Mantua, a fief led to the fringes of the empire

The Sack of Mantua, perpetrated in 1630 by the Lansquenets, besides losses and devastation, brings that feeling of resignation that seems to permeate that very moment of its history and that later on will cancel the role of the Gonzaga family on the international scene. The Gonzaga of France, that legitimately succeeded to the power, proved themselves unable to rule a state that needs urgently to be renewed and rebuilt. Neither Carlo I nor his successor Carlo II are able to cope with stormy international relationships and they govern the duchy very badly; very soon clear signs of defeat will appear and any dynastic ambition will come to its end. Weakness, immoderate desire of amusement and indifference seize the rules even physically. The disaster is close and will come true under the reign of Ferdinando Carlo that, for some kind of nemesis in history, being an insignificant and useless duke will govern for more than forty years. With his reign the book that had been written uninterruptedly for more than four centuries comes to its end and the dynastic dream of an extraordinary Italian and European family fades away.