and the Duke of Urbino from 1482 to 1508.-Biography:...

, was impotent, Elisabetta never had children of her own, but did adopt her husband's nephew and heir, Francesco Maria I della Rovere

Francesco Maria I della Rovere

Francesco Maria I della Rovere was an Italian condottiero, who was Duke of Urbino from 1508 until 1538.- Biography :...

.

Life

Elisabetta was born in Mantua

Mantua

Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...

, Italy, the second daughter of Federico I Gonzaga

Federico I Gonzaga

Federico I Gonzaga was marquess of Mantua from 1478 to 1484, as well as a condottiero.-Biography:Federico was born in Mantua in 1441, son of Ludovico II and Barbara of Brandenburg...

, Marquess of Mantua and Margaret of Wittelsbach. Her brother was Francesco II Gonzaga.

She married Guidobaldo da Montefeltro

Guidobaldo da Montefeltro

thumb|240px|Portrait of Guidobaldo da Montefeltro by [[Raphael]].Guidobaldo da Montefeltro , also known as Guidobaldo I, was an Italian condottiero and the Duke of Urbino from 1482 to 1508.-Biography:...

, the duke of Urbino

Urbino

Urbino is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of Federico da Montefeltro, duke of Urbino from 1444 to 1482...

, in 1489. Guidobaldo was sickly and impotent, and they had no children, but Elisabetta refused to divorce

Divorce

Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...

 him and nursed him through his illnesses.

Elisabetta's education led her to a life in the company of some the greatest minds of late 15th century Italy. Her court attracted writers, artists, and scholars.
Her nobility gave her contact and involvement in the power politics of 16th century Italy. She was the sister-in-law of Isabella d'Este

Isabella d'Este

Isabella d'Este was Marchesa of Mantua and one of the leading women of the Italian Renaissance as a major cultural and political figure. She was a patron of the arts as well as a leader of fashion, whose innovative style of dressing was copied by women throughout Italy and at the French court...

, an influential Renaissance patron and political figure.

On 21 June 1502 Cesare Borgia

Cesare Borgia

Cesare Borgia , Duke of Valentinois, was an Italian condottiero, nobleman, politician, and cardinal. He was the son of Pope Alexander VI and his long-term mistress Vannozza dei Cattanei. He was the brother of Lucrezia Borgia; Giovanni Borgia , Duke of Gandia; and Gioffre Borgia , Prince of Squillace...

 occupied Urbino, putting to flight Guidobaldo and forcing Elisabetta to remain in Mantua, where she had been staying as a guest. She remained there until 1503 and then joined Guidobaldo in Venice. They were restored to power in 1504. Having no children they adopted in the same year Francesco Maria I della Rovere

Francesco Maria I della Rovere

Francesco Maria I della Rovere was an Italian condottiero, who was Duke of Urbino from 1508 until 1538.- Biography :...

, the child of Guidobaldo's sister, who was then fourteen, to secure the succession.

In 1506 Elisabetta reluctantly accompanied Lucrezia Borgia

Lucrezia Borgia

Lucrezia Borgia [luˈkrɛtsia ˈbɔrʤa] was the illegitimate daughter of Rodrigo Borgia, the powerful Renaissance Valencian who later became Pope Alexander VI, and Vannozza dei Cattanei. Her brothers included Cesare Borgia, Giovanni Borgia, and Gioffre Borgia...

 on her journey to Ferrara, where Lucrezia was married to Alfonso I d'Este

Alfonso I d'Este

Alfonso d'Este was Duke of Ferrara during the time of the War of the League of Cambrai.-Biography:He was the son of Ercole I d'Este and Leonora of Naples....

. An eyewitness described her at the wedding thus:
Following Guidobaldo's death in 1508 at the age of 36 she continued to live in Urbino as regent

Regent

A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...

 to the underage heir.

In 1509 Francesco Maria I was married to Eleonora Gonzaga, Elisabetta's niece, further consolidating the dynasty.

However in June 1516 she was expelled from Urbino by Pope Leo X

Pope Leo X

Pope Leo X , born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, was the Pope from 1513 to his death in 1521. He was the last non-priest to be elected Pope. He is known for granting indulgences for those who donated to reconstruct St. Peter's Basilica and his challenging of Martin Luther's 95 Theses...

, who wanted to give the duchy to his nephew Lorenzo de Medici. Together with her niece Eleonora Gonzaga and without a penny, they found refuge in Ferrara, where Elisabetta died in 1526.

Cultural references

Elisabetta Gonzaga was immortalized by the writer Baldassare Castiglione

Baldassare Castiglione

Baldassare Castiglione, count of was an Italian courtier, diplomat, soldier and a prominent Renaissance author.-Biography:Castiglione was born into an illustrious Lombard family at Casatico, near Mantua, where his family had constructed an impressive palazzo...

, whose work of 1528, The Courtier, was based on his interactions and conversations with her.

A portrait of her

Portrait of Elisabetta Gonzaga

The Portrait of Elisabetta Gonzaga is a picture from around 1504, attributed to the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael and housed in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence.-History:...

 around the years 1504 to 1506 is attributed to the artist Raphael

Raphael

Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...

 and is in the Uffizi gallery, Florence, Italy.