Barbara of Brandenburg (1423-1481)

Barbara of Brandenburg
Marchioness of Mantua
Andrea Mantegna- The Court of Mantua (1471–74, Fresco, 805 x 807 cm, Camera degli Sposi, Ducal Palace, Mantua, Italy). At the left, Ludovico III Gonzaga. Besides him Barbara of Brandenburg and three of their children.
Born	1422
Died	7 November 1481 (aged 58–59) Mantua
Noble family	House of Hohenzollern
Spouse(s)	Ludovico III Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua
Father	John, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach
Mother	Barbara of Saxe-Wittenberg

Barbara of Brandenburg (1422 – 7 November 1481) was a Marchioness consort of Mantua, married in 1433 to Ludovico III Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua.

Barbara was the daughter of John, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach, and Barbara of Saxe-Wittenberg and a niece of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund. Her marriage took place in 1433, when she was only ten years old, and she spent the latter part of her childhood in Mantua. She was active as the political adviser of her spouse with the responsibility of foreign diplomatic correspondence, in particular when it pertained to relations between Mantua and Germany. She is regarded as an important figure in the Italian Renaissance and was a student of Vittorino da Feltre.

Barbara is portrayed in the novel The Princess of Mantua by French writer Marie Ferranti.

During her marriage, Barbara gave birth to fourteen children: