Barbara Gonzaga

Barbara Gonzaga (11 December 1455 — 30 May 1503), nicknamed Barbarina, was an Italian noblewoman member of the House of Gonzaga and by marriage Countess consort (1474–1495) and first Duchess consort of Württemberg (1495–1496).

Life

Born in Mantua, she was the twelfth child and seventh daughter of Ludovico III Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua and his wife Barbara of Brandenburg. On her paternal side, she was the granddaughter of the first Margrave of Mantua, Gianfrancesco Gonzaga, and his wife Paola Malatesta da Rimini. On the maternal side, she was the granddaughter of John, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (nicknamed the Alchemist) and his wife Barbara of Saxe-Wittenberg. She was named after both her mother and maternal grandmother.

Barbara received a good education at her father's court: in addition of her native Italian, she learned the German language and also the ancients Latin and Greek languages; also, she had knowledge in history and literature and was interested in art and culture. In 1467, Barbara's parents began searching for a suitable husband for her, and began negotiations for a marriage with Christoph, heir of the Margraviate of Baden-Baden, but they couldn't agree in the amount of the bride's dowry. In 1468, was considered for Barbara a marriage with Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan, and in 1472 was also considered King Casimir IV of Poland as a possible husband for Barbara; however, none of these arrangements came to fruition.

In 1483, after the unification of all the lands of the House of Württemberg under the leadership of Eberhard V and his proclamation as first Duke under the name of Eberhard I, the court moved from Urach to Stuttgart. According to contemporaries, Barbara enjoyed great influence over her husband. The new Duke had no formal education, but was a very curious person. Before the wedding, he traveled a lot, and even made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. His educated wife introduced him to Italian art, music, and humanist philosophy; she was instrumental in founding the University of Tübingen, supporting her husband in the implementation of this project. Barbara also had a political talent, certainly inherited from her mother. In addition, she was interested in gardening, farming, and raising domestic animals. In 1491 she acquired a farm in Waldenbuch and a garden under the walls of the Stuttgart Castle. She was buried in a Dominican Frauenkloster of Kirchheim unter Teck. Part of the inheritance left by her went to her relatives in Mantua.

Barbara was inmortalized in the famous mural The Court of Mantua paint in 1474 by Andrea Mantegna and displayed in the north wall of the Camera degli Sposi in the north east tower of the Castel San Giorgio in Mantua. The stained glass window depicting the Duchess of Württemberg in the University of Tübingen was made in modern times and is the author's fantasy. In Bad Urach, a high school bears her name.