Anna Isabella Gonzaga

Who was Anna Isabella Gonzaga?

Anna Isabella Gonzaga, was a Duchess consort of Mantua and Montferrat and heir of the Duchy of Guastalla and Luzzara Reggiolo; married in 1671 to Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat. She was the regent of Mantua during the War of the Spanish Succession.

Anna Isabella Gonzaga was the daughter of Ferrante III Gonzaga, Duke of Guastalla, and Margherita d'Este, daughter of Duke Alfonso III d'Este. Her marriage was arranged by the assistance of empress dowager Eleanor Gonzaga, and took place in 1671. Anna Isabella Gonzaga was the heir of the Duchy of Guastalla and Luzzara Reggiolo, and her rights transferred these areas, which had been a long concern of conflicts between the two Gonzaga lines, to the Mantua line of the Gonzaga dynasty. The marriage was childless. In 1701, during the War of the Spanish Succession, her consort fled Mantua and appointed her regent of the state in his absence.