The history of Castel Goffredo, an Italian municipality located in Upper Mantua on the border with the province of Brescia, began in the first half of the 3rd millennium B.C., although the present town was founded in Roman times (1st century A.D.). and then developed over the following centuries. In the early medieval period the history of the city was closely linked to the control of the powerful families of the Visconti, Della Scala and the Republic of Venice.. However, the city's history remains inextricably linked to the Gonzaga, who ruled it for 400 years.. An autonomous fief. from 1444 to 1602 under the first marquis ,. it was at this town, in 1511 with Aloisio Gonzaga, that the collateral branches of the "Gonzaga of Castel Goffredo, Castiglione and Solferino" and the minor branch of the "Gonzaga of Castel Goffredo" originated, which died out in 1593.. Castel Goffredo became one of the historic Gonzaga capitals,. the forerunner of other small capitals from Castiglione to Sabbioneta, due to its urban layout of 1480, equipped with a strict orthogonal grid. With the advent of Napoleon, the town was part of the Cisalpine Republic and, after its fall, of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia; in 1861 it was finally united to the Kingdom of Italy, following its subsequent historical events..

It is known as the "hosiery city". due to the presence of numerous hosiery industries.

Origins of the name

On the origin of the toponym composed of castrum (fortification) and an unspecified "Goffredo" (from the Germanic Gottfried. meaning "peace of God"), there are several hypotheses. Many scholars have tried to find its precise meaning.Istituto Geografico De Agostini, Nomi d'Italia. Origine e significato dei nomi geografici e di tutti i comuni, Novara, 2006.

Ancient documents An 1164 imperial decree of Frederick I identifies Castel Goffredo as follows: Curtem de Runco Sigifredi cum castro et ecclesia, thus implying that the second part of the name was derived from Sigifredi. In a document dated August 1192 and signed by Emperor Henry VI, Castrigufredi is mentioned..

The poet Matteo Bandello (1554), in his work Canti XI, composed in Castel Goffredo while he was a guest of the Marquis Aloisio Gonzaga, already referred to a person named Gioffredo: "... I arrived at the castle that bears Gioffredo's name".For the first time the name of the town was mentioned in a literary work:

Studies The first to study the meaning of "Goffredo" was Carlo Gozzi, who in 1810 ventured some hypotheses, but without reaching a definite conclusion: Godfrey of Bouillon, Godfrey the Hunchback, husband of Matilda of Canossa, Goffredo Malaterra,. Godfrey of Viterbo or Geoffrey of Vendôme..

Historian Francesco Bonfiglio, on the basis of some historical research carried out around 1920, would trace the name of the town back to a document dated July 8, 1107 in which Castello Vifredi (or Castrum Vifredi) is mentioned.The document dated 1107, July 8, is as follows: Matilda Comitissa uxor q.m Ugonis Comitis de Disenzano dona beni in: Marcaregiam, Mosum et Asolam cum ominibus rebus sibi pertinentibus, ut supralegitur in integrum, et omnes res sibi pertinentes in territorio Curtis et Castris Redolisco, et in Gausegnano, et in Casale alto, et in Satalino, et in Castello novo, et Buzolano, et in Ramedello de supra, et in Castello Vifredi, ed in Casale majori, et in Ravaria, et in Mazzano, et Carpenetulo, et in Casale Pauli, et in territorio Curtis et Castri Monteclaro, et in Calcinato, et in Lonato, et in Predizzo, et in Discenzano, tam infra ipsum Castrum, quantum et foris. Post eiusdem Metilde decessum habeat idem Monasterium totas iam dictas res iure proprietario, et quidquid inventum fuerit in sua portione ubique ex hac parte Olei omnia in integrum pro anime sue mercede, et Ugonis viri sui, et filiorum, filiarumque suarum.. In the proceedings of a conference held in 2009, it was hypothesized that the "Vifredi" mentioned in this 1107 document referred to Count Vifredo VI of Piacenza.

Recent studies (2010) would trace the name Vifredi back to a phonetic and graphic adaptation prevalent in the Middle Ages, which would have transformed Vifredus into Guifredus and then into Guffredus.

Another hypothesis links the name "Goffredo" to the Count and Bishop of Brescia, Goffredo of Canossa (10th century), great uncle of Countess Matilda,. who had extensive possessions in the area,. and who wanted to found Castrum Guffredi to defend his possessions; or to a Goffredo confaloniere (or Goffredo Confalonieri). of Medole, who was granted lands in Castel Goffredo by the Bishop of Mantua, Pellizzario, on July 8, 1230..

In ancient maps the town is mentioned with different names: Kastelo Gifredo,From a late 15th century map preserved in the State Archives of Mantua. Castel Giufrìdo, Castel Zanfrìdo, Castel Zanfrìso, Castro Grifedo, Castriguffredi, Castri Gufregi, Castel Zufrè, Castel Giufrè, Castro Giuffredo and Castel Sufrè, in which the Latin etymology suffere leads to the name castrum suffers,. meaning "strong castle", later changing to Castello Suffrè or Zuffrè.. The exact spelling of the name is Castel Goffredo, although in ancient times and today it is often spelled Castelgoffredo or CastelGoffredo..

Ancient times

Some archaeological finds (three arrowheads, a flint dagger, and human remains) unearthed in the Rassica archaeological area,. have made it possible to hypothesize human presence in the water-rich territory of Castel Goffredo from as early as the Bronze Age.. During the Middle Bronze Age (1600-1300 B.C.) Castel Goffredo was subject to the Terramare type of settlement.. In 1890 during an excavation on the left bank of the Tartaro stream in the Rassica archaeological area, southeast of the settlement, a terramara was discovered on a small hump..

