Giulia Gonzaga
Encyclopedia
Giulia Gonzaga was an Italian
noblewoman of the Renaissance
.
(near Mantua
) in 1512. In 1526 (at age 14) she was married to count Vespasiano Colonna (1480-1528), count of Fondi
and duke of Traetto (present-day Minturno
). After her husband died three years after their marriage, Giulia organized her palace as a center of culture, attracting the attention of many of her contemporaries as much for these activities as for her famous beauty, though she refused to marry again. She had a liaison with Cardinal Ippolito de' Medici
of Florence
, who died in Itri
(southern Lazio) after a meeting with her.
In the night of 8-9 August 1534, the town of Fondi was attacked by the corsair Barbarossa, who was seeking to kidnap her and deliver her to his emperor
. Barbarossa had been ordered to kidnap her by Ibrahim Pasha
, the Ottoman Grand Vizier. Pasha's plan was to add her to the sultan's harem and supplant Roxelana
, the sultan's wife. She escaped, and Barbarossa, frustrated, massacred the populations of Fondi and nearby Sperlonga
, though he was repulsed at nearby Itri
. She fled into the night, accompanied by a single knight. She later had the knight killed because she had been nearly nude during her escape and he had seen too much. There is also speculation that Barbarossa's attempt may have been motivated by members of the Colonna family
wishing to recover their lands after Vespasiano Colonna's death.
Giulia Gonzaga joined a convent in Naples in 1535 (at age 22), and there met Juan de Valdés
in 1536. This encounter and subsequent correspondence brought her to the attention of the Inquisition
, for example leading her to write a letter in 1553 to cardinal Ercole Gonzaga
to express her lack of agreement with the later writings of de Valdés.
Giulia Gonzaga died at age 53 in 1566. After her death, her correspondence with Pietro Carnesecchi
led to the latter's being burned at the stake for heresy
(in 1567).
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
noblewoman of the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
.
Biography
Giulia was born in GazzuoloGazzuolo
Gazzuolo is a comune in the Province of Mantua in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 120 km southeast of Milan and about 20 km southwest of Mantua....
(near 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...
) in 1512. In 1526 (at age 14) she was married to count Vespasiano Colonna (1480-1528), count of Fondi
Fondi
Fondi is a city and comune in the province of Latina, Lazio, central Italy, halfway between Rome and Naples. Before the construction of the highway between the latter cities in the late 1950s, Fondi had been an important settlement on the Roman Via Appia, which was the main connection from Rome to...
and duke of Traetto (present-day Minturno
Minturno
Minturno is a city and comune in the southern Lazio, Italy, situated on the north west bank of the Liris , with a suburb on the opposite bank c...
). After her husband died three years after their marriage, Giulia organized her palace as a center of culture, attracting the attention of many of her contemporaries as much for these activities as for her famous beauty, though she refused to marry again. She had a liaison with Cardinal Ippolito de' Medici
Ippolito de' Medici
Ippolito de' Medici was the illegitimate only son of Giuliano di Lorenzo de' Medici.Ippolito was born in Urbino. His father died when he was only five , and he was subsequently raised by his uncle Pope Leo X and his cousin Giulio.When Giulio de' Medici was elected pope as Clement VII, Ippolito...
of Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, who died in Itri
Itri
Itri is a small city and comune in the central Italian region of Latium and the Province of Latina.Itri is an agricultural centre divided in two parts by a small river, the Pontone. It lies in a valley between the Monti Aurunci and the sea, not far from the Gulf of Gaeta...
(southern Lazio) after a meeting with her.
In the night of 8-9 August 1534, the town of Fondi was attacked by the corsair Barbarossa, who was seeking to kidnap her and deliver her to his emperor
Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman I was the tenth and longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1520 to his death in 1566. He is known in the West as Suleiman the Magnificent and in the East, as "The Lawgiver" , for his complete reconstruction of the Ottoman legal system...
. Barbarossa had been ordered to kidnap her by Ibrahim Pasha
Pargali Ibrahim Pasha
Pargali Ibrahim Pasha , also known as Frenk Ibrahim Pasha , Makbul Ibrahim Pasha , and referred to him as Maktul Ibrahim Pasha after his murder in the Topkapı Palace, was the first Grand Vizier in the Ottoman Empire appointed by Suleiman the Magnificent...
, the Ottoman Grand Vizier. Pasha's plan was to add her to the sultan's harem and supplant Roxelana
Roxelana
Haseki Hürrem Sultan was the wife of Süleyman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire.-Names:Sixteenth-century sources are silent as to her maiden name, but much later traditions, for example Ukrainian folk traditions first recorded in the 19th century, give it as "Anastasia" , and Polish...
, the sultan's wife. She escaped, and Barbarossa, frustrated, massacred the populations of Fondi and nearby Sperlonga
Sperlonga
Sperlonga is a coastal town in the province of Latina, Italy, about half way between Rome and Naples.Surrounding towns include Terracina to the West, Fondi to the North, Itri to the North-East, and Gaeta to the East.-History:...
, though he was repulsed at nearby Itri
Itri
Itri is a small city and comune in the central Italian region of Latium and the Province of Latina.Itri is an agricultural centre divided in two parts by a small river, the Pontone. It lies in a valley between the Monti Aurunci and the sea, not far from the Gulf of Gaeta...
. She fled into the night, accompanied by a single knight. She later had the knight killed because she had been nearly nude during her escape and he had seen too much. There is also speculation that Barbarossa's attempt may have been motivated by members of the Colonna family
Colonna family
The Colonna family is an Italian noble family; it was powerful in medieval and Renaissance Rome, supplying one Pope and many other Church and political leaders...
wishing to recover their lands after Vespasiano Colonna's death.
Giulia Gonzaga joined a convent in Naples in 1535 (at age 22), and there met Juan de Valdés
Juan de Valdés
Juan de Valdés was a Spanish religious writer.He was the younger of twin sons of Fernando de Valdés, hereditary regidor of Cuenca in Castile, where Valdés was born. He has been confused with his twin brother Alfonso...
in 1536. This encounter and subsequent correspondence brought her to the attention of the Inquisition
Inquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
, for example leading her to write a letter in 1553 to cardinal Ercole Gonzaga
Ercole Gonzaga
Ercole Gonzaga was an Italian Cardinal.-Biography:Born in Mantua, he was the son of the Marquess Francesco Gonzaga, and nephew of Cardinal Sigismondo Gonzaga...
to express her lack of agreement with the later writings of de Valdés.
Giulia Gonzaga died at age 53 in 1566. After her death, her correspondence with Pietro Carnesecchi
Pietro Carnesecchi
Pietro Carnesecchi was an Italian humanist.-Biography:Born in Florence, he was the son of a da Andrea Carnesecchi, a merchant who under the patronage of the Medici, and especially of Giulio de' Medici as Pope Clement VII, rapidly rose to high office at the papal court.He came into touch with the...
led to the latter's being burned at the stake for heresy
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
(in 1567).
External links
- The above content summarized and translated from Eresie.it