Editing Mantua (section)

===From Gonzaga to Habsburg===

In 1627, the direct line of the Gonzaga family came to an end with the vicious and weak [[Vincenzo II Gonzaga|Vincenzo II]], and Mantua slowly declined under the new rulers, the [[Charles Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat|Gonzaga-Nevers]], a cadet French branch of the family. The [[War of the Mantuan Succession]] broke out, and in 1630 an [[Holy Roman Empire|Imperial]] army of 36,000 mercenaries under [[Matthias Gallas]] and [[Johann von Aldringen]] besieged and sacked Mantua, bringing the plague with them. [[Charles IV, Duke of Mantua|Ferdinand Carlo IV]], an inept ruler, whose only interest was in holding parties and theatrical shows, allied with France in the [[War of the Spanish Succession]]. After the French defeat, he took refuge in [[Venice]] and carried with him a thousand pictures. At his death in 1708, the Duke of Mantua was declared deposed and his family of Gonzaga lost Mantua forever in favour of the [[Habsburg]]s of Austria.

Under Austrian rule, Mantua enjoyed a revival and during this period the Royal Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts, the Scientific Theatre, and numerous palaces were built.

====Napoleonic Wars====

In 1786, ten years before [[Napoleon Bonaparte]]'s campaign in Italy, the Austrian Duchy of Mantua briefly united with the [[Duchy of Milan]] until 1791.

On 4 June 1796 during the [[War of the First Coalition]], Mantua was [[Siege of Mantua (1796–97)|besieged]] by [[Napoleon Bonaparte]]'s French army. The first Austrian attempt to break the siege was successful and the siege was abandoned on 1 August. The Austrian army was defeated at the [[Battle of Castiglione]] on 5 August and left the area.<ref name=Smith>{{cite book|last=Smith |first=Digby |authorlink=Digby Smith |title=The Napoleonic Wars Data Book |year=1998 |location=London |publisher=Greenhill |isbn=1-85367-276-9 |pages=118–119}}</ref> The French resumed the siege on August 27 and accepted surrender of the city on 2 February 1797.<ref>{{cite book|last=Smith |first=Digby |authorlink=Digby Smith |title=The Napoleonic Wars Data Book |year=1998 |location=London |publisher=Greenhill |isbn=1-85367-276-9 |pages=132–133}}</ref> The city was recaptured by the Austrians in the [[War of the Second Coalition]] after a [[Siege of Mantua (1799)|siege]] lasting from 8 April to 28 July 1799.<ref>{{cite book|last=Smith |first=Digby |authorlink=Digby Smith |title=The Napoleonic Wars Data Book |year=1998 |location=London |publisher=Greenhill |isbn=1-85367-276-9 |page=161}}</ref>

Later, the city again passed into Napoleon's control and became a part of Napoleon's Kingdom of Italy. In 1810 [[Andreas Hofer]] was shot by Porta Giulia, a gate of the town at Borgo di Porto (Cittadella) for leading the insurrection in the [[County of Tyrol]] against Napoleon.

====Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia====

After the brief period of French rule, Mantua returned to Austria in 1814, becoming one of the [[Quadrilatero]] fortress cities in northern Italy. Under the [[Congress of Vienna (1815)]], Mantua became a province in the Austrian Empire's [[Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia]]. Agitation against Austria, however, culminated in a revolt which lasted from 1851 to 1855, but it was finally suppressed by the Austrian army. One of the most famous episodes of the Italian [[Risorgimento]] took place in the valley of the Belfiore, where a group of rebels was hanged by the Austrians.