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Margherita di Savoia
(1589–1655)

Biographical

Infanta of Spain

Vicereine of Portugal 1634–40 dep
Regent of Montferrat 1612
Regent of Piedmont 1603

Margherita, along with her sisters, was educated in the Spanish way by her mother, Catherine of Habsburg, unlike her brothers who had a traditional Piedmontese education. Her early schooling was entrusted to the Jesuits. In 1598 she was sent, along with her siblings, to Savigliano and Mondovì to escape the plague, returning in 1601. She was close to her father and he made her regent of Piedmont in 1603 during an absence. She was firstly betrothed to Henri II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé, but then it was decided to marry her to Francesco Gonzaga, heir to the Duchies of Mantua and Montferrat, to resolve existing territorial disputes in the region. This union was initially opposed by King Philip III of Spain due to the possible territorial changes to Montferrat that would arise according to the marriage contract. In 1604 the King proposed that she marry Emperor Rudolf II of Habsburg instead, but Margherita's father favoured a Gonzaga alliance, and after delays in obtaining authorisation from the King, the wedding finally took place in 1608, with Papal authorisation.

From her first days at Mantua, Margherita took an interest in court affairs and was at times seen as becoming overly involved. In 1609 she accompanied her husband to Montferrat after he was appointed its regent. In 1611 she replaced him in this role after he was recalled to Mantua due to a serious illness that had struck his mother. This gave Margherita the opportunity to prove herself as a competent administrator. Becoming duchess-consort of Mantua in 1612 Margherita began to increasingly bring a change to the customs and habits of the Mantuan court, giving it a more Spanish character. She became more involved in state affairs which the duke himself encouraged.

The duke died from smallpox in 1612, and having left no surviving male heirs, the duchy of Mantua was claimed by his brother, Cardinal Ferdinando Gonzaga. Montferrat followed different rules of succession and therefore Duke Francesco's infant daughter Maria was the nominal heiress, though Mantua was also claimed for her. The Mantuan court became divided between one faction supporting Ferdinando, and the other, Maria. In the meantime, Margherita, became Maria's regent, but in 1613 she returned to Turin without her daughter.

In 1627 Maria married Carlo Gonzaga di Rethel, whose father, Carlo (later, Duke Carlo I of Mantua), had been declared heir of Mantua by the then duke, Vincenzo Gonzaga, brother of Ferdinando. Carlo I succeeded to Mantua soon afterwards (making Maria's husband heir to Mantua) which was the basis for the ensuing war of succession over Mantua and Montferrat, involving France, Savoy, Spain, and the Empire. During this time, Margherita sided with Duke Carlo I who afterwards fled Mantua with his family following an Imperial attack in 1630. The subsequent Treaty of Cherasco of 1631 enabled the Duke to return to Mantua, as did Margherita, who was finally reunited with her now widowed daughter, Maria. The presence of the pro-Spanish princess in Mantua was a source of concern to the French, and not without reason, for Margherita, along with her daughter, conspired to hand over Mantua to the Spanish forces. When this plan was discovered in 1633, Margherita was forced to leave the duchy, and she never saw her daughter again.

Margherita initially went to Modena, and then the Spanish governor of Milan granted her permission to reside at Pavia where she stayed until 1634. She continued to plot against the Duke of Mantua, but was then made vicereine of Portugal by Spain. Initially welcomed there, she was soon involved in the insurrectional conflicts that bloodied the country, and which culminated in the overthrow of Spanish rule and the installation of João IV of Bragança as king in 1640. Margherita was kept under house arrest, but was finally exiled once a plan to restore the Spanish government in Portugal was discovered. She finally reached Madrid in 1642. On 25 June 1655 she requested to end her days at Piedmont, but died en route at Miranda.

Place of birth: Turin
Place of marriage: Cathedral of Turin
Place of death: Miranda
Place of burial: Chapel of San Benedetto, Vicoforte

Daughter of Carlo Emanuele I di Savoia and Infanta Catalina of Spain. She married Francesco IV Gonzaga in 1608, and had issue.

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