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Francesco IV of Gonzaga

Francesco IV Gonzaga
Francesco Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, by workshop of Frans Pourbus the Younger.jpg
Francesco IV Gonzaga
Duke of Mantua and Montferrat
Reign 1612
Predecessor Vincenzo I Gonzaga
Successor Ferdinando Gonzaga
Spouse(s) Margaret of Savoy
Issue
Noble family House of Gonzaga
Father Vincenzo I Gonzaga
Mother Eleonora de' Medici
Born (1586-05-07)7 May 1586
Mantua
Died 22 December 1612(1612-12-22) (aged 26)
Mantua

Francesco IV Gonzaga (7 May 1586 – 22 December 1612), was Duke of Mantua and (as Francesco II) Duke of Montferrat between 9 February and 22 December 1612.

Born in Mantua, he was the eldest son of Duke Vincenzo I and Eleonora de' Medici.

In 1607, Claudio Monteverdi dedicated his opera L'Orfeo to Francesco. The title page of the opera bears the dedication "Al serenissimo signor D. Francesco Gonzaga, Prencipe di Mantoua, & di Monferato, &c."

Francesco became Duke upon his father's death on 9 February 1612. He died at Mantua on 22 December 1612 without male heirs. He was succeeded by his brother Ferdinand.

On 19 February 1608 he married in Turin, Margaret of Savoy (1589–1655), daughter of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy. They had three children (one son and two daughters), only one of whom survived into adulthood:


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