Vincenzo was the son of Duke
Vincent I and
Eleonora de' Medici[1] and inherited the duchy upon the death of his elder brother
Ferdinand, receiving the imperial investiture on 8 February 1627.
He received a
cardinalate in 1615 upon Ferdinando's succession, but did not travel to Rome to receive the red hat;[2] the following year he married his relative
Isabella Gonzaga, daughter of
Alfonso Gonzaga,
Count of Novellara, and the pope deprived him of his cardinalate.
He and Isabella did not have any children, and as the only surviving son, he was encouraged to take a new wife; however the pope would not grant him a divorce.[3] Isabella was then accused of witchcraft, but was found innocent; three men were later executed for trying to murder her.[3]
Vincenzo also had problems with money and sold several of his paintings and valuables, particularly to the English
King Charles I.[3]
Conscious of his poor health, the childless Vincenzo set up an inheritance for his lands through the marriage of his niece
Maria (daughter of the former Duke
Francis IV) with
Charles of Nevers' son
Charles of Gonzaga-Nevers. The elder Charles was a cousin of his father. Vincenzo died on the marriage day of Mary and Charles.[3]
Family
Vincenzo II Gonzaga had no legitimate offspring from the wife, but he recognized four natural sons.[4][5]