The area was also influenced by the Etruscan colonization, as evidenced by the discovery of important artifacts of daily use (cups and water jugs).. The Celtic presence in the area is also confirmed by the discovery in 1980 of two burials and a fragment of an iron sword..

Some votive altars.The votive altars have the following inscriptions: P.MAGIVS IOVI V.S.L.M. - L.QVINTILIVS L.F. EVBVLVS-PETRONIANVS PRO SE ET SVIS IOVI V.S.L.M. and a tombstone found in Castel Goffredo and preserved at the Brescia Civic Museum also suggest a settlement in the Roman period (1st century A.D.).. Prominent among the finds is the so-called "funerary stele of Publius Magius Manius" found in Casalpoglio, one of the most remarkable archaeological testimonies ever discovered in western Mantua.. The following is the text of the inscription:

This area, which belonged to the Upper Mantuan area, was in fact subject to the centuriation of the territory of Mantua.. From this period is the discovery in 1989, next to the Oratory of St. Michael the Archangel, of traces of a Roman necropolis, with pieces of pottery, bronze, mosaic tiles and coins.. Regarding the Romanization of the historic center,. some scholars assume that it was divided into twelve blocks and characterized by cardines and decumani,. and that at the intersection of the "cardo maximus" and "decumanus maximus" was located the forum, today represented by Piazza Mazzini.. The presence of the Lombards is also indicated by findings of marble bas-reliefs in the hamlet of Bocchere. and a marble framed with a hexagonal star in the Oratory of St. Michael the Archangel in the hamlet of Zecchini..

Middle Ages

Upon the fall of the Lombards, around the year 800, Castel Goffredo became part of the district of Sirmione, which stretched between Chiese and Mincio, and until 1115 belonged to the county of Brescia.. The most important evidence of the presence of the settlement is given by a document dated July 8, 1107,.. in which Countess Matilde of Desenzano,Not to be confused with the Grand Countess Matilda of Canossa. widow of Ugone, count of Desenzano, made a conspicuous donation of goods to the Benedictine monastery of San Tommaso of Acquanegra: in it some places in Upper Mantua and eastern Lower Brescia are mentioned, among them Castello Vifredi. To that time (between 900 and 1000) dates the origin of the first fortification of the city called Castellum vetus, “Castelvecchio,”. also including the castle, now disappeared..Castelvecchio occupied the northern part of the town and included Cannone Street, the Gonzaga-Acerbi Palace, the church of Santa Maria del Consorzio, Piazzetta Castelvecchio and the surrounding alleys. Later, from about 1115 to 1190, it belonged to the Longhi counts,. a noble family from Desenzano that extended its properties from Lake Iseo to the lower Chiese.. Banished by Frederick II, the Longhi counts lost their power, and around 1254 the municipalities of Brescia and Mantua established the boundaries of their territories.

In the thirteenth century Castel Goffredo was besieged by Ezzelino da Romano, the Della Scala of Verona and the Visconti of Milan... At that time Mantua was evolving toward a lordship, and in 1272 the Bonacolsi family took power with Pinamonte. The lineage reached the height of its prestige on August 16, 1328, with the capture of Mantua, when Ludovico I Gonzaga, backed by Cangrande I della Scala, seized power by mortally wounding the last of the Bonacolsi, Rinaldo, also known as Passerino..

The Gonzaga

Castel Goffredo granted itself the status of a free commune when Brescia was unable to defend it... Then, on September 20, 1337, the population preferred to place itself under the protection of Luigi I Gonzaga,. first captain of the people of Mantua, by public deed of the notary Giacomino Gandolfi..Notary Giacomino Gandolfi's document mentions Guidone dei Gonzaga as lord of Mantua. Indeed, Luigi Gonzaga, now in his seventies, led the government with his sons Guido and Ugolino. Thus began the rule of the Gonzaga seigniory, destined to last until 1707.. The first vicar with civil and military powers was Ambrogio de Ferrari,. who resided in the Torrazzo, while the offices were located in the nearby palace.

In 1348, at the outbreak of the Gonzaga war against the Visconti, Scaligeri and Estensi, the Duke of Milan Luchino Visconti took the border lands away from Mantua, and Castel Goffredo remained subject to Milan until 1404.. For a short time, from 1426 to 1431, the municipality passed to the Republic of Venice and then returned under Gianfrancesco Gonzaga, fifth Captain of the People of Mantua, in 1431. For the second time, from 1439 to 1441, it was governed by the Most Serene Republic of Venice, and in 1441 it passed definitively to Gianfrancesco Gonzaga, first marquis of Mantua who, by signing the Peace of Cremona (or Peace of Cavriana), accepted the acquisition of the territories of Castel Goffredo, Castiglione delle Stiviere, Solferino, Redondesco and Canneto sull'Oglio. These new lands, in the Gonzaga territory, were called "New Mantua." With Gianfrancesco's death in 1444. came the first division of the Mantuan state. In his will, he bequeathed the lordship of many Mantuan hamlets to his third son, Marquis Alessandro, a disciple of Vittorino da Feltre,In addition to Castel Goffredo: Medole, Castiglione, Ostiano, Canneto, Redondesco, Guidizzolo, Solferino, Volongo, Casalromano and Rocca di Mariana. and of Castel Goffredo as an imperial fief. autonomous from Mantua. Thus was founded the Marquisate of Castel Goffredo.

Marquisate of Castel Goffredo