Occasionally a man emerges from history without us knowing him. Duke Vespasiano Gonzaga (1531–91) of Sabbioneta escaped the net of sixteenth century Italy, its history of wars and conflicts, to fashion a life that was uniquely different.
He set out to change the way urban man lived. Importantly, he was the first man to build a Città ideale. Sabbioneta is the prototype of all planned cities of the modern era.
As a confidant of King Philip II of Spain and a traveller, he quickly acquired a cosmopolitan worldview, which led him to become a uomo universale. It was in this capacity that he designed Sabbioneta as a genuine “little Athens.”
His life was fraught with tragedy, however. Not only did he suffer from syphilis, but his personal troubles left him emotionally damaged. The mysterious death of two wives, including the beautiful Diana of Cardona, forced him to find solace in the construction of his ideal city.
As nephew to the legendary Giulia Gonzaga – and with her encouragement – the Duke managed to forge a career as a poet, bibliophile, antiquarian, condottiero, urban planner and diplomat, all against the backdrop of New World discovery, the Protestant Reformation, and the Inquisition.
This book reveals another fascinating story: Vespasiano Gonzaga’s link to Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Like the Prince of Denmark, he reflects the emergence of our modern consciousness. He was a true Renaissance man whose legacy remains with us to this day.
As a self-fashioned personality, the Duke made every attempt to place himself at the forefront of events of his time. His life tells us a great deal about how late-Renaissance men exteriorised their inner world in a bid to achieve immortality.
