principality · Italy
Principality of Castiglione
Origins
Castiglione delle Stiviere, south of Lake Garda, belonged to a cadet branch of the Gonzaga of Mantua. Ferrante Gonzaga, its lord, was made marquis by the emperor in 1579, and the state became a principality under his son Francesco in 1612.
Rule and society
The rulers governed a few small towns and farmland as an imperial fief. Ferrante's eldest son Aloysius, born in 1568, renounced his rights to join the Jesuits and died in 1591 nursing plague victims in Rome; he was canonised in 1726 and the town became a pilgrimage centre. His brother Rodolfo was murdered in 1593 by his own subjects. Later princes faced revolts and imperial intervention.
Decline and legacy
Prince Ferdinando II was deposed after local unrest, and Austrian troops occupied the state in 1691. After long disputes over compensation for the family, the principality was finally incorporated into Austrian Lombardy in 1773.
Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.
Lineage
On the connections map
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- Principality of Castiglione was part of Holy Roman Empire1579 CE – 1773 CE
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Principality of Castiglione. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-castiglione
- MLA
- “Principality of Castiglione.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-castiglione. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Principality of Castiglione.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-castiglione.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Principality of Castiglione’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-castiglione (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