page_title: Eleonora Gonzaga (1598–1655)
section_title: Early years
hierarchical_section_title: Eleonora Gonzaga (1598–1655) / Life / Early years
context_page_description: Eleonora Gonzaga, was born Princess of Mantua as a member of the House of Gonzaga and by marriage Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Queen consort of Hungary and Bohemia.
  Nicknamed the Elder to distinguish herself from her namesake great-niece, during her reign the Imperial court in Vienna became one of the centers of European Baroque music. As Empress, Eleanora was a supporter of the Counter-Reformation.
context_section_description: Eleonora was born in Mantua on 23 September, 1598, as the youngest child of Vincenzo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Monferrato, and his wife and first cousin Eleonora de' Medici. On her father's side her grandparents were Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Montferrato and his wife Archduchess Eleanor of Austria, and on her mother's side her grandparents were Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and his first wife Archduchess Joanna of Austria.
  Two months after her birth, on 22 November, the princess was baptized at the Basilica palatina di Santa Barbara with the names Eleonora Anna Maria, in honor of her mother and her two surviving full-siblings, Anna de' Medici (who died in 1584 aged 14) and Marie de' Medici, future Queen consort of France and Navarre. The ceremony was conducted by Francesco, Bishop of Mantua (born Prince Annibale Gonzaga, from the Gazzuolo branch), and her godparents were Ferdinand III, Archduke of Inner Austria (her future husband as Holy Roman Emperor) –who was represented by Jakob Prandtner– and  Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain.
  Eleonora spent her childhood at the ducal court in Mantua, which was one of the centers of European culture and science. When she was ten, her education was entrusted to her paternal aunt Margherita Gonzaga, Dowager Duchess of Ferrara and Modena, who, although she never took the veil, lived in a Clarissan monastery attached to the Church of Sant'Orsola, founded by herself. The Dowager Duchess saw to it that her niece received a good education, which included learning foreign languages, history, music and painting. The religious environment in which she grew up greatly influenced Eleonora, and was expressed in deeds of piety and charity.
  In early 1610, Duke Vincenzo negotiated a marriage between his 12-year-old daughter and Marcantonio IV Colonna, Duke and Prince of Paliano, and in March of that year a contract was signed under which a dowry was stipulated for Eleonora of 130,000 scudi. However, the negotiations quickly ended because of a previous marriage agreement of the Colonnas with the Doria family. Then, negotiations began for the marriage of Eleonora with Victor Amadeus, Prince of Piedmont and heir of the Duchy of Savoy; however, the intended groom expected a large territorial gain as a dowry, which the House of Gonzaga refused. Duke Vincenzo died in 1612, before he could arrange his youngest daughter's marriage.
caption: Eleonora as a child, ca. 1600/01, probably by Peter Paul Rubens. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
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