Duchy of Guastalla Duchêt ed Guastâla (Emilian) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1621–1748 | |||||||||
 Coat of arms | |||||||||
 The Duchy of Guastalla in 1700. | |||||||||
| Status | Duchy | ||||||||
| Capital | Guastalla | ||||||||
| Common languages | Emilian | ||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism | ||||||||
| Duke | |||||||||
• 1621–1630 | Ferrante II Gonzaga (first) | ||||||||
• 1729–1746 | Giuseppe Gonzaga (last) | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
| 2 July 1621 | |||||||||
| 18 October 1748 | |||||||||
| Currency | Guastalla lira | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Italy | ||||||||
TheDuchy of Guastalla (Italian:Ducato di Guastalla) was anItalian state which existed between 1621 and 1748. It was bordered by theDuchy of Modena and Reggio and thePo River to the north, on the opposite bank of theDuchy of Mantua. Its place at the center of Italy made it important in several campaigns during theEarly Modern Era.
On 2 July 1621, EmperorFerdinand II elevated theCounty of Guastalla to the rank of a duchy.Ferrante II Gonzaga became the first duke of the city, hoping to succeed in the future to the greatDuchy of Mantua. Ferrante II died of plague in 1630 and was succeeded by his son,Cesare II. With him, Guastalla expanded its territory with the annexation of the lands ofDosolo,Luzzara andReggiolo, until then owned by Mantua. In 1632, his sonFerrante III ascended to the throne. Having no male heir, he bequeathed the Duchy of Guastalla to his daughter's husbandFerdinand Charles, Duke of Mantua.[1]
Meanwhile, Guastalla modernized its defenses, owing to the frequent wars which swept over Italy at this time. Between 1689 and 1690, the city was attacked by the Spaniards, who managed to demolish the defensive walls, thus occupying the city, and destroyed theVisconti castle and the town tower.
In 1692, the Duke of Guastalla was accused of felony, and EmperorLeopold I gave Guastalla and its territories toVincenzo Gonzaga. During his reign, in 1702, there were violent clashes in the territory of Luzzara (seeBattle of Luzzara) between the French troops ofLouis XIV and imperial forces led byPrince Eugene of Savoy. Shortly afterward, Guastalla was itself attacked. The city, although putting up a heroic defense, was forced to surrender.
In 1714,Antonio Ferdinando Gonzaga inherited the duchy on the death of his father, but did not take an active role in politics. He died in 1729, having been severely burned in an accident. His brotherGiuseppe Gonzaga, the last duke of the city, took power in 1734 and saw the occupation by the Austrians in the so-calledBattle of Guastalla. Later, the city was sold toCharles Emmanuel III of Savoy until 1738. Giuseppe Gonzaga died without heirs in 1746, and the Duchy of Guastalla was incorporated into AustrianLombardy under the government ofMaria Theresa of Austria in 1747.
With theTreaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748), Guastalla was joined to theDuchy of Parma and Piacenza, ruled by the SpanishBourbons. It was annexed to theCisalpine Republic in 1802 but became aSovereign Principality in 1806 ruled by Napoleon's sister,Pauline Bonaparte. However the size of the duchy made Pauline feel insulted and Napoleon agreed to have the Kingdom of Italy repurchase the duchy the same year.
It was returned in 1815 to the Duchy of Parma, and it remained until 1847 under Parma's rule. With the death in 1847 ofMarie Louise, Duchess of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla, the duchy then passed to theDuchy of Modena and later on to the unifiedKingdom of Italy.[2]
TheGonzaga family, at the maximum extent of the Guastalla duchy, also took control of the principality ofBozzolo and the annexed territories (Rivarolo Mantovano,San Martino dall'Argine,Pomponesco,Commessaggio,Ostiano,Isola Dovarese), and theDuchy of Sabbioneta.
