The County of Guastalla (Italian: Contea di Guastalla) was an Italian state, centered on the city of Guastalla in Northern Italy, which existed from 1428 to 1621, when it was then elevated to a Duchy.

County of Guastalla
Cuntea de Guastàla (Emilian)
1406–1621
Coat of arms under the Torelli family of Guastalla
Coat of arms under the Torelli family
The county of Guastalla (1450)
The county of Guastalla (1450)
CapitalGuastalla
Common languages
Religion
Roman Catholicism
GovernmentCounty
Count 
• 1406–1449
Guido Torelli (first)
• 1575–1621
Ferrante II Gonzaga (last)
History 
• Created for the Torelli family
1406
• Partitioned to create
    Montechiarugolo

1456
• Purchased by
    Ferrante Gonzaga

1539
• Reacquired
    Montechiarugolo

1612
• Raised to duchy
    by Ferdinand II

2 July 1621
CurrencyGuastalla lira
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Lordship of Guastalla
Duchy of Guastalla
Today part ofItaly

History

edit

The title of count was conferred in 1428 on Guido Torelli for the services rendered to the Duke of Milan, Filippo Maria Visconti.[1] His descendants maintained the regency of the territory until 1539, when, finding themselves in financial straits, the family was forced to sell their domains, purchased by Ferrante Gonzaga. From that moment Guastalla significantly increased its prestige. Gonzaga was in fact one of the most influential men of his time, from a political and military point of view. When he died in 1557, his inheritance passed to his firstborn Cesare I Gonzaga, who definitively established his court in Guastalla in 1567. Many works such as the church, the mint, Via Gonzaga and the completion of the ducal palace were built by him. In 1575 he was succeeded by his son Ferrante II.[2]

Another branch of the Torelli family from Guastalla ruled the County of Montechiarugolo (separated from the county of Guastalla in 1456) until 1612.[3]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Torelli - Enciclopedia". Treccani (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-06-17.
  2. ^ "Ferrante i gonzaga conte di guastalla - Enciclopedia". Treccani (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-06-17.
  3. ^ Ambrosis, Cesare De (2022-12-14). "Montechiarugolo, il castello col fantasma". La Rivista della Natura (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-06-17.

44°55′N 10°40′E / 44.917°N 10.667°E / 44.917; 10.667