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Ludovico being a true Rinascimental Prince, adored pomp and splendour; some of the receptions held by him at Madruzzo Castle were memorable.
The third Bishop Prince of the Madruzzo family was Carlo Gaudenzio, son of Giovanni Federico and Isabelle of Challant. Giovanni Federico was both friend and Ambassador to Emanuele Filiberto of Savoia and became famous for having fought against Turks in Hungary.
Born in the Castle of Issogne in the Valle d’Aosta in 1562, Carlo Gaudenzio also followed the example set by his predecessors and was ordained Cardinal in 1604; he became Bishop Prince of Trento thanks to able manoeuvres made by his uncle and also by will of Emperor Rodolfo, against whom Pope Clemente VIII did not have power to oppose. Carlo Gaudenzio proved to be a cautious administrator of the Principality, despite the hard times the city of Trento had to endure due to the arrival of the Jesuits and the witch trials. He promulgated various laws regarding the census, made regulations governing holiday rights for employees; he drew up severe rules against money-lenders and usury contracts and also introduced what was later to be defined as being “fairly good school regulations”. With the support of Emperor Ferdinando, Carlo Gaudenzio requested and was granted that the successor to the Bishopric of Trento be his nephew Carlo Emanuele, thus perpetrating the political paternalistic tradition started by Cristoforo. Like his predecessors he was very fond of luxury and kept a numerous and magnificent court; it was said that apart from the fact that he would have committed a mortal sin rather than allow the Bishopric of Trento go out of the family, he was a very respected man. He died in Rome on August 14, 1629.
On January 4th of the same year Carlo Emanuele was ordained Bishop Prince of Trento: he too was born in Issogne in 1599 and became probably the most debated member of the entire Madruzzo family. His leadership was in fact blemished by long and vain attempts to obtain the dissolution of the sacerdotal bonds from the Papal Courts, in order to marry the daughter of his Councellor, Claudia Particella, which would have allowed the continuation of the family lineage.
His requests were promptly refused by Pope Urbano VIII, Pope Innocenzo X and Pope Alessandro VI. The great scandal that followed while he was still alive gave rise to legends and vicious gossip about him. During his years in office there was much grief in Europe, which was devastated by the 30-years war and by plague, which in 1630 badly affected the Principality. |
Carlo Emanuele died suddenly on December 15, 1658, leaving no legitimate successor, despite all his efforts.
Madruzzo family came to a rapid end, just as rapid as they had made their fortune which had brought them from an obscure and sometimes disturbing reputation of soldiers to the power and wealth of able and open-minded politicians. The Castle of Madruzzo, transformed from a fortress into a princely residence, began to declined rapidly until at the beginning of XVIII century when it was looted and burned by the troops of the Duke of Vendome. More than a century passed before restoration commenced, transforming it once more into a “patriarchal summer residence”, where a poet like Antonio Fogazzaro stayed and where perhaps also found his inspiration.
Today after another century has passed, the ancient walls still remain: after patient repairs, rock and stone still show visible traces of past generations.
The “Castelliere”, the Fortress, the Castle, the quiet late-nineteenth century residence … those some rocks now face another century, another millennium, another story.
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