Margherita Gonzaga, Duchess of Ferrara
| Margherita Gonzaga | |
|---|---|
| Duchess consort of Ferrara, Modena, and Reggio | |
 |
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| Spouse(s) | Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara |
| Noble family |
House of Gonzaga (by birth) House of Este (by marriage) |
| Father | William I, Duke of Mantua |
| Mother | Eleonora of Austria |
| Born | 27 May 1564 Mantua |
| Died | 6 January 1618 (aged 53) |
Margherita Gonzaga d'Este, Duchess of Ferrara (27 May 1564 – 6 January 1618) was an Italian noblewoman, the daughter of William I, Duke of Mantua (Guglielmo Gonzaga) and Eleonora of Austria, and the sister of Vincent I, Duke of Mantua and Anna Caterina Gonzaga. She was the wife of Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara and Modena, whom she married in February 1579. This was the duke's third marriage, and it was hoped that she would produce a male heir. She did not, which partially led to the city of Ferrara's acquisition by the Papal States.
Margherita was born and raised in her father's court in Mantua. Alfonso's concerto delle donne was formed in part to please her, and all of the members were on the court rolls as her ladies in waiting, and the concerts were frequently held in her apartments. When she married she used her influence at Mantua to convince her father to allow Livia d'Arco, a Mantuan, to join the Ferrarese court as one of her ladies in waiting, so that she could participate in the concerto delle donne.
A great number of madrigals and anthologies of madrigals were dedicated to her, either singly or to both herself and her husband. These include a number of madrigals by the maestro di capella of the Duke's brother, Cardinal Luigi d'Este, Luca Marenzio, including "Lucida perla", to a text by Giovanni Battista Guarini for her wedding; "O verdi selvi" with text by Torquato Tasso, as well as a number of madrigals with texts by Tasso dedicated to "her" dwarf or nana, Isabella, such as "Là dove sono i pargoletti Amori".
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